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This is not a release for everyone. I get that. Loscil, who has been reviewed here many times, is a sort of superstar of the ambient electronica genre, if you can imagine such a thing. He's been at this since the turn of the century, cranking out records that ebb and flow is subtle waves of sound. I enjoy his music a lot, and own ten or so releases, but to be honest i could not give you a single song title from any of those records. That's not how i listent to ambient music -- i just put on a record and sit and let it wash over me...
That type of listening experience is not typical and many people want a more active experience -- vocals, hummable melodies, things like that. Which is fine, it's just not what Loscil does. But you have to admit that Loscil must be on to something, since he keeps releasing records and people keep buying them.
Here, on his 18th album (!!) , he collaborates with Australian composer Lawrence English. I am not familiar with Mr. English, although Wikipedia reveals an extensive catalog stretching back almost 20 years. He seems to work in "soundscapes", and by that i mean that his releases seem to be field recordings, manipulated and worked to try and define a physical space through sound. In theory that seems fascinating, but i have not listened to any of his work, so i don't know how it comes across.
On Colours of Air his touch is subtle. That is to say that if it only said Loscil on the sleeve of this CD, i would think it was just him. The record is based on recordings of a century old pipe organ housed at the historic Old Museum in Brisbane, Australia. These recordings were then computer manipulated, making this sound less like being in church and more like, well, like any other Loscil release. But if you listen closely, there is a certain organishness to the sounds here. This is especially true on standout track Aqua, where a sampled voice sound floats over an organ riff that is, well, alost Bach-like i suppose. It is recognizably pipe organ.
Another standout track, out of the eight here, all named for colors, is Pink. Pink starts wiht an ominous rumbling that speeds up, slowly, becoming more of a deep rumble that echoes under the other sounds, like a storm in the distance. It's a really neat effect.
Closer Magenta is another stand out here. The organ warbles is a way that reminds me of Pink Floyd's One Of These Days as higher pitched sounds float in and out. It's over eight minutes long, and Loscil works well with these kinds of long, stretched out tunes. This is lovely.
If you are a Loscil fan, you have probably already heard this. If you are interested in ambient music in general or in Loscil in particular, this is as good of an introduction as any. However, i doubt that anyone who has heard this type of music and remains uninterested in it will be persuaded by anything here.
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