Review: Amulets ‘Rem(a)inders’
The keen-eared talent scouts at Pelagic Records seem to have an endless resource of artists they unearth and try to shine a light on. It is a mission that the Berlin-based label are intensely passionate about, and it has shown in their expanded release calendar.
With more music getting thrown at the public than it sometimes feels possible to keep up with these days, for those fighting for grassroots music, it feels like a more-than-worthy cause.
The latest artist to cross my path is Portland-based audio/visual artist Randall Taylor, who has been releasing music under the banner of Amulets since 2013 (according to his Bandcamp, at least). This solo project is an exploration of liminal spaces and dream-like, submersive passages of echoing reverb and wafting atmospherics that hum with a warm, yet mournful beauty.
Amulets latest release Rema(i)nders is a delicate half an hour comprising six journeys, or movements, that float in and out of consciousness. Whilst it is hard to describe each piece like a conventional song, especially given the interconnectedness of them all, they were composed with the eventual goal of being performed live.
Taylor mixes modern technology together with analogue tape, modified using loops and repurposing antiquated cassette players. The sound produced has beautiful imperfections, subconsciously signalling themes of degradation and erosion that seep around the edges of the layers of texture that envelops every fibre of the album.
This stitched-together tapestry of sounds looks to extend beyond the fabric of the minimalist music. It creates a world that drifts, fades and rises in motifs that evoke a sense of stillness, quiet dynamism and reflection. It feels like a bubble in which time and motion stop, allowing thoughts to arise, sit for a while and then be banished. As Taylor himself says, ‘In a world increasingly defined by immediacy and excess, Amulets… is reflective and enduring’.
The music itself moves in a continual flow, and you need to pay close attention when a track ends to notice the gliding shift into the next. The drawn-out choral hum of opener Paths Of Acceptance is punctuated by the briefest silence before the faltering notes of Former Shells emerge from the quiet. This creates a lingering transition of thoughts between sounds.
a world that drifts, fades and rises in motifs that evoke a sense of stillness, quiet dynamism and reflection…
The first track itself sets the tone for the album; creeping, dainty sounds move in and out with the light touch of a delicate breath. Harder edges and the hum of feedback, crackling with fuzz, emerge and give it a more robust purpose. As it fades into the bright ringing of Former Shells, there is a deep, resonant reverb that adds a warm swell to the background. This multi-layered sound is punctuated by soft drones and has an orchestral feel, like the breaking of a sunrise over a misty morning.
Coiled, which also features the talents of Japanese-American instrumentalist Patrick Shiroishi, feels like a jazz take on the Blade Runner soundtrack. Slow and thoughtful with a continuation of the thematic drifting, the track is punctuated with stabs of cavernous drones, stuttering elongated notes, and the elegant saxophone work of Shiroishi. There is a serene and sophisticated air that lingers, allowing you to get lost in this mosaic.
By comparison, Black Sheep is more sombre and restrained. The gossamer notes soar and tremble, bolstered by the bassier elements that underpin the movement, until the wisp-like strains of Slow Motion Somnia bring the focus back down to small electronic asides and airy floatation. Breaking these moments with short, accented textural noises keeps the track flowing, giving a sense of movement even if it is only on a finite, granular level. The long, trailing decay of the harmonic punctuations creates spatial texture without overwhelming the body of the music.
The final focus of RemainRemind solidifies the release with more warm ambience. Fleeting sounds like an underwater documentary soundtrack come and go with electronics that almost replicate the cries of whales and the ethereal sense of minute inertia. As the track grows, it subtly rises to a crescendo, only to pull back to quiet echoes that fade and die out as softly as they began.
Rema(i)nders shares a lot of similarities with other works, like Steve Von Till’s A Deep Voiceless Wilderness, moments of his Harvestman project, or even Trent Reznor’s Ghosts series, where the tangible and intangible liminal spaces blur at the boundaries. This expansive, lofty immersion is built around the ability to connect to the soft minimalism of the sounds. It can stir the emotions and provide light and shade in an experience that will either pass you by or linger in the periphery of your consciousness.
Label: Pelagic Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
