Students of Decay

Celer: “Close Proximity and the Unhindered Care-all” (SRA, 2009)

In the past two years, Celer, the duo of Will Long and the late (and very much missed) Danielle Baquet-Long, have emerged as one of the most compelling voices in recent ambient/drone music. From their lovingly crafted handmade releases, now out of print and much sought after, to their more recent and more widely available offerings, the duo have established an instantly recognizable sound: lush and evocative, soft and lulling and sourced from all manner of immaculately processed strings, keys and location recordings.

In a discography marked by its consistent high quality, this new release on Nicholas Szczepanik’s stellar Sentient Recognition Archive label stands out as one of the duo’s brightest and most compelling sets thus far. The record begins with “Culling the Past from Unsentient Weeks,” as a warm rush of coiling drone timbres wraps itself around the untreated sound of footsteps crushing foliage. This serves as a wonderful point of departure for the thoroughly immersive soundworld that Celer presents throughout the album. Around the 7 minute mark, a new loop surfaces. Rising through the aural fog too is a strange and, in effect, voyeuristic recording of a domestic dispute, a curious insertion that, oddly enough, serves to add further pathos to the rich sounds which underlie it.  This first piece ends with an absolutely gorgeous loop of processed strings – cinematic, yawning upwards and standing as one of Celer’s absolute finest moments. Parts 2 and 3, titled “Indentations on Summits of Hands” and “Tended Pouring” respectively, continue on this trajectory, merging gorgeous drones and loops with textural field recordings. The set concludes with positively resplendent, resonant strings which lock in a plaintive crescendo before spiraling effortlessly into silence.

Ultimately, Close Proximity is, for me, perhaps Celer’s finest hour. A rich, expansive album that, like the best ambient/cinematic/drone music, whisks the listener away from the everyday and into the firmament above. Essential purchase and absolutely a contender for album of the year.  Audio clips and purchasing information here.