Australia’s ambient music scene is considerably well hidden but this can make stumbling upon it an enlightening and sometimes even dreamlike experience.
Throughout 2008 a young man named Seth Rees wandered around north east Melbourne unleashing beautiful, lengthy drone-scapes upon unsuspecting pub crawlers and he left a few heads spinning in the process. Upstart label Seventh Seal has brought to attention another act from Sydney who seems set to do the same.
Presumably named after the 2006 David Lynch film of the same name, Inland Empire (real name Jack Wilson) provides an appropriately Lynchian take on his eclectic influences.
The four tracks that make up his Forearm EP take familiar sounds from the world of Americana and run them through an industrial strength blender.
Opener “White” sounds like a prison song played on a harmonica processed with heavy machinery. “Lord Jim” takes a macabre and surrealist approach to the blues and closer “Flow My tears” quickly pulls a sparkling, innocent melody from a pit of charred electronics. The record ends playfully with Wilson’s cheeky and sinister sounding laugh.
Forearm substitutes the typical long-form arrangements of drone records with a fast delivery mode. Each of these brief tracks highlight their strengths quickly and it gives the music an immediacy and accessibility that is often absent from this genre.
It’s a promising mission statement from a young musician and label as well as a brief but rare glance into the world of local ambient music.
