Remanence – Sepiadrone (Album – Resonant Effects)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, Cinematic, Dark-Ambient.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Remanence is a collaborative project between American artists Brian McWilliams (Aperus ao) and John Phipps. They both are also active under the Arcana moniker. “Sepiadrone” is the first new Remanence production in years.
Content: The album brings different influences together which in the end create a minimal Ambient experience. Drones, field recordings, low, dark, sound vibrations and other glasshouse like sonic effects are leading the listener into a strange universe. It feels like a sonic journey now and then achieved with delicate arrangements.
+ + + : I like the somewhat inhibited and intimate sphere created by Remanence. It has something fragile and yet ominous. The work has a visual appeal which is accentuated by the multiple noises, field recordings and effects.
– – – : The production has something predictable which makes it a bit monotonous after a while.
Conclusion: A minimal approach in Dark-Ambient music.
Best songs: “Sepiadrone”, “Metal Clouds”.
Rate: 6.
Artist: www.geophonicrecords.com / www.remanence.bandcamp.com
About Remanence
Remanence is the ambient duo of American artists Brian McWilliams and John Phipps, working with instrumental, experimental ambient material built from field recordings and processed source sound. The pair released their debut album, “Apparitions”, on Cold Spring in 1999. McWilliams also records as a solo artist under the name Aperus and runs Geophonic Records, the label through which “Sepiadrone” was issued in 2023 as the duo’s first new Remanence release in years.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
