‘Dream Temperature’, the second release on Tonal Union by saxophonist and composer Brian Allen Simon (aka Anenon), is an album of departures and returns. While 2016’s ‘Petrol’ captured the energy of his home town LA, follow up ‘Tongue’ took inspiration from rural Tuscany and his last outing ‘Moons Melt Milk Light’ reflected on a life on the move, this new recording sees Anenon drawn to the otherworldly. Not in the sci-fi, fantastical sense but by exploring our dream states, that interim between deep sleep and waking.
The consequence is that ‘Dream Temperature’ seems more shadowy and enticingly mysterious, a move from the fragile acoustic beauty that Anenon peaked with on ‘Moons Melt Milk Light’. This means his reconnection with electronic sound crafting to bolster his approach but there is a further twist. On ‘Dream Temperature’ Simon is literally wired into his synths, their patterns and phrases modulated through his breathing. What we are receiving with this new album is music that is literally Anenon’s most intimate and probably most enthralling statement yet.
Opener June Gloom is a track which breathes its way into your attention. Anenon’s mourning sax is chased by whispers and a ghoulish snarl as it twirls through fluid Balkan/Arabic patterns. All around a tense drone hangs in the air. The piece feels haunted, the mix disorientating, the sax voice panning from right to left and back again before retreating to the sound of rushing water. Back to reality it seems.
An avid Field-recordist, on ‘Dream Temperature’ Anenon uses snippets from his archive less illustratively than on previous albums. Here the shouts and rustle of everyday life creep in unexpectedly like momentary recollections in a dream. Piano Haze Bass Melt Wind Cry seems settled within its melancholic Frahm-like piano and harmonica -toned sax- song but surprisingly the tune scurries away to the sound of footsteps. More abrasively Nulle Part 1 & 2 is abruptly divided by a breaking storm, the restrained sax and sub-bass dance of the first section replaced by fluttering synths pirouetting (or maybe writhing) for the track’s close.
When describing his intentions for ‘Dream Temperature’ Anenon has said “ I wanted to make music that triggers the listener to forget that they’re even listening to it, but rather dreaming through it. Music that you actually get lost in, forgetting when it started and when it ends“. His approach is not conventionally ambient though, hypnotic longform immersion is not where Anenon music is at. On ‘Dream Temperature’ he is honing in on those brief restless puzzling moments. His focus is on succinct pieces and an ever shifting sonic palette.
Room Tone may highlight Anenon’s complete approach to the sax, where breath, key rattles and bluesy blasts combine, but elsewhere he draws on gliding vocal synth loops as a foundation. On the album’s title track these are meshed with stately bass fills which allow his sax to fly free with the detailing. There’s also a Laurie Anderson-ish inventiveness to the mingling of layered voice notes with chattering conversation on the tidal Toyama.
The piano is also central to several of the ‘Dream Temperature’ miniatures. Last Sun 2 is delicate almost waltzing, Anenon at times seeming to barely touch the keys, whereas its counterpart Last Sun 1 shows a Chilly Gonzales melodic flare without losing its lo-fi innocence. Perhaps the closing track Postscript is the most distinctive of these keyboard-led tunes. Here the sound is warm and reassuring, almost homely. Anenon’s playing feels absorbed in the moment rather than performative, the creaks and taps of the note making emphasising the authenticity.
One of the longer tracks on the album, at well over four minutes an epic by Anenon standards, perhaps sticks the most from early listens. When The Light Appears, Boy pulses in with brisk synth chops as if setting up a Sven Vath banger. A sweeping sky-scape melody eases into place over the locomotion then rests in a sub bass cavern, where a yearning sax calls out. A sage-like voice takes over “When The Light Appears, Boy “ and you find yourself looking upwards.
As Anenon intended, ‘Dream Temperature’ is not an album which is easy to fathom but you sense that it will become more than a record you just listen to. This is music with its own secrets and you will be compelled to keep coming back to untap its illusive magic.
Get your copy of ‘Dream Temperature’ by Anenon from your local record store or direct from Tonal Union HERE
