Back when Brian Eno created arguably the first “ambient” albums, there tended to be a sameness of sounds, with synthetic mixes of electronics and acoustics formed a kind of wallpaper for “chilling out”. Forty years later, there’s been an evolution of sorts, as reflected by this ep by Matt Piper and John von Seggern bringing in traditional Americana sounds in the form of banjo, zither, resonator guitar and tongue drum decay for Piper and acoustic bass guitar, samples and electronics in the hands of von Seggern to create a dark tapestry of folk environments of both local and exotic. Think of the Cumberland Gap meeting up with the Sahel Desert.
Rural banjo and the edge of Sub Saharan Africa juxtapose on “Speaking In Tongues”, with a clip clop cadence akin to an animal migration teams with pretty back porch pickings on “New Dawn Rise”. Pianistic echoes are strummed and picked around synthy subconscious reflections on “Stone Circles” and a hovering rubato, almost feeling like heat waves radiating off of the asphalt team with sparkling crystal persuasions on “The Bells”. All pieces feel like a dream sequence as your mind wanders on flashes of your past experiences; maybe a trip somewhere, maybe a conversation with somewhere. Sounds that remind.
https://johnvon.bandcamp.com/album/a-thousand-miles-from-nowhere