Dark Sky Alliance – Interdwell (2024)

Review: Most ambient-electronic albums are created by a single artist or sometimes two. It's extremely rare for one to be created by a four-person group, which immediately distinguishes Interdwell, the debut album from Dark Sky Alliance, from others of its type. It's hardly the only thing noteworthy about the release, however, which pools the considerable talents of Spotted Peccary mainstay David Helpling, keyboardist Rupert Greenall (The Fixx), soundscaping synthesist Eric "the" Taylor, and drummer/percussionist Jerry Marotta, who's played with countless artists, Peter Gabriel among them, over the years. While the coming-together of such all-star talent could have resulted in ego-driven tugs-of-war, Interdwell is thankfully free of such shenanigans. All four have prioritized the material over personality and used their considerable abilities as writers and players to bring the album's dozen pieces to fruition. One also sees that material-first principle reflected in the instrumentation deployed. The release booklet provides a track-by-track account of who plays what, and it's not uncommon to find personnel changing for a given piece; neither is it unusual to see one or two sitting out if the material doesn't call for their contributions (strangely, the drummer is the only member who doesn't contribute to “Marotta Swamp”). And while Dark Sky Alliance is comprised of the four musicians specified, it's also a flexible unit that enables guests Jamie West Oram (guitar), Robert Rich (flute, keyboards), Joe Locke (vibraphone), Tony Levin (double bass), Forrest Fang (sampled percussion), and the late Sonam Tangee (chants, trumpet, Tibetan bells) to insert themselves. Not that the core four aren't capable of generating a kaleidoscopic sound field by themselves when they're credited with all manner of electronic gear, guitars, basses, and percussion. It's the kind of project where Marotta's more inclined to be enhancing a piece with shakers, bells, and Taos drums than a standard kit (even if it is his hard-hitting drumming that powers the penultimate track, “Linear”). “Search” ushers in the album on a sultry wave of guitar and synthesizer washes, all of it punctuated by pretty piano textures and the resonant ting of a ride cymbal. That ostensible overture having established mood, “Fortunate One” features the full group, here augmented by a chanting Tangee and guitar-wielding Oram, bringing the gradually intensifying material to a broil and draping guitar atmospherics and synth flourishes across a muscular tribal pulse. With Marotta laying down a heavy drum pattern, “Warm Inlet” grows resplendent through the layering of chiming guitars and gleaming synth chords. Evocations of place are frequent on Interdwell, one example “The Desert Mind,” which, especially with Tangee's trumpet folded into the arrangement, calls to mind the humid “Fourth World” settings of Jon Hassell. As daze-inducing is the intoxicating title track for the way it adds layer upon layer of synthesizers, Fripp-like guitars, and vibraphone to a churning percussive base. With field recordings enhancing the the real-world impression and Levin's bowing and Rich's flute adding melancholic ache, the engulfing reverie “The Slow Train Home” conveys an affecting longing for days gone by. The guests aren't incidental to the recording, by the way. It's Locke's vibraphone that's the most memorable element in the slow-burning “Latch,” for instance, and the same might be said about Rich's grand piano in what's perhaps the album's prettiest piece, the transporting “The Far Cry.” In the long-form tracks, it's not uncommon for moments of quietude to alternate with aggressive passages; the album isn't, in other words, a collection of static tracks content to inhabit a single, unchanging space for their duration. With four seasoned music veterans possessing a vast range of experience from which to draw, it's only natural for Interdwell to cut a wide swath. There are immersive soundscapes, guitar-stoked throwdowns, Vangelis-styled astral travels, and tribal episodes Steve Roach would be happy to put his name to. As varied as the presentation is, however, the well-considered ordering of the tracks makes for a seamless flow; manifesting the feel of a chapter-by-chapter odyssey, Interdwell was clearly not thrown together haphazardly. — Textura

Track List: 01 - Search 02 - Fortunate One 03 - Warm Inlet 04 - The Desert Mind 05 - Latch 06 - Interdwell 07 - The Far Cry 08 - Marotta Swamp 09 - Tre Pur 10 - The Slow Train Home 11 - Linear 12 - Bring Myself to Say It

Media Report: Genre: ambient Origin: Woodstock, New York, USA
Format: FLAC Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec Bit rate mode: Variable Channel(s): 2 channels Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz Bit depth: 16 bits Compression mode: Lossless Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)

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