'Demain, dès l’aube'
"French for “Tomorrow, at dawn,” the title might be read in any number of ways, absent any other context. Certainly the French title is evocative, even if we are unaware of the translation. The music itself, however, is suggestive of yet another interpretation. There is no sense of foreboding in these gentle waves of sound, but the sense of peace that follows mourning. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that in English mourning is homophonous with morning, as both speak to the promise of a new beginning, of cyclical continuity. The mournful qualities of the music doesn’t manifest in the form of dreariness, but in a form of somber resolve. The best ambient music will continue to reward those who are willing to listen more closely."
-Joseph Sannicandro, A Closer Listen / Sound Propositions
✦✦✦
“Some music reminds me of breathing: a cyclical motion that sustains our lives yet goes somehow unnoticed (until it's too late)... This is why during meditation, it is important to bring your attention to the steady flow of your breath... This is why during turbulent times I remind myself to focus on the steady flow of this beautiful music. Don't let this one go unnoticed...”
-Mike Lazarev, Headphone Commute
✦✦✦
“Demain, dès l’aube’ offers eight pieces of mesmeric cadence and immersive recursions that are at once present and remote, in the Here and Now and in the Elsewhere. These compositions offer compelling affordance spaces for questing inner voyagers.”
-Alan Lockett, Igloo Magazine
✦✦✦
"The sublime sounds of 'Demain, dès l’aube' are devastatingly impactful, conveying profound melancholia with a gently persuasive sense of movement. These arrangements sweep up and around you, stretching out to infinity and leaving a lasting impression on your heart. It is utterly comforting, even when the mood becomes heavily introspective."
-Juno Records
✦✦✦
“To listen to this soporific beauty is to escape into a boundless world of comfort and quietude. As each wave billows past, the depths of peace envelop you, cradling you in their lush sounds. This album will be a companion to anyone with a sore heart, a balm for any soul wracked with anxiety or despair, as well as a sublime moment of bliss on a journey through brighter days.”
-Daman Hoffman, Rivulets & Reveries
✦✦✦
"From Overseas and zakè have created music that moves me to tears and lifts my spirit simultaneously. This is the perfect soundtrack for the contemplative and emotional season that lies ahead of us. A modern ambient masterpiece."
-Richard Heinemann, E-Lodie Radio 100,7
✦✦✦
"Demain, dès l'aube is fantastic, easily ranking among the top 5 albums of the Past Inside the Present catalogue."
-Stephen Mathieu, Schwebung Mastering
-Joseph Sannicandro, A Closer Listen / Sound Propositions
✦✦✦
“Some music reminds me of breathing: a cyclical motion that sustains our lives yet goes somehow unnoticed (until it's too late)... This is why during meditation, it is important to bring your attention to the steady flow of your breath... This is why during turbulent times I remind myself to focus on the steady flow of this beautiful music. Don't let this one go unnoticed...”
-Mike Lazarev, Headphone Commute
✦✦✦
“Demain, dès l’aube’ offers eight pieces of mesmeric cadence and immersive recursions that are at once present and remote, in the Here and Now and in the Elsewhere. These compositions offer compelling affordance spaces for questing inner voyagers.”
-Alan Lockett, Igloo Magazine
✦✦✦
"The sublime sounds of 'Demain, dès l’aube' are devastatingly impactful, conveying profound melancholia with a gently persuasive sense of movement. These arrangements sweep up and around you, stretching out to infinity and leaving a lasting impression on your heart. It is utterly comforting, even when the mood becomes heavily introspective."
-Juno Records
✦✦✦
“To listen to this soporific beauty is to escape into a boundless world of comfort and quietude. As each wave billows past, the depths of peace envelop you, cradling you in their lush sounds. This album will be a companion to anyone with a sore heart, a balm for any soul wracked with anxiety or despair, as well as a sublime moment of bliss on a journey through brighter days.”
-Daman Hoffman, Rivulets & Reveries
✦✦✦
"From Overseas and zakè have created music that moves me to tears and lifts my spirit simultaneously. This is the perfect soundtrack for the contemplative and emotional season that lies ahead of us. A modern ambient masterpiece."
-Richard Heinemann, E-Lodie Radio 100,7
✦✦✦
"Demain, dès l'aube is fantastic, easily ranking among the top 5 albums of the Past Inside the Present catalogue."
-Stephen Mathieu, Schwebung Mastering
'Ash'
“Ash is a blissed out excursion into purest drone abandon, with all the soothing harmonic tones your restless mind could ever wish for. The ambient maestros made their debut on Danish label Azure Vista Records in 2021 with their highly acclaimed long-player ‘Agape’. The pair return with another extended sojourn into the infinite horizon of their home turf. Squarely focused on slow release drone with a melancholic lilt, Ash is music of patience which revels in the subtlest of harmonic, tonal and textural shifts. The title track of the album forms a natural centrifugal point around which the other laconic pieces unfurl, resulting in the kind of pristine, placid record you’ll reach for whenever you need the surest of pure meditations.”
-Juno Records
--
"There’s a kind of musical alchemy when Zach Frizzell (zakè) and Damien Duque (City Of Dawn) come together. I first heard these two back in 2020 as Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea(along with Marc Ertel.) Their Azure Vista Records debut Liberamente was a breath of fresh air; blankets of sonic warmth and sublime tones that to my ears felt like an evolution in sound. Stepping into the New Age of melody and composition through tonal manipulation and hazy production, Liberamente was eye and ear opening musical transcendence to buzzing hearts and minds that were open to it.
Following the near perfect debut on Azure Vista titled, Agape, Frizzell & Duque return to the Azure Vista Records fold with the equally engaging and transcendent Ash. Over the course of five meditative, lush tracks these two masters of the ambient/drone realm offer up a musical journey in lush production and hazy significance.
Lead single and title track “Ash” is the doorway into the record. A slow-moving elegance permeates the track; a sonic study in musical contemplation built in layers of tonal melancholy and what could either be static, rain, or circuital noise just under the surface. Fans of William Basinski, Brian Eno, and Stars of the Lid will find much to love here.
This is the genius of zakè and City of Dawn, their ability to build these majestic tonal universes though sound manipulation. It’s the sound of a buzzing mind slowing to a steady, single thought.
Besides “Ash” and the light-filled “Lo”, Ash is bookended with three gorgeous and epic tracks. We open on the 10 1/2 minute “Quiet Spirit” which encapsulates all the Frizzell and Duque have honed and built over the last few years. Subtle shifts in tone fill the listener with a kind of effervescent optimism; a sonic cathedral for meditative bliss as electronics turn from synthetic to organic before our eyes and ears.
Likewise “Invocation” stuns in its 12 minute time frame, painting a technicolor vision of space and time coalescing in a kind of cosmic dance. Crackling static underlays the grand aural experience zakè and City of Dawn have built here for us. A galaxy seemingly dripping from a turntable needle.
“They Know Not” closes out this aural experience in dusty orchestral tones and blooming circuital beauty. A sanguine ending for us to savor, long after the last note wavers.
Ash is yet another stunning album from the team of zakè and City of Dawn, two modern pioneers of the ambient/drone scene. By now these two have built a discography of stunning grace and sparse, simple beauty. There’s not much more to say, other than drop the needle and get lost in all they have to offer. A music journey worth taking over and over again."
-Complex Distractions
--
"I think the collaborative project by Zach Frizzell (zakè) and Damien Duque (City Of Dawn) first saw the light of day back in 2020 when these two ambient artists got together to release Wander on Frizzell’s own Zakè Drone Recordings. The duo have also released music as Frizzell & Duque, appearing on these pages numerous times in the last few years, including the addition of Ossa, for the album I picked as one of the best of the year.
Last year, Jonas Munk, aka Manual, picked up Agape for his Azure Vista Records, and I have subsequently highlighted the album in my Music For Bending Light And Stopping Time for Best of 2022. All of these opening words, with a brief journey through history, are only here to demonstrate how excited I am about their follow-up release on Azure (co-distributed by Frizzell’s Past Inside The Present imprint for the US friends and followers).
The title track, “Ash”, which I am premiering for you today, is a perfect example of the unhurried, unfurling, and unpretentious ambience that blankets the senses when you need these sounds most. “Their focus offers up the steady ebb and flow of sound, cultivating a profound sense of meditative stasis and explorations of high-fidelity sound.” This is the type of slow-evolving minimal music that you want to turn all the way up in volume so that each frequency permeates, saturates, and eradicates all the wrinkles and spikes in your jittery mind. Lovely textures on this one, folks, carefully picked out by the mastering touch of James Bernard at his Ambient Mountain House.
The full album, also titled Ash, is set to be released on August 11th, available as a digital release and a 160g transparent ochre-coloured vinyl. The 2xCD version also includes Agape, which wasn’t previously released on CD. I think the two are the perfect companions for each other, especially when played back-to-back."
-Headphone Commute, Mike Lazarev :: hcdi.gs/ash
-Juno Records
--
"There’s a kind of musical alchemy when Zach Frizzell (zakè) and Damien Duque (City Of Dawn) come together. I first heard these two back in 2020 as Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea(along with Marc Ertel.) Their Azure Vista Records debut Liberamente was a breath of fresh air; blankets of sonic warmth and sublime tones that to my ears felt like an evolution in sound. Stepping into the New Age of melody and composition through tonal manipulation and hazy production, Liberamente was eye and ear opening musical transcendence to buzzing hearts and minds that were open to it.
Following the near perfect debut on Azure Vista titled, Agape, Frizzell & Duque return to the Azure Vista Records fold with the equally engaging and transcendent Ash. Over the course of five meditative, lush tracks these two masters of the ambient/drone realm offer up a musical journey in lush production and hazy significance.
Lead single and title track “Ash” is the doorway into the record. A slow-moving elegance permeates the track; a sonic study in musical contemplation built in layers of tonal melancholy and what could either be static, rain, or circuital noise just under the surface. Fans of William Basinski, Brian Eno, and Stars of the Lid will find much to love here.
This is the genius of zakè and City of Dawn, their ability to build these majestic tonal universes though sound manipulation. It’s the sound of a buzzing mind slowing to a steady, single thought.
Besides “Ash” and the light-filled “Lo”, Ash is bookended with three gorgeous and epic tracks. We open on the 10 1/2 minute “Quiet Spirit” which encapsulates all the Frizzell and Duque have honed and built over the last few years. Subtle shifts in tone fill the listener with a kind of effervescent optimism; a sonic cathedral for meditative bliss as electronics turn from synthetic to organic before our eyes and ears.
Likewise “Invocation” stuns in its 12 minute time frame, painting a technicolor vision of space and time coalescing in a kind of cosmic dance. Crackling static underlays the grand aural experience zakè and City of Dawn have built here for us. A galaxy seemingly dripping from a turntable needle.
“They Know Not” closes out this aural experience in dusty orchestral tones and blooming circuital beauty. A sanguine ending for us to savor, long after the last note wavers.
Ash is yet another stunning album from the team of zakè and City of Dawn, two modern pioneers of the ambient/drone scene. By now these two have built a discography of stunning grace and sparse, simple beauty. There’s not much more to say, other than drop the needle and get lost in all they have to offer. A music journey worth taking over and over again."
-Complex Distractions
--
"I think the collaborative project by Zach Frizzell (zakè) and Damien Duque (City Of Dawn) first saw the light of day back in 2020 when these two ambient artists got together to release Wander on Frizzell’s own Zakè Drone Recordings. The duo have also released music as Frizzell & Duque, appearing on these pages numerous times in the last few years, including the addition of Ossa, for the album I picked as one of the best of the year.
Last year, Jonas Munk, aka Manual, picked up Agape for his Azure Vista Records, and I have subsequently highlighted the album in my Music For Bending Light And Stopping Time for Best of 2022. All of these opening words, with a brief journey through history, are only here to demonstrate how excited I am about their follow-up release on Azure (co-distributed by Frizzell’s Past Inside The Present imprint for the US friends and followers).
The title track, “Ash”, which I am premiering for you today, is a perfect example of the unhurried, unfurling, and unpretentious ambience that blankets the senses when you need these sounds most. “Their focus offers up the steady ebb and flow of sound, cultivating a profound sense of meditative stasis and explorations of high-fidelity sound.” This is the type of slow-evolving minimal music that you want to turn all the way up in volume so that each frequency permeates, saturates, and eradicates all the wrinkles and spikes in your jittery mind. Lovely textures on this one, folks, carefully picked out by the mastering touch of James Bernard at his Ambient Mountain House.
The full album, also titled Ash, is set to be released on August 11th, available as a digital release and a 160g transparent ochre-coloured vinyl. The 2xCD version also includes Agape, which wasn’t previously released on CD. I think the two are the perfect companions for each other, especially when played back-to-back."
-Headphone Commute, Mike Lazarev :: hcdi.gs/ash
'Orchestral Tape Studies II'
“It has been some five years since US ambient maestro zake dropped the first volume of his Orchestral Tape Studies. We're glad to finally have the second installment in the series available because there has rarely been music as cathartic and soothing as this on our shelves. It's made from drones, field recordings and richly layered movements of fragmented orchestral loops.
It is heavily inspired by the sound of the greatest minimalist symphonic composers and orchestras of the last 100 years. It is another adventurous and immersive listen from zakè.
zakè seems to drop something new almost every week. But you won't hear us complain because few have a breadth and depth of sound that matches his lo-fi and absorbing output on his home US label Past Inside the Present.”
-JUNO RECORDS
It is heavily inspired by the sound of the greatest minimalist symphonic composers and orchestras of the last 100 years. It is another adventurous and immersive listen from zakè.
zakè seems to drop something new almost every week. But you won't hear us complain because few have a breadth and depth of sound that matches his lo-fi and absorbing output on his home US label Past Inside the Present.”
-JUNO RECORDS
'Drift'
"Past Inside the Present label regulars zake and Tyresta at long last come together for a well-overdue collaboration. This collection of sounds is called Drift and is all about reflective mood music that will send you deep inside yourself. It's a typically immersive listen from two of ambient's finest practitioners with lots of wide open spaces for you to sink into, slowly shifting timbers to gaze at and poignant atmospheres that cannot fail to leave an indelible impression. As usual, the sound design is top-notch here and the attention to detail second to none. It was well worth the wait, then."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"If you've been reading my blog for a while, then sound artist zakè is no longer a stranger to you. Now he has recorded a new record together with Tyresta, which has been released in Europe on Dunk!records (USA: Zakè Drone Recordings).
"Drift" is a collection of arrangements that was long overdue for the two artists. With their soundscapes, Zakè and Tyresta draw a relaxed, timeless image that somehow simultaneously captivates and releases. Their melodies thrive on their delicate subtlety. If you listen closely, you will recognize numerous perfectly thought-out layers that together make up the big picture. The duo took an introspective and minimalist approach to their joint compositions. They have managed to create a soulful album that can be heard in any situation – in one situation it will bring you down and in the other it will exhilarate you – drone sound design at its best!"
-Anne Reis, Soundsvegan.com
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"If you've been reading my blog for a while, then sound artist zakè is no longer a stranger to you. Now he has recorded a new record together with Tyresta, which has been released in Europe on Dunk!records (USA: Zakè Drone Recordings).
