Wall Of Sleep

Having been reduced to only one fully functioning ear since early July has made appreciating new music difficult. Three weeks ago the GP diagnosed a sinus infection, an MRSA type bug, which had filled the eustachian tube to my right ear causing it to block, wipe out much of the hearing in it and produce raging tinnitus as a side effect. Eventually after two months of trying this, that and the other, I was prescribed some antibiotics (which it turns out they use to treat syphilis and malaria too) and although the first course didn't touch the infection, the second course began to work. Driving home last Wednesday, my right ear popped and I could hear. It fluctuated a bit over the next few days but then improved further. It is, in some ways, like being born again. All of which is a long winded way of getting round to some new music.

In July Daniel Avery released Higher, the then latest lead in to his new album Ultra Truth (due in November). Listening to Higher and the B-side Unfolder with tinnitus and only one ear was a disappointing experience. Listening to Higher and Unfolder last week on headphones in stereo was a revelation. Intense, reverb drenched, speaker rattling, emotive 21st century rave/ techno. 

Unfolder is even better, the sound of static, synths and filters, echo, dredged up from somewhere, with the drums pushing ever forwards and a spooked vocal sample. It all sounds very simple but I imagine took endless tweaking and refining. At one minute fifty a descending bass synth kicks in, adding not a little tension/ drama.

Yesterday Daniel put out the latest track from Ultra Truth, the altered state, another dimension woozy and drift of Wall of Sleep, metallic drums in the distance behind a blur of drones and a submerged vocal from HAAi. It does sound exactly like the techno your brain imagines as you wake up or drift off. Well, the techno my brain does, I can't speak with any confidence about yours. You can buy Wall of Sleep here, Higher/ Unfolder here and Ultra Truth here.