Have I ever mentioned the marvellous music made by Whitney Johnson?
This is the 3rd album under the Matchess moniker. Funny thing about that – the first album, Seraphastra, was a very regular play in the Soundbergs cavern. When the follow-up, Somnaphoria, was released, I stopped playing Seraphastra, even though I wasn’t as initially keen on Somnaphoria. The last few months have seen me caning Somnaphoria, however, as its full majesty has unfurled around me. Wish I’d put it in last years top 10 now.
So, as I alluded in my recent chat post, all seems rather quiet at the moment so I took the opportunity during a recent quiet desk session to have a look around to see if favourite artists of mine had anything new for me*, and here was the latest Matchess album. And despite the regularity of Somnaphoria in my ears beforehand, I’ve stopped playing it now and am busy grokking The Rafter, as well as another Verma album that I shall tell you about in due course.
Her music doesn’t so much have beats but a pulse, even more so on this new work – although the opener Alite and the penultimate Awdo break with traditions by including some of yer actual drums. It doesn’t seem to have so much low end as her previous work, although I think the first albums weren’t as bass heavy as they seemed; it may have been a very clever way of framing the music. She also ventures into more abstract territory this time around. Some of it is flat out ambient. There is a definite sense of evolution, although that may not be quite the right word (maybe there isn’t one), in regard to the first two albums. Though, as ever, I am loathe to stick a label on it, I quite like the term ‘ambient shamanism’ coined over at Decoder.
And as with all music I really like, words fail me. I’m currently staring into space with saliva dripping from the yawning chasm of my mouth, eyes unfocused, trying desperately to grapple with the concept of thought, and I’m not even listening to the music. I just hope no-one rings up now with an e-book problem.
*It’s a side effect of not doing social media, so I rarely know before something happens that something is going to happen. This has both positive and negative aspects.
Soundbergs 