"Drift" is a collection of arrangements that was long overdue for the two artists. With their soundscapes, Zakè and Tyresta draw a relaxed, timeless image that somehow simultaneously captivates and releases. Their melodies thrive on their delicate subtlety. If you listen closely, you will recognize numerous perfectly thought-out layers that together make up the big picture. The duo took an introspective and minimalist approach to their joint compositions. They have managed to create a soulful album that can be heard in any situation – in one situation it will bring you down and in the other it will exhilarate you – drone sound design at its best!"
-Anne Reis, Soundsvegan.com
'Live at Gothic Chapel'
"The home base of one of the most prolific and forward-thinking ambient/new age music record labels is Indianapolis, Indiana. Past Inside The Present has proven to be a most prolific home to the world’s finest purveyors of ambient/new age, putting out music by zakè, From Overseas, City of Dawn, Marine Eyes, James Bernard, Drum & Lace, 36, plus many others. The sounds are subtle, ethereal, and very much a sonic salve for the mind, body, and spirit. I’ve personally found great comfort from this Midwest record label.
On February 18th of this year zakè, Marc Ertel, James Bernard, and From Overseas got together at the historic Gothic Chapel, located at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana and put on a sublime live show. For those that couldn’t attend Past Inside The Present has now released the show as a live album experience. Multi-track recorded direct from the soundboard we now have Live at the Gothic Chapel, a tour-de-force live LP that puts the listener in the hallowed halls of the Gothic Chapel on that cool February evening. It’s 8 tracks of pure sonic and meditative beauty.
Each song opens a portal to some kind of enlightened presence. There’s a reason these songs seem so powerful in a chapel, as they elicit a feeling that there’s more to our existence than we realize. A higher power? I don’t know, but what these electronic pieces do is make me not so much of a pessimist when one brings up such things. There’s a lightness in songs like “Signaling” and the sublime “Wanderlust”. The air becomes rarified that surrounds these songs; it’s as if you’re breathing in something ancient yet newborn.
Nothing tips the scales past the 8 minute mark, with neither “Lament For Strings I” or “Lament For Strings III” barely cracking 2 1/2 minutes. They both feel like interludes between time and space, as opposed to ethereal breathers between the longer pieces. “Knowledge Rooms, Pt I & II” sounds like some New Age, atavistic tome that you’d hear in a crystalline hall echoing across blue skies and cumulonimbus peaks. It’s a moving experience, from first piece to last.
Live at the Gothic Chapel hearkens back to the shows early Tangerine Dream would put on in Gothic churches and cathedrals; sitting on concrete floors, twisting knobs, bending circuits, and blowing minds (Live At Reims Cathedral is essential listening.) zakè, Marc Ertel, James Bernard, and From Overseas lock into that kind of magic here, evoking a kind of peaceful transcendence in front of a live audience. Giving them not just a concert, but a true experience.
My hope is that Past Inside The Present can set up another show at some point, as I will be there for sure. If not, well I’ll always have Live at the Gothic Chapel to revisit."
-J. Hubner, Complex Distractions
--
"Back in February, the prolific Past Inside The Present label boss Zake hooked up with Marc Ertel, James Bernard, and From Overseas at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis for a very intimate live show in a historic Gothic Chapel. A vast array of instruments were used including a Fender Telecaster, Meris Mercury 7, Eurorack modular synthesizer, Stingray bass guitar and literally tens more tools and toys and the resulting eight tunes of absorbing ambient are all presented here. It is another mystic and mystifying release from this label that reaches sublime new emotional highs"
-JUNO RECORDS
On February 18th of this year zakè, Marc Ertel, James Bernard, and From Overseas got together at the historic Gothic Chapel, located at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana and put on a sublime live show. For those that couldn’t attend Past Inside The Present has now released the show as a live album experience. Multi-track recorded direct from the soundboard we now have Live at the Gothic Chapel, a tour-de-force live LP that puts the listener in the hallowed halls of the Gothic Chapel on that cool February evening. It’s 8 tracks of pure sonic and meditative beauty.
Each song opens a portal to some kind of enlightened presence. There’s a reason these songs seem so powerful in a chapel, as they elicit a feeling that there’s more to our existence than we realize. A higher power? I don’t know, but what these electronic pieces do is make me not so much of a pessimist when one brings up such things. There’s a lightness in songs like “Signaling” and the sublime “Wanderlust”. The air becomes rarified that surrounds these songs; it’s as if you’re breathing in something ancient yet newborn.
Nothing tips the scales past the 8 minute mark, with neither “Lament For Strings I” or “Lament For Strings III” barely cracking 2 1/2 minutes. They both feel like interludes between time and space, as opposed to ethereal breathers between the longer pieces. “Knowledge Rooms, Pt I & II” sounds like some New Age, atavistic tome that you’d hear in a crystalline hall echoing across blue skies and cumulonimbus peaks. It’s a moving experience, from first piece to last.
Live at the Gothic Chapel hearkens back to the shows early Tangerine Dream would put on in Gothic churches and cathedrals; sitting on concrete floors, twisting knobs, bending circuits, and blowing minds (Live At Reims Cathedral is essential listening.) zakè, Marc Ertel, James Bernard, and From Overseas lock into that kind of magic here, evoking a kind of peaceful transcendence in front of a live audience. Giving them not just a concert, but a true experience.
My hope is that Past Inside The Present can set up another show at some point, as I will be there for sure. If not, well I’ll always have Live at the Gothic Chapel to revisit."
-J. Hubner, Complex Distractions
--
"Back in February, the prolific Past Inside The Present label boss Zake hooked up with Marc Ertel, James Bernard, and From Overseas at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis for a very intimate live show in a historic Gothic Chapel. A vast array of instruments were used including a Fender Telecaster, Meris Mercury 7, Eurorack modular synthesizer, Stingray bass guitar and literally tens more tools and toys and the resulting eight tunes of absorbing ambient are all presented here. It is another mystic and mystifying release from this label that reaches sublime new emotional highs"
-JUNO RECORDS
'Pyramiden'
"With one representative of a past generation of Electronic Listening Music mavens, James Bernard, already brought into the PITP-affiliated Zakè Drone fold, zakè adds another in Ambient DroneMeister Markus Guentner for the latest in this Now Voyager‘s series of (inter-)stellar outings under his curation, Pyramiden.
Igloo-perusers may recall coverage of the previous collaborations of self-styled ‘healing sound propagandist,’ Zach Frizzell (aka zakè)—viz. syntheticopia, with kindred synth-spirit, ossa, which envisaged our curator and his trusty assistant as flight personnel on a new mission to collect and study the sound origins of the cosmos, and Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel (igloo-’viewed here), with UK ambienteer, 36, a field recording-infused “extended hypersleep program” inspired by nostalgia for an imagined forsaken world.
While the chilly optics of Pyramiden‘s titles (viz. “Polar Night,” “Seafrost,” and “Arctic Choir”) may have you shivering in anticipation, any potential cold pricklies dissolve on entry to the sound world created by our Ambient Drone ‘supergroup,’ as its expansive tracts, eight in total, cumulatively evoke a beauteous tepor via a drone-drift soundscaping prowess at once luminous and caliginous.
A dialogue is set up between the cadence of ambient drone and the cascade of post-rock (rock sublimated) with an array of textures and strata perfused in a kind of slo-mo wide-sky outfolding. It effectively puts past inside the present in musical motion, affording psychoactive teleportation to temporo-spatial elsewhereness."
-Alan Lockett, Igloo Magazine
--
"zakè, James Bernard and Markus Guentner build a cascading and overwhelmingly beautiful record that combines the zen of the best ambient/new age music along with the “Big Sky” openness of post-rock bands like Explosions in The Sky and This Will Destroy You.
You get songs with chilly names like “Polar Night”, “Seafrost”, and “Arctic Choir” – and there is a sort of vast arctic blue hue to these songs – but it lacks even a hint of desolation. I can imagine listening to something like “Assembly of Light” under blankets of blackness and stars as the aurora borealis dances high above my head. It’s a sonically spectacular album that never once takes for granted the ears listening in."
-J. Hubner, Complex Distractions
--
"What more could you ask for than three highly respected masters of ambient sound coming together to create a pièce de résistance of aural brilliance? PITP and ZDR does it again; this time combining an incredible 'trio de force' consisting of zakè, Markus Guentner, and James Bernard.
Introducing 'Pyramiden'; a declaration of ambient excellence that will no doubt be held with the highest regards for generations to come. These eight arrangements take the listener on a journey to the most remote places, finding comfort in the beauty of stillness, awe-inspiring landscapes, and illuminated nights of wonder.
The tracklist may suggest a cold, lonely affair with titles such as, 'Polar Night', 'Seafrost', and 'Arctic Choir' but it is quite the contrary. Even in the coldest of times and places, warmth has its place and purpose. Warmth in this case could quite possibly be hope. An incredible array of textures and layers permeate throughout Pyramiden with impeccable beauty and pure resonance.."
-JUNO RECORDS
Igloo-perusers may recall coverage of the previous collaborations of self-styled ‘healing sound propagandist,’ Zach Frizzell (aka zakè)—viz. syntheticopia, with kindred synth-spirit, ossa, which envisaged our curator and his trusty assistant as flight personnel on a new mission to collect and study the sound origins of the cosmos, and Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel (igloo-’viewed here), with UK ambienteer, 36, a field recording-infused “extended hypersleep program” inspired by nostalgia for an imagined forsaken world.
While the chilly optics of Pyramiden‘s titles (viz. “Polar Night,” “Seafrost,” and “Arctic Choir”) may have you shivering in anticipation, any potential cold pricklies dissolve on entry to the sound world created by our Ambient Drone ‘supergroup,’ as its expansive tracts, eight in total, cumulatively evoke a beauteous tepor via a drone-drift soundscaping prowess at once luminous and caliginous.
A dialogue is set up between the cadence of ambient drone and the cascade of post-rock (rock sublimated) with an array of textures and strata perfused in a kind of slo-mo wide-sky outfolding. It effectively puts past inside the present in musical motion, affording psychoactive teleportation to temporo-spatial elsewhereness."
-Alan Lockett, Igloo Magazine
--
"zakè, James Bernard and Markus Guentner build a cascading and overwhelmingly beautiful record that combines the zen of the best ambient/new age music along with the “Big Sky” openness of post-rock bands like Explosions in The Sky and This Will Destroy You.
You get songs with chilly names like “Polar Night”, “Seafrost”, and “Arctic Choir” – and there is a sort of vast arctic blue hue to these songs – but it lacks even a hint of desolation. I can imagine listening to something like “Assembly of Light” under blankets of blackness and stars as the aurora borealis dances high above my head. It’s a sonically spectacular album that never once takes for granted the ears listening in."
-J. Hubner, Complex Distractions
--
"What more could you ask for than three highly respected masters of ambient sound coming together to create a pièce de résistance of aural brilliance? PITP and ZDR does it again; this time combining an incredible 'trio de force' consisting of zakè, Markus Guentner, and James Bernard.
Introducing 'Pyramiden'; a declaration of ambient excellence that will no doubt be held with the highest regards for generations to come. These eight arrangements take the listener on a journey to the most remote places, finding comfort in the beauty of stillness, awe-inspiring landscapes, and illuminated nights of wonder.
The tracklist may suggest a cold, lonely affair with titles such as, 'Polar Night', 'Seafrost', and 'Arctic Choir' but it is quite the contrary. Even in the coldest of times and places, warmth has its place and purpose. Warmth in this case could quite possibly be hope. An incredible array of textures and layers permeate throughout Pyramiden with impeccable beauty and pure resonance.."
-JUNO RECORDS
'Deep into the unknown, we shall endlessly roam'
‘Towering immersive minimal drone ambience’
-Jon Hillcock, BBC Sounds
--
"zake's fruitful contributions as an artist to his own Past Inside The Present label continues on this new album Deep Into The Unknown We Shall Endlessly Roam. It is an assemblage of arrangements made using archaic tape machines such as a Sony M-570V microcassette voice recorder and obsolete VSC Soundpacer, all on analogue tape. Of course that lends the music a misty, grainy quality that defines much of zake's ambient. Here his loops and found sounds meld and melt to create vast open spaces that are pregnant with emotion and tension. It's another magical work of ambient art."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"The ever inventive and always prolific zake is back on his own label Past Inside The Present with yet another new album. Deep Into The Unknown We Shall Endlessly Roam has already arrived with us on cassette tape and now it comes as a limited edition album on white and brown vinyl with just 200 copies pressed. It has been made from archaic tape machines such as a Sony M-570V microcassette voice recorder and obsolete VSC Soundpacer and then recorded to analogue tape for that levelly lo-fi and misty aesthetic. The artist himself says this record is "is dedicated to those who continue to yearn for greater understanding" and it is another sublime listen."
-JUNO RECOMMENDS AMBIENT/DRONE/LEFTFIELD
-Jon Hillcock, BBC Sounds
--
"zake's fruitful contributions as an artist to his own Past Inside The Present label continues on this new album Deep Into The Unknown We Shall Endlessly Roam. It is an assemblage of arrangements made using archaic tape machines such as a Sony M-570V microcassette voice recorder and obsolete VSC Soundpacer, all on analogue tape. Of course that lends the music a misty, grainy quality that defines much of zake's ambient. Here his loops and found sounds meld and melt to create vast open spaces that are pregnant with emotion and tension. It's another magical work of ambient art."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"The ever inventive and always prolific zake is back on his own label Past Inside The Present with yet another new album. Deep Into The Unknown We Shall Endlessly Roam has already arrived with us on cassette tape and now it comes as a limited edition album on white and brown vinyl with just 200 copies pressed. It has been made from archaic tape machines such as a Sony M-570V microcassette voice recorder and obsolete VSC Soundpacer and then recorded to analogue tape for that levelly lo-fi and misty aesthetic. The artist himself says this record is "is dedicated to those who continue to yearn for greater understanding" and it is another sublime listen."
-JUNO RECOMMENDS AMBIENT/DRONE/LEFTFIELD
'Module'
"Esteemed ambient auteurs, zakè and ossa's collaborative output continues to soothe and delight in equal measure. After Syntheticopia in August 2022 and the dark long-player 'A Pale Shelter' in 2021 between zakè, ossa, and City of Dawn comes Module, a collaboration that includes seasoned electronic producer Ruben A. Tamayo, under the alias FAX. The power trio brings forth an eight-track excursion into heavy ambient atmospheres with moody soundscapes and a real weight of melancholy. As always, the textures are grainy and lo-fi, the drones long-held, and the chords which poke through the clouds, bring subtle rays of hope and optimism. It is the latest and maybe the greatest chapter in this ongoing story from zakè and ossa with featured collaborators."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
'Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel II'
"36 and zakè follow up the epic work of Stasis Sounds For Long Distance Space Travel Part 1 with another eighteen chapters "of aural anesthetics" which "continue their journey through the outer reaches of space in hypersleep." The album comes in different coloured versions and boasts the sort of grainy and immersive ambient that immediately takes you out into the farthest reaches of space. It's widescreen and cinematic and makes for the sort of journeying album that is perfect for zoning out of everyday life and enjoying some mindful moments to yourself"
-JUNO RECORDS
--
“I’ve recently discovered a gorgeous and all-encompassing slice of ambient heaven in the form of two albums, titled Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel I & II. The artists are 36 and zakè. 36 is the musical project of UK musician Dennis Huddleston, while zakè is, well, zakè. His work has been talked about and adored on these pages many times over the last couple of years, starting back in 2020 with Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea’s Liberamente(released via Azure Vista Records.)
