| "The word ambient will always remind me of Brian Eno. While it wasn't Eno who necessarily invented the genre, Erik Satie's Musique d'ameublement is probably further into where the root of this phenomenon lies, Eno surely was the most prolific progenitor of the art. With this in mind, the current ambient artist has much to overcome.
Austin-based experimental band Skiesfalling is one such group to do this. Their EP EXPEP 1-Mindbreaths travels the gamut of noise-ridden background sounds to bass grooved improvisations. From the literature on their website, it is apparent that the three tracks on the EP were excerpts from a much longer improvisational jam(s). This is obvious while listening because the tracks have no clear beginning or ending. Each track fades in from nothing and voyages back to whence it came, some other dimension perhaps. This method of composing music, in my experience, at least, is no easy task. Skiesfalling's mastery of this technique is beyond impressive. It is evident that the group probably recorded this EP live in their living room.
As far as memorable moments, the bass line on "Sun Ra Set'e" grooves and is as mysterious as it is catchy. "Redwall", in addition to a few intense white noise builds, is full of randomness and droning. The second track, "Felise", definitely sounds like a soundtrack for a journey through space, like in the vain of Icebraker International's Into Forever, but not exactly that structured. While I wouldn't necessarily listen to EXPEP 1-Mindbreaths everyday, Skiesfalling are definitely unique in the ambient realm of music and would unquestionably sound astonishing live, especially while trashed (mentally and getting out there)." ~ David
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