Arbee - Capillaire

Released: January 26

Sitting somewhere in between dreams and reality, Capillaire is a peaceful and spacious EP that fancies itself an ambient album but has an undertone to it that makes it seem to be a little more than that. Everything in this album sits in it own strange space - a space that has a decidedly unnatural feeling to it. It is difficult to explain, but it feels akin to stepping into a room that you have never physically been in but suddenly feel as though you have been there many times before. The way in which this effect is crafted is somewhat intricate but also straightforward. There are the melodic sounds provided by keys and other soft intruments that makes its presence known, but never leads the tracks. Rather, the driving forces of the tracks are these odd effects and recordings that feel familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. 

"Au milieu" uses such effects well by disguising them subtly. Was it the sound of a water droplet hitting the ground? Or a footstep? Or something else entirely? This faux recognizable sound usage is bolstered by the intensely airy and nearly formless pads that fill up much of the spectral content along with the seemingly aimless piano that rings through the cloud only to be swallowed by it again. The last track, "Dans une ruelle" forgoes any attempt to create melody at all as the pads create a looming cloud that disperses slowly towards the end, leaving only the shuffling of feet along around and what sounds like the lonely flick of a cheap lighter. It is all very atmospheric, but not in a cinematic or haunting manner. To me, it sounds like a sonic representation of the indifferent world that we occupy as it carries on without regard to what we as individuals are doing.