013.5 - The Deep Dive - VVV - When The Night Air Leaves Notes and Interview

The deep dive is for readers who want to dig further into the album by reading the notes and pre-review interview that is done with each artist.  It is best read after the review.

Notes

Zenith - An undistorted electric guitar noodling with some other stringed instrument, I can’t tell what starts off the track… almost sounds aimless, like they are just improvising.  An interesting beat, consisting of a heavily distorted kick… I don’t even know if I would call it a kick drum.  It holds the beat but it’s not bass heavy, it's an interesting contrast to the undistorted string instrument used in conjunction with it.  The album also kind of just starts as if it's in the middle of something, like we're walking in on someone just chilling in their room playing some stuff.  Lots going on, and it's fascinating to see how they all interact with each other; that’s just the first 30 seconds of the song.
After the beat comes in things slowly begin to align.  The stringed instruments start harmonizing with each other rather than just playing improvised tunes.  A synthesized violin comes in and adds another layer to the composition and this is where the song really starts taking off.  The way that the song is initially structured makes a ton of sense now, if it all hit at once then the sense would have been overwhelming and a ton of the subtle touches that are in the mix would have been lost.  By introducing the guitar and other strings early we get a sense of what the backbone of the song is before the beat comes in.  The beat is a dominating force and if it was at the start of the song I don’t think most of the details here would have been picked up.  
This composition also showcases linear songwriting.  There is a main theme going on but there is very little repetition of musical patterns…. No riffs for lack of a better term.  The whole thing almost has a classical music feel to it with all the different elements along with the composition style.  Like that a lot, and it serves as an excellent opener, gives us a strong indication of what is to come throughout the album: the end of the song hints at the ambience, the beat hint at how strongly it dominates the songs its a part of, and the music hints at the intricacy that is in much of the album as well.  Excellent start.

The Supplementals - Soft synths lead in with some “twinkly” synth leads above it.  Honestly this sounds like it could be a synthwave song for the first 30 seconds or so.  What this period does though is it introduces the heart of the song, very much like Zenith did at the start.  Like a preview of things to come.  Love that little bit of teasing.
When that beat comes in, gawd is it strong. I’m not entirely sure what ghost tech is, and every person I ask has a different definition but one thing that I’ve seen is that the beat is huge and dominating.  This song showcases that well.  
Again I don’t think that the song would have the same effect if it started off with the beat, its so dominating and in your face that if it started off the song so many of the smaller subtleties would have been lost.  Now that its introduced it gives the listener a chance to really focus in on the other parts of the song as they take place over the beat.
There are a lot of forces at play here, many different synths playing many different themes, yet the whole song is cohesive.  The main driver is the beat paired with that synthwave styled lead heard at the very beginning of the song.  
In the background I hear complimenting melodies to the primary one, some synth pads, obscured vocals, those “twinkly” synths, and a ton of other things going on.  They all add to the song instead of detracting to it.  This is really a testament to how good the mixing and master is on this album, everything compliments instead of distracting or detracting from the song.  
The song ends with the same little melody that it started with and I love how that just wraps the whole thing together as a cohesive package.  This song is the promise fulfilled of Zenith.  

When the Night Air Leaves - The first purely ambient track, though I don’t know if I can call it truly ambient.  There are a lot of active melodies here, rather than just soundscapes.  The synth pads do give the song a very nice and relaxed tone compared to the first two tracks.
This song takes its time developing ideas, it's in no hurry to get anywhere despite only being 3 minutes long.  
Out of all the songs so far this one sounds the most like classic dreampunk, slow somewhat phased synths playing beautiful melodies.  The placement of this song is interesting as well, it really throws a monkey wrench into what to expect from this album.  Everything to this point has been huge driving beats that are in your face… this one is stripped down, and displays variations on a simple melody.
The rain that comes in about half way through really drives home the mental imagery that comes with a song like this.  The song progresses nicely, it maintains the steady 11-12 note backbone and then will play accompanying melodies on top of it.  Gives the song a very diverse feel even though its the most redundant track on the album so far.  Well executed and fits tha album’s pacing perfectly.  After listening to this track I would have no idea where the album is going to go on each successive track, and that is a very good thing.  

Primeval Source - This one harkens back to track 2’s structure, though not feel.  It's almost got an industrial feel to it, very mechanical to start with the choice in synths and sound effects.  When the beat does come in, it's similar to the first track… dynamic and distorted without a definitive kick drum.  
The synths used here once the beat comes in really change the feel of the song.  One of them in particular has a pipe organ type feel to it.  It changes the feel from industrial to almost a religious tone, like we are sitting in a futuristic dilapidated church.  
The “organ pads” mixed with some of the accompanying synths give this song an extremely distinctive feel while still being cohesive with the entirety of the album.  That’s really one of the marks of an excellent album.  Each song has its own identity but remains faithful to the overall concept and feel of the album.  
The song goes into an ambient period near the end and it goes back to that semi-industrial feel, if I had to revisit the visuals I would make this akin to an AI lifeform praying in that dilapidated church.  Whatever is going on here it ends the song on a high note.

