FOXY DIGITALIS =
I recently splashed out on a new amp and a new pair of speakers. And “The Bending of Light” is one of the releases that keeps reminding me why I did so. The majestic guitar-and-synth-drones of the first track, “A Beam of Light Bends Back Upon Itself”, are setting the whole room in motion as I write this. Being positioned in the middle of my room (which is, strictly speaking, too small for such eccentrics) the speakers push throbbing waves of low frequencies into all four directions. After last year’s albums by both artists, Anduin’s “Forever Waiting” and Jasper TX’s “Black Sleep”, the epic quality of this collaboration comes as no surprise whatsoever. Still, I’ll have to admit that this is the most intimate-sounding collab I’ve heard so far. As in, ever. I’ve got no idea how these six tracks were conceived, but if this was a file-sharing project I have to rethink my conceptions of creativity and cooperation in the digital age as Richmond’s Jonathan Lee (aka Anduin) and Sweden’s Dag Rosenqvist (aka Jasper TX) blend their styles in a way you just have to be in the same room for. There is a distinct feel of shared space about this recording, which has nothing to do with the tracks being, as the press info has it, centered around Carl Sagan quotes about the formation of a black hole.
Rather, this connection provides a metaphoric, connotative layer to a sound that diligently juxtaposes dark and light, drone and minimal electronica. “Everything Disappears In a Tunnel of Light”, for example, sets out as a spaced-out dronescape only to be drenched in a stunningly beautiful synth motif which is allowed to stand alone for the eighth, and last, minute of this unbelievable track. The dynamic range of this album, as my neighbours will tell you, is also impressive but the biggest surprise for me always is when “Like the Footprints of an Invisible Man” suddenly turns into a washed-out dub number by the most simple of percussive patterns. There’s a wealth of incredible albums coming out at the moment (the latest Mokira, anyone?), but I think it’s safe to say that if you enjoy Deaf Center, Jan Jelinek’s Ursula Bogner astro-electronica hoax or Edward Artemiev’s film scores you’ll find this one of the best albums of the year.
9/10
DROWNED IN SOUND (UK) =
Virginian Anduin and Sweden's Jasper TX have both produced good work individually, but nothing to the standard of this wonderful album. On the first go around you might think you're in competent drone territory, but give this album some time and it becomes apparent just what a subtle and involving work it is. On 'Everything Disappears in a Tunnel of Light' cicada-like tones are overtaken by a tuneful wall of noise, which in turn dies out to leave the shimmer of languidly plucked guitar notes. The metallic echoes around the hesitant notes of album closer 'Walking in the Snow' convey a chilling enormity, but the album's highlight is 'Where a Star Once Was': utterly immersive, the piece grows from a three-note melody and scrunches of electronic noise towards an oppressively powerful climax. Fans of Fennesz or Rosy Parlane should take note.
EXCLAIM (CANADA) =
With more than a dozen recent releases on labels small and smaller, including last year's wonderful Black Sleep on Miasmah, Dag Rosenqvist's Jasper TX has been careful not to slip into a single-minded way of doing things. His ability to describe the desolate with either acoustic melody or dense drone comes to bear in this collaboration with Virginia native Jo(NATHAN) Lee's Anduin alias. Using a Carl Sagan description of a black hole's formation to unify their musical theories, the duo create a mood that drifts between awe and resignation in the face of such raw but emotionless power. The first suite of three tracks is more dependent on the electronics that swallow, compile and compound tones, allowing only faint pulses and distant notes to emit. The album's second half is comparatively sparse, with the musical elements rising to the foreground like debris left to orbit the gravitational well. It's a work of stark beauty that serves as a worthy entry to both gentlemen's discography.
ALL MUSIC GUIDE =
Having each built an initial reputation for moody, drone-tinged dark ambience in their respective solo work, it's no surprise that the first collaboration between Jonathan Lee (Anduin) and Dag Rosenqvist (Jasper TX) should fall into a similar vein. The combination of reflective float and dark undertones isn't in and of itself groundbreaking, but The Bending of Light does provide a chance for two related aesthetics to play off each other well. With song titles taken from a piece of writing by Carl Sagan on the property of light in the aftermath of a star's death, The Bending of Light begins with calm but certainly uneasily rhythmic tones over a fuzzy layer of deep noise. By the time "...Producing Great Jets of Radiation" is reached, though, things are more ominous all around, something later songs like "...Where a Star Once Was" hardly alleviate. Soothing moments aren't absent, as the somewhat gentler shimmer of "Everything Disappears in a Tunnel of Light..." shows, but James Plotkin's mastering keeps it from being too light, while the concluding piano part ends the song on an appropriate note of unsureness.
TERRASCOPE (UK) =
When listening to the perfect balanced ambient drones ofAnduin + Jasper TX on their collaboration release “The Bending Of Light” you enter into therapeutic fields. No matter how you feel at first you’ll feel better afterwards and the mind starts spinning questions about the old supposed-to-be-truth about the first music that was made after the humming and singing voice, if it was the beating of a rhythm on some kind of pre-historic percussions. Before singing and beating drums there must have been a low sound of a drone existing. It’s like the air you breathe, it’s just there and you don’t miss it until it’s gone. Playing “The Bending Of Light” again and again and instead of being the art of someone it becomes a part of the room you’re in and when the last, short, sixth track concludes the album you miss the confidence it creates and put it on again. Anduin from Richmond, Virginia and Jasper TX (aka Dag Rosenqvist) from Gothenburg, Sweden seems to be perfectly matched, with their low tone guitars and synthesizers weaving together. Even though it is music of its own, it partly seems to be inspired by the music of Gas (Wolfgang Voight). The tracks are titled with quotes from Carl Sagan about the formation of a black hole and maybe it’s the musicians own perspective of what they do, but opposite, because with the darkest moods at the beginning of the album the fifth tune ‘Like the foot prints of an invisible man…’ let the guitar construct a short, repetitive melody of few notes over the dark moods, as if the journey goes from the black hole into the light and bring some kind of hope, which might be a good description of the album; it’s dark but brings you light.
TOME TO THE WEATHER MACHINE =
Most, if not all, music that I internalize is heavily tied to time and location. Most of them involve driving in a car in some desolate location, Sigur Ros: Wyoming. White Rainbow: Nevada. The Antlers: Central Washington. Andiun + Jasper TX: Eastern Colorado. Driving over Rabbit Ears pass in Colorado I really felt like I understood what this album was trying to communicate. For a little background, Jasper TX is my go-to for ambient drone comas that I love to fall into with the assistance of super-nice headphones. Jasper TX already has put out one of my favorite albums this year, Singing Stones, and this incredibly prolific Swede has just grabbed another spot. Along with VA luminary, Andiun, this tag-team floorcore duo create sonic noise palates that structure melodies out of barely controlled noise. The Bending of Light completely destroys the idea that musicians are controllers of sound, manipulating and sequencing tones in order to create something completely the authors' own. Andiun and Jasper TX's musical ideas and aspirations are buried underneath the sheer weight of noise, and this is completely ok. The Bending of Light minds the tentative grasp we hold on sound and both seem content to simply brighten the corners with subdued, worshipful commentary while the main corpus of unrestrained beauty runs full stop through the speakers. Listening to this album is a exercise in letting go to a selfish sense of melody and basic song structure and an experiment into plunging headfirst into a endless pool of sound. P.S this album is mastered by James Plotkin, the mastermind behind 2008's best metal album by the Pyramids. Highly recommended.