Merchants Of Air
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Concerts
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Giveaways
  • Playlists
  • Shop
    • Merchants Of Air releases
  • About us
    • About Us
    • Writers Wanted
    • Logos and banner
    • Advertise
    • Mailinglist

Lee Chapman -  The Common Silence

1/5/2015

Comments

 
Foto
Eilean Records
It's a nice day today.  The sun shines through my windows and warms my skin.  Between the treetops, two air balloons gently float alongside the scarce clouds.  A couple of squirrels enjoy the comforting sun and an extremely happy dog chases a pigeon that is way too fast.  While I watch all these events, I'm listening to the latest album by Lee Chapman.  It too floats gently across the air, giving the whole afternoon a haze of felicity, like poetry without words.

Lee Chapman lives in Latvia but he was born in the UK.  He is a self-taught sound sculptor, using field recordings, minimal instrumentation and digital processing to create tender and fragile music. Although he claims to be influenced by dark subjects such as decay and death, his music doens't really have the typical dark ambient atmosphere.  Instead, the music is rather bright but unpredictable, unpolished but elegant.

The tracks on The Common Silence do not drive on a rhythm and have little to none percussion.  That, however, doesn't mean they are stale or boring, on the contrary.  This is excellent background music for reading, relaxing or just staring at the squirrels in the trees outside. 'Believe In Something' has a hint of percussion where drones and soundscapes float over something that sounds like a deep, far away heart beat.

This heart beat perfectly illustrates the organic feel of this album.  Chapman doesn't shun accidentality.  Sounds that were recorded by accident are not thrown away.  Instead they are used, changed, distorted and delayed, adding a sense of mystery to the whole. 'Let A Song Speak For Itself' uses a hint of a bassline, created by I don't know what, but it is mesmerizing.  In 'Kyrie Eleison' some distant vocals give a dreamy song a deeply familiair and human feel.

Here and there you can hear processed travel recordings, as if the music is a soundtrack for an inner road trip.  Chapman is no stranger to composing soundtracks, so it's no surprise that this music has a cinematic character. In fact, the entire album can be played to accompany dreams, meditation, relaxation and all sorts of calm activities.  In its minimalistic approach, this is a beautiful and graceful album and highly recommended by a die-hard ambient lover like...


...Serge
Comments
    subscribe to our newsletter

    Genres

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Ambient
    Avant Garde
    Avant-garde
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Children
    Classical
    Country
    Crust
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Jazz
    Darkwave
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Dream Pop
    Drone
    Drum & Bass
    Dub
    Dubstep
    EBM
    Electro
    Electronic
    Ethereal
    Experimental
    Folk
    Folk Metal
    Funk
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-hop
    Idm
    Indie
    Industrial
    Instrumental
    Jazz
    Krautrock
    Martial
    Math Rock
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Neo Classical
    Neo-classical
    Neo Folk
    Neo-folk
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Noise-rock
    Nu Metal
    Nu-metal
    Opera
    Pop
    Post Metal
    Post Punk
    Post Rock
    Progressive
    Psychedelic
    Psytrance
    Punk
    Reggae
    Rock
    Score
    Shoegaze
    Singer/songwriter
    Sludge
    Soul
    Southern Rock
    Speed Metal
    Stoner
    Symphonic Metal
    Synthpop
    Techno
    Thrash
    Triphop
    Trip-hop
    World

    Archives

    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

Find us on

facebook
google+
twitter
tumblr
​
minds

About Us

Contact
FAQ
Logos and banners
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.