I often find that one of the most difficult things to write about in music is beauty. There are times when I can completely break down a particular harmony or sound I enjoy to its base theoretical components and recognize it as something that I’ve enjoyed in the past but that doesn’t necessarily get at why I find it to be so particularly lovely in the context of a work as a whole. Subnaught’s Oscillations is full of moments like this.
On a theoretical level, Oscillations utilizes simple mathematical ratios that create a particular brand of just intonation as a result of modulation. Each track focuses on a particular drone and then seemingly seeks to explore the different harmonics of that sound through the process of modulation. However, that hardly explains why these minimal drone works are so beautiful and entrancing. This is wonderful reduced music in the vein of Eliane Radigue and Nicholas Szczepanik but unlike the sometimes austere textures of those artists, subnaught’s drones manage to be completely warm and inviting. Above, the artist’s webpage for the record, there’s an epigraph about how “music therapy, since it is never done in just intonation, has never been tried.” With Oscillations, subnaught has created a mesmerizing work that manages to turn the work of his fore bearers into a near therapeutic experience.
Oscillations is out now via bandcamp. You can stream the record in its entirety below:
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• subnaught: http://www.subnaught.org