I'd not previously heard any ambient work by musician/multimedia artist Jason Sloan, but internet buzz about his newest work Still was too strong to resist. This, the second release on the newly formed Slo Bor Media label, continues the strong emphasis on design juxtaposed with opaque and translucent ambient music styles.

Like the previous Slo Bor Media various artists compilation Texture, Still is packaged in a luscious digipak reminiscent of Vaughn Oliver's packaging on a myriad of 4AD releases. In my mind, types of modern ambient music seem to be the next logical step from what was the signature sound of 4AD acts like the Cocteau Twins. This ambient undercurrent beneath much post-punk and art rock music has assuredly inspired today's newer ambient artists as readily as any Eno or Schulze LP from the seventies. Either way, the artistic connection is a pleasant one, proof, perhaps, that ambient will always expand and include what has preceded it inspirationally.

Still contains five long tracks of stately ambience, in a style that will appeal to both fans of darker and lighter styles of atmospheric music. The opening "breaths" of the first track, "The Color of Wind" remind me of no less than the work of VidnaObmana--most specifically his breathing synthesizer period of such melancholy classics as Shadowing in Sorrow or the soft beauty of River of Appearance. We are transported to a sepia-toned landscape, a landscape that can just as readily bring back feelings of loss and disconnection as it can the feelings of unbearable beauty in natural landscapes or honey-colored relationships relegated to the distant past. This is strong stuff, with an inexplicable emotional content that belies the "ambient" nature of the music. Track two, "Breath of White Autumn," discards the breathing synth of the first track in favor of rising and falling washes of spine-tingling sound. This has been a recent favorite for me to sleep by, as the washes wax and wane--intermingling with consciousness, lulling the listener into a state somewhere between wakefulness and slumber. There is an immediacy to the sonic landscape here, as if something truly monumental is about to happen. The swells of ambience trigger a reaction in the listener as he or she gradually grasps the album concept (as outlined in the liner notes)--that of the period before transcendence, when all seems possible yet remains uncertain. Sixteen minutes of pure bliss.

Track three, "Bleedwhitehorizon," is a bright, washed-out vista. Deep tones have replaced the swells of the previous track, creating a zen-like stillness within constant sonic shifting--similar to the effects on Thom Brennan's recent Satori CD. There is a "symphonic" undercurrent here, and the music builds gradually over nearly twenty luminous minutes. "The Color of Wind II" brings us back to VidnaObmana territory, but in a more understated way, as if the colors of track one have been washed out and muted. Once again, the delightful melancholia takes hold; this is not a feeling that drains the listener, but is more of a healthy catharsis, where memory is placed in context and eventual acceptance is harbored. The low bass tones of this track are quite affecting, lending a grounded effect to the sweetly sad harmonics. The final track, "Losing Winter" is a stark, brief (compared to the previous tracks), and fabulous ending to Still. Sea crashes, gull squall, treated piano, and harmonic synth combine to bring us back to a more earthed ambience, similar to Eno's On Land. This is a perfect capstone to an excellent collection of floating ambience, bringing the listener back to his or her own body after a marvelous journey of sensate delights.

Still ends, leaving an emptiness--it's as if the sonic space of the recording enriched the surrounding environment so strongly that it detracts from it when the music ends. Rather than occupy this negative space without Still, I chose to replay and fill the room again. Such is the pleasure of the very finest of ambient recordings--you wonder how your living spaces ever existed without them. This is the type of recording tailored to an entire afternoon of non-stop play. Still is a finely textured, well-sequenced collection of emotional ambience. Each track is subtly different, yet complementary to each of the others, creating a totality of sonic experience that rivals the classics of the genre, past and present. I can unreservedly say that this is one of the finest ambient releases of the year, (unquestionably outshining past masters' recent contributions to the genre) in its powerful melange of resonant textures and emotional sonorities. Bravo!

A Slo Bor Media release.

since July 15, 2003