This is my first exposure to the work of Australian artist Lawrence English, and what an exceptional piece of work it is. I was immediately impressed by the beautiful ambience of minimal opener "Oceanic Drift", but that's just scratching the surface of the general palette of the disc. On this particular CD, English is joined by a number of other contributors - supplying guitar, vocals, turntables, bass, keyboards, etc. Also contributed are field recordings from a variety of exotic locations, including Thailand, Vietnam, and Tasmania. Interestingly enough the record itself was recorded in both Tokyo and London, while edited together in Brisbane, Australia - all of which took place from late-2002 to mid-2003. Worth mentioning, however, is that these guest appearances are limited to various areas of the disc, and therefore the end result is something that remains consistent and unified, it's not at all a random jumble of different sounds/performers. "That Was a Lucky One" is similarly minimal in its lush ambient flow, possessing subtler movement in the distance along with a few samples of people speaking (practically inaudibly) alongside brighter ringing and shuffling textures placed against the humming low-end. "Closing Frame" opens with the sounds of chirping birds over a strange midrange texture that also sounds more like a natural environment: Dryer and more organic than some of the ambient tones employed in the first two tracks. But as the eight-minute composition progresses some pulsing drones do come into play, along with an almost piercing high-end tone that's carefully placed in the mix so as not to disturb the humming vocals or melodic undercurrents. "Run Off" is similar in its blend of outdoor sounds and rumbling low-end, though it's somehow darker in tone, not to mention somewhat more minimal and delicate in arrangement. "Shinagawa (Moment on Tokaido)" possesses some of the same characteristics to a more melodic degree, as a passing movement glides across harmonic swells that ebb and flow over time. Another deeper and somewhat more minimal piece presents itself in "Dual Process", which actually ups the ante on sinister ambience even compared to "Run Off", and this continues in the even deeper "Winter Sun"! This is another longer selection at seven minutes, and is also among the softest and most subdued of the entire release. Excellent work, too! The disc is handsomely packaged in a simple digipack with a few images of leaves and crisp, clean text. Simple yet effective. All in all this makes for a truly enjoyable listening experience, and this is a significantly more interesting release than the other material I've encountered from Cajid Media, so I'm very pleased with this one. The sound quality and everything about the record just has a nice, deliberate sense of quality that certainly comes through in the music itself. Very nice, indeed. Experimental listeners with a taste for the artistic ambient side should absolutely look into this CD.
[Cajid]
Running time - 45:11, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Oceanic Drift, Dual Process, Winter Sun]
Cajid Media - http://www.cajid.com
