This month, two musicians have come together to produce something very much outside the box. Tapes 01 is a collaborative album from the minds of Chris Dunnington and Jacob F-D; two artists that, whilst differing in their influences, found common ground in their love of artists like Aphex Twin, Lapalux, and Four Tet. Both students of Jazz, their respective styles are both concerned with electronic ambience and the emotion inducing quality of synthetic instruments.
The warm hazy atmosphere of the album is generated through the use of Chris’ dad’s tape machine. Dreamy lucid synths make up the soundscape, each enveloped in crackly, glitch-y haze. ‘Soundscapes’ are the key term here. Rather than ‘tracks’ per se, each component on this album offers an almost meditative journey, and tracks flow seamlessly into one another. The album as a whole has soothing introspective aura, with the ubiquitous tape distortion further enriching the depth of the mixes. From the moody atmospherics of ‘Calmsuite’, to the plummeting echoed synths of ‘Jupiter’s End’, Tapes 01 maintains its ethereal, and at times eerie, atmosphere throughout. If you want a soundtrack to accompany some mindfulness, or something subtle and calming, then Tapes 01 is definitely worth checking out.