Jasper TX: Mute Harbour
Rural Colours
Sister label to Hibernate Records, Rural Colours specializes in three-inch recordings dedicated to experimental folk, ambient, and drone genres—all of which makes Dag Rosenqvist's Jasper TX a veritable poster child for the series. Mute Harbour is quintessential Jasper TX music: guitar-based to some degree but augmented by multiple other sounds (field recordings, organ, treatments, etc.), with all of it adding up to long-form settings of brooding and atmospheric design.
Split into two parts, the first initially establishes itself as a celestial serenade that Rosenqvist repeatedly sprinkles with a pretty three-note motif. But dark clouds appear on the horizon and make their threatening presence felt as they approach but then just as quickly pass by, enabling the mood to once again turn serene. The second piece has Rosenqvist's fingerprints all over it, from the slowly unfurling drone with which it begins and the crash of waves that contribute to its intensification to the peaceful calm that gradually sets in during the stages of decompression. Overall, Mute Harbour emphasizes the softer ambient side of the Jasper TX sound and though it doesn't radically advance upon Rosenqvist's previous output under the name, it nevertheless offers a concise and accessible entry point for listeners new to the project.December 2010