Leicester dark ambient duo Smoke Test have been clearing their musical shelves and emptying the cupboards, releasing an album, their third, titled Volume III. The musicians, Harvey and Ben, blend synths, guitars, found sounds and field recordings, creating drones and ambience that veers from interstellar to calming, from spaced out to uneasy. Ambient music often straddles the line between disturbing paranoia and reflective beauty. Smoke Test have a foot on either side of that divide.
Highlights include the opening track Weird Flex- an Eno- esque descent from the outer limits into the atmosphere. Eris is judders and twinkles before distorting. Wasted Time seems to emerge from underwater, echoes and sonar bubbling up from the deep. 31 Atlas is radio static from a dying star. There's lots more on Volume III, out now. Find it at Bandcamp.
Also in the ambient/ drone zone is a new EP on Mighty Force from Alfie Kaye, four tracks under the title Distant Planes. Drone 2 comes first, rising and falling noise which grows and fades like stars flickering in the night sky. It is followed by Drone 3, a calmer and gentler piece, the endless circular ringing sound of a finger on a bowl or glass with a melody on top and time moves slowly indeed. Time Granular follows, radio waves or radar bleeps picking up messages from far off skies. Last is Vocoder, melodic drones and a wonderful sense of drift. Distant Planes is out at Mighty Force's Bandcamp today.
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