Tod Dockstader – Aerial #1

This is truly a drone ambient masterpiece, and absolutte in the same class as his releasees from the sixties.

A mesmerizing trip through the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Dockstader utilized edited loops from thousands of hours of recordings of shortwave radio noise and complied them into a coherent immense structure. At points overwhelming, at points calm and relaxed, it is very easy to get lost amongst the scifi-esque crackles, blips, lfos and swirling ambiance. This music is not much of a casual listen: best suited to either headphones or a very clean, detailed hifi system at fairly high volumes so one can feel the omnipresence/vastness of the work. Dockstader is still as fresh with this release as with his works from 40 years previous, but perhaps his soundscapes are more structured and mature as one would expect from an artist who has been composing for so long.