Moss Covered Technology: A Shared Place
Polar Seas Recordings

Pairing ambient-electronic music production with photographs and text, UK-based Greig Baird (aka Moss Covered Technology) conjures an extremely vivid impression of locale on A Shared Place. He describes its eight pieces as both “sound postcards” and “sonified memories,” and the descriptions are apt. The sense imparted is of a traveller who, having experienced something deeply personal and powerful, was motivated to preserve it artistically to share with others.

Early last year he and his partner Susie Baird spent a weekend at the North Coast of Devon at a time when Storm Eunice was making its way through the United Kingdom. Although weather conditions were rough, the visitors found themselves transfixed by an already fabulous setting made even more so by the storm. Track titles such as “Watching Waves From Windows” and “Wild From A Distance” suggest that Greig gathered field recordings throughout the trip that he then incorporated into the album's expansive soundscapes upon returning home.

Baird has brought his gifts for sound design and assembly to an inordinately high level of refinement on the release. That he is operating at such a sophisticated level is intimated by the fact that ten Moss Covered Technology releases, A Shared Place included, appear at his Bandcamp page. This is someone whose skills have reached a stage of development so advanced, anything he's capable of imagining can be rendered into musical form.

It's possible to fashion a chronological narrative of the trip from the track sequencing when it begins with “Travelling By Night.” One visualizes the two driving towards their destination and captivated by the beauty of the setting as rain and mist engulf a meditative intertwine of bass throbs and high-pitched flickerings. A similar sense of awestruck wonder is conveyed by “Shoreline Constellations,” with the title again conjuring the image of people stargazing by the coast. In “Watching Waves From Windows,” loud smears of water sounds are punctuated by bright synthesizer flutter and subliminal bass pulses, whereas at album's end the starry-eyed tone of the slow-burning “Momentarily Held” hints that an epiphany of sorts has been reached by the travellers.

In a typical piece, Baird blends field recording-like elements and smears of grainy static with radiant synthesizer tones and washes. While a wisp of melody does surface now and then, conventional song form is generally eschewed in favour of tone painting that's wholly immersive and absorbing. The placement of each detail is thoughtfully considered such that everything works in tandem to give full expression to the track concept. Even though the recording references the threat of a violent storm, the tone of the material is often peaceful and calming, as if purposefully designed to provide shelter and encourage reflection. Working within the ambient-electronic genre, Baird has produced a recording that's often mesmerizing. How much that can be attributed to the trip experience is something only he knows; regardless, the “sound postcards” he's created and that were inspired by the experience are riveting.

July 2023