A conceptual, modular synthesis experiment, life is the artistic new album from Brooklyn-based project ko.valainen. Dividing human existence into eight distinct states labeled as chess moves, the record masterfully pits vulnerable guitar textures against custom electronic elements.
Opening track “A1” conjures a sense of awakening in its gradually emerging vibrancy. Gentle, twanging guitar tones build as a steady electronic swell permeates alongside, atmospherically blissful and meditative in the mixture of droning electronics and illuminated guitar. A dose of distortion-like haziness appears quickly and fades at the four-minute mark, with the track then traversing to an elegantly satisfying outro. Elsewhere, glimmering synths exude an introspective glow within “D1,” reminiscent of the late Susumu Yokota in its lushly absorbing ambient synth elongation. Whereas “A1” feels like birth, “D1” touts a steady tonal disposition resembling greater familiarity with life itself.
A more unsettling hold unveils on “F1,” where static-y effects and growl-like robotic sounds move from the aforementioned tracks’ serenity into a foreboding, futuristic tint. A woozy, nightmare-ish second half sends delectably eerie chills, perhaps representing how both brightness and darkness are apparent in the journey of life. Album finale “H1” then swells from nocturnal, distant-sounding haunts into an artfully industrial darkness, fading into a serene resonance like the end of life itself. life is an artistic, accomplished standout of an album from ko.valainen.
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“A1” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
