WIL BOLTON
Time Lapse
HB22
Hibernate Recordings 2010
09 Tracks. 47mins17secs

Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Liverpool-based Wil Bolton may be best known for his electronic outputs as Cheju, a project that has kept him busy for over six years now, with releases on Rednetic, Percussion Lab or U-Cover, or as one half of the team heading Boltfish Records, but he is also an sound artist who has, in recent years, worked on a number of sound or audio-visual installations with exhibitions not only in the UK, but also across Europe, in the US and, recently, in South Korea.

Published on the rather consistently excellent Hibernate, once again as a limited release, Time Lapse is Bolton’s first release under his own name. While it finds some roots in the melodic electronica that has been intrinsic of his work as Cheju, this album is in essence much more atmospheric and introspective. Working from a wide range of sound sources, from classical and electric guitar to vintage analog synthesizers and field recordings, Bolton weaves them into beautiful dreamy drone pieces which, while rarely developing over more than just a few minutes, manage to be deeply evocative.

Bolton shows great restraint here, building each piece from just a few primary sounds, which are arranged into delicate melodies and chords, and upon which environmental noises and sounds are applied. What he manages to do though is make these rather minimal structures sound impressively lush and voluptuous. This is particularly the case on the Eno-esque album opener Falling Away, with its bright electronic sounds dipped in vast clouds of reverb, or later on the autumnal Nylon, a more sombre piece which is given an entirely brighter touch toward the end. Even more potent is Collapsed Chimes, with its delicate sparkles of sound animated by the gentlest of breezes, but it is on the expansive drone structure of Closure And Delays that Bolton really lets his imagination run free as he layers sounds into a particularly vibrant and warm soundscape, placing delicate touches of ambient field recordings around it to underline its particularly pastoral quality.

Elsewhere, Bolton chooses to keep things more minimal. Despite stretching well over eight minutes, Slate is a much more controlled and delicate piece, which starts as a sober drone, surrounded with delicate electronic ripples. But, as the track progresses, it is these ripples which eventually become the sole focus. Remnants or Corrosion before it also show signs of moderation, the slightly rough surface of the former and hypnotic guitar loop of the latter giving them a much earthier feel.

Time Lapse is Wil Bolton’s effort to bring his work as Cheju and his art installations closer together, but he may actually have stumbled upon a third way to explore, in which he can develop his sound structures in entirely new ways.

4.3/5

Wil Bolton | Cheju | Cheju (MySpace) | Hibernate Recordings
Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD