One of the exciting aspects of curating a netlabel series is watching new artists emerge into the small, but talent-rich world of ambient music. Joel Sutton, to my knowledge, has not been releasing ambient music for long. Yet, the ambient world has embraced his work and warmly welcomed him. It was just mid-2010 when I first started noticing his podcasts, followed on by his debut release, Iceberg and then in 2011, Flood.
I was therefore quite excited when Joel answered my call for submissions, and even more excited when I heard his submitted tracks. Joel has graced the Complex Silence Series with two mesmerizing ambient longform tracks, light and dark. They fit perfectly into the schema of the Series, yet each track is a beautiful sonic landscape painted in a unique and minimal way and perhaps even more importantly, in a spontaneous way.
Joel writes about his submission:
"The construction of Complex Silence 19 was very much a subconscious process for me. Usually I start a new project with a specific theme in mind. Not this time. Time was short and I had to get down to business. In the end though it was actually quite liberating to just start up my laptop and just let things unfold. Come what may. These two tracks are the result.
Exactly what my mind was up to on those days back in July 2011 I'm not really sure. I recommend that you think of these pieces as sonic abstract paintings with which the listener is free to make their own interpretation. Hence the generic names "One" and "Two". Play these tracks in whatever part of your life it feels right to do so. Let them stray every which way and, regardless of what you encounter, may you have a pleasant journey."
For more information about Joel Sutton and his Crystal Dreams releases, visit www.crystaldreamsmusic.net.