Colours of Air

Album review

Given their shared brilliance at creating deeply layered ambient music, a collaboration between Loscil's Scott Morgan and Lawrence English was inevitable. That Colours of Air continues themes they've pursued individually feels downright serendipitous. A set of pieces using source material from a 19th century pipe organ and named for the colors they evoke, the project is in keeping with Morgan's explorations of imagery and light on Equivalents and Clara and with English's use of the organ on over a decade's worth of albums. In fact, the Australian composer/writer/curator considers the pieces he's created with the instrument -- which is housed in Brisbane's Old Museum and allows for remarkably slow tonal shifts -- collaborations in their own right, with results spanning 2014's formidable Wilderness of Mirrors to the almost subliminal moments on 2021's Observation of Breath. Together, he and Morgan create a rainbow's worth of cohesive yet distinctive tracks honoring the organ's ability to shape the air with tones ranging from soft to all-consuming. Though Colours of Air's concept could easily result in anodyne washes of sound, Morgan and English push themselves beyond choices that are merely aesthetic or soothing. "Aqua," one of the album's most unabashedly pretty pieces, features what sounds like an almost unadulterated organ floating in the background -- until it dips and swells like it's been pressed by a tremolo bar. Contrasted with the breath-like tones in the foreground, it makes for a striking fusion of ambient and shoegaze techniques that's equally sweet and eerie. More often, though, Colours of Air is surprisingly taut. Juxtaposing light, piano-like tones, flickering pulses, and a rolling low end, "Yellow" is one of the most characteristically Loscil tracks thanks to its delicate tension and subtle melodic sensibility. On "Grey," Morgan and English ratchet up the intensity, creating gentle but relentless discordance that, in its own way, generates as much unease as English's Merzbow collaboration Infinite Stalker. Here and on Colours of Air's other highlights, the duo stirs up powerful moods that frequently allude to the organ's sacred connotations. The deep, warming drones and softly glimmering waves of the centerpiece, "Black," conjure a calming stillness that feels full of potential, like looking up at the night sky -- or deep within. "Pink" may be named for one of the softest colors, but its penetrating tones and massive spaces radiate awe-inspiring heaviness. Fascinating sound design heightens the album's almost visual quality, particularly on "Violet," which juggles dramatic bursts of sound, loping, insistent percussion, and pensive washes gracefully. A meeting of the minds that will satisfy and excite fans of either or both artists, Colours of Air is a testament to Morgan and English's artistry that grows richer with each listen.

© Heather Phares /TiVo