With 36 & zakè’s Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel I & II these two ambient musicians take us up into the cosmos. Slow, drifting swaths of electronics encompass you and take you on a cosmic journey. I do think music can heal, and with these two albums they emanate a kind of soothing, sonic pulse that calms the nerves and quiets the mind. Who doesn’t need some of that these days?
There’s lots of music that comes my way, and honestly it’s hard for me to cram it all between my ears. Believe me, I try. Listening to and writing about music is something I’ve done on a regular basis for over a decade now. And listening to music? Well I’ve been doing that since I could walk. At least since I could pick up my parents copy of The White Album and ask my mom to put it on the turntable. So when I don’t have enough time in the week to devour all the amazing music coming my way that’s both a bummer and pretty amazing. It means that just because I’m not hearing it, doesn’t mean that people aren’t continually opening their heads and hearts and giving the world the gift of sound.
When I hear from labels like Past Inside The Present, Zakè Drone Recordings, Azure Vista Records, and Moon Glyph Records I make sure I listen. Their ambient and drone albums have been a source of mental comfort for years now. They’ve opened my brain to the world of ambient and new age. It’s a deeper trip, and I feel it’s the logical progression from the world of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Rudiger Lorenz. Where the darker realms of Komische and Berlin School were the gateway for me into electronic and heavy synth, ambient and new age were the welcoming step into the light. Still dig the dark, but you can’t stay there all the time unless you’re a mushroom.
Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel I & II have the vastness of a widescreen view of Earth from the point of view of a space station. It’s awe-inspiring, like earth from several thousands of miles away, or the sight of the aurora borealis hanging over the atmosphere from a galactic view. This is music to fall into and let it engulf you. 36 and zakè build slow moving soundscapes that soothe the listener into a weightless world, using synths and electronics like paints. Each brush stroke and added layer of color creating vast canvases of cosmic visions and ethereal light.
Over the two volumes of Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel there’s plenty of sounds to keep you in stasis for a couple hours. Sonic bliss and a sort of cosmic peace make these records truly special, and a welcome respite in these troubled times.”
-J. Hubner, Complex Distractions
-JUNO RECORDS
--
“I’ve recently discovered a gorgeous and all-encompassing slice of ambient heaven in the form of two albums, titled Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel I & II. The artists are 36 and zakè. 36 is the musical project of UK musician Dennis Huddleston, while zakè is, well, zakè. His work has been talked about and adored on these pages many times over the last couple of years, starting back in 2020 with Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea’s Liberamente(released via Azure Vista Records.)
With 36 & zakè’s Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel I & II these two ambient musicians take us up into the cosmos. Slow, drifting swaths of electronics encompass you and take you on a cosmic journey. I do think music can heal, and with these two albums they emanate a kind of soothing, sonic pulse that calms the nerves and quiets the mind. Who doesn’t need some of that these days?
There’s lots of music that comes my way, and honestly it’s hard for me to cram it all between my ears. Believe me, I try. Listening to and writing about music is something I’ve done on a regular basis for over a decade now. And listening to music? Well I’ve been doing that since I could walk. At least since I could pick up my parents copy of The White Album and ask my mom to put it on the turntable. So when I don’t have enough time in the week to devour all the amazing music coming my way that’s both a bummer and pretty amazing. It means that just because I’m not hearing it, doesn’t mean that people aren’t continually opening their heads and hearts and giving the world the gift of sound.
When I hear from labels like Past Inside The Present, Zakè Drone Recordings, Azure Vista Records, and Moon Glyph Records I make sure I listen. Their ambient and drone albums have been a source of mental comfort for years now. They’ve opened my brain to the world of ambient and new age. It’s a deeper trip, and I feel it’s the logical progression from the world of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Rudiger Lorenz. Where the darker realms of Komische and Berlin School were the gateway for me into electronic and heavy synth, ambient and new age were the welcoming step into the light. Still dig the dark, but you can’t stay there all the time unless you’re a mushroom.
Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel I & II have the vastness of a widescreen view of Earth from the point of view of a space station. It’s awe-inspiring, like earth from several thousands of miles away, or the sight of the aurora borealis hanging over the atmosphere from a galactic view. This is music to fall into and let it engulf you. 36 and zakè build slow moving soundscapes that soothe the listener into a weightless world, using synths and electronics like paints. Each brush stroke and added layer of color creating vast canvases of cosmic visions and ethereal light.
Over the two volumes of Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel there’s plenty of sounds to keep you in stasis for a couple hours. Sonic bliss and a sort of cosmic peace make these records truly special, and a welcome respite in these troubled times.”
-J. Hubner, Complex Distractions
'Unfurled Works'
"Unfurled Works is a collection of back-catalogue zake tracks that have been lengthened for this new cassette, which is a slow-moving cascade of ambiance that washes over you in a delightful fashion. It's an album of frayed edges and lo-fi production, of dream-like haziness and heart-warming subtlety. The five carefully layered tracks on it slowly and stylish shift from one to another with meditative pads and organic drones that are gently peppered with sombre keys. Some pieces are light and airy, others are more moody and heavy, and all of them are perfect for daydreaming and re-setting your mood. Silence takes on all new potency and the beauty of the barely-there grows ever more striking."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
'syntheticopia'
"Maybe it’s just me and my own overactive imagination, but when I’m deep in it with some heady ambient and new age music I often imagine floating in space. The deep and healing tones of heavily-effected guitar, the warm buzz of analog synths, the wash of digital pads like static rain, and just the overwhelming sense of a quieted mind put me squarely floating in the cosmos. There’s something about the heady calm and meditative high of ambient/new age music that brings to mind constellations, galaxy clusters, and that final frontier.
Ambient/new age musicians/producers zakè and Ossa have taken that idea to a whole new level with the transcendent Syntheticopia. Syntheticopia is an LP built from actual sounds of space, along with an impressive list of earthbound hardware like the Korg Minilogue, Moog Mother-32, Poly D Polyphonic Synth, and more. The sounds of space come straight from NASA field recordings courtesy of spacecrafts like Juno, Van Allen Probes, Cassini, Galileo, and Stardust. The results are nothing short of, well, out of this world.
You don’t “hear” space on Syntheticopia. The NASA field recordings act as a foundation on which zakè and Ossa launch their heady and prolific compositions from. These two composers/producers seem to use the static tones and cryptic swishes of space noise as a base ingredient to these epic cosmic compositions. It’s kind of a dream come true for any ambient musician.
It seems to me that the ultimate goal of any new age/ambient musician is to take the listener from their everyday rut and give them a transformative musical experience. Something that transcends this earthly plane; headphones on and floating in some middle space between here and beyond, purple hues and chrome clouds. Or riding the slipstream in the Milky Way, with only your headphones keeping you from disappearing completely.
Syntheticopia is a headphones album. Tracks like “astronomer, inc”, “syntheticopia”, and “drifting” are best up close and personal. They pull you into their sonic cosmos and carry you along as they slowly encompass your psyche. zakè is no stranger to this world, being an old hand in the world of ambient/new age music. He and Ossa use the sounds of space as just another color palate to paint with, filling richly dark tones with touches of light.
Each track – from “galaxy twilight” to “unchartered region” to “acquisition of signal” -form a constellation of buzzing, heady sounds and moods. They encapsulate the monolithic nature of these songs. There’s a connectivity here; an emotional core that gives a beating heart to the cold, vastness of space. Maybe it’s the awe that humanity holds for the infinite blackness of the cosmos, and the mystery of that final frontier that comes through in these songs. Through all the cosmic field recordings and buzzing analog electronics, the humanity shows through. Syntheticopia is music wonder for the head and heart. A soundtrack for pondering, dreaming, and looking up at the stars."
-J. Hubner, Complex Distractions
--
"Space is the place - at least, it's the place uppermost in the mind of Midwest US label Past Inside The Present owner zakè and his sonic partner Ossa - location given as the north pole according to his Twitter - as they embark on collaborative 10 tracks. The fact that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA to you and me - has supplied them with celestial sound emissions for the tracks is a bonus. But ultimately, the real headline factor once it's actually on your turntable is the vivid atmospheres and gorgeous textures that the pair are capable of generating. The album's closer, 'Metric Expansion', is a tremulous glory, peaking and slipping away like rays of sunlight. 'Space & Time', meanwhile, is a simple, gliding analogue delight, and 'Drifting' proves you can carve imperceptible beauty from a couple of well crafted chords."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"If synth-based music was so easy to make, then why don’t we have so much fantastic synth-based music? Just take a synth, create a sound, then press a chord with an arpeggio turned on, record a passage on a loop and tweak some knobs while you are at it. This is a lot of what I see on videos showcasing a modular gig, and frankly, it still sounds just like bleeps and boops. I know exactly why that is, and this I’ll leave out for another time and moment (TLDR; sound design != music). But let’s instead turn towards Zach Frizzell, the founder of Past Inside the Present label, and his collaboration with Kaiton Slusher, together known as zakè & ossa.
The duo releases an 11-track album, which they titled syntheticopia, on a beautifully crafted 160g “purple nebula” vinyl with a very minimalist layout and cover design, as you already see featured on these pages. But beyond this classic presentation and the array of semi-modular analogue synths, such as Moog DFAM & Mother-32, Korg Minilogue XD and Poly D, along with Tascam field recorders and the final mastering touch by Rafael Anton Irisarri, lies something truly stunning to enjoy.
Welcome to Astronomer, Inc. You are about to set off on a journey. And this interstellar voyage shall be accompanied by their soundtrack of highly textured, layered atmospheres, spacial dimensions, and ethereal drift. It’s impossible not to compare some delicate pads which are slightly detuned, lo-fi and wobbly with the output from Boards of Canada (check out “space and time” in particular). Sprinkle in some samples from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the resemblance evolves into a necessity. And this, of course, I mean in a very positive light. The conceptual storyline portrays a mission of studying the sound origins of the cosmos and although it seems that the flight personnel never returned to their earthly home, I’m really hoping they’ll send more transmissions from wherever they are, out there, in the universe. Highly recommended."
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
"This album is pure synthesized bliss."
-JAMES BERNARD, INFLUX/AWAKENED SOULS
--
"A wonderful collage of synthesizer sequences to relax the mind to."
-JAMES CLEMENTS, ASC/COMIT
--
"A really lush collection of synth-based vignettes."
-DENNIS HUDDLESTON, 36/SYNE
--
"Imagine becoming one with a transmission from another place. Not space, not another world but rather, another place.
Cocooned on all sides by the warm static and energy this message is made of."
-DREW SULLIVAN, SLOW DANCING SOCIETY
--
"This album is a absolute must buy, sonically this feels like a filmic experience and a sci-fi-esc soundtrack.
The variety and flows on the syntheticopia are a joy to behold! zakè & Ossa deliver a masterful album."
-SIMON HUXABLE, AURAL IMBALANCE/INHMOST
Ambient/new age musicians/producers zakè and Ossa have taken that idea to a whole new level with the transcendent Syntheticopia. Syntheticopia is an LP built from actual sounds of space, along with an impressive list of earthbound hardware like the Korg Minilogue, Moog Mother-32, Poly D Polyphonic Synth, and more. The sounds of space come straight from NASA field recordings courtesy of spacecrafts like Juno, Van Allen Probes, Cassini, Galileo, and Stardust. The results are nothing short of, well, out of this world.
You don’t “hear” space on Syntheticopia. The NASA field recordings act as a foundation on which zakè and Ossa launch their heady and prolific compositions from. These two composers/producers seem to use the static tones and cryptic swishes of space noise as a base ingredient to these epic cosmic compositions. It’s kind of a dream come true for any ambient musician.
It seems to me that the ultimate goal of any new age/ambient musician is to take the listener from their everyday rut and give them a transformative musical experience. Something that transcends this earthly plane; headphones on and floating in some middle space between here and beyond, purple hues and chrome clouds. Or riding the slipstream in the Milky Way, with only your headphones keeping you from disappearing completely.
Syntheticopia is a headphones album. Tracks like “astronomer, inc”, “syntheticopia”, and “drifting” are best up close and personal. They pull you into their sonic cosmos and carry you along as they slowly encompass your psyche. zakè is no stranger to this world, being an old hand in the world of ambient/new age music. He and Ossa use the sounds of space as just another color palate to paint with, filling richly dark tones with touches of light.
Each track – from “galaxy twilight” to “unchartered region” to “acquisition of signal” -form a constellation of buzzing, heady sounds and moods. They encapsulate the monolithic nature of these songs. There’s a connectivity here; an emotional core that gives a beating heart to the cold, vastness of space. Maybe it’s the awe that humanity holds for the infinite blackness of the cosmos, and the mystery of that final frontier that comes through in these songs. Through all the cosmic field recordings and buzzing analog electronics, the humanity shows through. Syntheticopia is music wonder for the head and heart. A soundtrack for pondering, dreaming, and looking up at the stars."
-J. Hubner, Complex Distractions
--
"Space is the place - at least, it's the place uppermost in the mind of Midwest US label Past Inside The Present owner zakè and his sonic partner Ossa - location given as the north pole according to his Twitter - as they embark on collaborative 10 tracks. The fact that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA to you and me - has supplied them with celestial sound emissions for the tracks is a bonus. But ultimately, the real headline factor once it's actually on your turntable is the vivid atmospheres and gorgeous textures that the pair are capable of generating. The album's closer, 'Metric Expansion', is a tremulous glory, peaking and slipping away like rays of sunlight. 'Space & Time', meanwhile, is a simple, gliding analogue delight, and 'Drifting' proves you can carve imperceptible beauty from a couple of well crafted chords."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"If synth-based music was so easy to make, then why don’t we have so much fantastic synth-based music? Just take a synth, create a sound, then press a chord with an arpeggio turned on, record a passage on a loop and tweak some knobs while you are at it. This is a lot of what I see on videos showcasing a modular gig, and frankly, it still sounds just like bleeps and boops. I know exactly why that is, and this I’ll leave out for another time and moment (TLDR; sound design != music). But let’s instead turn towards Zach Frizzell, the founder of Past Inside the Present label, and his collaboration with Kaiton Slusher, together known as zakè & ossa.
The duo releases an 11-track album, which they titled syntheticopia, on a beautifully crafted 160g “purple nebula” vinyl with a very minimalist layout and cover design, as you already see featured on these pages. But beyond this classic presentation and the array of semi-modular analogue synths, such as Moog DFAM & Mother-32, Korg Minilogue XD and Poly D, along with Tascam field recorders and the final mastering touch by Rafael Anton Irisarri, lies something truly stunning to enjoy.
Welcome to Astronomer, Inc. You are about to set off on a journey. And this interstellar voyage shall be accompanied by their soundtrack of highly textured, layered atmospheres, spacial dimensions, and ethereal drift. It’s impossible not to compare some delicate pads which are slightly detuned, lo-fi and wobbly with the output from Boards of Canada (check out “space and time” in particular). Sprinkle in some samples from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the resemblance evolves into a necessity. And this, of course, I mean in a very positive light. The conceptual storyline portrays a mission of studying the sound origins of the cosmos and although it seems that the flight personnel never returned to their earthly home, I’m really hoping they’ll send more transmissions from wherever they are, out there, in the universe. Highly recommended."
