Escapism
Built on soft, endlessly resampled and meticulously constructed soundscapes, the music of ‘Escapism’ treads a path between the heavens of beautiful reverb-soaked pads and the depths, with deep bass accentuating each synth hit that passes through the wide stereo field constructed over the course of eight tracks. The album conveys feelings of melancholy, loss and ecstasy over its course, joining into one extended story that flows from one piece into the next, yet still keeps the listener interested and challenged by offering more than one style to contend with.
Tracklisting:
- Float Away
- Trickle
- Youth Lens (Interlude)
- It’s Snowing
- Lament (Interlude)
- Elegy
- Tourn
- Wide Sun
Glass Locus
Glass Locus is a musical project by UK native Matt H. that follows a path between ambient music and the potential discord that can arise from experimenting within it. Combining genres such as Bass music and Techno into the traditional ambient fold of pads and soft drums, the music of Glass Locus is an endlessly mutating and difficult to pin-down beast that has never been afraid to have some fun with convention. Previous releases have had fast rhythms, unique synthesiser patterns, resampling and a wide array of different stylistic choices, with found sound and audio manipulation being front and foremost in creating his trademark unique atmospheres. These releases, including 10+ self-released albums and several other label releases described as “fresh and different” with “airy synths, sparse rhythms and atmospheric melodies” have been released since the project first began under the name ‘Skyline’ in 2010, with his DnB project ‘Hexic’ also having releases under its belt.
Reviews
Beach SlothAptly named, Glass Locus’s “Escapism” embodies serenity. Such gentle waves lap at the very edges of the sound. Nicely embodying the best of new age, classical, ambience, with a hint of shoegaze, the album has a dreaminess to it while it effortlessly floats on by. Throughout the entirety of the album an emotional core tugs at the heart of it, one of peacefulness, happiness, and a quiet joy. Over the course of the joy comparisons to Ulrich Schnauss feel unavoidable, for, like Ulrich Schnauss, Glass Locus tries to give a little structure to these ambient musings without overwhelming their fragile spirit.
Soft tender tones introduce the album on “Float Away”. How the layers interact lends the track a kindness of sorts, one that even has a folksy charm to it in certain moments. Glistening and more drone-focused, “Trickle” strips even more percussion away with only the lightest rhythms residing within its hallowed walls. Hushed whispers wander about on the carefully laid-back “It’s Snowing” whose atmosphere conjures up images of a beautiful virgin snow. Tiny tones come together to create vast patterns on the surprisingly ornate toy box melodies of “Elegy”. Quite psychedelic “Tourn” proves to be the highlight of the album, as it ebbs and flows with such natural majesty. Perfectly concluding the album is the powerful presence of “Wide Sun”.
Delicacy serves Glass Locus’s weightless “Escapism” well, for at times the music appears to nearly evaporate into thin air.
So What
Sinuoso si espande il pensiero conducendo attraverso paesaggi eterei infinitamente distanti dalla realtà. È un’immersione onirica su traiettoria cangiante e indefinita quella proposta da Matt H. sotto l’alias Glass Locus, un’evasione gentile che proietta in un universo irreale ma non totalmente scevro di materialità.
È un suono ibrido, una miscela sapiente di vapori sintetici in luminosa sospensione, profondi riverberi e flebili battiti a fungere da materia prima con cui plasmare morbide derive sensoriali profondamente evanescenti, coese nell’atmosfera generale mai totalmente assonanti. Con mutevolezza tanto coerente da risultare quasi impercettibile si passa così da tessiture malinconiche costellate da schegge pulsanti (“Float Away”, “Trickle”) a trame contemplative più dense scandite da ritmi più decisi (“It’s snowing”, “Tourn”) fino a giungere a momenti di maggiore rarefazione sempre pervasi da una filigrana palpitante attenuata ma indissolubile (“Elegy”, “Wide Sun”).
Ne risulta un movimento unitario reso accattivante da un costante processo di fine modulazione, scandito ulteriormente da due iati costituiti da brevi frammenti atmosferici interposti ad ossigenare un tracciato altrimenti privo di soluzione di continuità.
Che il sogno lucido abbia inizio.