Given his extensive career and the breadth of his library, I’d be surprised if most of our community hadn’t experienced some aspect of the work of Tri Angles (or his previous identity, SMILETRON). If you’re such a reader, it should come as no surprise that ‘Deep Magic’ is a solid addition to the library of any fan of this particular variety of ambient drum and bass. For the uninitiated, I can wholeheartedly recommend this album as a great diving in spot to an extremely mentally engaging artist. Thematically drifting along the spectrum of driven to meditative, ‘Deep Magic’s composition will instill focus and energy into its listeners. Join me past the fold where we’ll take an in depth listen to just a few of the new pieces.





DEEP MAGIC by Tri Angles

Shocking the album to life with the sudden and mysterious flute, ‘Deep Magic‘ wastes no time in injecting a sense of the mystical into the atmosphere. Underlying the whole of the composition is a motivated pace that drives the music forward and gives the whole of the track something to coalesce around. It adds a sense of grounding to the other instruments of the track, whose esoteric sounds have a wonderfully dreamy and magical quality. Tri Angles talent turns what easily could have been a relatively textbook floaty ambient track into a solid nine minutes of concentration inducing rhythmic flow.

DEEP MAGIC by Tri Angles

‘Via Amenti‘ sets a much different from its very first note. The sharper bells with a buzzy backswing that bounce rapidly into silence instill a tension that is stretched thin by the pregnant silence that divides them. This higher resting potential energy feels like it explodes when the canonically rapid dnb core comes into play. Impressively, this sensation stays with them throughout the track, even though there’s nothing particularly unique to their sound.

For the majority of the track, the other additional instrumentation, a selection of warm synths in the high frequencies, and various metallic almost bird-like sounds build upon this core theme. Keeping a sensation of focus and flow, but injecting a definitive urgency to its pace. The track nearly falls away into silence at roughly the six minute mark, taking the opportunity to introduce a new deep bass wave that pushes the music on through to the conclusion. While the pace doesn’t increase the sense of purpose does, with the race toward accomplishment taking barely any time to come to a halt when the music fades out.

DEEP MAGIC by Tri Angles

Taking its time getting up to pace, ‘Devotion‘ gently brings the listener back down to sustainable pace for the next ten minutes. Its soft edged and synthetic waves smoothly wash over the the bassline, making what is realistically a fairly rapid beat seem a sustainable. In fact, the feathery quality possessed by the track’s overtones makes it easy to lose one’s self in concentration to the flow of track. The drums’ redoubling roughly halfway through the track only serves to gather that focus together into an extended burst of concentrated effort and purpose. Still, Tri Angles manages to fit in a period to cool down. A minute at the end of the track that cools things back down, and allows the breath to regather.

DEEP MAGIC by Tri Angles

‘Street Poise‘ finds its character in the contemplative and solemn character of its steel drum opening. Beginning almost alone above barely audible bass tones and shifting wind, the timber of this instrument stands out across the track’s entire length. Its introspective nature riding atop the rest of the composition like a backdrop of rich urban activity. A world in motion, full of stories and characters, as the droplets of a lazy summer rain fall heavily on the concrete. The light decoration of a few uplifting piano tones as the track slowly fades out left me with a warm smile reflecting on a more romantic image of a vibrant city.

Again, if you’ve ever been a fan of TRI ANGLES’ work, this is a damn good selection to pick up. If you’ve never heard the man’s work before, then you’re about to become a fan. Personally, this music has always been on my listening list whenever I need to focus on a task at hand regardless of my current level of mental energy. Pop on over to Bandcamp and pick yourself up a copy at a price that you name yourself. Maybe consider pitching in a bit to spread the love and help the journey continue on.

–VF

Links

misterangles.org | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook



DEEP MAGIC by Tri Angles

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