Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

James McKeown continues to move on apace with his Hawksmoor project – now numbering 13 releases in under a decade. His speed of thought is ironic, since the music he makes is not typically fast in any way, rooted in immersive ambience.

Though, as McKeown says, “While rooted in ambience, the work frequently shifts into more unsettling territory. Song structures and striking melodies appear more often than expected; ideas are sparked by psychogeography, environmental influences and hauntological drift.”

For Am I Conscious Now?, McKeown spent time shaping his music with the help of psychedelic compound 5-MeO-DMT, keen to explore how the substance might affect his music. The compound is supposed to clear the mind rather than overload it. Again, in McKeown’s words, “It overrides the body and forces surrender. It completely changed my life, outlook and perspective.”

What’s the music like?

Am I Conscious Now? responds to the experience with calm reflection. At first the worry is that the mind is cleared not just of thought but of emotion too, yet as the music settles down the ear responds well to McKeown’s subtle harmonic workings.

Initially the music is blocks of distorted but thoroughly ambient sound, but the mood softens with Golden Dolphins, a proper New Age-infused beauty. Vivid colours assert themselves through Flooding A Maze (In Slow Motion), with an extra zing added to the timbre of Infinite Tapestry.

Luke Insect’s textured artwork for the album serves as a template for the music inside, with McKeown navigating peaceful waters (Ti Kallisti, Into The White Sun) and fluctuating vistas (Astromeria) in the lead-up to the end.

Does it all work?

It does, largely – and certainly slows the mind while listening.

Is it recommended?

It is. James McKeown is remarkably consistent in his writing but also manages to avoid visiting the same place twice. A conscious yet comforting ambience is the result here.

For fans of… Flying Saucer Attack, Matthewdavid, Bvdub, My Bloody Valentine

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Published post no.2,851 – Wednesday 8 April 2026