Interwoven Cells - Something truly different to start out… almost melodic noise… or pitch shifted static.  It's a curious effect, and I don’t know what I feel about it, it stands out but not either in a good or a bad way, it just makes itself known.  It almost feels kind of urgent, or upbeat compared to what we’ve gotten so far.  More dynamics to the release.  
The beat is quickly added and that roots us back to the overall feel of the album. Even though the beat itself is not aggressive it's mixed very high so that it still has quite a bit of punch to it.  The music begins to slowly morph from the urgent and “noise” driven part of the beginning to incorporating more melody and acquiring a more passive tone. The primary instrument besides the established mechanical synths is what sounds like a xylophone.  There is a bit of a teasing melody in the background for what will become the major focus of the song later on.  
As the track progresses the instrumentation gets increasingly more fragile, especially compared to the previous tracks, even the title track.  It creates a strong contrast to the ever present, in your face, beat.  This contrast seems to be a long running theme in most of the songs on the album, I wonder if it was a continuous choice or if it just evolved naturally as VVV created the album?
Towards the end of the album its got a very minimalist tone along with that fragile sense that was mentioned earlier… it really ends the track so contrary to how it started.  We have this urgent start slowly morphing into ambience at the end… this is a densely packed song, actually all of the songs on this album are very dense.

Fall Had Left its Mark - A phased pad slowly is introduced at the start and is joined by some kind of feedback driven synth.  Its a cool effect.  Some very echoed female vocals herald the coming of the main structure of the track… its mostly ambient for the first minute until some slight percussion comes in at the 1:28 mark.  
The vocals are a very nice touch, kind of this track's calling card.  The one thing that really stands out about this track besides the vocals is the structure.  Its one of the first instances where we get the ABA structure rather than linear song writing.  I like that, its a subtle shift.  
What I am really digging about this album is it lets you enjoy it at whatever pace you want to enjoy it.  If you want to do a casual listen you can do that with no issues.  If you want to put on headphones and do a deep dive it welcomes that as well.  In this track in particular the vocals are hypnotic and can just sweep you away, but if you really listen there is a lot going on behind them, small little touches of ambience that add to the vocals ability to sweep you into another plane of existence.  
The choice of percussion here is also important, its there but unlike nearly every other percussive track so far this one is not in your face at all, it doesn't dominate the song… rather it compliments it.  It's not meant to obscure anything, just act as a driver or guide.  Really cool change of pace type song, and another song that does the unexpected from what has been established to this point on the album.  

True Sight - The shift that started in the previous track continues here.  The song has that real subtle percussion and female vocals.  This is more of an evolution of the previous track, having a very cyber feel from the synths chosen and the arrangement.  The female vocals in particular remind me quite a bit of an effect that is often employed by Kid Smpl, not a bad thing in the slightest.  
What I’m really struck by on this song is how much it resembles the previous one.  It's like the previous track is a transitional state for the album to reach this point.  We’re far removed from the heavy beats of the first few tracks and now we are in a very surreal ambience with defined beats but they do not dominate the way that they did early in the album.  
Listening to this track with headphones also reveals much of the depth that is showcased in accompaniment to the track.  VVV likes to hide a lot of soft tones and subtle melodies deep in the mix, again really rewarding those who listen intently.
The last minute plays the role so show the listener a cliffs notes version of the song… it quickly summarizes all of the different elements that have made the song work so well.. Sans the vocals.  Nice way to end it.

And the Shape Vanished From the Window - After the last two tracks were so similar I really didn’t know what to expect for this track.  Immediately though we know something is different, the song starts off almost the same way that the album does… like were walking into the middle of something, except instead of guitars this one is all synthesizers.  
This song seems like it may be the sister song of the title track, rain makes an appearance about a minute in and the slow evolving synth pads that were showcased there return here.  This song develops further into ambience and really blooms into its own in the second minute.  This is classic dreampunk in the vein of 2015-2016, really good stuff.  
This idea of sister songs is intriguing to me.  It seems like it may have some merit.  I’ll reflect on it some more.  
The song loses just a little bit of its musique towards the end, not sure if it's the synths used or the melody chosen, but it just breaks the spell for me a little bit.  Maybe it's because it seems like it shifts into a major key? I don’t know, but its off just a little.  

Gendarme - I wasn’t sure what to expect from this song, would it be a summary of everything that came before it or would it be its own thing… or something in between?
The song starts off very much in the same vein as the classic dreampunk selections on the release, but it takes a left turn around 20 seconds in when a beat that is somewhat in between the dominating beats and the more contained beats later in the album.  The guitar from the first track makes a brief appearance as well, way in the background… but its there.  
The song gives off this vibe that there is something important happening or dramatic.  It's cinematic in its approach and I like that a lot.  
The track really does tie in a ton of stuff found throughout the album, there is traces of the classic dreampunk, the female vocals, the strong beats.  But at the same time it is absolutely its own song.  This is an excellent closing track as it wraps everything up while still maintaining its own identity.  

