LXXIII by Arjen Schat

Following his two-hour sections of the massive ØΨΦII split, Arjen Schat returns to Psøma Psi Phi with a proper solo release named LXXIII. This recording came about partially after I urged Arjen to expand on an improvisation he did on his Rhodes electric piano (which was released as a part of the charity compilation 3067 Megs: https://meganmccarthy.bandcamp.com/track/rhodes-improvisation ), and he delivered beautifully, as he always does.

To my ears, LXXIII recalls so many of my favorite aspects of Arjen's music and other ambient milestones. The drifting overtone drones immediately conjure up things like Primal (a personal favorite of mine), while the sound of the Rhodes invokes the crystalline stillness of Eno & Budd's Plateaux Of Mirror. Further still, certain melodic sections of LXXIII feel weathered and isolated, sad even, in a similar fashion as Aphex Twin's essential work on SAW II (namely a track like "Lichen"). In short, there is a lot to love about this release, for fans of many different eras of classic and modern ambient music.

Arjen always displays such a masterful hand with his instruments, and an impressive level of restraint in both the performance and the production of a piece like this. Long may he continue to sculpt entire universes from the simple clay of vibrations floating through air.

Sleep fictions, lucid maps and gnostic states. Asemic systems designed by night smokers, bedroom alchemists and oligolaliacs, for intimate applications. Est. MMXVII.

psoma.space
Facebook