In Emptiness

Album Review

The West Coast rave scene has always had it's new agey flair. A remnant no doubt of acid gone by and or a proclivity for desert parties, like the one where breaks stalwart John Kelly met musician and Buddhist Brian Saitzyk. The two partnered up on this album of heartbeat throbbing bass and enchanting atmospherics which pair with Kelly's highly informed method of making beats. So even at these slower tempos, cut's like the Public Radio approved "Rapture at Sea" are rhythmically smart, switching from a basic break to a more fully formed drun'n'bass shuffle at just the right moment to keep things interesting. At other moments, the curse of a thousand sunrise drum circles becomes too strong, such as on "The View," but the pair usually default on the side of trip-hop rather than new age, with the poorly titled "God and Void" and "The I of Spirit" proceeding into much darker territories than expected. Perhaps that is the edge So-Cal will always have over their Northern Cali counterparts. It can feel like a natural haven, but it can just as often feel like the end of the world.