Love + Light

Directly following an ambient collaboration with modular synth master Alessandro Cortini (Illusion of Time) and a club 12 with Roman Flugel as Noun (Meeting of the Minds), Daniel Avery finished a solo LP and spontaneously decided to release it with no advance hype. Love + Light touches on several sides of Averys personality, delivering propulsive dance tracks as well as reflective experiments, and diverting into other modes that he hasnt explored as frequently. Dusting for Smoke and Dream Distortion are prime examples of the type of hissing, hazy techno he excels at, with heavy, pounding beats and tense, dreamy synth textures, all fine-tuned for major club impact. Darlinnn keeps up a steady beat but builds much more gradually, working up to a frothy peak and then simmering down. Surrounding all these tracks are experimental pieces like the distorted drone of London Island (echoing his work with Cortini) and the gentle, floating harp interlude Katana. Searing Light, Forward Motion takes things in a much harsher direction, with clattering, distorted breakbeats reminiscent of Christoph de Babalon or DJ Scud, and furious acid synths sounding like an angry robot on the rampage. Infinite Future is much more serene, with shoegazey synths gliding over a slightly jittery post-dubstep beat, and other tracks like Into the Arms of Stillness and A Story in E5 dip into swirling, tenderhearted downtempo IDM in the vein of Casino Versus Japan or Freescha. Fuzzwar is in a similar vein, yet somehow its one of the least fuzzy-sounding tracks on the album. Wrapping it all up is One More Morning, a light, shimmering electro piece perfect for greeting the sunrise. While Love + Light feels a lot rougher than Averys first two solo albums, and initially takes a few more listens to fully appreciate, its just as inspired and creative. ~ Paul Simpson

DJの活動も制限されるなか、ダニエル・エイヴリーがここ数年間で作り上げた楽曲をブラッシュアップして生まれた新作。そのキャリアを思えば、まだ3作目なのかという印象だが、そのクォリティーはやはりズバ抜けている。ドローン、ノイズを基軸とした彼らしいディープなテクノと、クローズを迎える朝方にクラブで映えるアンビエント。我々同様に彼もまたあの空間で音に包まれる日を心待ちにしているに違いない。
bounce (C)長谷川義和