Lungwash — Wonded Oak(Infinity series Part 12)
I first became aware of this project work after hearing their excellent first more widely available release “By Myself To Myself Sacrificed” which was a self released c20. “Wounded oak” offers up a full length CDR release that features just a single forty nine minute track, and said tracks a deeply captivating & subtle shifting journey through dark & organic nature based sound scaping.
The track starts out with this eerier yet persistent mid- paced map of textural noise which brings together: fire like cracklings, death-watch beetle in decay wood tapping & tickling texturing, cold slow rain under a tree canopy melancholic pitter patter, and a genreal feel of feasting sped up organic decay & destruction. By the 11th minute this slow wavering & bleak drone is slowly simmering into sonic view as the textural map of tone dies down slightly. And a more earthy subterranean like aquatic bubbling is pushed to front of the sonic picture- this part of the track brings to mind white ‘never seen the light of day' root networks pumping water around their underground & earthy setting. By the 17th minute we’re just left with the drone & a very subtle texturally aquatic rumble, but petty soon this total disappears & we’re left with just the drones throbbing & darkly grimly textural like haze.
Just when you think the track may drift out completely into hazing & fading drone territory at around the 20th minute LW adds in a slowly appearing dyeing light bulb like flicker and surge loop. This new element slow grows closer and more distinct as the drone texture starts drifting & falling apart, and in the end all we’re left with is the surge & flicker tone which loops & ebbs on in a pained, hurt & numbing type manner. LW extends this very stripped & dying line current out for quite a lengthy time, and you keep thinking it will just flicker out to complete silence, yet it never does; but instead like the rest of the track another element is slow drift & slided in. This new textural element appears around the 34th minute & comes in the form of a slow rising, cold & persistent rain like crackling wall of sound. As before the new element slowly takes over and submerge the last element, and the track drifts out in this wonderfully enclosing & surrounding gray insect like feasting & crackle like dwell.
Simply put “Wounded oak” is mesmerising mixture of organic like textural shift & haunting yet subtle drone currents. Truly this is one of the most rewarding, moody & masterful executed recordings to emerging from the growing ambient HNW scene, the only disappointing thing about it all is that this was sadly ltd to just 18 copies & it’s now completely sold-out. This really is crying out to be reissued as more than 20 people need to hear the clever & wholly captivating tribute to natures decay, slow destruction and cruel re-growth & renewal.