drone / ambient
For quite some time now, I have been looking for a proper genre-tag to describe artists like this, including my own project. Many artists these days seem to roam in the region of slow music while blatantly crossing the borders between genres. Ambient, dark ambient, downtempo electronics, post rock and even dark jazz are being blended into a mesmerizing new form of music, much to my delight. Interface Type 7, created by American composer John Squibb is one of those acts. He doesn't seem to mind exactly what music he is creating, as long as it's slow and atmospheric. In that he certainly succeeded. I think I'll just go with the term "slowism".
On the other hand, his latest album '7' doesn't seem to cross borders that much. In fact, it remains on a minimal level using little else than soundscapes and synth melodies. Opener 'I/O' could easily be the intro for a black metal album, but I guess that's the way most metalheads view ambient music. For this album, 'I/O' is an excellent opener as well, melodic but somewhat gloomy and impending. It tells me we're preparing for some kind of nocturnal adventure. I don't mind, I love nocturnal adventures, especially when they're beautiful pieces of music like this.
From then on, the album gently ripples on, which does not mean it gets stale and boring. On the very contrary. 'Landing' features these similar lingering soundscapes, along with mild percussive clicks. Apparently that is enough to make it my personal favorite on this album. 'Peripheral' does something similar with one ongoing drone and a vague melody. It's followed by another one of my favorites here, the long and vintage ambient tune 'Departure'. Here Boards Of Canada comes to mind again. I love it when they come to mind.
This is a perfect album for these cold winter evenings. I suggest you purchase this album and play it late at night, sitting near a burning fireplace (or a YouTube video of a fireplace). Close your eyes and let your imagination wander off. In fact, that is what I have been doing a few times since the album came in a few days ago. It's a nice experience and it provided with me some useful inspiration for my next book. 'Distorted Vision' could function as the intro for the movie adaptation. See, my imagination is wandering off as I write.
So uhm, I guess there is little else to say about this album. I don't feel like going into a track by track description as I believe that that takes the fun out of discovering beautiful albums. Fans of ambient music can easily trust Interface Type 7 to provide them with their beloved soundscapes, that is for sure. So check it out, you won't be disappointed, I promise.
Serge
On the other hand, his latest album '7' doesn't seem to cross borders that much. In fact, it remains on a minimal level using little else than soundscapes and synth melodies. Opener 'I/O' could easily be the intro for a black metal album, but I guess that's the way most metalheads view ambient music. For this album, 'I/O' is an excellent opener as well, melodic but somewhat gloomy and impending. It tells me we're preparing for some kind of nocturnal adventure. I don't mind, I love nocturnal adventures, especially when they're beautiful pieces of music like this.
From then on, the album gently ripples on, which does not mean it gets stale and boring. On the very contrary. 'Landing' features these similar lingering soundscapes, along with mild percussive clicks. Apparently that is enough to make it my personal favorite on this album. 'Peripheral' does something similar with one ongoing drone and a vague melody. It's followed by another one of my favorites here, the long and vintage ambient tune 'Departure'. Here Boards Of Canada comes to mind again. I love it when they come to mind.
This is a perfect album for these cold winter evenings. I suggest you purchase this album and play it late at night, sitting near a burning fireplace (or a YouTube video of a fireplace). Close your eyes and let your imagination wander off. In fact, that is what I have been doing a few times since the album came in a few days ago. It's a nice experience and it provided with me some useful inspiration for my next book. 'Distorted Vision' could function as the intro for the movie adaptation. See, my imagination is wandering off as I write.
So uhm, I guess there is little else to say about this album. I don't feel like going into a track by track description as I believe that that takes the fun out of discovering beautiful albums. Fans of ambient music can easily trust Interface Type 7 to provide them with their beloved soundscapes, that is for sure. So check it out, you won't be disappointed, I promise.
Serge
