If lockdown were to spawn a musical genre it would surely be characterised by a restless anxiety, repetition and a yearning for escape, expressed, of course, by solo artists in isolation. It would likely sound akin to ‘Contrastes’, an EP by Dropout Marsh, who recorded four tracks at home in the South of France while locked down last November, drawing on, he says, “the mixed feelings and emotions we’ve all had this past year... from being shut in the dark to a desire for light, freedom, fresh air and clear water to swim in.”
Words by Nick Mee
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Underpinned by a sub-bass of such heft you can almost see the air oscillating around the woofer, first track ‘Vagues’ is an exemplar of Dropout Marsh’s ambient electro-noir. It evokes the downtempo hauntolgy of acts such as Burial and Darkside, whose sonic illustrations of after-hours city life captured both the neon beauty and paranoia of the urban night. Dropout Marsh, though, has moved the vibe inside to a curtained room where daylight partially cuts through the gloom, offering a tantalising glimpse of the world outside. The track’s elephantine bass and percussive electro trills are interspersed with snippets of conversation: talk of the ocean while the distant sound of waves bleeds into ethereal synth chords.
‘Dunes’ presents many of the same sonic textures but quickens the pulse via its Eastern ambience and more propulsive percussion, while ‘Ombres’ adds a woozy emphasis to the bass as if revving an engine and prepping the listener for action. On the closing track, ‘Reflets’, cinematic samples allude to frustrated love, all set to digital simulacra of horns and chimes. The 14th release on Dropout Marsh’s own label, Contre Jour, ‘Contrastes’ is an atmospheric cut, capturing the vibe of a life in stasis while reminding us that creativity can prosper at all times, even when shorn of outside stimuli.