Published under my name, Lachlan R. Dale, this song is built from layers of washing ambience, and ever-building waves of cascading drone.
I drew particular inspiration from Rafael Anton Irisarri‘s ambient soundscapes, High Aura’d‘s exploration of drone, texture and improvisation, and Sholmo‘s post-apocalyptic masterpiece of sound design, Trapped In A Burning House. (Of course, I also maintain my long-term debt to drone pioneers Sunn O))) and Earth.)
On Hashshashin‘s 2019 album Badakhshan, we began experimenting with repetition with a view to inducing a a trance-like state. My solo work has taken this its launching point. Free from any obligation towards a consistent rhythm, I can explore these ideas more deeply.
This song is inspired by a particular experience in my life. The day that I first discovered the main motif which forms the backbone of Death Envelops All, I was in a strange state of mind. I found myself unable to think of anything but death. Some strange psychic tide pulled me towards a confrontation with my inevitable end. I tried to resist, but it drag me deeper and deeper still, until I was enveloped. With this motif repeating through my amplifier, I was forced to contemplate the choices I’d made in life, and considered whether they held up given the finality of death.
Melodramatic, yes, but what can be done? I had to at least try to express this experience.
I have a number of new projects in the works:
- We are mixing an unreleased track from Hashshashin, recorded during the Badakhshan sessions
- I’ve begun a collaborative project ambient/drone project with a range of musicians. So far Jatinder Singh Durhailay (dilruba) and Peter Hollo (cello) are involved.
- My Persian drone duo with Timothy Johannessen, Black Aleph, is working on its debut album.
- I’ve been asked to contribute Afghan rubab to a number of recordings.
- And now that I have a decent home studio, I hope to be consistently working on new solo material.
Death Envelops All is out now on Art As Catharsis.
