Away from the bright lights of electronic superstardom,
Si-Cut.db’s Douglas Benford has spent the last
fifteen years creating the most exquisite and delicate
blend of dub and micro house, pushing the boundaries
of his art further, carving his ever more intricate
and detailed compositions out of extremely varied sound
sources. Either with his own releases or through various
collaborations, notably with Benge
as Tennis, or more
recently with Stefan Matthieu for the second instalment
in a series of Bip-Hop/ Fällt co-releases, Benford
has defined a very particular sound, close to that of
Pole or Monolake, yet
instantly recognisable as his own.
This follow-up to last year’s sublime Offices
At Night [Vol. 1 – Originals], released
on the ever-excellent Fällt, From Tears: Beach
Archive, third Si-Cut.db album for French label
Bip-Hop, is the fruit of two years recording. The album
was composed and recorded in a variety of coastal locations
across the world, including Riga, Vancouver, Aberdeen
Athens or Devon in England. Linked by a common beach
theme, the eleven tracks collected on here reflect on
the very essence of Si-Cut.db. Every since his first
forays into electronica, Benford’s music has always
been extremely fluid and warm, with relentless sonic
waves causing the soundscapes to change almost constantly.
Although often based on a typical 4/4 setting, his compositions
are meticulously assembled, each detail playing a specific
part within a greater scheme, creating very effective
and complex formations for the mind to focus on. Nothing
is a straightforward as it seems in Si-Cut.db territory.
The opening track, Come To The Moments, appears
lazy and basic, yet the multiple layers of micro-glitches
evolving in the background give it surprising relief
and contrast. This is symptomatic of Benford’s
work; while melodies and rhythmic patterns are left
to form and take shape in the foreground, he is found
injecting discreet components in the background, constantly
fine-tuning their impact to retain the balance of each
composition. Perhaps more clearly revealed here on Sustain
A Rift or Polite Society, this process is repeated,
be it at different levels, on each new track and is
ultimately part of Benford’s musical make-up.
Whether he experiments within the constraints of rhythmic
structures or explores beat-less soundscapes, the results
remain constantly impeccable and pertinent. Even when
he appears to take liberties with his usual sound (the
Giorgio Moroder-esque Based On The Lost Episode),
Benford retains the evocative nature of his music.
With his seventh solo album, Douglas Benford confidently
reclaims his ground and refines his soundscapes to focus
on the emotional envelop of his music. If Benford doesn’t
quite reach the same level of intensity here as on Offices
At Night, he still manages to produce one of his
most confident and mature records to date.
4.4/5 |
