Everyday Dust and [MIIIIM]: Terra Ephemera
Sparkwood Records

Based on the impression made by Terra Ephemera, perhaps Everyday Dust and [MIIIIM] should consider collaborating on every project with which they're involved. The evidence at hand indicates each builds on the strengths of the other, making for a recording that satisfies consistently from beginning to end. Their partnership blossomed organically, progressing from a remix [MIIIIM] created of Everyday Dust's track “Where Light Fails” to production work that evolved from a single track to an EP and finally full-length cassette.

Grounding the release is a topical theme having to do with the woeful state of our planet and the effects of climate change and other environmental pressures on it. Everyday Dust and [MIIIIM] favour hope over despair, however, judging from their characterization of Terra Ephemera as an “anti-dystopian album” and their belief that “(f)ulfilment is just around the corner.” If such a view seems too optimistic given the evidence around us, more might be achieved by clinging to hope instead of surrendering to nihilism.

All that being said, Terra Ephemera is wholly instrumental, which means the listener can set aside any concept-related issues and simply attend to the music. Doing so proves thoroughly rewarding, Everyday Dust and [MIIIIM] working together to create a contemporary take on IDM that feels invigorated and fresh. Melody, rhythm, and texture are strong drivers in the seven tracks, the collaborators not content to merely establish atmosphere but instead intent on distinguishing the material with hooks and dramatic ebb-and-flow. The landscapes are, predictably, rich in synthesizers and beats, and the settings evocative, their degree of suggestiveness bolstered by titles like “Owl Cave” and “Embers Glowing.” Don't let that IDM tag mislead, by the way: the rhythms aren't designed for the dancefloor necessarily (though the techno pulse driving “Hiraeth” is definitely club-worthy), but propulsion's definitely present, the point driven home by the muscular oomph of “Excess.”

Representative of the album's style, “Owl Cave” exudes analog warmth in the majesty of its melodies and enveloping aura. The material oozes serenity in a way that makes it all the more appealing, and the mellotron textures imbue it with a prog character that deepens its classic feel. “Embers Glowing” unspools like some macabre hall-of-mirrors, with disturbing images endlessly reflecting back on one another. Dub treatments seep into the production design of “Karuna, Karuna / Point of No Return” when echo effects are woven into track powered by a flamenco-inflected rhythm replete with castanets. Dub emerges even more conspicuously in “Open Sesame” in the form of a pulsating bass line that could make Robbie Shakespeare envious.

July 2019