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
"This album is pure synthesized bliss."
-JAMES BERNARD, INFLUX/AWAKENED SOULS
--
"A wonderful collage of synthesizer sequences to relax the mind to."
-JAMES CLEMENTS, ASC/COMIT
--
"A really lush collection of synth-based vignettes."
-DENNIS HUDDLESTON, 36/SYNE
--
"Imagine becoming one with a transmission from another place. Not space, not another world but rather, another place.
Cocooned on all sides by the warm static and energy this message is made of."
-DREW SULLIVAN, SLOW DANCING SOCIETY
--
"This album is a absolute must buy, sonically this feels like a filmic experience and a sci-fi-esc soundtrack.
The variety and flows on the syntheticopia are a joy to behold! zakè & Ossa deliver a masterful album."
-SIMON HUXABLE, AURAL IMBALANCE/INHMOST
'Stay With Me'
"Given the amount of collaborations he undertakes, Past Inside The Present boss zake is not so much musically sociable as utterly gregarious. He's also one to choose a good theme with which to imbue his musical productions with definable atmospherics. This collaborative effort with T.R. Jordan has water at its heart, with field recordings captured on the coast of Lake Erie - which straddles the US/Canadian border - fed into the mixes, giving them a distinctive psycho-geography. Spread over four slow moving tracks, including 'Stay With Me' with ghostly vocals by the aptly named marine eyes, the arrangements revolve around the sound of traditional and electronic pianos interplaying. That said, all the meticulous detail and sonic trimmings you'd expect from a Past Inside The Present release are in there too, working away in the background."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
'An Orchestral Suite For Tape'
"'An Orchestral Suite For Tape' is a compilation specifically curated for playback on the noble cassette tape format, featuring orchestral arrangements by Texas-Indiana duo zakè & City of Dawn. Including songs from four albums and one compilation, the first time these tracks have been available on tape, the mood is deep and meditative, the billowing clouds of synthesizers providing ample space for thought and relaxation alike."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
'Sound Space Variations'
"The Moments Between Sounds - A Musical Artwork -- “Sound Space Variations" is a delicate and restrained sound bath. A mix of atmospheric, suspenseful drone sounds and meditative aspects. It is an album made for those moments when we just are. zakè has managed to capture the moments that lie between sounds. I am sure you know those unagitated murmurs and atmospheric hisses. The artist connects this in-between-world and our earthly one with calm and sonorous scores, making us think about everything and nothing.
The six pieces on the record do not seem heavy-headed or overloaded but much more airy, wide and open for interpretations. They stimulate the imagination – in a wonderfully unbiased way. In the last track, "Bewrayeth", Kévin Séry makes a surprise appearance – he has added an excellent guitar accompaniment to the song."
-ANNE REIS, CARDAMOMCHAI
--
"I first heard zakè with Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea and their excellent Azure Vista Records release Liberamente. zakè and co made a fabulous zone out new age/drone album that filled the dark chasms in my mind left by a year of isolation and fear(yep, 2020). Then there was zakè and City of Dawn’s Agape, yet another gorgeous swath of droning brilliance and ambient beauty. Now we have zakè’s Sound Space Variations, a continued trek through deep, intellectual sound excursions inviting the listener to open their minds and go deep.
Sound Space Variations goes a little darker than what’s come before, though we build up to it. The six tracks work up from a place of sonic solace to something more sinister, with the final track “Bewrayeth” clocking in at 27 minutes of tension and slow burn dread. There’s an almost Bernard Herrmann feel to it, sounding like a skeletal version of Herrmann’s excellent Taxi Driver score. Once you listen, I think you’ll get it. Either way, this is yet another stunning sonic wall of noise from zakè."
-J. HUBNER, COMPLEX DISTRACTIONS
The six pieces on the record do not seem heavy-headed or overloaded but much more airy, wide and open for interpretations. They stimulate the imagination – in a wonderfully unbiased way. In the last track, "Bewrayeth", Kévin Séry makes a surprise appearance – he has added an excellent guitar accompaniment to the song."
-ANNE REIS, CARDAMOMCHAI
--
"I first heard zakè with Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea and their excellent Azure Vista Records release Liberamente. zakè and co made a fabulous zone out new age/drone album that filled the dark chasms in my mind left by a year of isolation and fear(yep, 2020). Then there was zakè and City of Dawn’s Agape, yet another gorgeous swath of droning brilliance and ambient beauty. Now we have zakè’s Sound Space Variations, a continued trek through deep, intellectual sound excursions inviting the listener to open their minds and go deep.
Sound Space Variations goes a little darker than what’s come before, though we build up to it. The six tracks work up from a place of sonic solace to something more sinister, with the final track “Bewrayeth” clocking in at 27 minutes of tension and slow burn dread. There’s an almost Bernard Herrmann feel to it, sounding like a skeletal version of Herrmann’s excellent Taxi Driver score. Once you listen, I think you’ll get it. Either way, this is yet another stunning sonic wall of noise from zakè."
-J. HUBNER, COMPLEX DISTRACTIONS
'Frizzell & Duque: Orison'
"Orison is the latest aural exploration between zake & City of Dawn and a predecessor to their previous orchestral effort, 'A Sorrow Unrequited'. Orison is a prayer or plea to a deity. The archaic origins of the term stem from the Latin language simply meaning to 'speak to God'. Patient and solemn symphonic drifts that foster stillness, boundless thought, introspection, and eternal contemplation."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
'Remembrance'
"Remembrance follows a similar formula found on zake's previous effort, Geneva (released on Past Inside the Present, 2020). He produced eight short phonic motifs and then invited artists to collaborate, rework, and expand upon the source material resulting in a new, unique creation. The album consists of eight short vignettes by zake, six collaborative pieces, and eight completely reworked tracks. The track titles and overall theme of these works are based off the gorgeous poetic narrative "Remembrance" written Julia Frizzell."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
'Pinehaven'
"Pioneers of slow-evolving minimal drone, zake & City of Dawn transform unadorned inputs into beautiful complexity in their latest effort, 'Pinehaven'. The drone duo is known for their carefully crafted textures, avoiding sudden shifts or abrasive sonorities. Their focus, as heard in previous efforts, offer up the steady ebb and flow of sound, cultivating a profound sense of meditative stasis and explorations of high-fidelity sound."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
'Tape Hymns'
"Tape Hymns is a mesmerizing amalgam of sounds carefully crafted by frequent collaborators zake and City of Dawn. The warm hiss of analog tape as the foundational structure of these arrangements brings forth pastoral mediations with becalmed, atmospheric intent. Tape Hymns mix echoing sonic tones, slow-drifting sounds with immersive low-end frequencies."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
'Agape'
"zake and City of Dawn return to their longstanding collaboration for a new album, 'Agape', delivering a slow-droning album that bucks the trend of ambient's original purpose as background music. The Texas-Indiana duo steadily eases into great time-dilated deluges of sound, slowing everything down, yet not giving into pure depth, spanning both high and low frequencies. A natural theme is unearthed across the six pieces, producing a sublime soundscape reminiscent of Steve Roach, Bvdub or GAS meeting the thematic motifs of Shelley or Wordsworth."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"In 2020 a wonderful and ethereal record dropped from Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea called Liberamente. It was a serene drop into slow-moving ambient music that felt like a portal from the chaos of that year and into a place where the mind could heal. It was one of my favorite records of 2020, and a source of mental comfort when it was hard to find.
zakè(Zach Frizzell) and City of Dawn(Damien Duque) continue the sound explorations they began with Liberamente, but seem to have honed in on the essence of truly great ambient/new age: simplicity. Agape finds the perfect balance of melody and musical escapism. A glorious release of calm, reflection, and introspection.
Agape is not background music. It’s sound that asks for your full attention. The best ambient works pull you in and surround you in their meticulously-crafted sonics. Frizzell and Duque, a duo that pull both Midwestern(Indiana) and Southwestern(Texas) roots encapsulate their home states perfectly in the work. Vast, wide open spaces collide with earnest emotional connections through circuital wizardry. Flat lands interspersed with moments of hilly beauty rise from the slow drifts of melody and swelling electronics.
Something like the beautiful opener “Wanderlust” encapsulates zakè and City of Dawn’s “sound”, as it were. Cavernous melodies that seem to rise like the sun from a Texas horizon; or shards of light breaking through the dense tree cover of a Brown County fall morning. It’s an all-encompassing sound, and one you can happily get lost in. “Karpholite” feels like staring into space, clusters of stars morphing into themselves. It’s the kind of sound that brings up big ideas and introspection.
“Agape Suite” is 15 minutes of pure sonic bliss. It brings zakè and City of Dawn’s sound into one, epic song. Shimmering notes melt into one another, emanating like ethereal light that beckons you in. There’s a warmth to the song; a welcoming sonic tome that gives the listener a pocket of existential bliss to heal in. It’s a stunning sound achievement.
zakè and City of Dawn’s Agape is yet another masterful slice of ambient/new age to get lost in. Gorgeously curated and expertly engineered new age for a world that desperately needs some peace of mind and spirit."
-J. HUBNER, COMPLEX DISTRACTIONS
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"In 2020 a wonderful and ethereal record dropped from Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea called Liberamente. It was a serene drop into slow-moving ambient music that felt like a portal from the chaos of that year and into a place where the mind could heal. It was one of my favorite records of 2020, and a source of mental comfort when it was hard to find.
zakè(Zach Frizzell) and City of Dawn(Damien Duque) continue the sound explorations they began with Liberamente, but seem to have honed in on the essence of truly great ambient/new age: simplicity. Agape finds the perfect balance of melody and musical escapism. A glorious release of calm, reflection, and introspection.
Agape is not background music. It’s sound that asks for your full attention. The best ambient works pull you in and surround you in their meticulously-crafted sonics. Frizzell and Duque, a duo that pull both Midwestern(Indiana) and Southwestern(Texas) roots encapsulate their home states perfectly in the work. Vast, wide open spaces collide with earnest emotional connections through circuital wizardry. Flat lands interspersed with moments of hilly beauty rise from the slow drifts of melody and swelling electronics.
Something like the beautiful opener “Wanderlust” encapsulates zakè and City of Dawn’s “sound”, as it were. Cavernous melodies that seem to rise like the sun from a Texas horizon; or shards of light breaking through the dense tree cover of a Brown County fall morning. It’s an all-encompassing sound, and one you can happily get lost in. “Karpholite” feels like staring into space, clusters of stars morphing into themselves. It’s the kind of sound that brings up big ideas and introspection.
“Agape Suite” is 15 minutes of pure sonic bliss. It brings zakè and City of Dawn’s sound into one, epic song. Shimmering notes melt into one another, emanating like ethereal light that beckons you in. There’s a warmth to the song; a welcoming sonic tome that gives the listener a pocket of existential bliss to heal in. It’s a stunning sound achievement.
zakè and City of Dawn’s Agape is yet another masterful slice of ambient/new age to get lost in. Gorgeously curated and expertly engineered new age for a world that desperately needs some peace of mind and spirit."
-J. HUBNER, COMPLEX DISTRACTIONS
'A Pale Shelter'
"A Pale Shelter is the kind of record that stops you dead in your tracks without actually really doing very much to create a sonic blockade. It ebbs and flows, glides and meanders through constant refrains, slowly pulling you deeper into thickly textured, minimal waves of ambient, chimes twinkling somewhere in a distant background, echoes of melody creating centrepieces to the arrangements.
It's a classic example of what makes Past Inside the Present's output so mesmerising and beguiling. It's in the quietest, most serene moments that we feel the greatest power in the music. At times, it's the aural equivalent of watching the shadows of a fire dance on stone walls. Elsewhere, it's more like gazing out over endless beauty. Ultimately, this is exactly why they say less is more."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
‘A Pale Shelter’ by zakè, City of Dawn, Ossa is a beautiful and occasionally sinister album. The title track, and ‘A Solace Awaits Us’ which both feature Benoît Pioulard, are the most gorgeous, gossamer ambient music, breathy and sparkling. ‘Mourning Shadows Will Shall Perish’ and ‘A Failing Of Will’ have much more foreboding, droning tones. Excellent stuff."
-NORMAN RECORDS
It's a classic example of what makes Past Inside the Present's output so mesmerising and beguiling. It's in the quietest, most serene moments that we feel the greatest power in the music. At times, it's the aural equivalent of watching the shadows of a fire dance on stone walls. Elsewhere, it's more like gazing out over endless beauty. Ultimately, this is exactly why they say less is more."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
‘A Pale Shelter’ by zakè, City of Dawn, Ossa is a beautiful and occasionally sinister album. The title track, and ‘A Solace Awaits Us’ which both feature Benoît Pioulard, are the most gorgeous, gossamer ambient music, breathy and sparkling. ‘Mourning Shadows Will Shall Perish’ and ‘A Failing Of Will’ have much more foreboding, droning tones. Excellent stuff."
-NORMAN RECORDS
'beliefsystems'
"Somewhat surprisingly, 'beliefsystems' marks the first musical collaboration between Past Inside The Present co-founders zake and Isaac Helsen. It's undeniably an album worth waiting for though, with the three meditative, enveloping tracks offering a perfect blend of the zake's droning, densely layered "dronescapes" and Helsen's glistening and fluid processed guitar sounds. For proof, check 19-minute opener 'Northern Cross', where starry, slow-burn electronics, distant guitars and yearning, unfurling melodies gently ebb and flow across the sound space, and the becalmed, field recording-sporting haziness of 'Knowledge Rooms Parts I & II'. In a word: sublime."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"Ambient aficionados are well attuned to the American blog and label Past Inside the Present. It has been turning out some of the genres best sounds for time, and this month is putting out two different projects by label co-founder Zake. One is 'Unfailing Love' with Marine Eyes, and this is the other with fellow label co-founder Isaac Helsen. It is a long overdue work that is made up of three arrangements. They are excellent ambient soundscapes awash with drone-laden guitar work, field recordings, tape machines and great samples. Patiently designed, slow release in its pleasure, this is modern ambient at its finest."
-JUNO RECORDS
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"Ambient aficionados are well attuned to the American blog and label Past Inside the Present. It has been turning out some of the genres best sounds for time, and this month is putting out two different projects by label co-founder Zake. One is 'Unfailing Love' with Marine Eyes, and this is the other with fellow label co-founder Isaac Helsen. It is a long overdue work that is made up of three arrangements. They are excellent ambient soundscapes awash with drone-laden guitar work, field recordings, tape machines and great samples. Patiently designed, slow release in its pleasure, this is modern ambient at its finest."
-JUNO RECORDS
'Unfailing Love'
"Electronic ambience in the 21st century can often take on the feeling of one soothing and cascading flow after another but it’s always noticeable when an artist or collaborative team creates something that specifically stands out. Thus Unfailing Love, a striking work by the partnership of zakè and marine eyes, dedicated specifically not so much to the stated emotion but the processing of grief and resilience. A rolling rich flow of textures and voices, including guest vocals by Lucy Gooch at the end, Unfailing Love feels like truly necessary balm."
–NED RAGGETT, PITCHFORK / ALLMUSIC / THE QUIETUS
--
"Everything about this release feels like it was made just for me. From the gauzy synthetic airspace to the pink and green color palette of the cover, this album is how I think of myself. Tiny moments get stretched to infinity throughout Unfailing Love, adding weight to memories that may not immediately seem like pivotal turning points, but eventually rise to become shining monuments to who we’ve become and who has helped us there along the way.
