Billow Observatory - Calque / Soliton [Whirlpool Blue Vinyl]

Felte

£26.98

Format: LP, Whirlpool Blue Vinyl
Catalogue No.: FLT101LPC1
Barcode: 0792105762746
Release Date: 19 Jan 2024
Genre: Electronic, Ambient, Dub

RIYL: Biosphere, Dedekind Cut, Stars of the Lids, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Brian Eno, early Warp Records, Manual, Auburn Lull, Harold Budd, The Caretaker. Billow Observatory's second Extended Play in less than a year, Soliton maximizes the compact format by further illuminating lesser-traveled paths. Contemplation and exploration weave harmoniously through five mysterious tracks. Influenced by a wide range of styles and sounds, such as Japanese ambient, the muted dissonance of Pharoah Sanders, and the chilly dub of the Scape catalog, Soliton evokes visions of lonely night drives punctuated by bright moments of bliss. The Calque EP from January 2023 saw them pursuing the minimal electronic side of their work even further. The opening track, "Kottbusser Tor,” showcases a conspicuous absence of the processed guitars that characterize most of their work, and instead explores sequenced filters, tape delays and analog synth patterns for eight minutes. On "Ammosel", they dive directly into dubby soundscapes, with crackling electronics and deep basslines, while "Kiyosumi" and "Fade Into Air" pay a visit to more familiar ambient territory. A darker undercurrent pervades on this EP, but one that goes particularly well with the coldest of seasons and its frosty air. The duo, consisting of Jason Kolb (Michigan, US) and Jonas Munk (Denmark) started working together in 2006, sending each other tracks across the Atlantic, eventually resulting in a full-length release on Felte in 2012. What started out as a side project to their respective main projects (Auburn Lull and Manual) have slowly become the main activity for both artists, now with a total of four full-lengths under their belt. Their music has also evolved and matured over the years, reaching a level of perfection that’s only granted producers who've been in the game for decades. Billow Observatory have by now established themselves as purveyors of highly refined ambient music and the Soliton EP sees them elegantly blend new and old, electronic and organic, into a gently drifting, enveloping whole. “.. mind drenching sunrises, glittering constellations, and sailing clouds, richly furnishing the familiar sense of hovering over vast natural orders that you're also inside. – Pitchfork // “So the world it inhabits is essentially that one between states, simulating a quietly vibrant ecology of sub-aquatic bass rumbles, washed out expanses of mid-range swirl and keening top end whose elusive colours seem to fade and coruscate in the low light. Lovely.” – Boomkat //

Tracklisting: A1. Kottbusser Tor A2. Kiyosumi A3. Ammosel A4. Backshadow A5. Fade Into Air B1. In Transit B2. Garden of Four Streams B3. Another View B4. Conduit B5. Chasing Ghosts