Hidden Shoal Recordings today announced the CD release of the album Lava by German experimental ambient artist Markus Mehr.
Lava holds true to its title – blending the dense surge of Tim Hecker with the radiant luminosity of Mountains, making new paths as it pushes through the landscape. But, after any destructive force there is new growth. Green shoots of melody arc out of the surface and populate the terrain as new possibilities emerge. A new master of heartbreaking ambient drone has arrived. These tracks evoke time spent transfixed, gazing through a giant looking glass, waiting wide-eyed as new discoveries are revealed in the album’s textured contours.
On epic opener ‘Agenda’, layers of gorgeous synth gradually accumulate into a gloriously massive chord. On single ‘Hubble’, a bedrock of fuzzed drone is decorated with glistening counter-melodies, tracing shards of light across the coal-black skies. ‘Softwar’ builds and then falls away, only to return with a spine-tingling theme that crumbles under its own majesty.
“…there’s something so fresh about Lava… The German musician/composer simply sounds liberated, despite the familiar vocabulary and nods to his various influences… Lava explores a wealth of approaches and destinations without getting in its own way. It’s wonderfully slow, enriching going.” – Cyclic Defrost
“Hubble is the most gorgeous synth orchestration I’ve heard in ages, a 1000-yard low drone gathering sparkles of melody as it rolls.” – The Underground of Happiness
The CD version of the album comes in a custom amaray case with gorgeous widescreen artwork. It is distributed through n5Mailorder where it is also available for online order. Lava is also available in all digital formats through Hidden Shoal Recordings and all good digital stores. Buy the album here and read a full press release here.
Markus Mehr – Softwar Markus Mehr – Softwar