Midnight Zone

2023年にリリースされ話題を呼んだ官能的アンビエント・ジャズ・コラージュ傑作『ATLAS』で更にその評価を高めたLAUREL HALOのニューアルバムは、ヴィジュアル・アーティスト JULIAN CHARRIEREによる映像作品『MIDNIGHT ZONE』のオリジナル・サウンドトラック。

ニューヨーク市のYAMAHAスタジオにてMONTAGEシンセサイザーとトランス・アコースティックピアノを用いて作曲されており、ヴァイオリンとヴィオラ・ダ・ガンバの重層的な響きと共に感覚的な自由落下を喚起する独特の余韻を感じさせる内容です。エレクトロ・アコースティック、アンビエント、ドローンといったサウンド・デザインを繊細かつ豊かなディテールと共に旋回させた本作は、 LAUREL HALO自身のレーベルからの3作目となるリリースです。CDヴァージョンにはボーナストラックとして"Sunlight Zone (Strings Version)"を収録。

Laurel Halo composed the score for Midnight Zone, a film created as part of an installation by Julian Charriere. The film is a lighthouse lens voyage deep into the Pacific Ocean, revealing all manners of underwater life, from the fascinating to the frightening. Even without the visuals, the score perfectly encapsulates the feeling of drifting deeper and deeper into the darkest recesses of the ocean, a sensation filled with both wonder and fear. The 11-minute opener "Sunlight Zone" is absolutely mesmerizing, with distant, almost thundering bass shuddering beneath waves of slowly shifting strings. As the lens gets farther away from the surface, the music gets heavier and cloudier, until it manages to clear out a bit by the end. The other pieces generally illustrate similar states. "Oreison" progresses from a faint glow and distant stirring to a lighter, more elevated drone and fragile movements. "Twilight Zone" is much darker and more disturbing, verging on industrial and dark ambient. "Fracture" captures some deep frequencies and swift motions, resulting in one of the trippiest portions of the score. "Abyss" is well-named, resembling sinking into an unfathomably deep pit with no chance of escape or return. "Hadal" begins with booming vibrations, seems to go still for a while, then gradually induces another deeply hypnotic state. The score ends with a string-based version of "Sunlight Zone," which feels a bit lighter and more ethereal than the original, but doesnt quite capture the same sense of awestruck wonder. In general, though, Midnight Zone is evocative of a journey into the unknown depths, and it succeeds at creating an atmosphere of curiosity and discovery. ~ Paul Simpson