Observation of Transcendence is the second album by the San Francisco-based ambient music project Celestial Trails, crafted by Taner Torun. Inspired by the vast Pacific Ocean and the serene landscapes that embrace its shores, the album captures the essence of a sunny and calm day by the ocean.

The album weaves together lush synthesizers, drones, and subtle harmonic progressions with field recordings, evoking the serene beauty of nature.

Rapture of Deep Blue was the first track recorded. Taner was meditating by the ocean in Hawaii when a sudden wave of euphoria washed over him, almost as if the ocean itself was singing. Quickly, he turned on a sound recorder to capture the melody, but his true pursuit lay beyond mere sound. He sought that inner voice, longing to weave it into music. For months, he experimented with the human voice, synths, and various instruments, yet nothing could fully replicate the alien-like sound he had envisioned.

“After four months of on-and-off experimentation, I finally got closer to what I wanted. The sound came from an unexpected source: a classical brass instrument, the tuba, processed through 11 digital effects. With that sound, I composed the main structure of Rapture of Deep Blue.”

Along the way, he encountered many failed experiments—but some of those failures led to the creation of fascinating sounds, which were later incorporated into other compositions. “The strange yet calming alien sounds you hear in Ripples in the Current and Peace are the results of these experiments,” he explains.

The foundation of these compositions combines analog synthesizers with virtual instruments. Torun employs electroacoustic techniques such as reverb, delay, harmonizing, tape manipulation, and sonic deconstruction to create rich, layered soundscapes.

Field recordings play a crucial role in the album and can be heard prominently in tracks like Pacific in Tender Motion, Aeonian Waves, and Peace. These recordings were made in various locations across California, including Morro Bay, San Francisco / the Bay Area, Santa Cruz, and San Pablo Bay. Another significant source was the Hawaiian Islands, with recordings taken from O‘ahu, Maui, the Island of Hawai’i, and Kauai.

Over the past few years, Torun has immersed himself in Japanese ambient music, drawing inspiration from Kankyo Ongaku, a genre that emerged in the 1980s. Translating to “environment music,” this style was designed to blend seamlessly with its surroundings, creating a calm and unobtrusive atmosphere. The album pays homage to the influential figures of the genre, including Hiroshi Yoshimura, Takashi Kokubo, Haruomi Hosono, and Kenichiro Isoda.

Observation of Transcendence is an invitation to experience calming waves, gentle breezes, and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, along with its surrounding ecosystems, through richly textured soundscapes.