Motionfield - Optical Flow

[abasio]

Motionfield

Optical Flow

Somnia

2008

Ambient

 

Tracklist

 

1 Embrace (7:29)

2 Nightwalk (6:48)

3 Stormsinger (5:53)

4 Optical Flow (5:32)

5 Midnight Metro (6:27)

6 Childhood Playground (8:09)

7 Shine (5:53)

8 Horizon (6:24)

 

I have been buying everything from Somnia, Evan Bluetech's sleepy ambient label but I must admit that this release I bought just to have it all. I am very glad that Somnia brought this great artist to my attention because as soon as I put this CD in my player I was treated to a sonic treat that has managed to stay cool & fresh through a lot of listens since I got it.

 

1. Embrace

We start our journey with an embrace from a soft melodic track that feels like a safe haven in dangerous urban sprawl. The light melody seems like a warm blanket which is in deep contrast to the rest of the track which is cold like an empty street with wind blowing through it. Something sounds like a siren wails in the background & a deep drone blows like a winter wind chilling to the ear but all through these sounds there is the warmth of the melody like being wrapped up in a sleeping bag, feeling all warm when everything else is cold. This is a very nice opening track to the album, beautiful, melancholic, cold yet comforting. Great stuff!

 

2. Nightwalk

Soft sounds from a cello or double bass add a slight jazzy element whereas the oscillating sound over the static filled waves add a kind of dark empty feel like a post apocalyptic city. The piano adds a nostalgic touch adding to both the Jazziness and the desolation. I imagine a skyrise city like Tokyo or New York, the streets empty on a cold winter's afternoon. No people occupy the streets only trash blows in the wind. Cars are abandoned, windows boarded up and a cold wind blowing between the skyscrapers through the deserted roads. It's all very simple but effective, I really enjoy the use of piano in this, the contrast to the glitchy drone is great.

 

3. Stormsinger

We get a little more percussive with Stormsinger, the beats are steady but soft & underneath them is the sound of some aquatic mammal or sea bird sounding it's displeasure. It is all quite musical even if it manages to sound like nature's natural glitch. The melody on the piano is pretty melancholic, a feeling accentuated by the long deep drones that come in & out in various different tones. Some dark, some lighter, some rising some falling. I get the impression of suburban America here. Sparse green lawns, identical houses, identical people with identical kids playing with identical toys. The sort of place that breeds freaks because to be different is to be outcast & the music just manages to bluff it's way through to maturity before it escapes.

 

4. Optical Flow

The title track has some not so pleasant high pitch sounds that seem to cut through the rest of the music and slice open my brain. In certain moods I don't like them but in some moods they help tenderise my brain & when the soft IDMish beats come in with the floaty melody it's exposed to the elements & taken away on a journey. High above the suburbs on a cloud looking down at myself as I stand in the garden. The sort of track that sounds like I've taken something that distracts my attention, lifts my consciousness into a slight astral projection, just far enough so I can have the out of body experience but still see myself as I interact with my life. Great track for times when you can handle high pitch acid slices cutting into your head.

 

5. Midnight Metro

More IDMish beats a bit more prominent this time give this a more urban feel than the few suburban pieces that just passed. Once more the melody is nostalgic, wistful & melancholic. It gives the feeling that redundancy is as normal as repeating yourself unnecessarily and that repetition is needed in everyday life. It gives me a sense of normalcy, of walking down an empty city street just after first light before everyone starts their day. The serene sense of isolated peace is nice, the melody wraps itself around me as I walk down the street headed home but enjoying the journey rather than focusing on my destination.

 

6. Childhood Playground

With a title like Childhood Playground one might expect a nostalgic look at past hangouts of our formative years. Indeed we are treated to a very nostalgic sounding track. It sound the most thoughtful so far, the long cold wind drone, the melody on the piano & the scratchy IDMish beats along with the brief sharp sounds that slash through the atmosphere like a dark yet burning hot blade. Imagine a swing set next to a bench with a slide somewhere close by but no kids at all. One swing falling apart, only attached by one chain, the mud covering the seat of the other. The bench overgrown with weeds & the slide being covered in mold & mildew, the wind the only thing that moves, one swing scratching the ground while the other drips last nights storm onto the mud beneath it. Nice track, it has a good feeling all round but ends a little too abruptly.

 

7. Shine

Stronger beats yet again which sounds kind of bamboo in their sound, vocals where the voice sounds like it is something being shouted as you travel passed in a vehicle very quickly, the Doppler effect distorting the sound at each end. The lush sound of rain falling on city streets & houses paints the opposite picture in my head as the track title. I can see grey city streets with water flowing down the gutters, I can see grey clouds up ahead & people in cars rushing by, splashing me with water & laughing. As they get closer the joyous sound picks up just as it fades out after they have done the damage.

 

8. Horizon

Horizon finishes us off with a strong inner space feeling. It is very introspective & reflective. The melody is almost unmusical yet it is definitely melodious, it just has melodic sounds but no tune. The deep melodic bass punches through the atmosphere like a rubber sledgehammer & the beats as sporadic as they are add a sense of disorder to the atmosphere. Everything seems to be very wide open yet it all seems to fill the space inside yourself. An inner horizon as it were, expanding the chasms of your deepest inner minds. It's a good ending to a great album.

 

 

This is a great album, it is my favourite so far from Somnia & that includes the new Bluetech album. It's melancholic, reflective, deep, urban, sub-urban and floaty. The piano is a key factor in all of the atmospheric wanderings. It feels Jazzy & melancholic at the same time and when it is combined with the cold glitchy background noise it really sets a cool atmosphere and by that I mean cold & funky at the same time.

If you like Somnia then you probably trust Evan's choices and will check this out anyway. If you don't like Somnia you might still like this as it's more IDMish with some cool beats & great melodies than the more ambient stuff that has come before it on this label.

[Anoebis]

Very good cd, melancholic, sometimes even sad... Not for listening when you are sad as tears will come very fast then

 

The best from Somnia so far I think (together with Somenia CD02), I love the way the piano is used in many tracks, it sounds almost like modern classical filled with ambient atmospheres, more like this please!

[amphiton]

Deep night, track 2 just started and I already know this album won't be leaving my playlist soon.

[amphiton]

I've given it about 10 listens in last 3 months and it turns out be my favourite falling asleep album this spring

 

Nothing groundbreaking and revolutionary, just very sweet, deep, melancholic and everything else stated above by Abasio and Anoebis. The kind of an album you're happy to spot and enjoy every second of it, listen after listen.