Susana López — The Edge of the Circle

The Edge of the Circle, from 2022, comes in a fancy CD digipack, illustrated impressively with abstract, and not so abstract, collages; it features five tracks from the Spain-based Susana López. These tracks are all drone-y in nature, with the shortest coming in just under eight minutes, and the longest just over thirteen minutes. López’s pieces are created with electronics and processing, presenting an immersive sound world that hints at deep space and cosmic themes.

The first, and indeed shortest piece, ‘Soul Stuff’, is largely dominated by long-held notes, electronic in nature but akin to sustained orchestral notes; these create an eerie, ominous atmosphere, complimented by vocalised synth sounds and small washes of noise. It’s melodic but abstracted in that regard through its speed and abstraction. The following track, ‘Black Circle’, is also the longest, and again relies on drones and orchestral sounds. Where ‘Soul Stuff’ was thoroughly immersed in drone territory, though, ‘Black Circle’ more obviously presents a synth/electronics/processing approach which is more dynamic. So here, again, there are orchestral sounds, but they appear as processed and manipulated orchestral sounds - travelling in the opposite sonic direction to the first track. ‘Black Circle’ is thus much more active, with numerous elements being introduced, including some effective glassy tones after the halfway mark; this doesn’t mean the overall feel isn’t droning, but it’s not the bare, focussed approach of ‘Soul Stuff’, and instead is more like the Bladerunner soundtrack on steroids. ‘Swarm of Drones’, the third work, is founded on a strong, ever-present, low drone, but again has processed synthy elements cutting in and out over the top. These elements - alarm-like tones, swirling, fluttering treble glitches, and echoing metallic sounds, to name a few - hover over the foundation drone; a drone that sounds remarkably like the persistent, and reverb drenched, pealing of church bells. It’s a track that conveys a sense of journey - though you could rightly say that for the album as a whole. The penultimate piece, ‘Valhalla’, begins with a rush of reverb, expansive and overwhelming - it’s perhaps the nicest moment of The Edge of the Circle; soon after birdsong starts up, though it’s unclear whether it is sourced from field recordings or synthesised (it’s followed by a child’s voice which suggests it might well be field recordings). It continues, interspersing those large reverb washes with smaller sounds, like processed junk noise sounds, but perhaps feels too close to ‘Swarm of Drones’ in form, and thus a little tired. ‘Concentric’ is the last work on the album, and blends previous elements together. It commences with a thick, deep wall of sound created by a looped orchestral line fed through truly cavernous reverbs, and doesn’t really add a whole lot to that; but this more minimal approach, relying on colossal waves of reverb murk, pays dividends and ends the The Edge of the Circle on a grand, majestic, mysterious note, especially with the sudden emergence of a different melodic line at the very end.

This is a very solid album which will appeal to synth-heads as well as those into electronic textures and drone explorations. It’s accomplished and well-crafted, rich and detailed, with some tremendous moments. However, it is perhaps stuck in a halfway house between a hardboiled electroacoustic approach, and territories that centre barer drones, or melodic synth pieces; so I simultaneously wanted more and less - but that’s my bugbear. On a similar tack, I felt like I knew what most of the processing was doing, on a technical level, so, again, it’s not a hardboiled album of avant electronics; this isn’t an issue, I’m just trying to situate the album in my mind. Despite these reservations, I think The Edge of the Circle will resonate with many people, creating an expansive sound world that’s easy to get lost in.