|
Just as sleep prolongs dreams, the work of Phobos clears our psychological currents. David Thompson's live album is called An October Evening (67'48"), and tells a quieter story. Stubbornly strange, to appreciate this release we must take care to comprehend the scarily unfamiliar. Moving with the motion of the galaxy this music will fill a quiet mind, or still a stormy one. Thompson tampers with the listener's powers of perception. Dark apocalyptic sounds banish brain clutter, and demand that you confront your own fragility. Infinity unfolds for the duration of the four tracks - with each stark statement delivered by sounds of serious visceral power. These potent, matter absorbing soundscapes are lit by the spirit of discovery, yet penetrated by an interior truth. From gentle sounds breathing - heard in a deep calm - to weightless flight in a freestanding drone, these behemoth tones want you to listen, but the musician wishes you to feel. An October Evening lets us believe that the power of the cosmos may reach into every aspect of life. It also reminds us that, in the vast emptiness of The Universe, among the innumerable silences of stars, some lost souls will just remain lost.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 14 January 2016 |
