OK, look: we’re well aware a 21-minute slow-building ambient piece is a hard sell if you’re not specifically into that kind of thing, but LARAAJI and KRAMER have made some undeniably beautiful music in their own separate projects so it stands to reason they’d hit the jackpot when working together. Which is what they’re doing on a forthcoming collaborative album that’s out in a shade over three weeks. It’s worth immersing yourself in; or indeed, submerging.
The latter of the two introduces the album opener as follows: “Memory, is an art. Sound, and its visual point of origin, can open our minds to ourselves, and to others. The potential truthful of every sound is strengthened when attached to a formless visual image. ‘Submersion’ is an act of submission, to Memory. It is the most sublime form of surrender, and it holds within itself the power to set us Free.”
There’s rather a lot going on in ‘Submersion’, built from the foundations of piano, kalimba and droning synths. Its glacial unfurling means that the introduction of new elements has a seismic impact, every single chord change triggering a sonic shift. It doesn’t require close focus but certainly rewards it, setting the scene for BAPTISMAL – Ambient Symphony #1, which follows on Friday June 2nd on Shimmy-Disc. Dive in below.
