Lunatik Sound System - The Journey

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  • Over the course of his 19 records as Lunatik Sound System, Stephan Laubner has shown an almost stubborn commitment to his vision of ambient music. This project has consistently shown the same patience and ear for detail as the more floor-ready records he releases as STL, while stripping the music of almost everything else. Without the steadying effects of the drums, all that's left are small, distorted sounds, sculpted noise and buckets of reverb. They are resolutely minimal and inexpressive records, choosing to sit and wait for the listener, rather than doing anything to capture your attention. Laubner's latest record, The Journey, unfurls itself over four sides of vinyl. Its 88 minutes of mostly bleak and distant noises are best listened to in one sitting, preferably in the dark or in the groggy moments directly after waking up. Melody or rhythm are dispensed with in favour of small distinctions of colour and shade. It is, to use a much-maligned phrase, mood music. The Journey feels like a distillation of Laubner's ambient work to date, not least because it's largely made up of resurrected older pieces that have been remastered and mixed together. That the mood is so unshakeable is testament to Laubner's long-term aesthetic focus. Track titles like "Soporific Drugs" and "Broken Cello" are almost ironically accurate in the flatness of their description, resisting any sort of nostalgic or romantic evocation in the same way as the music itself. That said, the mood does lift as the latter half of the record dawns, with "Calm Light" and "Tribute To The Beauty" both gleaming a little brighter than the vastness around them. The first time I listened to The Journey in full, I was on a bus on a motorway at night. This feels like the sort of environment in which a record like this will blossom and make the most sense: sitting down, headphones on, the lights of cars moving past and disappearing into the darkness, nothing to do but listen and let your thoughts drift where they will. With all other stimulants suppressed, introspection comes naturally. Maybe epiphany will follow. Way back when he made Discreet Music, Brian Eno described ambient music as being "able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular." Almost 40 years later, The Journey continues this tradition with a knowing hand.
  • Tracklist
      01. Get Ready 02. Broken Cello 03. Afaik 04. Soporific Drugs 05. Don't Listen To Your Eyes 06. Calm Light 07. Tribute To The Beauty 08. A Moment Of Sincere Tears 09. The Beauty In The Deep 10. Make Yourself At Home
RA