Isn’t dark ambient a wonderful thing? Throughout the years – and with the help of expanding technology and more keen-eared artists – dark ambient has taken on a massive life form of its on, even producing multiple sub-genre’s to distinguish the many soundscapes that make up this wonderful culture. Of these sub-genre’s, space ambient seems to be taking off (no pun intended) into the outer limits of our hearing zone! Space ambient is usually known for its super long track lengths, droning tones that give you that feeling of claustrophobia, and ethereal soundscapes that provide a launchpad to endless reaches of the universes. If a dark ambient track can accomplish all of these, then in my opinion, it’s a successful space ambient recording.
‘Unseemly Sequenced Conscience’, the third collaboration effort by Scott Lawlor and The Flesh, Full Of Black Sand, accomplishes all of that and then some. In this single track, seventy six minute opus, they take us on a horrific journey through deep space as if we’ve been traveling for decades in the confined quarters of a spacecraft on a one-way mission to nowhere. I love the song intro, as it reminds me of the quirky sounds that are heard while walking through Disney’s Space Mountain attraction. I can imagine the imaginary protagonist that this journey portrays heard those exact same sounds as he left earth decades ago, knowing his fate of never returning. As the song slowly drones on, the sounds thicken, to represent the endless travels through the unknown regions of deep spaces. As claustrophobia starts to set in, the silence becomes deafening, and the layers of sound builds and climaxes several times.
The production on this recording is crystal clear and the mix is a bit louder than on the previous two collaborations by these two stellar artists. As the droning fades in and out, there isn’t any loss of clarity in the track, easily paving the way for additional elements to be introduced throughout. Although this single-track album is seventy six minutes long, there is so much going on that before you know it, the song is over with and you’ll be wanting more.
This is an excellent representation of dark ambient and the space ambient sub-genre and I’m definitely a fan! Scott Lawlor & The Flesh, Full Of Black Sand are on to something here and I hope to hear many more collaborations from these artists. Don’t pass this one by, head on over to the link below and support this awesome body of work!
Link:
https://scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/album/unseemly-sequenced-conscience
