ambient electronic

Looking ahead

| Forgotten Fields
A screen shot from Limbo, the game by Playdead
A screen shot from Limbo, the game by Playdead: http://www.playdead.com

In limbo

I find myself in an odd position. In the period between the completion of Airship and its release, I have been itching to start work on a new album. The thing is, I imagined Airship would “run its course” (to quote a fellow musician), before I moved on to new material. But, I could not help myself, I had to start composing again. In fact, I have two albums’ worth of ideas waiting to be developed into finished pieces.

A new direction

As far as style is concerned, I am interested in adding distortion and including more variation. I am a great lover of the drone genre, in which repeating phrases play a major role. Airship is heavily influenced by this idea. Repetition is at the front and centre of every track, everything is built around a looping melody. But the more I think about new music, the more I want to de-homogenise the listening experience.

A fresh perspective


One exciting development is the possibility of collaborating with dark ambient artist Krzyzis. His Sustainability (2016) made a big impression on me. He has developed a way of working with distorted sound, which allows him to create incredible textures in his music, giving it an immersive depth and mass. He has expressed interest in giving his input on new material, so I am really looking forward to the months to come.

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Airship album trailer

| Forgotten Fields

The footage

I discovered a Universal City Studios newsreel in the public domain, covering the Hindenburg disaster of 1937. For the Airship album trailer, I used video from the first half of the newsreel, showing the airship in flight, as the newscaster sets the scene for the accident. In the second half, the Hindenburg’s final moments are described in dramatic language, with footage to match. It is a moving film, telling the story of the world’s most famous airship disaster.

The track

Accompanying the imagery is an excerpt from the album title track, a seven-minute instrumental piece describing an airship appearing on the horizon, sweeping overhead, and sailing into the distance. The music is slow and dignified, making for a somewhat dramatic trailer. But, I think it is appropriate. To me, airships are the most breathtaking things ever to grace the skies; the album is my attempt at conveying the awe they inspire. I hope I have succeeded.

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