[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/202315281″ params=”color=000000&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]
Hunting prey in the dead of night, nocturnal animals are masters of the moonlight. The same could be said about Australian folk singer and member of The Acid RY X and German DJ and member of Âme Frank Wiedemann. Nocturnal beasts of the musical realm, they stole the night and captured our hearts with their first immersive and mystical collaboration, Howling. If you haven’t heard this siren song then be prepared: an acoustic downpour of riffs and vocals, it hunts you down and demands that you listen.
A one off collab, on Sacred Ground Howling tap into the ethereal forces of the world to create a brooding yet lush album. This one is for the night creatures.
Emerging from the shadows nearly three years ago, the pair took on the moniker of their lead tune and released a raft of new night sounds. Prowling through electronic and folk soundscapes, their newly released debut album Sacred Ground entrances all in its path. Mainly recorded in RY’s Topanga abode, they set up an ancient ceremony space as their studio and drew inspiration from their wild mountain surrounds. Recording in such a richly raw space using worn gear, Tibetan singing bowls, rooftop rain and just one microphone, this introspective album’s tribal heartbeat awakens when the sun goes down.
Opening track Signs moved them from Topanga to the fields of central England. Recording the track in a studio overlooking a centuries old castle and tree, the tune’s kick drum apparently seemed like the perfect accompaniment to the haunting piano. Buried below the undergrowth, this stripped back tune naturally flows until it surfaces and takes hold. Continuing to hypnotise, Stole The Night darkens the mood even more. Wiedemann’s murky bass and RY’s earthy vocals crawl out from their hollow to meet the weighty synths head on. Wandering deeper into the shadows, this tune’s rising sense of danger holds you captive at every twist and turn.
Embracing their setting, Forest lets the Topanga tree-laced canyons seep in. With its rooftop rain, distant bells and lush percussion, this tune draws you into its jungle of noise and swamps you from all sides. Starting as a sprinkle, its percussion swells as the vocals become incantations that cast a spell and make you feel part of a tribal dance. But, as immersive as this track may be, you still can’t go past their first release, Howling. Featuring again on their debut album, there is no escaping this song’s enchantment.
A spiritual force to be reckoned with, you can choose to meditate or dance to its downtempo electronic tracks, but can’t outrun its mystical embrace. Mysterious like the animals of the night, prowl through Howling’s debut album out now through Monkeytown and Counter Records.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/202315281″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
