Colin Stetson — Chim​æ​ra I
I've been familiar with avant-garde saxophonist Colin Stetson for roughly a decade, and enjoyed every recording I heard. His unique style involves circular breathing and repetitive arpeggiated ostinati one might compare to Philip Glass. He employs looping and layering techniques to create lush melodic compositions. His music is refreshing in that it is both tuneful and highly experimental. When I saw that this album was tagged as drone, and contained two epic 20-minute pieces, I was intrigued.
I imagine circular breathing comes in handy when playing long tones. However, this album is less a display of physical prowess than its predecessors (watch a live video of Stetson and you will know what I mean), as it is clearly created by digitally arranging layers of sound. It is a skillfully created modern dark ambient production, with a coherent stereo field. Saxophone long tones gradually swell and synergize, taking on intervals and harmonics, then dissipate into ashy reverberant space, simmering in a surprisingly deep and hellish grim atmosphere for many minutes.
His saxophone is often pitched down, and the ensuing murk is roughly in the tonal register of doom metal. Groups that integrated down-tuned guitars with dark ambient, such as TenHornedBeast, come to mind. Like them, it summons a primal, tribal energy. It's the sort of music I'd expect to hear from industrial ambient labels like Cyclic Law, and artists like Inade and Lustmord. I'm surprised to hear it from Colin Stetson, whose past aesthetics never hinted once hinted at the possibility of this, and yet it is perfectly executed. He has created a more potent tool for astral travel than dozens of anonymous ritual ambient groups.
In conclusion, Chimæra I may not be as jaw-droppingly singular and odd as the techniques exhibited on previous recordings, but it's an absolutely lovely album, operating at a more soothing, patient energy wavelength than his typical fare. The vibrating reed of Stetson's sax resonates in seemingly infinite massiveness. One of my favorite recent ambient recordings..to find out more