A new Loscil release is always something to look forward to.
“Sea Island” is Scott ‘Loscil’ Morgan‘s new album, the follow up to 2012’s “Sketches from New Brighton” (not counting some splits and collaborations with BVDub, Kelly Wyse and Fieldhead).
Eleven tracks (72 minutes) of music in a style that is immediately recognisable – yet also opens some new directions. Some of these track were created while performing them live, while others were constructed in the studio.
Loscil is still essentially Scott Morgan’s solo act, but there are different contributors to this album that help hum further develop his sound: Jason Zumpano (Rhodes), Josh Lindstrom (vibraphone), Elaine Reynolds (violin), Kelly Wyse (piano) and Ashley Pitre (vocals).
Starting with a bright rhythmic vibraphone pattern in the opener “Ahull”, Loscil takes us through different moods and atmospheres – finally coming to a peaceful rest in the closing track “Angle of List”.
“Murky, densely textured depths of sound are explored with subtle pulses and pings woven withing, contrasted with composed or improvised moments of acoustic instrumentation making a move into the foreground. Certain tracks make rhythm their focus by exploring subtle polyrhythms and investigation colliding moments of repetition and variation.”
With its cinematic soundscapes, distant dub-techno references an subtly constructed ambient soundscapes, “Sea Island” is an album that defies genre tagging.
Maybe it’s because Loscil is defining his own ‘genre’ more strongly with every release.
LOSCIL – HOLDING PATTERN