by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Earthen Sea is the pseudonym under which Jacob Long operates – and Recollection is his fourth album for the Kranky label.

It began life as a piano trio, inspired by a year-long immersion in the music of ECM – but soon Long’s writing became more individual and complex. The resultant blend of live band and downtempo loops has been given a natural clothing that suggests it was made much more instinctively. As the press release suggests, the music can be heard ‘shuffling and rippling like uncertain memories at strange hours’.

What’s the music like?

Immediately restful. Recollection unfolds at a slow tempo, dreamy and fuzzy as it runs over melodic snippets and beats that are incredibly easy on the ear.

Long has a spacious audio palette, the reminiscences spread over a wide angle lens to give space around the listener. On occasion there are melodic thoughts in intimate close-up, but generally the music moves across the sky with an ambient yet steady tread.

Highlights include Sunlit Leaving, a warm-hearted reverie loosely led by the piano, with a drum rhythm dragging its heels lazily in the sand behind. A Single Pub is enjoyably woozy, its piano loop ambling through the space left for it by the beats and atmospherics.

The sleepy, distracted mood continues throughout in a most appealing way, the musical equivalent of an early afternoon reverie in the hot sun – and all the more appealing for it. This is typified by the closing White Sky, thick in ambience and with dappled light emanating from a keyboard line.

Does it all work?

It does. Long’s instrumental shading is rather beautiful, casting shadows on the melodic material but always with a brighter backdrop.

Is it recommended?

Yes. This is music that will help the listener attain a better state of mindfulness, a relaxing album that lowers the blood pressure and eases the brain. We could certainly do with more of that right now!

For fans of… Blockhead, RJD2, Skalpel, Cinematic Orchestra

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,390 – Wednesday 11 December 2024