There’s a passage on the wistful “Forever” where disembodied voices linger in the sonic mist as a haunting reminder of everything we’ve lost. Soft, spectral tones gently writhe beneath, a safe bet to catch phantom tears; a place that’s always there, ready to catch you whenever the fall comes. Notes shift upward, emerging from the aural fog like beams of light piercing through overcast skies, giving new life a chance. Everything may feel impossibly heavy right now, but there are still flowers ready to bloom beneath the surface.
Throughout Unfailing Love is a powerful, transcendent message of finding meaningful connection and grace through hope and empathy. Mournful washes of sound permeate so many corners of Unfailing Love, like the pastoral title track where marine eyes breathlessly echos the words “unfailing love” like a celestial body singing to the universe. As it fades, I am hypnotized. I can feel again.
zakè and marine eyes have created a powerful testament to our resolve. Joined by the wonderful Lucy Gooch on closer “Floating Together,” it is a bright moment to end on. Gooch soothingly whispers, “I know it’s true, I gave a part of me to you, when we came together. I know you know it too.” We give ourselves, perhaps more than we should at times, and we build connection and community. The electricity that hums throughout Unfailing Love is that connection, that invisible, moving force that keeps us going and, hopefully, brings us together. Close your eyes and take this beautiful journey with zakè and marine eyes."
-BRAD ROSE, FOXY DIGITALIS
--
zakè and Marine Eyes's exquisite 'Unfailing Love' is, they say themselves, a "journey of grief, resiliency and the power of the human spirit. A consistent path to learn compassion and empathy deeper." The deeply meditative tones and arching synths of these tunes sure will encourage you to have all sorts of probing thoughts and realisations as you hang in the infinity of space. Choral vocals occasionally drift into the mix, and even when things on the surface feel heavy, dark or gloomy, there is real beauty within.”
-JUNO RECORDS
"American ambient music label Past Inside the Present has another doozy on its hands here. Zake and marine eyes' exquisite 'Unfailing Love' is, they say themselves, a "journey of grief, resiliency and the power of the human spirit. A consistent path to learn compassion and empathy deeper." The deeply meditative tones and arching synths of these tunes sure will encourage you to have all sorts of probing thoughts and realisations as you hang in the infinity of space. Choral vocals occasionally drift into the mix, and even when things on the surface feel heavy, dark or gloomy, there is real beauty within."
-JUNO RECORDS
–NED RAGGETT, PITCHFORK / ALLMUSIC / THE QUIETUS
--
"Everything about this release feels like it was made just for me. From the gauzy synthetic airspace to the pink and green color palette of the cover, this album is how I think of myself. Tiny moments get stretched to infinity throughout Unfailing Love, adding weight to memories that may not immediately seem like pivotal turning points, but eventually rise to become shining monuments to who we’ve become and who has helped us there along the way.
There’s a passage on the wistful “Forever” where disembodied voices linger in the sonic mist as a haunting reminder of everything we’ve lost. Soft, spectral tones gently writhe beneath, a safe bet to catch phantom tears; a place that’s always there, ready to catch you whenever the fall comes. Notes shift upward, emerging from the aural fog like beams of light piercing through overcast skies, giving new life a chance. Everything may feel impossibly heavy right now, but there are still flowers ready to bloom beneath the surface.
Throughout Unfailing Love is a powerful, transcendent message of finding meaningful connection and grace through hope and empathy. Mournful washes of sound permeate so many corners of Unfailing Love, like the pastoral title track where marine eyes breathlessly echos the words “unfailing love” like a celestial body singing to the universe. As it fades, I am hypnotized. I can feel again.
zakè and marine eyes have created a powerful testament to our resolve. Joined by the wonderful Lucy Gooch on closer “Floating Together,” it is a bright moment to end on. Gooch soothingly whispers, “I know it’s true, I gave a part of me to you, when we came together. I know you know it too.” We give ourselves, perhaps more than we should at times, and we build connection and community. The electricity that hums throughout Unfailing Love is that connection, that invisible, moving force that keeps us going and, hopefully, brings us together. Close your eyes and take this beautiful journey with zakè and marine eyes."
-BRAD ROSE, FOXY DIGITALIS
--
zakè and Marine Eyes's exquisite 'Unfailing Love' is, they say themselves, a "journey of grief, resiliency and the power of the human spirit. A consistent path to learn compassion and empathy deeper." The deeply meditative tones and arching synths of these tunes sure will encourage you to have all sorts of probing thoughts and realisations as you hang in the infinity of space. Choral vocals occasionally drift into the mix, and even when things on the surface feel heavy, dark or gloomy, there is real beauty within.”
-JUNO RECORDS
"American ambient music label Past Inside the Present has another doozy on its hands here. Zake and marine eyes' exquisite 'Unfailing Love' is, they say themselves, a "journey of grief, resiliency and the power of the human spirit. A consistent path to learn compassion and empathy deeper." The deeply meditative tones and arching synths of these tunes sure will encourage you to have all sorts of probing thoughts and realisations as you hang in the infinity of space. Choral vocals occasionally drift into the mix, and even when things on the surface feel heavy, dark or gloomy, there is real beauty within."
-JUNO RECORDS
'Frizzell & Duque: A Sorrow Unrequited'
"A Sorrow Unrequited is a short but gorgeous collaboration between Frizzell & Duque, comprised of five minimalist explorations of high-fidelity sound. Each piece begins with the statement of a simple melody, which repeats throughout as additional layers accumulate, slowly teasing out new melodies. Rather than linger in the imperfections of media, as so many artists who work with repetition tend to do, instead the duo pursue an attention to fidelity that forces them to get the fine details just right.
The duo are likely better known by their monikers zakè and City of Dawn, under which they released their previous collaboration, An Eternal Moment Hidden Away. That A Sorrow Unrequited bears their surnames perhaps suggests the more personal nature of this collaboration. Zach Frizzell has built up an impressive discography in a few short years, exploring orchestral music in various guises. He is also the man behind Past Inside the Present, a label which has distinguished itself for their expansive catalog of immersive music. City of Dawn is Damien Duque, a multi-instrumentalist who produces expressive ambient soundscapes. Their two styles blend very naturally, complementing each other.
Unrequited love is a common theme, sorrow less so. What does it mean instead when a feeling of sorrow is not returned? While this might suggest a dreary mood, to the contrary A Sorrow Unrequited is calmly uplifting. There are moments of melancholy, but more often the steady ebb and flow of sound cultivates a profound sense of meditative stasis. The titles all come from a poem written by Julia Frizzell, evoking passing time and lessons humbly learned. The principle melodies are slow, faintly familiar enough to suggest a sense of nostalgia, but difficult enough to grasp that their steady evolution substitutes for narrative structure.
The artists take pleasure in soothing textures, avoiding sudden shifts or abrasive sonorities. There is a refined elegance to these five tracks, making the 33:33 runtime feel much shorter. Yet A Sorrow Unrequited rewards repeat listens, feeling comfortably familiar while always revealing fresh perspectives. A gentle, consonant palette of strings is given depth by the low end frequencies of a synth. The occasional moments of dissonance bring a slight tension in bright contrast to the mellow synth melodies or plaintive piano marking time.
Frizzell & Duque transform unadorned inputs into beautiful complexity. One is reminded of Brian Eno’s Discreet Music (1975), less for the title piece as “Three Variations on the Canon in D Major by Johann Pachebel,” a reorchestration playing with various permutations (pitch, tempo, note length) of small fragments of the score. Rather than developing shifting patterns, the minimalism heard on A Sorrow Unrequited explores the timbral effects of gradual shifts in density, waves of sound almost imperceptibly carrying the melody from one instrument to another. There is a graceful poetry to the cadence of each track, reminding us that silences are as important to communication as sound."
-JOSEPH SANNICANDRO, SOUND PROPOSITIONS / A CLOSER LISTEN
--
“Fans of slow-evolving orchestral ambience will absolutely love this new collaboration between the Past Inside The Present label owner, Zach Frizzell and Damien Duque, also known as zakè and City of Dawn, for which they drop their project monikers and team up as simply Frizzell & Duque.
On these five, slowly evolving pieces of A Sorrow Unrequited, the duo manipulate chamber instruments alongside reverb saturated pads and swelling bass to compose a symphony of ebbing music. Unlike some undertakings, where artists would sample their classical records and loop through the passages sculpting the sound, the modern classical elements of this record appear to be cleaner and pure.
I praise this pristine production, where every each instrument finds a home, in a wonderful fusion of ambient, neo-classical, and meditation music. In a closer listening session, intricate layers of sonics blanket the surface of wave-kissing shores; while in a passive attention-softening seance, A Sorrow Unrequited comforts and lulls.
The release is an interpretation of a poem by the same name, written by Julia Frizzell. Here’s a quote of the first stanza, “Fragile dreams while we are growing old / For we once believed we owned the sky / Spread endlessly before us / Lie shallow at our feet //”
I’ve played this on repeat consecutive times, and I keep coming back to the album, as I’m sure you will too.
I recommend that you grab this on vinyl.”
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
"It's not just a clever name. Zake and City of Dawn have come up with a record that genuinely sounds like the reflective moods that so often follow great loss, realised on record. Sweeping synth-strings on 'We Once Believed We Owned The Sky' only serving to reiterate the sense of lamentation that seems to pervade every corner of this album.
Sometimes looking back on what was but will never be again is the only real way of making ourselves feel better - by connecting to intensely emotional memories we can trigger an outpouring that's truly cathartic. As if following that pattern, Frizzell & Duque: A Sorry Unrequited is a strangely uplifting experience by the time we're listening to the closing bars of 'The Sparrow's Flight', even if that's only because of the sense that others have the capacity to feel the same as we do."
- JUNO RECORDS
--
"Frizzell and Duque, better known as zakè and City Of Dawn, further extend their already impressive catalogue of music with the sublime ‘A Sorrow Unrequited’. The joy of ambient music is its ability to provide the listener with a pathway to quiet contemplation. These two musicians take the listener on an aural journey, a musical interpretation of the beautiful poem of the same name written by Julia Frizzell. A Sorrow Unrequited showcases the beauty of the modern classical/ambient genre, and the talent of these two artists is on full display. Music that is truly timeless and enduring."
-BRIAN HOGAN
--
"Frizzell and Duque, better known as zake and City Of Dawn, further extend their already impressive catalogue of music with the sublime 'A Sorrow Unrequited'. The joy of ambient music is its ability to provide the listener with a pathway to quiet contemplation. These two musicians take the listener on an aural journey, a musical interpretation of the beautiful poem of the same name written by Julia Frizzell. A Sorrow Unrequited showcases the beauty of the modern classical/ambient genre, and the talent of these two artists is on full display. Music that is truly timeless and enduring."
- JUNO RECORDS
The duo are likely better known by their monikers zakè and City of Dawn, under which they released their previous collaboration, An Eternal Moment Hidden Away. That A Sorrow Unrequited bears their surnames perhaps suggests the more personal nature of this collaboration. Zach Frizzell has built up an impressive discography in a few short years, exploring orchestral music in various guises. He is also the man behind Past Inside the Present, a label which has distinguished itself for their expansive catalog of immersive music. City of Dawn is Damien Duque, a multi-instrumentalist who produces expressive ambient soundscapes. Their two styles blend very naturally, complementing each other.
Unrequited love is a common theme, sorrow less so. What does it mean instead when a feeling of sorrow is not returned? While this might suggest a dreary mood, to the contrary A Sorrow Unrequited is calmly uplifting. There are moments of melancholy, but more often the steady ebb and flow of sound cultivates a profound sense of meditative stasis. The titles all come from a poem written by Julia Frizzell, evoking passing time and lessons humbly learned. The principle melodies are slow, faintly familiar enough to suggest a sense of nostalgia, but difficult enough to grasp that their steady evolution substitutes for narrative structure.
The artists take pleasure in soothing textures, avoiding sudden shifts or abrasive sonorities. There is a refined elegance to these five tracks, making the 33:33 runtime feel much shorter. Yet A Sorrow Unrequited rewards repeat listens, feeling comfortably familiar while always revealing fresh perspectives. A gentle, consonant palette of strings is given depth by the low end frequencies of a synth. The occasional moments of dissonance bring a slight tension in bright contrast to the mellow synth melodies or plaintive piano marking time.
Frizzell & Duque transform unadorned inputs into beautiful complexity. One is reminded of Brian Eno’s Discreet Music (1975), less for the title piece as “Three Variations on the Canon in D Major by Johann Pachebel,” a reorchestration playing with various permutations (pitch, tempo, note length) of small fragments of the score. Rather than developing shifting patterns, the minimalism heard on A Sorrow Unrequited explores the timbral effects of gradual shifts in density, waves of sound almost imperceptibly carrying the melody from one instrument to another. There is a graceful poetry to the cadence of each track, reminding us that silences are as important to communication as sound."
-JOSEPH SANNICANDRO, SOUND PROPOSITIONS / A CLOSER LISTEN
--
“Fans of slow-evolving orchestral ambience will absolutely love this new collaboration between the Past Inside The Present label owner, Zach Frizzell and Damien Duque, also known as zakè and City of Dawn, for which they drop their project monikers and team up as simply Frizzell & Duque.
On these five, slowly evolving pieces of A Sorrow Unrequited, the duo manipulate chamber instruments alongside reverb saturated pads and swelling bass to compose a symphony of ebbing music. Unlike some undertakings, where artists would sample their classical records and loop through the passages sculpting the sound, the modern classical elements of this record appear to be cleaner and pure.
I praise this pristine production, where every each instrument finds a home, in a wonderful fusion of ambient, neo-classical, and meditation music. In a closer listening session, intricate layers of sonics blanket the surface of wave-kissing shores; while in a passive attention-softening seance, A Sorrow Unrequited comforts and lulls.
The release is an interpretation of a poem by the same name, written by Julia Frizzell. Here’s a quote of the first stanza, “Fragile dreams while we are growing old / For we once believed we owned the sky / Spread endlessly before us / Lie shallow at our feet //”
I’ve played this on repeat consecutive times, and I keep coming back to the album, as I’m sure you will too.
I recommend that you grab this on vinyl.”
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
"It's not just a clever name. Zake and City of Dawn have come up with a record that genuinely sounds like the reflective moods that so often follow great loss, realised on record. Sweeping synth-strings on 'We Once Believed We Owned The Sky' only serving to reiterate the sense of lamentation that seems to pervade every corner of this album.
Sometimes looking back on what was but will never be again is the only real way of making ourselves feel better - by connecting to intensely emotional memories we can trigger an outpouring that's truly cathartic. As if following that pattern, Frizzell & Duque: A Sorry Unrequited is a strangely uplifting experience by the time we're listening to the closing bars of 'The Sparrow's Flight', even if that's only because of the sense that others have the capacity to feel the same as we do."
- JUNO RECORDS
--
"Frizzell and Duque, better known as zakè and City Of Dawn, further extend their already impressive catalogue of music with the sublime ‘A Sorrow Unrequited’. The joy of ambient music is its ability to provide the listener with a pathway to quiet contemplation. These two musicians take the listener on an aural journey, a musical interpretation of the beautiful poem of the same name written by Julia Frizzell. A Sorrow Unrequited showcases the beauty of the modern classical/ambient genre, and the talent of these two artists is on full display. Music that is truly timeless and enduring."
