Sort Sol has a lot of deep tape saturated forest-techno tracks on it. What I mean by techno is not that boring contemporary nonsense they call techno nowadays. Not some half-assed mongo beats while being artsy about it. I’m talking about raw, patterned chaos synth music made on cheap digital and analog synthesizers recorder in a bedroom studio on a cassette deck with an unintelligible yet soulful vivacity.
Atuan is an instrumental, downtempo project by Lucian Sargeant. He took an interest in the migration patterns of starlings that arrive in Tønder in Denmark where the flocks are said to sometimes approach millions as the sun begins to set and the birds start making their decisions of where to roost for the night. The flocking results in exquisite emergent patterns known as murmurations and can grow so large that, for passing moments, they appear to eclipse the setting sun. This led to the phenomena being given the name Sort Sol or Black Sun. The idea of creating a pattern from chaos enticed Lucian rather than deliberate creation.
Every track on Sort Sol is like a restless dream; liable to end any minute, but with waking impossibilities to rush through first. Lucian shows a certain distaste for empty intros and moments of quiet. Instead of staging breakdowns, for instance, he simply slides alternative elements into place, moving fluidly from one fevered imagining to the next. And like a dream, these individual scenes are often meaningless or perplexing, but no less affecting for their vividness and sincerity. Tracks don’t really build in the traditional sense; instead, they tend to unfurl and expand, both in terms of arrangements and of sound design.
The album starts off with Regolith as aqueous gurgles and trilling chirps weave through a circular synth pattern with ebb and flow of intensity that’s nearly subliminal yet hugely effective. This begins our psychotropic journey through this complex world of Atuan. A world where everything is in complete chaos but a sort of patterned chaos, an oxymoron. Now we move slowly into ‘Glacier’, which starts off with a nice kick drum and some really nice percussions accompanied by repetitive keys that slowly unfold into a full-fledged melody.
Emergence, alters the tempo of the album, with a medieval string intro that is slowly accentuated by a small crackly tape atmosphere. As the kick comes in, the track blossoms into a portal into some kind of medieval Japanese Sakura. ‘Fever Dream’ again jumps into a different direction with cords that are heavy on the low end. Theres a drone noise that keeps going through the track, dragging you along the forest bed as you lie there in a psychotropic daze. “Is this all a dream?” you begin to ask but by the time the words come out, Atuan brings in the heavy guns with some really nice kick drum and FM SFX that dumbfound you. That too just for a short bit and then the drone comes in again dragging you along. Patterned chaos is what this is. No other phrase can do justice to describe this album.
‘Untether’ is aptly named as the drone sound from ‘Fever dream’ no longer drags you along. ‘Untether’ picks up pace much earlier than all the other songs in the album. It seems almost like an amalgamation of elements from all the previous tracks. The medieval vibe is back again with some cassette noise to make you feel like the wind is rustling leaves in Wonderland. ‘Blindsight’ has a slightly higher tempo and you only realize this when the kick drum sets in with some really nice percussions. Atuan brings in and takes out the kick, giving more power to the melodies. A sort of whirlpool effect that slowly spirals the user into the epicenter before sucking them into nothingness.
Now deep inside the whirlpool, surrounded by nothingness, the album ends with ‘Decay’. Slow and eerie with some really spooky ear candy. Its like im experiencing the artists rendition of Death – nothingness. You just lie there while your body decays and you are slipping deeper and deeper into the spiral of nothing. Is it all over now? You wake up before you can answer this question. The album is what is over, life still goes on. Why do I feel sad about that? Should I not be relieved?
A small conversation with Lucian, the alchemist behind Atuan:
1. Does your artist name Atuan have any relevance to the Tombs of Atuan? Give us a little more insight!
Yes! Ursula Le Guin is one of my favorite writers and I feel that there is something within The Tombs of Atuan that resonates with the music I make. Without giving away too much of the story, it is set mainly in a subterranean labyrinth, devoid of light. There is a hidden, oppressive power in the darkness, but a glimmer of hope strives to keep its flame alight.
2. How long did it take to put out this masterpiece of an album? It sounds like a lot of effort has gone into its production.
Unfortunately, making music is not my main occupation. As a result I’ve been squeezing work on the album into late nights and weekends (on and off) over the past 2 years.
3. How do you create your music? In the sense, do you understand the direction it takes and how it will sound beforehand?
I generally don’t have a solid idea of the direction or form of my music. Sometimes I’m guided by some technical idea I’ll have; for example, using an effect in some interesting way, which will end up unfolding into a song. Invariably though, at least with the songs that end up mattering, there is a feeling of discovering something that already exists. I’m obviously in control of what instruments and sounds I use to convey the idea, but the core of it seems to come from some place else.
4. Some of the music seems to be filled with melancholy and sadness. What inspired you to create this?
I think there is a lot of sadness all around us, and many reasons to feel hopeless about our future as humans. Despite ample and growing warnings, we seem intent on destroying this beautiful planet of ours. That being said, there is also a lot of good that brings light into the dark. I wouldn’t say this album was inspired by any major events in my life, but rather a culmination of smaller ones and simply being a person, finding my way in this world.
5. The album art is absolutely brilliant. Was it your idea?
No, I can’t take credit for the idea. I worked with a very talented artist by the name of Gaia Azzi, who published a version of the cover art, that I happened to see online. With that being said, it is a little uncanny how aptly it fits with the album title and the idea behind it. Above the marshes of Tønder in Denmark, the flocks of migratory starlings are said to sometimes approach millions as the sun begins to set and the birds start making their decisions of where to roost for the night. The birds swoop through the twilight sky and beautiful patterns called murmurations emerge, as each bird responds to the flight patterns of its neighbors. The murmurations can grow so large that, for passing moments, they appear to eclipse the setting sun. This led to the phenomena being given the name “Sort Sol” or “Black Sun”. The concept behind this album is one of order and patterns emerging from chaos, and Gaia’s generative ring piece became the Black Sun to symbolize this idea
Truly an out of body experience, Sort Sol is nothing short of a masterpiece with album art that speaks volumes about the artists creative prowess!
Check out our playlists here!
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Promotional Disclaimer: The content in this post has been sponsored by the artist, label, or PR representative to help promote their work.Promotional Disclaimer: The content in this post has been sponsored by the artist, label, or PR representative to help promote their work.
