A grippingly atmospheric track from contemporary composer and sound designer Cathrin Poschin, “Hidden Down” merges neoclassical composition with subtle electronic elements. Using just four instruments, Poschin crafts a trance-like soundscape of piercing piano arpeggios, resonant pads, and flute-like effects, evoking the eerie remnants of a lost world and something unknown still alive.
A haunting piano progression, sounding fit for an ’80s horror film, opens the track alongside bellowing backing synth pads. An anxious sense is conveyed in the trickling piano work, like rapid footsteps approaching a tucked-away solace. The synth element expands into a more prominent glimmering as the one-minute turn passes, furthering both the late-night feeling and vintage ’80s aesthetic. The melding of piano arpeggios, moody synth pads, and palpable structural momentum makes for a riveting listening experience.
The production is also a display of quality over quantity, opting to utilize just four instruments. An intertwining of the Parallel Earth Piano and grand piano absorbs with delayed arpeggios, while pedal-modulated pads add that delectably eerie feeling. Bass-y rhythmic pulses are subtle yet powerful as well, while lingering flute-like effects conjure a representation of “distant calls from unknown beings,” per the artist. “Hidden Down” is a stirring, immersive success from Cathrin Poschin, who succeeds in crafting an enjoyably otherworldly, foreboding soundscape.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
