f5point6 - A Random Sequence of Events

Released: September 19

The eleventh release from English producer and visual artist R. Cleveland Aaron, A Random Sequence of Events marks the final installment of a three part series that caps things off with varied and rich compositions. While most of the album stays firmly in the realm of the cinematic and ambient, Aaron ventures into various places to bring back arrangements that evolve slowly and evoke solemn atmospheres such as the slow moving “Grey Clouds over Ramsgate” and the surprisingly emotive “I Never Got to Say.” Now, there is something about the name of this album that perplexes me - are the events random or is the sequence random? The events (if we take the song names as events) feel as though they are either mundane or extraordinary with little middle ground between. And while this is a common thing with f5point6’s music (contrasts, shadows, differences, etc.), it feels rather overemphasized here.

While I could speculate about the deeper implications of each of Aaron’s choices on this album, I would much rather talk about some of my favorite moments here. The aforementioned “Grey Clouds of Ramsgate” stands out among my favorites, primarily because of the repeated loop of ebbing pads that cycles the song over and over as new and seeming randomized elements pop in as accentuating bits to the looping motif. The small digital key sounds bring a certain delicate flavor as a rising tone pops in occasionally to give a sense of upward movement without disturbing the natural feeling ebb of the track. “And In Came Eddy”, which sits just past the midpoint of the album, comes in with a deceptively ambient feeling until we hear the first peals of a washed out saxophone. The sound is allowed to build up a bit until a distinctively jazz-inflected drum groove comes in and the saxophone returns, turning the whole composition into a smoke-filled and sultry jazz soundscape. 

The depth of expression on this album is quite incredible. I mean, this is what we have come to expect from f5point6. But nonetheless, I was still taken aback by the variety of sounds and the ways in which they are weaved together.