'The album opens with the slow, sly slide-in of steady-state Midian, synthetic washes and melodic droplets mingling with understated gritty percussion and a sustained sense of rain and cloudburst. The jangled atmospherics of Horta evolve into lush, achingly beautiful string textures and ringing pads. The rain has created a gorgeous world for you to be. Oxygen status: clear and high.
In Cesar, you begin exploring this new realm. Chiming, percussive tones sound a welcome to your expected and prepared for arrival. It's taken aeons, but you're right on time.
Geode goes inside your crystalline world's heart, sparkling currents of charged air and phosphorescence guiding you in your passage. Size is an illusion, for the farther in you go the more it expands.
And you've passed through! Rainbow greets you on the other side, the world re-appearing in muted rhythmic paths and shining fragments of light whirring about your head. The arch grows vast before you and you climb. Pot of gold? No... you won't be coming down the other side. The rainbow is an entrance. The view widens as you stand at the apex. Flanked by stars and space, Inkling begins the realization this immense, vast realm is your true home.
The spell was woven by your actions, simply waiting for you to fling wide your arms exactly where you are. You've been changed by everything which has gone before, and Mesm is the sealing of those changes in place: static-laden beats and the clockwork pulse of your heart fuse to become something new. Who are you now? You are the hypnotist and hypnotized at once. Was it worth it? Who can say? You're not the person who began this trip. In Fontana, your feet leave the rainbow as you move outward to the sky.'
2secondfuse
'Ian Lizandra is the musician behind the name Beta Two Agonist. On Zero Point Field he utilises synths, field recordings, pedals, software, and other things including “contraptions”! Being released on the Databloem label it's no surprise that it has experimental and glitch aspects, but like Robert Davies's Sub Rosa it has some passages of a faded beauty not often encountered in this genre.
Most of the track titles give little inkling as to what the musician intended, and since it's a fairly abstract work anyway it's up to the individual listener what thoughts or feelings might be evoked. The overall impression for me was one of seeing parts of the world through a filter of time where things are run down but still with hints of their pristine condition. A variety of drones are encountered on the album, they often possess an elegant sheen which seemed to be hiding soulful thoughts about existence and the meaning of it all.
Dully glowing drones get the first track “Midian” underway. Here the setting is mysterious, washes of varying sizzling hues pass by like fireflies or shooting stars in the night sky. Slow paced notes land on the soundscape and smoothly echo away like distant giant footsteps reverberating. Multifaceted percussion then comes in to add further abstract eeriness.
The track “Cesar” is particularly atmospheric. Ponderous piano like notes and occasional tapping sounds like metal on glass accompany you on a journey through a deserted building. A drone gradually builds, giving direction to one's passage while ghostly tinkles and brief snippets of garbled voices inhabit the dark recesses.
Zero Point Field is well constructed sonically and musically. Even the apparently random doses of static and crackling effects are positioned with care and aren't too obtrusive. This surprisingly charming album warrants repeated listening to make the most of it.'
Melliflua
'Gentle, melodic ambience with subtle beats, frequently morphing patterns and fragile rhythm. Attractive sonic mists overlaid with chiming, dripping or percussive notes hang in the air - everything crystal clear, moist and buoyant. Dissonant tones like an overcast sky at times well up and absorb the light, random variations rolling in altering the mood, introducing fresh associations. There is a sense of journey about the construction - the music drifting from one form into another, at times shifting suddenly, altering like the view from a train window. Rhythms are set deep into the music, soft, glitchy affairs, crackling with static, coming and going - sometimes there without the listener realising.
Most of the time Zero Point Field is warm and fresh - lucid droplets of sound delicately embellishing light breezes and spring washes. Frequently suggestive of water in all of its forms - vaporous, frosty, fluid, ice forms, tiny droplets. Atmospheric with a touch of dawn ambience Beta Two Agonist establishes beautiful fleeting synthetic environments and then lets them wistfully drop away replaced by others of equal appeal.
If you enjoy digital soundworlds with plenty of detail, minimal arrangements and constant variation - this is an inviting album. Zero Point Field is a bright sensitive album, yet full of brooding grace.'
Morpheus Music
'Databloem is so good at finding new talent in ambient electronica, and they have really outdone themselves this time in bringing listeners the fresh sounds of Beta Two Agonist. From the opening floating ambience of “Midian” you will be drawn right in. It is sparse and yet lush as pinging experimental noises move deftly across a bed of warm synth pads. The music manages to be highly organic and highly synthetic in the same breath.
One-word song titles conjure vaguely scientific or sci-fi imagery. Whether “Horta” is named after a creature from one of my favorite Star Trek episodes I can’t say, but it’s a cool notion regardless. Strings add a bit more melancholia to this one. though the relaxed effortlessness remains. “Cesar” is a bit more random, scattered bits of electronics jumping out here and there, though it too settles down into dreamier tones.
The music is pretty in its own way, despite the frequent lack of a distinct melody or rhythmic component. “Geode” is the sort of pleasant sonic abstraction that Saul Stokes might come up with in a mellower moment. A crisp, quirky loop forms the foundation for “Rainbow,” with lots of other electronic sounds layered in to keep it company. Even when there’s a lot going on though, the mood remains laid back, even calm. A narrative about the properties of rainbows runs through the background in the latter part of the piece. Things gets a bit more glitchy but not overly so during “Inkling” and “Mesm.” “Fontana” finishes Zero Point Field in relaxed fashion. Highly recommended.'
Electro Ambient Space
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