The Lonely Bell - Memory Piece

 Released: April 1

The latest longform piece from Scottish ambient composer The Lonely Bell (Ali Murray) is heavy on the drones but keeps a light melody along with it, which really comes to define the piece despite its seeming distance from the listener. The drones are entirely smooth atmospheres, moving slowly and deliberately as they lay a washed out bed of icy textures on top of which we have the faint elements of a piano and other minor accompaniments. This faint melody plays out briskly compared to the slow moving drones, but slow enough that it casts a haunting aura on the background it interacts with. The progress of the track is equally plodding as it gently builds on top of itself, gradually growing in intensity. That is, until it begins a gentle and gradual fade into silence as the sound becomes thinner and thinner, shedding the weight of it crescendo and shuffling away from our ears. 

It’s a beautiful little piece, one that inspires a desire to sit and simply observe the world around you, or maybe slowly walking your way through it. The fog is evokes is one of that kind a mental fog. Not producing an inability to act, but simply an absence of focus that feels deliberate and intention. Suitable for grey skies and soft yet deep reflections.