William Sanford is a musician from the NW Indiana/Chicagoland area, who can be described, in one word, as quirky. His avatar on social media is that he’s a reinterpretation of an electronic musician who lived in the 1700s; and he lists Tame Impala, the whole aesthetic of dark and neowave as his inspirations to make music. Listening to “Deep Mollusca” has been quite the experience, where William takes on the world and its millions of influences, and makes something real special happen. Please keep reading for my thoughts!
The opener, “The Pelagic Plunge”, sets the tone for the album quite well— cool, placid soundscapes, and plucked, warm, inviting strings that create a relaxing atmosphere. With the subtle sounds of the sea in the background, the atmosphere that this song creates for the listener is something William nails from the get-go. There is so much peace and serenity in this track, ending with a nice vocal segment that is complemented rather well by the lush pads to close this track out.
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Segueing into the second track, “Abyssal Solenogastres”, we’re introduced to an evolution of this placid, serene sound, only this time, we have electronic elements that take on quite a psychedelic avatar; and this all wraps itself around the listener in what I can call a trippy fiesta of elements that sounds hypnotic, and immediately has you hooked. The kicks hit deep, the bounce in the hi-hats perforate the whole of the stereo field, and the result is this track that defines electronic music experimentations for me; William’s claim of experimentation and avant-garde production? Well, I’d be damned if that weren’t true.
“Neopilina” continues on this kick of avant-garde-ness; with the warm keys in the background that soon settle into this relaxing, groovy piano interlude before we’re thrust back into a hard DnB/break style, almost; and this dalliance continues for the rest of the track, with all the elements slowly evolving in the background, like a living, breathing organism. The sound design is par excellence here, with the power of the hard synths playing excellent contrast to the serene pads and pianos throughout this track, and may I say, this album so far.
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“Manna From Above and/or Marine Snow” brings us back into this wave of infectious hypnotism that “Deep Mollusca” has been about so far, with the lush reverbs, the cosmic soundscapes, and at this point, I’d say we talk about the production of this album as a whole. The production is mind-blowing. There are so many elements that one would assume could not be more divorced from each other, yet, William shows us how it is done; with all the elements to only co-existing, but making each other better continuously. If you think of a musical element, this album has it. You think of a genre, “Deep Mollusca” is it. Seriously.
Some of my other special mentions include “When Bathyal Became Twilight”, and “The Terrifyingly Beautiful Lives of Sea Angels”. All throughout this album, we are continuously introduced to elements that never ones fail to leave us in awe of the prowess that William Sanford possesses. On “Deep Mollusca”, he has outdone himself, and forever redefined to me what a true experimental electronic album sounds like.
Check out the album here!
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