Review: Voices From The Lake - Voices From The Lake (2012)

Donato Dozzy and Neel have been friends for years, according to RA. It was natural then I guess that they'd strike up a creative partnership and in 2012 their Voices From The Lake album debuted in January of that year on Prologue.

8 years and 3 months later, I finally listened to it.

If you'd like to experience the perfect blend of ambient and techno music through continuously mixed tracks that all seamlessly knit together, then look no further.

Iyo opens the album with the sounds of running water, some gentle synth/percussion combinations and a steadily building, humming bass that moves across the track and into Vega, Manufex and Circe. Subtle clicks, cracks, whirrs, ripples appear and disappear into the framework of the mix. The first four tracks are so beautifully knitted together you barely notice the start of one and end of another, but in absolutely the right way,

It is worthy to note as well that the mastering and sound on this album is absolutely crisp and clean, with every discernible element of the sound textures being audible. This makes it even more of a treat to listen to as one can pick up different aspects of the sound design with repeated listens; something any Electronic music fan will naturally and forensically do after many years, especially with ambient works as they are littered with such subtleties.

S.T. (VTFL Rework) allows the listener to experience some wonderful synth melody and slowly building layers of sounds in a slightly more cinematic way, with an emerging sense of wonderment and euphoria. The pacing however, remains the same with BPM holding steady.

We shunt along neatly and shift mood into Meikyu, where some metallic resonances sit alongside the amalgamated percussion of drum, maraca/cabasa and handclaps, and layered behind this some occasional echoey cracks; like the field recording of the loosening of a glacier from its moorings as the temperature rises in summer, leading to the inevitable melt and move of the ice. The bass beats build again with some deep booming sounds which only serve to darken the landscape of the track, and increase the building tension.

Moving seamlessly again into In Giova, we are now treated to some lighter percussive elements and some new, monastic sounding echoed bells intermittently appearing in the background which tuck in behind the tambourine taps and rattles. Towards the final third of the track all this is stripped away to bass beat and light shuffle cabasa sounds, before bringing into the back of the mix some delicate bouncing clinks and pings. It builds again slowly and very deliberately but still with the utmost subtlety along the way.

Bass beats temporarily expire at the end of In Giova, and then Twins In Virgo brings them right back from the first second of the track transition. Warbling samples and tambourine fills create the percussive backdrop here, and the bass throbs and pulses along whilst creating a slight slowing of BPM before moving into Twins In Virgo (Reprise). Here, we get to experience a low frequency synth melody which complements the bass line and percussion.

Mika starts to deconstruct some of the elements from the previous tracks, removing all but the essential parts of the bass rhythm, some shakes and cracks from the percussion whilst higher pitches samples and whistles creep in and out.

By the time we reach HGS, we are back to the occasional sounds of running water, some plinky echoes, cymbals and other gentle samples fading in and out. The beat writhes along slowly and we gently reach the final few sounds as they fizz, crackle and fade away into the darkness just as easily as they came into being.

I have to say that on reflection I am not particularly disposed to comparing this work to any other artist in the genre; I don't think it is necessary to try and draw any artistic comparisons and I will try not to always go down that route of "if you like that then you're bound to love this", as it can be misleading. Sufficed to say Voices From The Lake stands alone as a very good album with incredibly clever sound design and artistry on display which others have no doubt drawn inspiration from and will continue to do so.

Absolutely worth a listen, and a focused one at that because I believe it will reap even greater rewards for you if you do. As ever, I will be delving into the Dozzy and Neel catalogue more deeply as a result, which is the biggest compliment I can give.

10/10

Badger x

Tracklist

Iyo 9:53

Vega 4:13

Manuvex 4:57

Circe 4:31

S.T. (VFTL Rework) 8:17

Meikyu 9:10

In Giova 7:25

Twins In Virgo 5:14

Twins In Virgo (Reprise) 4:04

Mika 5:51

HGS 8:03