Tags are funny things. They are in many ways more useful than genre as a means to focus in on a particular piece of music. But when misapplied, they seem less like mistakes and more like hints. “Epiphany” by Toaster is, flat out, a giant sweeping brain-on-hold drone with undercurrents of tension. However, at Toaster’s toaster.bandcamp.com page, where it is currently the lead item, it is tagged as, in addition to “drone,” the following: ambient, electronic, idm, minimal, techno, ambient, “drone ambient,” and “San Jose.” The “minimal” and “electronic” and “ambient” and “drone ambient” certainly apply. The work is nothing if not a swath of synthesized haze, enjoyable for its attenuation, the way it instills not so much calm as pause. Perhaps the “idm” and “techno” mentions relate to that tension that underlies the overwhelming bliss. Seeing them there in turn gets the ear to focus in on what might, otherwise, be passed over as mere texture.
Track posted originally at toaster.bandcamp.com in December 2011. More on Toaster, aka Todd Elliott, at his twitter.com/toddbert page, where his bio reads: “I make music by programming things.”