Music Review: I Could Go Lucid
Review by Casey Douglass
Dreams, and lucid
dreams in particular, have been one of my areas of interest for
decades now. From the lucid nightmares that held me prisoner, to the
world-crafting that is sometimes possible, they are a domain in which
the mind can unleash and run free. I Could Go Lucid, the
latest experimental ambient album from Bodyverse, was created with
dream mechanics in mind, the improvisation and flow needed by the
dreamer to straddle the line between staying in the dream, or
bursting the bubble and waking up to everyday reality:
Album Description: I Could Go Lucid is about an instant of awareness in which I realise I could have the chance to create an astonishing reality, if only I could keep consciousness while dreaming, for more than an ephemeral moment. Lucid dreams mean to me a chance to create perfection as I feel they release the power of imagination in its whole potential. Imagination becomes matter to interact with. It’s the brain’ s virtual reality, the off limits oneiric one.
As well as in dreams, also in the in musical creative process I perceive a certain amount of surreal content, and it too links with imagination and with the act of materialising ideas. For this reason I am currently experimenting through improvisation, in a journey between surrealism, expressionism and situationist drift. I try to let ideas flow, so my will subordinates to accidents and emotions. I become an explorer or a traveller with an uncertain destination. This atmosphere has resulted in a creation of six pieces in which the priority is simply to keep the integrity of the original idea itself.
Nothing has been planned nor post-produced. This is involuntary music.
The first thing I
noticed when listening to I Could Go Lucid was the general
sound of the notes that reach the ear. They have a fluffy, music-box
type quality, a plinky-lightness that hints at white clouds floating
across an azure sky, or candyfloss at the beach, or even a balloon
being carried off by the breeze. Not all of the notes were like this
but that’s how many came across to me. There are higher, chime-like
notes too, and deeper bassy tones, but the ‘light ones’ usually
made me think along those lines.
The next thing that I
soon came to appreciate was how each track seemed to build up. Each
might start with a handful of single notes, maybe making a melody,
maybe just staying really minimal. This initial opening would then
gain an extra layer of new notes, freshly dancing around the previous
ones. The first track, Pink Sunsets Were Very Calm, seemed to get
higher and higher, each layer adding the impression of floating up
into the sky. Yet the next track, Poplars Were Made Of Cherry
Blossoms, seems to have the initial notes underlaid by lower ones,
going down and down. I liked the way in which each track seemed to
grow in complexity, but never getting too hectic or busy. The clever
use of breaks and pauses no doubt helped in this also.
My favourite track of
the album is Waves Against Marble Columns, as I
found myself musing about H.P Lovecraft’s Randolf Carter and his
Dream-quest of Unknown Kadath. The notes of this track put me in mind
of a clock chiming the hour, and the melody led to me thinking about
the various temples and churches Carter visited during his dream
adventure, the strange architecture and people who worshiped inside
them. There is a kind of lumbering quality to the rhythm a little
later, one that caused me to imagine what Carter would have made of a
strange funeral procession walking through beautiful streets paved
with rock quarried from far and fantastic locations. I enjoyed this
musing and I must admit that it’s rare for such a “light” sound
to cause my thoughts to turn to something as dark as Lovecraft, but
it was a genuine pleasure.
I Could Go Lucid
is a fine ambient album, one in which the lightness of the notes
hides a surprising darkness that seems to cling to certain portions
of certain tracks. A little like browsing the religion section of a
library, only to find some naughty git has hidden some porn magazines
between the various bibles.
Take a look at the I
Could Go Lucid page on Bandcamp at this link for more
information and to listen to the tracks.
I was given a copy
of this album for review purposes.
Album Title: I
Could Go Lucid
Album Artist:
Bodyverse
Label: LONTANO
Series
Publisher: ROHS!
Records
Releases: 18
Dec 2018
