Light of Shipwreck - From the Idle Cylinders

Light of Shipwreck is Ben Fleury-Steiner, who also runs the Gears of Sand label. From the Idle Cylinders layers processed electric guitars and vocals over programmed percussion, with occasional bass and acoustic guitar. For lack of a better word, the result could be called “ambient.” It’s a testament to this CD’s quality that I’ve listened to it for almost four hours on repeat, and I haven’t tired of it yet.

For a recording to do that, it must be both low-impact and abstract. In other words, it doesn’t tell you how to react to it. It just is, and its openness to interpretation makes each listen a unique experience. But while this album doesn’t hit you over the head, it’s also not a chillout session. In fact, the percussion is rather lively, with full-kitted patterns building up to climaxes that feel like gusting winds. Bongos/congas sometimes enter the patterns, but the album avoids the “ethno techno” trap. We’re dealing with pure dynamics here, with almost no genre referents.

I say almost, because electric guitars are recognizable as the sound sources. But aside from a few clean-toned parts, you won’t hear gestures that signify “rock guitar” (i.e., attack). However, you’ll hear results that do (i.e., sustain, release). In other words, you’ll hear the feedback from the note, but not the original note itself – imagine James Plotkin processing live Hendrix recordings, with Aphex Twin programming drums underneath.

The album consists of three tracks ranging from 12 to almost 20 minutes in length. Each track is really a set of subpieces that enter and exit via audible crossfades. The effect is like a DJ mixing between very different records, and it’s refreshingly unpredictable. Overall, though, the mood is psychedelic. With electric guitars distantly howling through reverbs, this album conjures up the desert in that “Bullet the Blue Sky”/”Mountain Song” sort of way.

From the Idle Cylinders will be coming out shortly on a label TBA. This is my first experience with Fleury-Steiner’s music, but for sure it won’t be my last.