The early pioneers of what has become known as "ambient" return after a decade long silence with a fascinating new work that shows the collective staying true to their roots, but at the same time exploring more grimy, less ethnic textures.
Ambient music has become easy. With sampling, digital delay technology, and a pinch of granular synthesis, any dilettante with some stolen software and a bit of gear can pull out a "soundscape" with little to no effort. While not necessarily "quality" in the classical sense, someone with less experience may not be able to see the difference between the aformentioned bedroom wankery and true artistry. In 1982 when O Yuki Conjugate followed up Brian Eno's pioneering work, the technology wasn't there. Instead, organic instruments and primitive analog synths were the best things going, and even when samplers came out, they cost as much as a car and took up about the same amount of room. It's very respectable that on their first release in about a decade, OYC sticks to their guns and avoids the easy route, creating wonderful ambient in the original, "difficult" way with organic technologies and a true ear for composition.
Interestingly enough, the last vestiges of the 1990s (the period of their last significant activity) can be heard in The Euphoria of Disobedience: the flanged organ shards on "Noiseflaw" and "Tropospheric" are the dying gasps of house techno music, and the guitar elements that appear throughout have tinges of the great Britpop invasion that never was. Of course, the most obvious is the ambient subgenre of isolationism of which they were integral in the development of. However, even compared to those artists of that era, there is a great deal more soul and depth to this album.
The Luddite approach shows up in their use of classic synth and electronic rhythms, obvious in "Estuary" and "Sunlessglare" towards the ending of the album. Even "Out Through The Skin" showcases bits of detuned guitars and pitch shifting that is far from groundbreaking technology, but still fascinating in its simplicity. "Where She Goes At Night" is another one that stands out as completely different, being the only track that actually features some noticeable fragments of human voices above the bassy tones and alien effects. That is the strongest element of The Euphoria of Disobedience: each track feels unique and stands on its own, yet work well within the full album context.
This disc—which marks a return to activity of OYC after a long pause in activity—is coming at a great time. A time where there aren't many active ambient projects in the traditional sense, these masters of their craft have decided to give it another go.
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