The track has a protean rattle, a breathy noise that shares kinship with the antic blare of the vuvuzela, with the mystic call of the didgeridoo, and with the vibrant particulate of the rain stick. But since the sound is not as immediately recognizable as any of those, it shifts easily into a nether zone. Thick overtones charge the track with meditative spaciousness, even as that reflective cast is challenged by arid textures and an underlying sonic turmoil. Swells introduce pause-like structural moments as they die down, and an anxious sense of narrative as they inevitably rise back up again. Titled “Desert,” it’s a nearly three-minute piece by Ivan Ujevic of Zagreb, Croatia, who records as the Monk by the Sea. It’s from his album Drones, which includes a collaboration with Victor Yibril, released earlier this week.
Track originally posed at soundcloud.com/themonkbythesea. More from the Monk by the Sea at twitter.com/UjevicIvan, themonkbythesea.bandcamp.com, and youtube.com.