Aeronaut

Aeronaut

Your Space Transmissions Listening Kit

Fabrica

“Billed as the "sonic and visual documentation of the journey of a lone astronaut into deep space, as imagined by a seven year old boy," there certainly is a lot of outer space imagery on Steve Fors' second release under the Aeronaut moniker. Conceptual trappings aside, this album is a strong piece of ambient noise that stands completely on its own as a slab of majestic tones and lush, beautiful textures. That is not to say that the conceptual nature of the album is irrelevant: the packaging, which resembles an early 1980s kids’ science book, drives this point home with its bright colors and minimal graphics. Even more so with the inclusion of old red/blue 3d glasses, which themselves feature some rather They Live subliminal messages on them, albeit seemingly unrelated to the album. All four 15 minute pieces do an exemplary job of constructing the narrative on their own, as well. "Preflight/Launch" is a bit overt at first, with its use of fuzzy mission control transmissions and requisite radio static, but built upon a slowly increasing bed of guitar feedback acting as a propulsive rocket engine. Eventually the noisiness retreats to allow the buried, soft tones to become the focus: a light, weightless near melody. "My First Space Walk" also begins with one of the other overt concessions to the conceptual storyline: a pulsing, radar beacon like tone. Past this it is a dramatic synth string-like melody that is just a bit wobbly and out of tune, like a...

Aeronaut

Coronal Mass

Fabrica

"Aeronaut, who is Steve Fors (and half of the combo The Golden Sores) has been working at his sparse, complex approach to sound art for quite a few years now, but it all comes together beautifully on Coronal Mass, his first full physical release, presented beautifully in a hand-made box painted by the artist himself. On each of the two 18 minute compositions, Fors allows himself to stretch out and fill every moment of those durations, but in a constantly shifting and evolving sort of way. The A side initially crackles with digital static offset by rising and falling melodic calls, blending melody with chaos. Soon all transitions to the blissful, soft tones, intertwined with one another. While by no means descending into awful new age territory, there is a peaceful warmth throughout, and even once a bit of distorted electronic guitar enters the mix, the delicate balance is not upset. The guitar eventually envelops the entire piece in gauzy, yet sharp haze that embraces both dissonance and beauty. The second piece stays even further away from the harsher passages, opting instead for a bleaker, more dour mix. Bowed tones and shifting passages of melody conjure up a distinct darkness that is moody, but not at all uncomfortable. Again, the more understated moments are buried in a passage of soaring, lush guitar squall before pushing the piece into a climax of glorious noise. All too often works like this fall into rote repetition and time-filling genre clichés, but that never...