Take a moment out of your day and close your eyes to one of Bearcubs’ dreamlike singles. Based in London, England, this producer has over the past few months released some very impressive work and has recently followed it up with his March 18th reveal of Paper Walls.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/196342881″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true”/]
A tightly produced, intricately layered downtempo piece, Paper Walls impresses with its maintenance of a long, elegant series of melodic lines. Especially effective was the persistence of forward motion throughout. Not much breathing room is allowed for the music to go stale, and new ideas are consistently presented before the previous one has finished. However, this was done tastefully enough that the piece remained sounding controlled and very measured in its execution. Paper Walls is simultaneously calming and rejuvenating, pensive and soulful.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/174234942″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true”/]The use of asymmetrical, disjointed rhythms in Touch is evocative of the phasing techniques of Steve Reich. The recurring rhythmic ostinato propels a hypnotic, chant-like melody through a skillfully constructed maze of harmonies. The entire piece dodges around any identifiable tonal centre and sustains nearly constant dissonances, yet remains extremely satisfying to listen to.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/159252933″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true”/]Let Go features some very interesting percussion and sounds. Again using many irregular rhythms, Let Go’s abrupt pauses and droning microtonalities give it a feeling of buoyancy and weightlessness. A melody, if even present, is very difficult to discern; rather, a collection of fragmented motives carry the piece through their many transformations and clever manipulation. Despite relatively little change in intensity, Let Go is still engaging and an excellent example of modern minimalistic music.
The Paper Walls single will be released on 20th April, 2015 and can now be ordered over the iTunes Store.