Paul W. Rankin
You're moving now. Walking through the field. Through the morning fog that erases the horizon. The burning vehicle recedes behind you. The scene of a crime. It wasn't your fault. But the feeling of guilt still weighs on you. You didn't mean for this to happen, not any of it. You keep looking to the horizon; ahead lies the future.
Favorite track: Pins.
Secret Pyramid is the nom de nocturne of Vancouver, BC’s resident
ambient explorer Amir Abbey. Having perfected his brand of elegant elegia over the past decade heard on albums released by illustrious imprints as Students of Decay, Ba-Da-Bing!, and Nice Up International and collaborated with the likes of Loscil, Abbey makes his Geographic North debut with Embers, Secret Pyramid’s most sincerely solemn and curiously calming work to date.
Embers’ six pieces find Abbey furroughing a few of his most trusted tools (including Ondes Martenot, sampler, Space Echo, two tape machines, and a computer), while taking a more compositional approach than his past works. This method opened entirely new aural possibilities and allowed Abbey to consider, manipulate, and re-consider each passing tone. The end result is an exquisitely enveloping work of contemporary ambient music that is equally inspired by and spiritually linked to influential French composer Olivier Messiaen, the progenitors of Dub, and a number of ephemeral oddities in between.
Sonically, Embers reveals some of Secret Pyramid’s most minimal and open works yet. Certain pieces (such as “Pins,” “Particles,” and “Ohms”) employ a single instrument or sound source with only a modicum of manipulation. This “less is more” approach gave each sound actual room to breathe and find a balance of beauty and dissonance, and the magical transition between the two.
Emotionally, the music was created during a particularly turbulent time in Abbey’s life, allowing him to process things musically. In his own words, “It’s a reflection of the impermanent, shifting, and fleeting aspects of our lives, both the good and the bad, that often spark something inside of us. Aspects of our daily existence, and the self (whether our emotions, surroundings, relationships,) that are constantly morphing, disappearing, reappearing, burning out, reigniting, and so forth, metaphorically like flares or embers.”
The Italian composer and synthesizer player crafts panoramic views, letting phrases blossom from small ideas into explosions. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jul 8, 2022
Working with just voice, piano and handmade cassette loops, the Chicago sound artist navigates heavy themes through a minimalist lens. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 2, 2021
An exercise in finding the balance between the beauty and the broken, the latest from ’t Geruis wanders gentle soundscapes. Bandcamp New & Notable May 24, 2021