Overall - There is a ton to unpack in this album.  There are several themes that seem to be going on in the album, one of them being diversity from song to song.  Each track really is distinct from the ones preceding and following it, with two notable exceptions.  Track 6 and 7 are very much in the same vein as each other, with track 7 seeming like the evolution of the sound started in 6.  Tracks 1 and 2 seem like they are meant to feed into each other as well, the first track is almost like an intro to the first full song in track 2.    
A second theme that I think I stumbled on was this idea of sister songs.  This didn't really occur to me until I was actively listening to the album on headphones, but there are tracks that are very similar to each other at different points.  As before, track 6 and 7 are very similar.  Tracks 3 and 8 share much in common.  Tracks 2 and 4 are very much aligned as well.  Its curious.
Finally the overarching theme is one of diversity, diversity in songwriting and diversity in the content of each track.  The first track is probably the best showcase of this, there is a TON going on in this song and its only 90 seconds long.  The seemingly random elements come together to form a cohesive structure that I didn’t even realize was happening until I was bobbing my head to the groove.  This same track has an immense beat that drowns out everything if you let it, but if you are able to focus in on the small details you are greatly rewarded with what is there.  I love it when producers do this kind of thing and it makes for a very rich listening experience.  
This album has a lot of themes and contrasting ideas going on, it's going to be fun to review.  

Interview

This album was released on Tekres, a label that specializes in Ghost Tech.  What is Ghost Tech to you and how did it shape the creation of this album?

SI - It’s simply another genre in a sea of made-up genres. That’s not a knock at the scene, but all these invisible aural lines people create are often absurdist constraints. I love the Tekres sound, but I also love to throw wrenches.

You have been associated with the dreampunk genre of late, however your work predates the genre entirely.  Do you consider yourself a dreampunk artist?  Why or why not?

SI -  I don’t consider myself a dreampunk artist, however the scene’s been beautifully inclusive & well curated for years now. There are elements of my music that have those tendencies, very dreamlike and texture heavy,  but I really appreciate many of these smaller labels for their grass roots methods and unpretentious approach to artists. It’s the “punk” conjunctive that I relate to more.

Multiple part question.  There is a lot of contrasting themes in many of the songs.  For example in ‘The Supplementals’ the beat is very strongly mixed, almost dominating the song.  Conversely there is quite a few melodies and instrumentals happening that are buried pretty deep in the mix really encouraging headphone usage and active listening.  
On the songs where the bass dominates, was there a message you were trying to convey to the listener? What was your thought process while creating these songs?

SI -  My thought process Is generally similar to my creative process in that It’s difficult to convey easily. Most of this album was made in a few weeks and thematically It’s all over the place. The album starts out with a tribute to my late Grandmother, Zenith. Then it’s followed by a completely different theme and movement. Mathematically simplistic arrangement, but sonically dense & all over the place. I wanted the bass to ripple & roar, certainly an odd taste.

Is there a running theme on the album of this conflict in styles? It is present in just over 50% of the album.

 
SI - Yeah, all over the place stylistically. These songs were optimized for headphones, with many ubiquitous textures and sound effects that accompany each theme accordingly for those willing to dive in with cans.

Throughout the album there seems to be “pairs” of songs: ‘When the Night Air Leaves’ and ‘And the Shape Vanished from the Window’ are very similar in style and execution.  ‘Fall Had Left its Mark’ and ‘True Sight’ are also very similar.  Was this done intentionally? If yes, why?

SI  - Your assessment of these “sister songs” is correct for the most part, many of the songs created here were made as pairs, and they are segmented throughout the release. Everything I make has intentions, I also like to inject sounds I dislike intentionally. Meaning that I bury filtered or unfiltered  sounds(generally a sample) that I don’t like into the song.
Something that I carried over from an underground avant-garde moniker I had in the early 2000’s called Modal Logic.

What musical (or otherwise) influences helped in the creation of this album? What would you say are your primary influences to your in general?

SI - Hmmm, this album was made when I was reading a ton of early
(1000 yr old) Persian prose, and watching Ray, Kiarostami and Fassbinder films. Not sure if any of those influences crept in there tangentially.

If you are comfortable answering, what type of equipment was used to create this record?

SI - Computer, d-50, ob6, midi, tape deck, akg mics & a semi-modular Phenol.

Also if you are comfortable sharing, is there an overarching narrative that you were trying to tell with this release? Or is it just a collection of songs? Or something else entirely?

SI - It’s merely a lost time-stamp release. Another forgotten love letter or relic buried in the sand. My hope was for it to somehow convey that.

Is there anything further you would like to say about this album or your music in general?

SI - Not much left to say here, the twists and turns are a part of songwriting and life. Keep twisting and turning or slowly perish in place... or some dumb addage like that.