Loscil – Endless Falls

Vancouver gets about 1200mm of rainfall a year, most of it falling in the mild winter months, the city's precipitation uppermost in the minds of the Winter Olympic authorities recently, but also ambient music artist Loscil's Scott Morgan who bookends his latest work Endless Falls with the sound of rainfall.Morgan works through music sampling and lo-fi ('field') recordings, using custom sequencing and processing devices to generate music on his computer. He invites musicians to play and then mixes the different layers of sound together, an organic approach, allowing the music to develop and grow gradually. He often explores aquatic themes (2003's First narrows refers to the strait of water entering Vancouver from the Pacific, while songs on the 2002's Submers are each named after submarines, the final track dedicated to the crew of tragic Russian sub 'Kursk'). There's more than a hint of water in the songs on Endless Falls, but some of the stranger crackling and gurgling noises suggest a volcanic landscape of lava pools and the bubbling streams. Now, I'm not claiming I can hear the shifting of tectonic plates across the High Cascades ...The rain of the opening title track fades to reveal a beautiful drone-induced soundscape with sampled melodic cello, the sound created is soft and warm, a stunning way to begin. ‘Estuarine’ edges the mood forward slightly, drip-drop percussive sounds combined with more minimalist sampling effects. Gentle undulations of water and bubbling sounds greet the listener in ‘Shallow water blackout’ and ‘Dub for Cascadia’ crackles like a fire, Massive Attack's 'Teardrop' without Frazer's warbling. ‘Fern and Robin’ revisits the opening track, the drone this time backed with quiet metronome and echo. 'Lake orchard' is breeze coming off a lake, more cinematic in scope and irresistibly warm bass riding underneath. ‘Showers of ink’ is dotted with metallic sounds, a beautiful bass recorder and eery bar clanking in the distance like a ship's bell, evokes Black Heart Procession's haunting debut. 'The Making of Grief Point' is a curious finale, Daniel Bejar, Morgan's bandmate from Destroyer, guesting with vocals. Both artists are clearly outside their comfort zones, but it pays off, a memorable way to end as the Vancouver rain fades to grey...Loscil and some of his more accessible band label mates at Kranky, Stars Of The Lid and White Rainbow, are offering a neat way into the ambient music genre. While Scott Morgan's approach to music is both technical and thoughtful, none of it would matter much if the great pulsing waves of sound he produces weren't so alluring and beautiful. If you're an outsider looking in, test the waters, it's lovely and warm...