“Burnt to the ground only to be reassembled out of its cinder.“
When I ask you to imagine ambient music, what comes to mind? Is it calming, vaguely ‘New Age’ music in the vein of Brian Eno or Steve Roach? Or perhaps it’s the dark, menacing music of Lustmord or Sunn O)))? You probably wouldn’t think of something between these two extremes, and if you could… well… wouldn’t it run the risk of being a bit, well, boring?
The music of loscil exists, at least in part, to put that concern to rest. The brainchild of Scott Morgan, loscil is concerned neither with floating dreamscapes nor with striking terror into the hearts of its listeners. It is music that strives for something much more subtle and sophisticated. There’s an incredible attention to detail: sumptuous, meticulous soundscapes with an almost intellectual hue to them. It’s serious music – the kind of thing you would expect to hear ringing in your ears at the UN as you negotiate the final details of an international treaty. Stirring stuff.
loscil has been going for over twenty-five years and its brand of stern-faced ambience sits comfortably alongside the work of Lawrence English, William Basinski and Kranky labelmate Tim Hecker. The project’s output over that time has been remarkably consistent, and the 2020s has seen a boost in productivity. loscil’s latest album, Lake Fire, is the seventh full-length release in five years and sees Morgan on as fine form as ever.
Lake Fire contains all the usual loscil-isms that fans will come to expect. In principle, the music can be described as organic textures, looping and oscillating, but at any given moment it’s very hard to say what exactly is going on. This is perhaps most clearly the case on the subtly glitchy “Arrhythmia” and “Silos” (which has some hints of fabulous rhythmic components that are impossible to put one’s finger on). There are always several different motifs or ideas intricately woven together: try following the different threads on “Bell Flame” or “Ash Clouds”, each one gradually rising and fading, seemingly of its own volition.
Some tracks, like “Candle” or “Flutter”, stutter along, and feel like they might be about to trip you up. Others, like “Ash Clouds” and “Doux”, are content to float along. The album as a whole feels like it’s washed in a great gray haze, with two exceptions: “Spark” has a distinctly sci-fi feel to it, like venturing into a power plant and finding a giant beating heart at its core. The closing track “Lake Fire” feels like the odd track out on this album, but it is also the most powerful: a dark, droning, disconcerting piece and one of the highlights in loscil’s vast back catalogue.
Lake Fire is permeated with a subtle tension simmering in the background, providing spice without ever overpowering the listening with attention-seeking gimmicks. It can easily be used as mood-setting “background” music, but it can also be a fulfilling object of study in its own right. As such, Lake Fire represents the very best of what ambient music can do.
8/10
Lake Fire released on the 3rd May through kranky and can be ordered here.