Various Artists - Aquapelago: An Oceans Anthology (2022) [Hi-Res]

Discrepant introduces a new series of albums based on the concept of "aquapelago", with gooey compositions from Andrew Pekler, Sugai Ken, Mike Cooper, Yannick Dauby and others.

What is it about water that makes it so inspiring for experimental musicians? Discrepant's new series of albums promises to expand on a concept that imagines a deep underwater world. So it makes perfect sense that Japanese composer Sugai Ken - who impressed with 2020's slippery "Tone River" - should start things off with the unsettling 'Boundary', a spoken word piece in English and Japanese leading into Andrew Pekler's predictably balmy 'Shima No Yume', that sounds like being underwater and marooned on a desert island simultaneously.

Brussels-based Mexican sound artist Vica Pacheco takes a different approach, splicing together environmental recordings and juxtaposing them with half-speed, haunted brass that sounds as if it's been recorded in an empty swimming pool. Mike Cooper swerves any obvious signals completely, preferring to create a secluded paradise on 'Lamma Island' with gusty field recordings and beachy guitar harmonics. Italian duo Babau bolt together one of our favorite tracks, using idiophones to create a shimmering backdrop that harmonizes with Visible Cloaks' cult "Fairlights, Mallets And Bamboo" mixes.

Tracklist:
1 01. Sugai Ken - Boundary (03:08)
1 02. Andrew Pekler - Shima No Yume (06:07)
1 03. The Dead Mauriacs - Différents aspects d'un aquapel recomposé (Edit) (03:48)
1 04. Vica Pacheco - Taciturno (05:18)
1 05. Mike Cooper - Lamma Island (04:05)
1 06. Babaú - Enshrined Underflow (03:33)
1 07. Francesco Cavaliere - Ficus Leaves in Apnea (03:00)
1 08. Sculpture - Froth Surfer (03:48)
1 09. Yannick Dauby - Navigation (04:32)