-BRIAN HOGAN
--
"Frizzell and Duque, better known as zake and City Of Dawn, further extend their already impressive catalogue of music with the sublime 'A Sorrow Unrequited'. The joy of ambient music is its ability to provide the listener with a pathway to quiet contemplation. These two musicians take the listener on an aural journey, a musical interpretation of the beautiful poem of the same name written by Julia Frizzell. A Sorrow Unrequited showcases the beauty of the modern classical/ambient genre, and the talent of these two artists is on full display. Music that is truly timeless and enduring."
- JUNO RECORDS
'An Eternal Moment Hidden Away'
“The work of the artist simply known as zakè has grabbed me from moment one. That such a remarkable and prolific ambient artist is housed in Indianapolis is not lost on me. An Eternal Moment Hidden Away shyly reminds us that much like the hidden artistry of a forgettable Midwestern city, there is beauty and reflection to admire in all walks of life.
From an outsider, sitting on the rundown tracks and roads of the loop surrounding this obelisk of the Industrial Revolution, An Eternal Moment Hidden Away hums with the sound of negligence as a renewable source of energy. At any moment, the winter’s stiff breeze may blow this idealism off its course only to find itself down a lesser passage or alleyway that contains its own magical remembrance, as it does near the end of “Eternal Resonance I, Variation 1”.
The carefulness of An Eternal Moment Hidden Away is stunning, and that it’s partially crafted from an undisclosed location in city of less than a million people that could easily speak to each one of these inhabitants is no less remarkable.
City of Dawn and zakè have managed to make moving compositions of the fragility of the forgotten,
and yet the freedom that being ignored but grounded delivers.”
-JUSTIN SPICER, CERBERUS
From an outsider, sitting on the rundown tracks and roads of the loop surrounding this obelisk of the Industrial Revolution, An Eternal Moment Hidden Away hums with the sound of negligence as a renewable source of energy. At any moment, the winter’s stiff breeze may blow this idealism off its course only to find itself down a lesser passage or alleyway that contains its own magical remembrance, as it does near the end of “Eternal Resonance I, Variation 1”.
The carefulness of An Eternal Moment Hidden Away is stunning, and that it’s partially crafted from an undisclosed location in city of less than a million people that could easily speak to each one of these inhabitants is no less remarkable.
City of Dawn and zakè have managed to make moving compositions of the fragility of the forgotten,
and yet the freedom that being ignored but grounded delivers.”
-JUSTIN SPICER, CERBERUS
'Thesis 18'
"Thesis 18, which features a delightfully unexpected partnership between Black Brunswicker, Lucy Gooch & zakè. As with most Thesis releases, this is an inspired pairing of artists that had never collaborated previously, but these three do share a connection as they have all recently released material on Past Inside the Present, a label which zakè co-founded two years ago.
Lucy Gooch’s Rushing, which came out early this year, has garnered much well-deserved attention for her distinctive blending of ambient, choral, an pop motifs while Black Brunswicker’s Hidden Amongst the Trees and Foothills and zakè’s Orchestral Tape Studies feature prominently among my most recommended ambient albums of 2019.
“Wash Away” is a mesmerizing amalgam of sounds created by all three artists while “On a Sunny Shore” is an warmly pastoral mediation on guitar & tape by Black Brunswicker.
In addition to the cover art, Thesis created three beautiful new poster prints to accompany the release as well as the highly unique “turntable ballet” which assembles contour line drawings of each musician’s hand, as well as their city of origin, on a stalk of prairie plant mounted to driftwood which spins along while the album plays.
Thesis 18 was mastered by Simon Scott and includes additional vocal arrangement & synthesizers by Alistair Lax."
-STATIONARY TRAVELS
--
"This is a beautiful new project from Lucy Gooch (UK), Black Brunswicker (US) and zake (US)- Lucy Gooch's vocals become an ocean of loops and washes that float above the Black Brunswicker lap steel swells and zake drones."
-JUNO RECORDS
Lucy Gooch’s Rushing, which came out early this year, has garnered much well-deserved attention for her distinctive blending of ambient, choral, an pop motifs while Black Brunswicker’s Hidden Amongst the Trees and Foothills and zakè’s Orchestral Tape Studies feature prominently among my most recommended ambient albums of 2019.
“Wash Away” is a mesmerizing amalgam of sounds created by all three artists while “On a Sunny Shore” is an warmly pastoral mediation on guitar & tape by Black Brunswicker.
In addition to the cover art, Thesis created three beautiful new poster prints to accompany the release as well as the highly unique “turntable ballet” which assembles contour line drawings of each musician’s hand, as well as their city of origin, on a stalk of prairie plant mounted to driftwood which spins along while the album plays.
Thesis 18 was mastered by Simon Scott and includes additional vocal arrangement & synthesizers by Alistair Lax."
-STATIONARY TRAVELS
--
"This is a beautiful new project from Lucy Gooch (UK), Black Brunswicker (US) and zake (US)- Lucy Gooch's vocals become an ocean of loops and washes that float above the Black Brunswicker lap steel swells and zake drones."
-JUNO RECORDS
'Mirrored'
"The latest full-length excursion from the Zakè Drone label brings together imprint chief zakè and Past Inside The Present collaborator Slow Dancing Society for a first collaborative outing. Comprising six slow-motion tracks that sit somewhere between drone, academic ambient, sound design, ambient techno and neo-classical, "Mirrored" is an undeniably meditative affair capable of soothing stressed minds and warming aching limbs. There are of course distinctive highlights - see the gently throbbing deep space chords and hypnotic deep techno beats of "Mirrored", the windswept-but-warm pulse of "Anamnesis" and the contemplative late night drift of "Nadir" - but the album's greatest strength is undoubtedly how it sits together as a coherent, mood-enhancing whole."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
“Minimal composition, only consisting of filtered pads and clicky house drums. Ironically its zenith is closer track ‘Nadir’, a smooth drone piece on a slow crescendo that gradually becomes less filtered and more visceral.”
-BANDCAMP, (NEW AND NOTABLE)
-JUNO RECORDS
--
“Minimal composition, only consisting of filtered pads and clicky house drums. Ironically its zenith is closer track ‘Nadir’, a smooth drone piece on a slow crescendo that gradually becomes less filtered and more visceral.”
-BANDCAMP, (NEW AND NOTABLE)
'Coppice Movements'
“This is a gorgeous EP of soft, thoughtful ambient music, right when many of us need it most.”
-PHILIP SHERBURNE, PITCHFORK
--
“Created as an addendum to the 'Carolina' album, 'Coppice Movements', and the five movements comprising the EP, isn't so much a case of exploring new territories as it is a convincing display of just how much can be done within a relatively strict conceptual framework. One of the joys of drone in forms tied to ambient electronica is the deceptive sense of depth - refrains often hang on a single central tone but float, glide and flow in a manner that creates textured soundscapes on such a huge scale images of mountain tops and big country wildernesses are rarely far from the mind's eye. zakè’s latest is a case in point, offering plenty of calm but complex scores primed for the self-reflective moments in time we spend considering the beauty of our world.”
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"Appearing in 2021 as a combination of two EPs from the previous year, Carolina & Coppice Movements found zake creating a kind of perfect album for the confused time that was COVID lockdown and afterward, building on solitary field recordings done in “hidden corners,” to quote the liner notes, of the US Southeast. Tracks like “Woodland Aurora” easily live up to their names, a series of flowing electronic ebbs and swells and sometimes subtle rhythms, while “Examination of Conscience” may go heavy on the title front but still feels light and uplifting."
–NED RAGGETT, PITCHFORK / ALLMUSIC / THE QUIETUS
-PHILIP SHERBURNE, PITCHFORK
--
“Created as an addendum to the 'Carolina' album, 'Coppice Movements', and the five movements comprising the EP, isn't so much a case of exploring new territories as it is a convincing display of just how much can be done within a relatively strict conceptual framework. One of the joys of drone in forms tied to ambient electronica is the deceptive sense of depth - refrains often hang on a single central tone but float, glide and flow in a manner that creates textured soundscapes on such a huge scale images of mountain tops and big country wildernesses are rarely far from the mind's eye. zakè’s latest is a case in point, offering plenty of calm but complex scores primed for the self-reflective moments in time we spend considering the beauty of our world.”
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"Appearing in 2021 as a combination of two EPs from the previous year, Carolina & Coppice Movements found zake creating a kind of perfect album for the confused time that was COVID lockdown and afterward, building on solitary field recordings done in “hidden corners,” to quote the liner notes, of the US Southeast. Tracks like “Woodland Aurora” easily live up to their names, a series of flowing electronic ebbs and swells and sometimes subtle rhythms, while “Examination of Conscience” may go heavy on the title front but still feels light and uplifting."
–NED RAGGETT, PITCHFORK / ALLMUSIC / THE QUIETUS
'Carolina'
"Set against the backdrop of an escape to hidden corners of the rural Southeast, prolific healing sound propagandist zakè and Polar Seas Recordings present Carolina. Suffused with manipulated field recordings, each of Carolina's four pieces reenacts a moment in its composer's journey: "Gaffney Fields" pairs memorial chimes with a persistent drone, while the flowing "Chesnee Rivulet" and the gentle roar of "Woodland Aurora" evoke distant ensembles lost in a forest thrum. Mastered at Black Knoll Studio (NY) by Rafael Anton Irisarri, Carolina is a solemn yet joyful paean to seclusion, and the awe beyond our doors."
-LUKE ENTELIS (VIUL)
--
"zake's first solo album of 2020 was recorded and produced during "a four-day excursion in several secluded areas" in South Carolina. As a result, listeners can expect to hear babbling brooks, birdsong and the gentle rustling of leaves beneath zake's alluring mixture of enveloping ambient chords, unearthly drone tones, opaque electronics and slowly-shifting, heavily processed neo-classical movements. The results are hugely immersive and undeniably enjoyable, with each of the four tracks delivering a head-in-the-clouds journey that ripples with becalmed, atmospheric intent. In other words, it's the kind of ambient music you can get lost in. More please!"
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"Carolina by zakè from Polar Seas Records is a gentle tonal respite to the lush and warm woodlands of the south. The music evokes a sense of natural reverence and hushed joy beneath a canopy of vibrant processed field recordings. The soft ambient loops are like captured moments of elation, faded reruns ready to be to played back, revisiting those memories of quiet contentment."
-TONE HARVEST
--
This gorgeous transparent colored vinyl (available in yellow, green, and blue) is the first full-length for Zach Frizzell outside of his very own Past Inside the Present label. As the title and the cover of the album suggest, for these four pieces, Frizzell focuses on the environmental ambiance inspired by his four-day exclusion throughout the Cherokee and Spartanburg counties of South Carolina. The sounds of low ambient drone mix with the captured sonic postcards of the flowing waters, singing birds, and swaying trees. Just listening to this recording while I’m writing these words makes me want to escape into nature, which appears to be thriving while humans have hidden away. Listened to at low volume, Carolina can serve as a perfect escapist tool from our current surreal predicament.
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
“Being from SC, one read through Carolina’s release description and safe to say I was going to be covering this one. Brian Eno has said in regards to ambient music, “it must be as ignorable as it is interesting” and Carolina is ambient in the truest sense. You can get completely lost in the sounds here or they can easily float by unaffected in the background, much like nature itself. It is your choice how to observe and interpret and zakè provides the perfect sonic backdrop for that to occur. When given your full attention, Carolina is a majestic and spiritual musical journey into nature and all its restorative powers.”
-SOUND AS LANGUAGE
--
“Perfect calm listening, the antidote to fear in these troubled times.”
-PINPOD, QUIET SPACE
"According to the artist himself, zake's first solo album of 2020 was recorded and produced during "a four-day excursion in several secluded areas" in South Carolina. As a result, listeners can expect to hear babbling brooks, birdsong and the gentle rustling of leaves beneath Zake's alluring mixture of enveloping ambient chords, unearthly drone tones, opaque electronics and slowly-shifting, heavily processed neo-classical movements. The results are hugely immersive and undeniably enjoyable, with each of the four tracks delivering a head-in-the-clouds journey that ripples with becalmed, atmospheric intent. In other words, it's the kind of ambient music you can get lost in. More please!"
-JUNO RECORDS
-LUKE ENTELIS (VIUL)
--
"zake's first solo album of 2020 was recorded and produced during "a four-day excursion in several secluded areas" in South Carolina. As a result, listeners can expect to hear babbling brooks, birdsong and the gentle rustling of leaves beneath zake's alluring mixture of enveloping ambient chords, unearthly drone tones, opaque electronics and slowly-shifting, heavily processed neo-classical movements. The results are hugely immersive and undeniably enjoyable, with each of the four tracks delivering a head-in-the-clouds journey that ripples with becalmed, atmospheric intent. In other words, it's the kind of ambient music you can get lost in. More please!"
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"Carolina by zakè from Polar Seas Records is a gentle tonal respite to the lush and warm woodlands of the south. The music evokes a sense of natural reverence and hushed joy beneath a canopy of vibrant processed field recordings. The soft ambient loops are like captured moments of elation, faded reruns ready to be to played back, revisiting those memories of quiet contentment."
-TONE HARVEST
--
This gorgeous transparent colored vinyl (available in yellow, green, and blue) is the first full-length for Zach Frizzell outside of his very own Past Inside the Present label. As the title and the cover of the album suggest, for these four pieces, Frizzell focuses on the environmental ambiance inspired by his four-day exclusion throughout the Cherokee and Spartanburg counties of South Carolina. The sounds of low ambient drone mix with the captured sonic postcards of the flowing waters, singing birds, and swaying trees. Just listening to this recording while I’m writing these words makes me want to escape into nature, which appears to be thriving while humans have hidden away. Listened to at low volume, Carolina can serve as a perfect escapist tool from our current surreal predicament.
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
“Being from SC, one read through Carolina’s release description and safe to say I was going to be covering this one. Brian Eno has said in regards to ambient music, “it must be as ignorable as it is interesting” and Carolina is ambient in the truest sense. You can get completely lost in the sounds here or they can easily float by unaffected in the background, much like nature itself. It is your choice how to observe and interpret and zakè provides the perfect sonic backdrop for that to occur. When given your full attention, Carolina is a majestic and spiritual musical journey into nature and all its restorative powers.”
-SOUND AS LANGUAGE
--
“Perfect calm listening, the antidote to fear in these troubled times.”
-PINPOD, QUIET SPACE
"According to the artist himself, zake's first solo album of 2020 was recorded and produced during "a four-day excursion in several secluded areas" in South Carolina. As a result, listeners can expect to hear babbling brooks, birdsong and the gentle rustling of leaves beneath Zake's alluring mixture of enveloping ambient chords, unearthly drone tones, opaque electronics and slowly-shifting, heavily processed neo-classical movements. The results are hugely immersive and undeniably enjoyable, with each of the four tracks delivering a head-in-the-clouds journey that ripples with becalmed, atmospheric intent. In other words, it's the kind of ambient music you can get lost in. More please!"
