AL_X come back in from the cold with a seventeen song strong release, perhaps his most melodic, polished and atmospheric ambient music to date.
Alex Dunford from Liverpool is ending a six year silence with Low Clouds. A continuation of sorts from 2014’s Shunt, Low Clouds takes the familiar orchestral electronica of AL_X’s previous works and infuses it with a more textured, layered, sound. “It’s a lot calmer than previous albums, more ambient – perhaps a more cohesive album as a whole…I started listening to more drone based music, often to get to sleep! I think that subconsciously had an influence on the whole project.”
Despite this sense of serenity Low Clouds’ recording wasn’t without incident. “I wiped songs hundreds of times and started from scratch. I did struggle for a while, so I cracked open Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategy cards and used them from time to time when I hit a wall. They’d give me an answer of sorts. ‘Beyond Perception’ is a track which benefited from that as did ‘Auf Ver Loven’, That started as a techno track!’ Then there was ‘Endless Sleep Ensemble’ – the last thing to be finished, that came from a session with a string section I recorded in 2014 that I assumed I’d lost.”
Consisting of sessions at AL_X’s home studio and Salford’s Peel Hall, Low Clouds sees the return of key collaborator Jeff Jepson who lends his vocals to stand out ‘Leaving The World Behind’ as well as the most frequent contributor to his work – his environment. “I’ve been making field recordings for over a decade now. I think it adds a sense of place, helps to cultivate an atmosphere. I add some dynamics to them, more reverb, or more of a stereo picture of them. They’re all over the album.”
A unique album that manages to place evocative, pastoral, acoustic pieces next to pulsing, rhythmic, electro as a coherent piece; Low Clouds is the latest step of AL_X’s artistic journey.