“A Dream in Blood” is the second release on the brand new (and very promising) Future Sequence label (or fourth if you count both massive Sequence compilations).
Operating as Sun Hammer is experimental sound artist Jay Bodley, who previously has also recorded as The Setting Sun.
The album title and the cover experience might suggest some extreme dark ambient here, but the album presents a fascinating mix of experimental and adventurous electronic music. I would not call this ‘dark’ ambient myself – though on the other hand I would not call it ‘light-hearted’ either..
“Exploring the convergence of dissonance and consonance via a minimal sonic palette, each track is grown organically into fully fledged artefacts. Faded remnants of the original tones resurface, creating harmonics between the original and the extracted sounds; a portal to the well of the subconscious. Combining these with sparse field recordings taken in Jefferson National Forest, Bodley crafts a captivating piece that manages to transmit emotion, even through these minimal elements.”
Using Max/MSP, Bodley carefully structures and layers his source sample, but he also leaves enough room for accidental things to happen. Probably that’s the reason why these compositions have a distinct ‘natural’ sound. Adding some hardly noticeable field recording from Jefferson National Forest of course adds to that, too.
Sun Hammer – Concerning the Change of Address of S. Akalin