-JUNO RECORDS
'Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel'
"If you’ve ever seen a space-travel movie, you’re probably familiar with the concept of longterm stasis, aka hyper sleep: just a bunch of humans chilling in torpor en route to some newer, brighter world, light years away from the marvelous blue marble we call home. Hypothetically, the trope may become a reality further down the line; the aerospace engineering company SpaceWorks, for instance, has proposed “torpor-inducing transfer habitats” as a means of smoothening mankind’s eventual journey to Mars (assuming we make it there before bringing about our own demise, of course.) Until then, we’ll have to settle for the soundtrack, Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel. A collaborative release between the British producer Dennis Huddleston (aka 36) and Zaké, a “healing sound propagandist” from Indianapolis, IN, it’s a sonic approximation of the impossible (and impossibly expensive) space nap, manifested here as three soft, soothing, melancholic ambient movements: the four-stage title track, which represents the journey away from home; a nostalgic, field recording-flavored “extended hypersleep program” inspired by all the places left behind (caves, rain, cities); and at the end of the tranquil dream, a trilogy of “reductions” to let us back down to earth. I highly recommend listening to this record at night, looking up at the stars, bundled up in your favorite sweater. It’s not the same exact thing as a stasis pod, but it’s close."
—ZOE CAMP, BANDCAMP (BEST NEW AMBIENT MUSIC ON BANDCAMP)
--
"Given the respective outputs of committed ambient explorers and sound designers Zake (best known for releasing no less than five fine albums in 2019) and 36 (most recently seen on A Strangely Isolated Place with the superb album "Fade To Grey"), you'd expect this trip into aural deep space to be rather good. It is of course, with the four tracks mixing echoing sonic tones and drifting sound effects with slow-burn electronic melodies and the kind of immersive, sustained chords that were once the preserve of German maestro Pete Namlook. The third track in the suite, appropriately titled "Stage 3", is little less than stunning, in part because of its grandiose, almost classical intent."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"The first collaboration between frequent Past Inside the Present contributor 36 and the label’s founder zakè tells a very human story through layers of literal and figurative atmosphere. The album voices a personal longing for others to feel content with switching off, for self-reflection and stillness. The album comes in three “movements;” the introductory self-titled track attempts to capture what’s being left behind, “Extended Hypersleep Program” is the central narrative, and “Reduction” is its denouement (it could be read either as a return to Earth or a further descent into uncharted territory). The drowsiness instilled by the implied cryogenic slumber feels manufactured, the rounded-off sonic edges reminiscent of the album’s futuristic, clean, and sterile setting. There’s a surrealism that pervades the album that not only assists in telling its story, but gives it its own unique tonal flavor."
—ARI DELANEY, BANDCAMP (BEST NEW AMBIENT MUSIC ON BANDCAMP)
--
"On Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel, Dennis Huddleston, who, once again, appears here as 36, and Zach Frizzell, the very founder of the Past Inside the Present label, who also records under his zakè moniker (also known as 扎克), offer us over 90 minutes of space roaming drift. The yellow and red swirly transparent vinyl and its beautiful transparent cobalt brother featured the first four stages of this extended voyage, while the digital release on Bandcamp includes the Extended Hypersleep Program [this one is composed solely by Huddleston] and additional “reductions” [in turn composed solely by Frizzell] to truly bring your self-inflicted chaos to a still. The release is an ideal selection of mind settling music, especially during these times of self-isolation, where, interestingly enough, the [human] world found itself slowing its pace."
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
"The now veteran of the ambient-drone Dennis Huddleston, aka 36, of Leeds, and zakè, of Indianapolis, unite to describe in this album one of the typical sci-fi scenarios, namely that of the journey long lasting in the cosmos. In particular, they refer to the process of "hibernation" of the astronauts, a state of deep and prolonged sleep that could make possible operations such as the colonization of Mars or the exploration, with human crew, of our Solar System. The science fiction pretext of "Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel" is, however, the occasion for a reading that combines the space theme with the meditative one: the Universe intended as a place of exploration of thought, boundless field of introspection.
Ideally divided into three large parts, the work articulates its 97 total minutes as follows: a 28-minute suite in four "stages" that closely follows the typical sounds of film science fiction, with a very slow fanfare diluted in subliminal melodies that recall Vangelis to the point of colliding with a sidereal wind, a meeting point between the cosmic restlessness of Klaus Schulze and the new age poetry of Constance Demby; after a piece dedicated to the stasis room (for about 6 minutes), a 30-minute triptych of nostalgic dreamy frescoes appears, animated by minimal sounds and clouds of drones, as well as by more descriptive field-recordings, which remind us of the landscapes in a moving way Earthlings (a cave, rain, a city at night). Three conclusive "reductions", diluted versions and pareidolitic illusions of the sounds already listened to, which translate the border between dream and wakefulness into music, recalling the splendid, rarefied and imaginative journeys of the Stars Of The Lid, culminating in the final "Reduction 3 ", a full 21 minutes.
What distinguishes the dream from death? In the first with the immobile body a mind coexists that explores an inner universe, abstract and soothing, synesthetic and hypnotic; in the second, they dominate total anguish and, afterwards, a boundless nullity. This "Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel" is never eerie, because a spark of emotion animates its long suites and contrasts the journey of the mind with the stasis of the body. Far from the metropolitan chaos, from the incessant stimuli of the hyperconnected global village, from the pressing deadlines and from the alarming breaking news that take sleep away, we find ourselves meditating for an abundant hour and a half, leaving for a while that with the movement of the body replace the boundless journey of the soul. It is no coincidence that 36 published the EP "Music For Isolation" in early April: what is the quarantine that the world has been experiencing in these months, if not a long standstill?"
-ONDAROCK, ITALY
--
“Since its earliest iteration, ambient has consistently been defined by the idea of concept – as explicitly representing an idea, space, or journey. The new collaboration between 36 & zaké is an exquisite example of this tradition, as Stasis Sounds is a “soundtrack that commences at Earth’s thermosphere, gently moving towards the untraveled parts of space, lushly floating on forever.” This is a record that evolves slowly, like water gently trickling from a glacier, drawing the listener in to get lost in its subtly epic scope. The gleaming tape loops, the thoughtful synths that stretch tantalisingly into the infinite distance, Stasis Sounds feels like stepping into the turn of Earth.”
-ALL THINGS LOUD
--
“Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel, sees UK ambienteer, 36, collude with US ‘healing sound propagandist,’ zaké, in a field recording-infused ‘extended hypersleep program’ inspired by nostalgia for an imagined left behind (cities, caves, rain). Spatial transmissions awash with billowing tones for quiet reflection—an act congruent with the tenor of life on this current version of Earth.”
-IGLOO MAGAZINE
--
"Past Inside The Present are on a mission to make you slow down and enjoy the now more than we do in modern life. They do so with this latest 12", which features four accompaniment programs "designed to give the stasis user a pleasurable experience in extended hypersleep." This is hi fidelity listening music that is as cathartic and escapist as it comes. Each track is like tuning into and endless continuum of sound that ebbs and flows infinitely. Celestial and delicate, if you can't relax in the company of these then you got real problems."
-JUNO RECORDS, ESSENTIAL LISTENING
—ZOE CAMP, BANDCAMP (BEST NEW AMBIENT MUSIC ON BANDCAMP)
--
"Given the respective outputs of committed ambient explorers and sound designers Zake (best known for releasing no less than five fine albums in 2019) and 36 (most recently seen on A Strangely Isolated Place with the superb album "Fade To Grey"), you'd expect this trip into aural deep space to be rather good. It is of course, with the four tracks mixing echoing sonic tones and drifting sound effects with slow-burn electronic melodies and the kind of immersive, sustained chords that were once the preserve of German maestro Pete Namlook. The third track in the suite, appropriately titled "Stage 3", is little less than stunning, in part because of its grandiose, almost classical intent."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
"The first collaboration between frequent Past Inside the Present contributor 36 and the label’s founder zakè tells a very human story through layers of literal and figurative atmosphere. The album voices a personal longing for others to feel content with switching off, for self-reflection and stillness. The album comes in three “movements;” the introductory self-titled track attempts to capture what’s being left behind, “Extended Hypersleep Program” is the central narrative, and “Reduction” is its denouement (it could be read either as a return to Earth or a further descent into uncharted territory). The drowsiness instilled by the implied cryogenic slumber feels manufactured, the rounded-off sonic edges reminiscent of the album’s futuristic, clean, and sterile setting. There’s a surrealism that pervades the album that not only assists in telling its story, but gives it its own unique tonal flavor."
—ARI DELANEY, BANDCAMP (BEST NEW AMBIENT MUSIC ON BANDCAMP)
--
"On Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel, Dennis Huddleston, who, once again, appears here as 36, and Zach Frizzell, the very founder of the Past Inside the Present label, who also records under his zakè moniker (also known as 扎克), offer us over 90 minutes of space roaming drift. The yellow and red swirly transparent vinyl and its beautiful transparent cobalt brother featured the first four stages of this extended voyage, while the digital release on Bandcamp includes the Extended Hypersleep Program [this one is composed solely by Huddleston] and additional “reductions” [in turn composed solely by Frizzell] to truly bring your self-inflicted chaos to a still. The release is an ideal selection of mind settling music, especially during these times of self-isolation, where, interestingly enough, the [human] world found itself slowing its pace."
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
"The now veteran of the ambient-drone Dennis Huddleston, aka 36, of Leeds, and zakè, of Indianapolis, unite to describe in this album one of the typical sci-fi scenarios, namely that of the journey long lasting in the cosmos. In particular, they refer to the process of "hibernation" of the astronauts, a state of deep and prolonged sleep that could make possible operations such as the colonization of Mars or the exploration, with human crew, of our Solar System. The science fiction pretext of "Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel" is, however, the occasion for a reading that combines the space theme with the meditative one: the Universe intended as a place of exploration of thought, boundless field of introspection.
Ideally divided into three large parts, the work articulates its 97 total minutes as follows: a 28-minute suite in four "stages" that closely follows the typical sounds of film science fiction, with a very slow fanfare diluted in subliminal melodies that recall Vangelis to the point of colliding with a sidereal wind, a meeting point between the cosmic restlessness of Klaus Schulze and the new age poetry of Constance Demby; after a piece dedicated to the stasis room (for about 6 minutes), a 30-minute triptych of nostalgic dreamy frescoes appears, animated by minimal sounds and clouds of drones, as well as by more descriptive field-recordings, which remind us of the landscapes in a moving way Earthlings (a cave, rain, a city at night). Three conclusive "reductions", diluted versions and pareidolitic illusions of the sounds already listened to, which translate the border between dream and wakefulness into music, recalling the splendid, rarefied and imaginative journeys of the Stars Of The Lid, culminating in the final "Reduction 3 ", a full 21 minutes.
What distinguishes the dream from death? In the first with the immobile body a mind coexists that explores an inner universe, abstract and soothing, synesthetic and hypnotic; in the second, they dominate total anguish and, afterwards, a boundless nullity. This "Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel" is never eerie, because a spark of emotion animates its long suites and contrasts the journey of the mind with the stasis of the body. Far from the metropolitan chaos, from the incessant stimuli of the hyperconnected global village, from the pressing deadlines and from the alarming breaking news that take sleep away, we find ourselves meditating for an abundant hour and a half, leaving for a while that with the movement of the body replace the boundless journey of the soul. It is no coincidence that 36 published the EP "Music For Isolation" in early April: what is the quarantine that the world has been experiencing in these months, if not a long standstill?"
-ONDAROCK, ITALY
--
“Since its earliest iteration, ambient has consistently been defined by the idea of concept – as explicitly representing an idea, space, or journey. The new collaboration between 36 & zaké is an exquisite example of this tradition, as Stasis Sounds is a “soundtrack that commences at Earth’s thermosphere, gently moving towards the untraveled parts of space, lushly floating on forever.” This is a record that evolves slowly, like water gently trickling from a glacier, drawing the listener in to get lost in its subtly epic scope. The gleaming tape loops, the thoughtful synths that stretch tantalisingly into the infinite distance, Stasis Sounds feels like stepping into the turn of Earth.”
-ALL THINGS LOUD
--
“Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel, sees UK ambienteer, 36, collude with US ‘healing sound propagandist,’ zaké, in a field recording-infused ‘extended hypersleep program’ inspired by nostalgia for an imagined left behind (cities, caves, rain). Spatial transmissions awash with billowing tones for quiet reflection—an act congruent with the tenor of life on this current version of Earth.”
-IGLOO MAGAZINE
--
"Past Inside The Present are on a mission to make you slow down and enjoy the now more than we do in modern life. They do so with this latest 12", which features four accompaniment programs "designed to give the stasis user a pleasurable experience in extended hypersleep." This is hi fidelity listening music that is as cathartic and escapist as it comes. Each track is like tuning into and endless continuum of sound that ebbs and flows infinitely. Celestial and delicate, if you can't relax in the company of these then you got real problems."
-JUNO RECORDS, ESSENTIAL LISTENING
'Wander'
"Even by the standards of ambient and drone artists, zakè is prolific. We're barely into May and he's already released two solo albums this year, as well as a full-length collaboration with Slow Dancing Society. 'Wander' was written alongside Texas-based City Of Dawn. Comprised of three lengthy and wonderfully immersive tracks, Wander offers a mesmerizing and meditative mix of densely layered ambient chords, sustained synthesized choral notes, effects-laden post-rock guitar textures, opaque electronics and sun-kissed, slow-burn musical movements. It's brilliantly blissful all told and undeniably one of the month's more enveloping and life-affirming ambient releases."
-JUNO RECORDS
--
“This collaborative album between zakè and City of Dawn is the first release under Zakè Drone Recordings; an imprint used to publish zakè’s own material along with collaborative projects involving his work. ‘Wander’ is an expression of slowing down. Collaboratively written during the winter months where days linger, frozen in time. The cold temperatures and darker days significantly influenced the writing process and resolve of both artists resulting in three immersive and hypnotizing dronescapes.”
zakè's first release under this new imprint for 2020 is a collaboration and split album with City of Dawn. Much like his release with Before Flags (on PITP) the release is split between single tracks from each artist and a collaboration. While only three tracks in number, the album clocks in at fifty three minutes.
“Wander” opens the collection with the collaboration producing a glacial drone piece that sounds like a recording of throat singing that has been cut into a section and the stretched out to form a series of long linear drones. The track is a piece of minimalism with only subtle changes being noted throughout the piece as the collaborators tend to focus on a small amount of sound and tightly wind that and play with its dynamics, fluctuating it’s textures and intensities to build and retreat. There is both a form of calmness (more predominant towards the end) and a whole lot of isolation.
“Shenondoah” is zakè’s contribution and takes on a noisier and almost impenetrable dronescape. But what you find underneath the thick wall of noise are moving Basinski-esque loops that roll along and show glimpses of light from under the darkness. The William Basinski approach is a classic sort of one that was done so well by it’s originator that when the style or method is used by other artists the material is held up under a very powerful microscope. When it is done badly it is obvious and the pieces become laborious to listen to However, when it done with the same spirit and intention and without totally copying the original, it can be rather successful. Thankfully for zakè’s case he is in the latter category and despite my aversion these days for noisier pieces, I enjoyed this piece.
City of Dawn round out the collection with “Fernweh” which has a slow moving pace that manages to escape the glacial description purely because of it’s variance. There are two distinct drones operating with a deeper drone being supported by a haunting slightly melodic one on top. Despite it having a dark-ish tonality, there is a feeling of both calmness and a sense of the translation of the title – “Wanderlust”. A visual accompaniment occurs when listening to the piece that involves a lake surrounded by a forest, early in the morning where the water is calm and not a soul is seen. If you are a fan of the purer form of drone music, then this will be right up your alley.
