Earthen Sea – Mirage
The restless upwards trajectory of Ital has been something of a marvel to behold, rocketing from relative obscurity in experimental corners of electronic music to international notoriety across a broader-minded club scene and with equal respect from the chin-stroking cognoscenti. As such, it’s pleasing to see him passing that success and consequent exposure on to like-minded souls through his re-animated Lovers Rock imprint. Jacob Long, here to be found in his Earthen Sea guise, is a long time cohort of Ital’s, having played bass in their post-punk band venture Mi Ami. Long in fact has a sizable catalogue of contributions, instrumentation and appearances from post rock to hardcore, but Earthen Sea has remained his devoutly solo project.
The hallmarks of a stealthy musical entity are all there, from the string of cassette releases to the CDRs, and now with this release Long makes for one more atmospheric enchanter with a chance to cast his spell on an audience beyond a small distribution network. There is no doubt that on Mirage an arcane energy is at work, especially in the ambient sprawl of the B-side. While many can dismiss tonal pads as something of a copout, on “Venus” the chords are produced with such presence and resonance that the harmonic peaks of the notes are almost too much to bear, like the emotional equivalent of the jugular overload a righteous bass line on a powerful soundsystem can elicit.
This isn’t purely an ambient release though. The A-side thrums along on a 4/4 kick, although in truth this rhythmic instruction doesn’t seem particularly aimed at the dancefloor. The accompanying percussion falls in delicate gestures, lightly brushed to accent the groove but better perceived as sonic decoration. “Saharan Ocean” is a reclusive cousin to dub techno as it marches forth with purpose while trying to avoid attention. The chords are no Basic Channel carbon copy though, instead forming out of hazy drones that contort with balletic poise as they curl around each other to form a mellifluous whole.
“Velvet Grey” is certainly an apt title for the A2, matching the low frequency hum of the dominant pad to a strung-out melodica approximation that brings a different kind of dubby flavour to proceedings, like Augustus Pablo in slow motion. The beat meanwhile rises and falls through the titular mists, never assertive enough to take control of the track but instead gently buffeting it along.
From the school of thought that gave rise to greats such as Jan Jelinek and Pole, Earthen Sea is a venture locked into a very specific remit, and its appeal is not likely to reach beyond avid followers of such strains of electronic music. Such a concern of course is elementary; what matters is that Jacob Long has crafted four sumptuous tracks of melancholic electronica. If you like that sort of thing then you’d be well advised to get familiar with this release.
Oli Warwick
Tracklisting:
A1. Saharan Ocean
A2. Velvet Grey
B1. Opaque Oasis
B2. Venus
Sea of Venus (digital only)
Floating (digital only)