By Dave Guzda
With no drums, no solos, no choruses, no lyrics and only the occasional hint of melody... ambient/ drone isn't for everyone. The music does not provide instant gratification. Instead the payoff is opportunity to immerse yourself in vibrant soundscapes and drift along with shimmering distortion, subtle noise and delicately crafted ambient waves. The self titled album from Aires provides you with this opportunity.
The four track EP runs about 30m with the lead off song ‘orgânico I - vozes sem corpo’ clocking in at nearly 14m. The loooooong passages of droning guitar will surely evoke something different for each listener. Sometimes the drone was delicate like a soap bubble riding an air current, dodging upward… then downward… other times the drone sounded like a futuristic robotic insect slowly breathing… in and out… ‘Orgânico I’ also earns its ‘vozes sem corpo’ (disembodied voices) title with plenty of curious, eerie voices climbing out of the mix or looming in the background. The ambience of the track evoked feelings of desolation, isolation with undercurrents of failing technology. The textures were at times ethereal and ponderous at other moments they soared with a monstrous whir. Aires starts with some solid ambient soundscapes.
Part two of orgânico is monolítico (monolithic). It immediately introduces a dull low vibration (I call the deep space/Sci-Fi hum) that lasts most of the track. Over this ambient purr Aires blends some unsettling sharp blasts of twisted guitar that sound like they keep getting consumed by a black hole. I was expecting to hear a HAL sample say ‘I'm Sorry Dave, I can't allow you near the monolith...’ It is stunning ambience and has a very different vibe than orgânico I. ‘isósceles’ is a one minute piano piece with some itchy static lurking in the background. After the 20m of drone and ambience of the ‘orgânico’ tracks; ‘isósceles’ felt like a brief interlude before the incredible EP ending final track ‘contraplacado’.
I could imagine a listener drifting into a relaxed state then ‘contraplacado’ jarring them awake. If you listen to only one track off this EP, this is the one to hear. It’s a majestic, uplifting track with towering washes of glittering drone. It could easily be the soundtrack for climbing the stairs into Heaven. While I enjoyed the first three tracks, the fourth really showed Aires incredible potential.
If you like drone or ambient then you need to give Aires’ debut release a listen. Aires takes you for a ride to some vivid and inspiring soundscapes. The music is occasionally haunting, sometimes exhilarating but always enthralling. Listen and allow yourself to evanesce into Aires’ enveloping aural imagination.
