David Cordero: And Stillness Came
Polar Seas

Jeannine Schulz: Humble
Polar Seas

A new addition to the Polar Seas roster, David Cordero's an ambient producer from Cádiz, Spain who's been refining his craft for more than a decade and releasing music since 2012. Few production-related details are included with the release, aside from the fact that he wrote and produced the recording, mastering was handled by Home Normal's Ian Hawgood, and guests accompany Codero on four of the ten productions. And Stillness Came is, therefore, one of those releases where the music must speak for itself, which in this case it does handily.

As the engrossing opening piece, “Morning Loops,” makes abundantly clear, Cordero excels at sculpting soundscapes of shimmering, becalmed character, this one, for example, playing like a placid, early morning nature setting transcribed into sound. In “Asymmetric Feelings,” the track featuring Miguel Otero, softly whistling tones murmur and tinkle as if in a dream-like haze, the effect intensified by blurry production design. Synthesizers and electronics dominate in these susurrant soundfields, but electric guitar also surfaces, its appearance in “Myû” startling for being so unlike what's come before. The move isn't wholly disruptive, however, as Codero couples the instrument's crystalline chords with billowing ambient effects to align the track to the others. Field recordings surface too, if but for a single time, with sounds of water and bird chirps in “Empty Set” evoking a peaceful outdoors setting.

“Booleans” introduces a nostalgic, almost Boards of Canada-like dimension in its incorporation of (what sounds like) analog Moog synthesizer; the later “Swamp of Sadness” similarly exudes a quasi-old school vibe in the vibrant warble of its synth swells. Such gestures are not retrograde, however, but more suggestive of a desire on Codero's part to honour the long-standing genre he's operating within. As satisfying overall as the recording is, certain pieces do stand out. “Snoqualmie Falls,” one of two on which Carlos Ferreira appears, impresses for Cordero's expert handling of pacing and the glorious climax it patiently advances towards. Their other joint effort, “Saving Fire,” is calmer though no less entrancing for its blend of supplicating guitar phrases and radiant synthesizer chords. All told, And Stillness Came is serene, even at times hymnal music expertly realized by its creator and his collaborators.

Similar to Codero, ambient artist Jeannine Schulz brings an extensive release history to Humble, her Polar Seas follow-up to 2021's Luminous, and no instrument- or gear-related details are included on her release either. Also like him, Schulz lives far from the label's Toronto home base, in her case Hamburg, Germany, and once again Ian Hawgood is credited with mastering. One key difference is apparent, however: Schulz engaged no collaborators for the release, instead writing and producing the nine meditations herself.

Her command of sound design is apparent the moment “Home” opens the set. Engulfing the listener with flickering guitar fragments and a gently drifting vaporous mass, the ethereal soundscape acts as an enticing invitation into Schulz's serene sound world. “Home” isn't static, however: halfway through, lilting guitar strums facilitate a transition into a darker realm, the atmosphere growing ever more cryptic and foreboding as a result. Guitar's prominent again on “Ichi,” with Schulz draping a minimal series of plucked chords across a dense field of rustlings and drones.

On Humble, texture and atmosphere are paramount. Schulz assembles a large number of elements to generate opaque and often oceanic sound masses; as the title track so beautifully illustrates, she does in the service of creating material that lulls and soothes, and in repeatedly using guitar as a central element, she creates a seamless through-line from Luminous to Humble. Still, as peaceful as Humble generally is, it's not without an ominous moment or two, as the industrial-ambient mass rolling through “Presence” makes clear.

September 2022