Aperus – Archaic Signal (Album – Geophonic Records)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, Cinematographic.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Two years after the “Lie Symmetry”-album, Brian McWilliams (also known from his involvement with Remanence) achieved a new opus of his Aperus project.
Content: The trigger to release this work happened when Brian woke up in the morning. Living in New Mexico (USA) he heard the birds singing outside and started to record their sounds. “Archaic Signal” as the album title perfectly summarizes the approach of this album, which features multiple field recordings. But there’s much more to discover like Electronic sound treatments, effects, guitar play and passages driven by slow rhythms. The work has something pretty atmospheric creating a contrast between darkness and reverie.
+ + + : I first of all noticed a great artwork, a physical format remaining something unique! Sound-wise this work reveals a delicious duality between dream and nightmare. The music has something relaxing-like, featuring prosper passages and yet it also sounds like an invisible danger is supporting the entire production. This Aperus work has something unique, mixing different styles together, this way creating something apart from ‘classical’ Experimental- and/or ambient productions.
– – – : It’s not easy to seize the work of this artist, the numerous Experimental influences remaining pretty dominant.
Conclusion: “Archaic Signal” sounds like a sonic osmosis between dark prosperity and inhibited horror; something hard to catch and yet fascinating to experience!
Best songs: “Canopy Of Stars”, “Archaeodreaming”.
Rate: (6½).
Artist & Label: www.facebook.com/brian.j.mcwilliams.5
About Aperus
Aperus is the solo recording project of American musician and photographer Brian McWilliams, based in the high desert of northern New Mexico. Discogs traces the earliest release to the CDr “Tumbleweed Obfuscated By Camera Failure” on mPATH Records in 2003, followed by the mini-album “Hinterland” on the same label in 2004.
McWilliams reissued a remastered “Hinterland” on Geophonic Records in 2016, after the 2013 collaborative release “Ecotone” with James Johnson. Geophonic Records also released “Lie Symmetry” in 2018 and “Archaic Signal” in 2020, followed by “Weather Anomalies” in 2021 and “Lost Tribe of the Shadow” in 2024.
McWilliams also performs as one half of the ambient duo Remanence, whose “Sepiadrone” album appeared on Resonant Effects in 2023. “Archaic Signal” is his third full-length under the Aperus name, built from field recordings made near his New Mexico home.
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