Sebby Kowal - Aqua
A new release from one of my favorite ambient-drone labels Elm Records. Sebby Kowal is a new solo act with one former debut called Bright Spaces out on Élan Vital Recordings (this year!). It is also an alias of an ambient producer from Cleveland named Sebastian Paul, who has had several digital and physical CD releases (check Discogs link below!). This album called Aqua was released on the 7th of May, and the material was recorded between 2020-2021. A 35 minutes ambient adventure, with a recognizable and beautiful design done by the chairman of the label James Osland.
The first track is simply called Air. It feels and sounds like air, something which surrounds you and... enters you when you breathe. A STUNNING dub-techno-inspired ambient/drone-sound without any rhythms. Not that far away from the icy and melancholic-soundscapes with Norwegian-based Biosphere. A constant and static-dynamic sensation of sound!... I mean really!. There is an interesting dropping sound, can´t figure out if it is microscopic dust being registered by a record player (in slow-motion), or just... drops falling gently down and hitting the windowpane. Sounds incredibly good.
The second track Aqua starts with an underwater scenario offcourse. Sounds move slowly while movement and bubbles in the water can be heard, something being submerged. Sounds like deep waters, looking down and seeing no bottom. Lovely haunting and humming drones going on here. I am feeling a sensation of being stretched here. Very nice!
The third track Horizon, a very subtle and epic piece. Like a far-away horizon being hidden by a dense fog. The recorded sound moves like a circle in my basement room as we speak! Almost forgetting to breathe here.
The fourth track The Next Time welcomes contains a hint of a synth-based melody. Tiny drops being registered, with the sound of a microphone recording microscopic textured movement. Utter chilled.
The fifth track Happiness has that sort of ... uplifting elevator sensation/sound. Something is moving, and it's moving up. Interesting rumbling metallic sounds in the deep, which could be the sound of an old elevator moving?
The sixth track Frozen Silk moves further into microscopic sensations when time suddenly stops. That certain (and rare) moment where you can feel a dust particle touching your skin, nothing is happening and it is pleasant...very pleasant!. A very sort of... frozen winter feel here, the sun is up in the sky while everything is frozen and the sound moves in the air in a peculiar way.
The seventh track You´re the Best (well thank you!) lets the listener chill under an old bridge (out in the wild). The sound of the river, humming drones like bees... hints of birds chirping and ghostly human activity also being present in the mix. Lovely uplifting and mysterious track here.
The eighth and last track on the album called Amongst the River, a drone-pumping melancholic sound drowning the last pieces of your mind into sweet sweet sedation. Some kind of river foal squeaks, and Blackbirds as well ( think).
And that ends the album. A really woawww experience the whole bloody way through. The sounds move you up, surround you in circles, submerges you, levitate you, bring you down, chills you. All that is nicely being put into 35 minutes, which is... ALMOST as long as a lunch break. Take a break, and listen to this!
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