“I like listening to these pieces in my car, or when I’m going to sleep, or when I’m reading or when I feel sick, tired, or stressed and I need some soothing, healing or relaxation,” Greg Davis says of the two widescreen, ever-ascending drone pieces that comprise blue fifty-three. “They can be put on as background ambient music to enhance or colour a space or you can immerse yourself into it fully and turn off all distractions from the outside world.”
The two pieces – Full Spectrum 5 and 6 – sound elemental, like they materialised out of the atmosphere. Instinctive as the breeze and breath. It’s surprising to learn that they’ve been gestating quietly for the past 13 years, having first begun to take shape in 2011.
While this perhaps puts Greg’s work at odds with many exponents of modern drone, who prioritise immediacy, improvisation and feel over painstaking composition, learning a little more about this prolific musician’s process for these pieces explains why a long incubation is necessary here.
“These pieces are made by taking a chord, texture or melody and feeding into a delay or looping system for at least 24 hours with infinite sound on sound capabilities,” elucidates Greg.
“This causes the sounds to smear and fill up every available space in the sonic spectrum. The recent pieces were processed slowly for years until I developed enough satisfying material to make the final mixes you hear on the new release. So, in a way, the sounds are turned over and over again and composted and recycled many times to create these textures and spaces. They really start from a single sonic seed and bloom from there.”
That’s beautiful. Sound that isn’t as much composed as composted.
blue fifty-three is nourishing music. Easy enough on the ear to function as aural decoration, sure, but its real value is felt when closing everything else out, sealing yourself inside the sound with headphones and letting it fix you.
Praise for Greg Davis
“There may be mathematical precision to this music’s execution, but above all, it’s a deeply human experience through what sounds like the sonic equivalent of space exploration.” - Popmatters
“Greg Davis has had wide experience as a musician, a multi-instrumentalist who has dabbled in hip-hop, jazz, field recordings and free improv. But he’s found his true calling in using technology in summoning sounds alien to human ears. Alien, but also perfect for them.” – Something Else
“The layered tones are haunting as well as comforting.” – Igloo Magazine
For more than 10 years, Blue Tapes has curated a numbered series of releases emphasising different aspects of minimal music -
from grime to gugak, American primitivism to Japanese ambient - presented with appropriately minimal and often abstract cyanotype artwork....more
Visionist showcases vocals for the first time on his Mute debut, featuring collabs with members of Circuit des Yeux, Black Midi and more. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 5, 2021
Thoughtful ambient from Seattle has elements of drone, experimental, and healing sounds in its musical explorations. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 5, 2019
Official debut of French solo artist Richard Francés. Sci-fi influenced synth work, recalling pioneers like Tangerine Dream and Terry Riley. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 7, 2017