If you look up the definition of ‘deep listening,’ there needs to be a picture of Ezra Feinberg and John Kolodij’s split release.
Feinberg, whom you may know from his days with Citay or from his excellent solo records (like the astonishing Recumbent Speech, which came out earlier this year), is perfectly matched with the jack-of-all-trades composer and multi-instrumentalist Kolodij. Both artists are masters of widely encompassing atmospheric music that you can float through.
On Feinberg’s side of the record, you will find grand drifting soundscapes peppered with desolate guitar lines and peaceful flute. There’s a great sense of serenity and warmth in these two songs that makes you feel as though you’re being welcomed into a private but comforting world. From the rippling waves of reverb drenched piano of “Castle & Sand” to the soft drones of “Figure & Ground,” it’s easy to be lulled into a relaxed and dreamy state. You just want to lay back, close your eyes and hover into these tracks.
On the flip-side, Kolodij balances the record out by steering his music into the shadows.
Both of Kolodij’s tracks on this split release emanate a sobering darkness, thanks largely to gloomy resonating electronic tones that at times rev up like amplified snarls. Yet, it’s not all sinister or morose. In fact, there are soothing moments pocketed all throughout Kolodij’s pieces. Towards the beginning of “Beyond The Fragile,” as bird songs filter through the recording, an echoing acoustic guitar parts the clouds of grumbling drones long enough to create a dreamy moment of light, like the eye of a storm. Even the ghostly roaming sax in “Geometry of Space” has a sort of lilting, spirited quality to it.
Yet despite the differences in the sound of Kolodij and Feinberg’s work, both sides of this album are equally entrancing and meditative. Each has been composed and produced to flow through your entire stereo spectrum, making the songs coursing around you and within you, like they are some form of pure energy.
An immersive ying yang record that fans of Popol Vuh, Brian Eno’s Ambient series and Stars of The Lid would unquestionably become devoted to.
You can buy it now right here.
Record Crates United 