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- Date Released: January 27, 2009
- Genre: Electronic
- Style: Breaks
- Label: Baskaru / Believe Digital
A ghostly ambient collage hinting at past lives and memories
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We Say...
Since most ambient music is the result of juxtaposing found sounds by electronic means, it's easy to get lost in metaphor when describing the music. That's not the case with Ethan Rose's Oaks. Rose has for years scoured his Portland, Oregon environs for ancient musical instruments, which he then reassembles via computer into collages that hint at past lives, memories and ghosts.
For his 2006 album, Ceiling Songs, Rose sampled music boxes, player pianos and carillons, creating an eerie soundtrack that overcame the genre's penchant for weightlessness. Similarly, Oaks reflects Rose's fascination with Portland's Oak Park Roller Rink Wurlitzer Theater Organ. Rose helped repair the 1920s-era organ, which was originally used at Portland's Broadway Theater to accompany silent films. Knowing the source of Oaks' sounds doesn't lessen its beauty or dampen its sense of mystery. There are no literal organ notes used; instead, Rose relies on treated templates that recall symphony orchestras ("On Wheels Rotating"), warbling guitars and bell-like synth tones ("Rising Waters") and guitar feedback fed through a Leslie organ cabinet ("Scenes from When"). One song melts into the next, one atmosphere rises while a previous one recedes. It's all rather spooky and numbing — as if the ghost has escaped the machine. -
They Say...
Ethan Rose likes antiquated instruments, and never has he tapped into one's resources more than on Oaks, his full-length CD debut. The instrument in question is a 1926 Wurlitzer Theater Organ, which, in a different era, used to accompany silent film projection, before getting moved to the Oaks Amusement Park. All the sounds heard on the album have been sourced from that organ, but it takes a certain leap of faith to believe that claim. Rose treats and alters the sounds in so many different ways -- then again, who remembers how wide the sound palette of these behemoths actually was? The music is delicate, graceful, and sweetly textural. Melodies are more hinted at than stated. A sense of experimentation permeates the eight tracks, altering colors and ranges, although never losing sight of the mood and the composition. "On Wheels Rotating," "The Floor Released," and "Bottom" are beautiful exercises in careful motion. The music rarely gets bouncy and has nothing to do with the kind of ankle-driving tunes you would expect to hear in a roller skate rink (where the instrument ended up). In a day where everyone's neighbor is releasing Fennesz-derivate electronica out of their bedroom, Oaks may not seem particularly original, but Rose's music manages to rise over the masses. And the man clearly had a goal and a well-designed plan. The album is not free of long-winded bits, but it sticks to the point, and produces its fair share of beauty in the process. In short, Oaks is a conceptual album that lets the music speak mostly for itself.
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| 01. |  |
On Wheels Rotating |
4:07 |
|
| 02. | |
Rising Waters |
4:13 |
|
| 03. | |
Grand Marcher |
4:31 |
|
| 04. | |
The Floor Released |
6:46 |
|
| 05. | |
Fortunate |
3:25 |
|
| 06. | |
Scenes From When |
4:25 |
|
| 07. | |
Mighty Mighty |
4:00 |
|
| 08. | |
Bottom |
6:24 |
|
08 Total Tracks, 37:51 Total Length
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Credits
- Ethan Rose - Wurlitzer // Timothy Stollenwerk - Mastering // Dylan McConnell - Layout Design
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