Matthew Mercer - Sub/Super (2023) [Hi-Res]

Dragon’s Eye Recordings welcomes Portland-based electronic musician Matthew Mercer to the imprint with the release of his latest record, SUB/SUPER, a two-part excursion into hypnotic soundscapes that reflect a sense of formless, boundless time.
Building off the cyclical hypnosis of Mercer's self-released 2022 longform track “Hypnagogia,” the two pieces that form SUB/SUPER focus on slow, abstract phase shifts and stacked effects, crafted from heavily-manipulated recordings of live performances.
The focal point of SUB/SUPER is its leading, 36-minute drone piece, "Sublimation." Using source tapes that date back to Mercer's earliest lo-fi synth experiments in the 90s, "Sublimation" obfuscates its already hazy source material into even more diffuse layers of looping delay and decay. Its swirl of sound is immersive and comprehensive, a prolonged state of colloidal suspension.
In contrast to the epic peaks and valleys in “Sublimation,” “Superliminal” is more understated. Its persistent melancholia is derived entirely from layered guitar improvisations that are manipulated and stretched into a blurry, evocative sadness.
The airy, beatless forms of SUB/SUPER capture the Covid era’s disorienting sense of tempus fugit. Culling from sound sources both old and new, SUB/SUPER reflects the pervasive feeling of time obscured and distorted, yet provides an anchor through which the sounds of time flow.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Matthew Mercer - Sublimation, Pt. 1 (12:00)
1.02 - Matthew Mercer - Sublimation, Pt. 2 (12:00)
1.03 - Matthew Mercer - Sublimation, Pt. 3 (12:00)
1.04 - Matthew Mercer - Superliminal (14:25)