‘A World Within Our World’
f5point6
See Blue Audio SBA 052
1. Konis_
2. Clarity in the Dark
3. A World Within Our World
4. Fertile Ground
5. L’Artico Blu
Release date: 14 June 2024
lnk.to/SBA052
See Blue Audio: ambient / electronic / beatless / cinematic / downtempo / eclectic / introspective… Shade rather than light...
A year down the line from the last f5point6 release on See Blue Audio, multidisciplinary artist R.Cleveland Aaron returns with the first in a series of three releases which include a collaboration with another mainstay of the label’s roster, Rhombus Index. During this relatively quiet period, the artist has been working to push his sound forward and outwards, and ‘A World Within Our World’ reveals a deepening technical maturity as well as a growing confidence in his ability to truly express his ideas and emotions through music. As the fifty-second release on See Blue Audio, this is both a departure from what has gone before and a journey into other worlds.
If the previous release on See Blue Audio, NRV’s ‘Seasons Beyond the Ashes’, took its inspiration from the four seasons and the healing properties of nature, ‘A World Within Our World’ is concerned with the resilience of nature against human intervention and the wanderings of the imagination. This sense of departure also applies to the existing body of work from f5point6 which has had storytelling at its heart. This reached a peak on ‘Clinical Trials’, an audio chronicle of one person’s struggle to survive in a dystopian world, but with this new collection the emphasis has shifted to individual compositions that stand in their own space and time.
‘A World Within Our World’ comprises five sonic landscapes with their own unique concepts, but still held together through common musical threads of precise attention to detail, shifting subtleties of sound, and a pervasive sense of unease. It’s almost as if the contrast has been turned up to the maximum, but within this sensory overload emerging new forms can be glimpsed. There are times when the effect can border on the claustrophobic but listen closely and shafts of pale light emerge just as the first rays of dawn pierce the darkness of night.
The opening track, ‘Konis_’, is based around a continuous process of layers of sound that build up, clear and then start again. Over 16 minutes in length, it sets the scene for what’s to come as musical particles float and then disappear from view. Taken from the ancient Greek word ‘xóviç’ meaning dust, it creeps into our consciousness in a way that’s reminiscent of ‘Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records’, the seminal Jan Jelinek album.
‘Clarity in the Dark’ follows where fear of the unknown is heightened by exaggerated sounds that have been stretched and amplified by space and the absence of light. The title track, meanwhile, is based around a collection of imagined sounds crafted from their proximity to everyday objects. Throughout these musical landscapes, whether beatless or underpinned by clicks, glitches and pulses, other sounds drift in and out. Seemingly random but also placed with precise attention, they provide points of sharp focus as they glide past.
The unceasing will of nature to survive is imagined on ‘Fertile Ground’, starting with the soil that supports the growth of flora, onto the first signs of shoots, and ending with a reminder of its power. To conclude, ‘L’Artico Blu’ is another extended composition of over 12 minutes with an accompanying short film, and a ghostly soundtrack to the melting of the Arctic icecaps expressed through the duality of beauty and danger.
f5point6 has returned but the script has been flipped. Common themes remain - cinematic ambience with enigmatic melodies, a nod towards the more experimental side of jazz, and a passion for sci-fi culture - but everything has moved forward with a sense of urgency reflecting the artist’s misgivings about the future of our planet.
Only available to purchasers of the full album through Bandcamp, ‘Multidimensional Excursions (Revisited)' is a broken beat-inspired remix of the track released as part of 'The Shuttle Leaves at Midnight' in 2021. It provides an insight into the wealth of musical heritage that has inspired f5point6.
Video: R.Cleveland Aaron.