Published:
November 10, 2015
Lately there has been a very noticeable switch in artists’ driving forces, not only when it comes down to musicianship but in general when being creative. The sense of rush, the constant struggle for retaining people’s attention and productivity as the sole means to keep existing in the music world, plus our degrading memory span have stolen the immense role of time over one’s artistic output.
Exactly the impact of hours, days and months of work, or mere contemplation over ideas and paths, is what places Environments’ fourth album in a completely different realm. Bucharest-based experimental trio has grown beyond the amorphic ambient / drone genre tags and have honestly never felt more like a band. Ascuns is rhythmic, minimalist and atmospheric, but very musical as well.
Each of the eight pieces in the album is structured with the sole purpose of worshipping detail. Each and every bit of sound created, preserved and offered in zeroes and ones is inseparable and accentuated on. Ascuns is never a soulless sonic form, but a cluster of deep basslines, floating drum patterns and jazzy melodies, mirrored in shapeless soundscapes.
With their fourth brainchild, Alexandru Ghiță, Marius Costache and Ștefan Panea are surely closer to the landscapes they and their dedicated listeners have been dreaming of since 2011. Through its mature sound and intelligent music-writing they surely have the potential to steal quite some audience from all alternative scenes you can name. Yes, time can do this to music.
The album will be available on CD starting November 14th via Dunk!Records, a Belgian label known for its post-rock and beyond musical orientation. It was recorded, mixed and mastered at Studio148 by the same Marius Costache, who previously worked with bands like Ministry of Wolves, Lucia, Coma or Lake of Tears.
*Environments on Bandcamp and Facebook
**Words by Angel Simitchiev