-DRIFTING, ALMOST FALLING
-JUNO RECORDS
--
“This collaborative album between zakè and City of Dawn is the first release under Zakè Drone Recordings; an imprint used to publish zakè’s own material along with collaborative projects involving his work. ‘Wander’ is an expression of slowing down. Collaboratively written during the winter months where days linger, frozen in time. The cold temperatures and darker days significantly influenced the writing process and resolve of both artists resulting in three immersive and hypnotizing dronescapes.”
zakè's first release under this new imprint for 2020 is a collaboration and split album with City of Dawn. Much like his release with Before Flags (on PITP) the release is split between single tracks from each artist and a collaboration. While only three tracks in number, the album clocks in at fifty three minutes.
“Wander” opens the collection with the collaboration producing a glacial drone piece that sounds like a recording of throat singing that has been cut into a section and the stretched out to form a series of long linear drones. The track is a piece of minimalism with only subtle changes being noted throughout the piece as the collaborators tend to focus on a small amount of sound and tightly wind that and play with its dynamics, fluctuating it’s textures and intensities to build and retreat. There is both a form of calmness (more predominant towards the end) and a whole lot of isolation.
“Shenondoah” is zakè’s contribution and takes on a noisier and almost impenetrable dronescape. But what you find underneath the thick wall of noise are moving Basinski-esque loops that roll along and show glimpses of light from under the darkness. The William Basinski approach is a classic sort of one that was done so well by it’s originator that when the style or method is used by other artists the material is held up under a very powerful microscope. When it is done badly it is obvious and the pieces become laborious to listen to However, when it done with the same spirit and intention and without totally copying the original, it can be rather successful. Thankfully for zakè’s case he is in the latter category and despite my aversion these days for noisier pieces, I enjoyed this piece.
City of Dawn round out the collection with “Fernweh” which has a slow moving pace that manages to escape the glacial description purely because of it’s variance. There are two distinct drones operating with a deeper drone being supported by a haunting slightly melodic one on top. Despite it having a dark-ish tonality, there is a feeling of both calmness and a sense of the translation of the title – “Wanderlust”. A visual accompaniment occurs when listening to the piece that involves a lake surrounded by a forest, early in the morning where the water is calm and not a soul is seen. If you are a fan of the purer form of drone music, then this will be right up your alley.
-DRIFTING, ALMOST FALLING
'Orchestral Tape Studies'
"These studies are a “compilation arranged and curated by healing sound propagandist, 扎克.” The mode becomes pure striations of ambient texture wafting from an off-white drone. The recording is broken into four parts, that actually work seamlessly as an extended long-player. Throughout there are frozen harmonies continually thawing, sometimes behind a filter, sometimes up front. But before the invigorating higher chords the layers melt and rise. It sounds like orchestral music for made in homage to the deterioration of polar ice, warm and chill, back and forth. Lovely set."
—TONESHIFT
--
"Gracefully & respectfully "healing sound propagandist", 扎克 has sampled & looped the sounds of several orchestras' quieter passages then deftly adorned them with gentle drones & the faintest of field recordings to wonderfully soothing, minimal, neoclassical & ambient effect for Past Inside the Present."
—THE SLOW MUSIC MOVEMENT
--
“Since arriving on the scene less than a year ago, Indianapolis-based Past Inside the Present has rolled out a rather dazzling catalog of thoughtful and immersive ambient releases of exceptionally high quality. Among these is a gem under the title of Orchestral Tape Studies. The record is by “healing sound propagandist” zakè (扎克), an homage to minimalist symphonic composers and orchestras in which fragmented orchestral loops have been compiled and woven together with oscillating repetitive strands of textural ambient drone. The result is a wonderful meditative exploration of liminality and tonality and one of the most serene and beautiful albums you could hope to enjoy.”
—HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
“Released on the increasingly influential Past Inside the Present label, Orchestral Tape Studies is a compilation album ‘curated’ by 扎克 (Zaké). Based on looped orchestral samples, which then incorporate original field recordings and production, OTS is a remarkably meditative record, that despite its short running time is one that brims with ideas. Presented in four parts, Zaké describes OTS as “intended for listening at low-volumes” and it’s is a mellow, pleasant listen. Opener Pure Violet is classic Tired-era Stars of the Lid; a horn gently blows in the background as strings delicately meld together to form a cohesive whole, while the ominous sound of wind hums beneath. Infinite Ocean is delightful; the violin sounds like it is buried beneath sand but the way the melody curves is joyous. The repetition lulls you in and seems to wrap you in a cocoon of serenity, with the barely audible wisp of wind now only adding to the calm. Zaké describes himself as a “healing sound propagandist”, and OTS is a wonderfully peaceful record. Solar follows suit, its violin slowly rising up and down throughout the track. Combined with how plaintive the strings are, it makes you feel as if you are being talked down from a panic attack, and that the song exists solely to rid you of anxiety. Closing track Stata is perhaps the most complex; this time the violins are more pronounced, the notes sharper and higher – it never strays into disquieting because rather than sounding foreboding, the strings are instead steeped in melancholy. It’s an acutely poignant end to a record of mostly tranquil stylings. Orchestral Tape Studies is a fascinating album, one that feels like an aid to ridding yourself of a 2am anxiety spiral. It’s a record of beauty and poise, and each note feels perfectly placed. It may just be half an hour in length, but it’s a special 30 minutes.”
—ALL THINGS LOUD
—TONESHIFT
--
"Gracefully & respectfully "healing sound propagandist", 扎克 has sampled & looped the sounds of several orchestras' quieter passages then deftly adorned them with gentle drones & the faintest of field recordings to wonderfully soothing, minimal, neoclassical & ambient effect for Past Inside the Present."
—THE SLOW MUSIC MOVEMENT
--
“Since arriving on the scene less than a year ago, Indianapolis-based Past Inside the Present has rolled out a rather dazzling catalog of thoughtful and immersive ambient releases of exceptionally high quality. Among these is a gem under the title of Orchestral Tape Studies. The record is by “healing sound propagandist” zakè (扎克), an homage to minimalist symphonic composers and orchestras in which fragmented orchestral loops have been compiled and woven together with oscillating repetitive strands of textural ambient drone. The result is a wonderful meditative exploration of liminality and tonality and one of the most serene and beautiful albums you could hope to enjoy.”
—HEADPHONE COMMUTE
--
“Released on the increasingly influential Past Inside the Present label, Orchestral Tape Studies is a compilation album ‘curated’ by 扎克 (Zaké). Based on looped orchestral samples, which then incorporate original field recordings and production, OTS is a remarkably meditative record, that despite its short running time is one that brims with ideas. Presented in four parts, Zaké describes OTS as “intended for listening at low-volumes” and it’s is a mellow, pleasant listen. Opener Pure Violet is classic Tired-era Stars of the Lid; a horn gently blows in the background as strings delicately meld together to form a cohesive whole, while the ominous sound of wind hums beneath. Infinite Ocean is delightful; the violin sounds like it is buried beneath sand but the way the melody curves is joyous. The repetition lulls you in and seems to wrap you in a cocoon of serenity, with the barely audible wisp of wind now only adding to the calm. Zaké describes himself as a “healing sound propagandist”, and OTS is a wonderfully peaceful record. Solar follows suit, its violin slowly rising up and down throughout the track. Combined with how plaintive the strings are, it makes you feel as if you are being talked down from a panic attack, and that the song exists solely to rid you of anxiety. Closing track Stata is perhaps the most complex; this time the violins are more pronounced, the notes sharper and higher – it never strays into disquieting because rather than sounding foreboding, the strings are instead steeped in melancholy. It’s an acutely poignant end to a record of mostly tranquil stylings. Orchestral Tape Studies is a fascinating album, one that feels like an aid to ridding yourself of a 2am anxiety spiral. It’s a record of beauty and poise, and each note feels perfectly placed. It may just be half an hour in length, but it’s a special 30 minutes.”
—ALL THINGS LOUD
'Orchestral Tape Studies [Tyresta Reworks]'
"This album is a complete reworking of Orchestral Tape Studies by Chicago-based Nick Turner aka Tyresta using a Mellotron, Fender Jazzmaster, delay and reverb to re-imagine each of the original pieces preserving their deeply contemplative nature while adding new dimensions of depth and opacity to create a more vivid melancholy from the same raw material. Taken together, these two complementary recordings offer over an hour of contemplative audio bliss."
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
-HEADPHONE COMMUTE
'To Those Who Dwelt in a Land of Deep Darkness'
"zake & Wayne Robert Thomas come together to serve up a thoughtful and healing deep dive into "what it means to continue living life in the face of loss and uncertainty." Their album is one of great depth emotional and full of subtle struggles that we can all relate to. 'To Those Who Dwelt in a Land of Deep Darkness' was first put out as a 10" lathe but now gets pressed up properly to 12" vinyl with three extra tracks taken from the original recording sessions. They say the best art comes out of adversity and that is certainly true here."
-JUNO RECORDS
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“To Those Who Dwelt in a Land of Deep Darkness is centered around a 40-minute piece that loops a gentle, layered melodic phrase ad infinitum, with only subtle alterations along the way. It was created as a kind of healing balm for people who have experienced deep loss, and I think therein lies its emotional power. To me it feels like the sun gently breaking through clouds as you start to move on and learn to live with grief. Then at the end comes a short, more active second track that kind of distills the essence of the first. A quietly powerful album with a beautiful stillness at its center.”
—AMBIENT MUSIC GUIDE, “BEST ALBUMS OF 2019”
-JUNO RECORDS
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“To Those Who Dwelt in a Land of Deep Darkness is centered around a 40-minute piece that loops a gentle, layered melodic phrase ad infinitum, with only subtle alterations along the way. It was created as a kind of healing balm for people who have experienced deep loss, and I think therein lies its emotional power. To me it feels like the sun gently breaking through clouds as you start to move on and learn to live with grief. Then at the end comes a short, more active second track that kind of distills the essence of the first. A quietly powerful album with a beautiful stillness at its center.”
—AMBIENT MUSIC GUIDE, “BEST ALBUMS OF 2019”
'Self-Titled'
“The debut self-titled 扎克 comes in a limited edition of only one hundred tapes. These four tracks are separated into vignettes, running about forty minutes and contain evocative drone work, from the faint abyss to luminous, jettisoning abandon. Radiance purrs of low-fi tranquility that skims the thin layered surface, with a warm base. Night Shineth as the Day collects some outdoor field recordings, bird sing sweetly paired with a sinewy mid-tonal synth alternating between a lackadaisical afternoon and hazy daydreaming.
Kasita comes rather quietly, and a bit more ventilation running through it, more sublimated than the previous. The lows are somewhat distorted with a bit of transitional onomatopoeia as it navigates onward. If this were the results of an exculpatory mission, this would be the last leg home, with its last few minutes vanishing into silence. That is a lot of breathing room for the closer, Minaret. The silence is quite piercing, but doesn’t last all that long as from this perspective the field widens subliminally slowly, steady and eventually takes over akin to a wall of sound. As this singular work runs for twenty minutes, the first seven or eight climb to a radiant peak of layered drone and pitch, exposed harmony and some casual strumming, keeping that momentum for a good 5-6 minutes. It’s a rush of fresh open air cadences, just overlapping in the most organic way, fading out smoothly over the final moments.”
-TONESHIFT
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"The debut self-titled by zake comes in a limited edition of only one hundred tapes. These four tracks are separated into vignettes, running about forty minutes and contain evocative drone work, from the faint abyss to luminous, jettisoning abandon. Radiance purrs of lo-fi tranquility that skims the thin layered surface, with a warm base. Night Shineth as the Day collects some outdoor field recordings, bird sing sweetly paired with a sinewy mid-tonal synth alternating between a lackadaisical afternoon and hazy daydreaming."
-JUNO RECORDS
Kasita comes rather quietly, and a bit more ventilation running through it, more sublimated than the previous. The lows are somewhat distorted with a bit of transitional onomatopoeia as it navigates onward. If this were the results of an exculpatory mission, this would be the last leg home, with its last few minutes vanishing into silence. That is a lot of breathing room for the closer, Minaret. The silence is quite piercing, but doesn’t last all that long as from this perspective the field widens subliminally slowly, steady and eventually takes over akin to a wall of sound. As this singular work runs for twenty minutes, the first seven or eight climb to a radiant peak of layered drone and pitch, exposed harmony and some casual strumming, keeping that momentum for a good 5-6 minutes. It’s a rush of fresh open air cadences, just overlapping in the most organic way, fading out smoothly over the final moments.”
-TONESHIFT
--
"The debut self-titled by zake comes in a limited edition of only one hundred tapes. These four tracks are separated into vignettes, running about forty minutes and contain evocative drone work, from the faint abyss to luminous, jettisoning abandon. Radiance purrs of lo-fi tranquility that skims the thin layered surface, with a warm base. Night Shineth as the Day collects some outdoor field recordings, bird sing sweetly paired with a sinewy mid-tonal synth alternating between a lackadaisical afternoon and hazy daydreaming."
-JUNO RECORDS
'Milieuxia'
"zakè, also known as 扎克 , is one of those artists that seem to breathe music. There were quite a few releases under his zakè alias, but also as Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea. Apart from creating his own ambient music, he is also the founder of the fast emerging Past Inside The Present label. Like the music of, say, Chihei Hatakeyama, zakè’s ambient is ‘classic’ ambient in the sense that does not needs your attention – “his emotive drone work instead hangs in the background, providing listeners with a felt sense of calm and ease.”
Warm, calm, slow music that encourages you to “settle in, open up, and let the experience unfold."
-AMBIENTBLOG.NET
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"zakè’s Milieuxia, another fine tape available from Aural Canyon Records, drifts and hovers like faint cirrus clouds in a peaceful sky.
Comprised mainly of keyboard-based ambient tracks, Milieuxia radiates a glowing warmth that is both healing and inviting, much like the green environment depicted on the cover. It pulls you in with its naturally simplistic vibes, much like a quiet natural scene (again, similar to the cover), and you quickly find yourself mesmerized by the music’s serene energy.
zakè is behind an entire label dedicated to ambient sounds, Past Inside the Present so you can trust that he’d create only the very finest of spacey soundscapes. Turn the lights off, light a few candles and allow this tape to take you soaring through the stratosphere."
-RECORD CRATES UNITED
Warm, calm, slow music that encourages you to “settle in, open up, and let the experience unfold."
-AMBIENTBLOG.NET
--
"zakè’s Milieuxia, another fine tape available from Aural Canyon Records, drifts and hovers like faint cirrus clouds in a peaceful sky.
Comprised mainly of keyboard-based ambient tracks, Milieuxia radiates a glowing warmth that is both healing and inviting, much like the green environment depicted on the cover. It pulls you in with its naturally simplistic vibes, much like a quiet natural scene (again, similar to the cover), and you quickly find yourself mesmerized by the music’s serene energy.
zakè is behind an entire label dedicated to ambient sounds, Past Inside the Present so you can trust that he’d create only the very finest of spacey soundscapes. Turn the lights off, light a few candles and allow this tape to take you soaring through the stratosphere."
-RECORD CRATES UNITED
