Hard Return: African Ghost Valley – SEASONS
13 January 2022
Incredible new EP from this Canadian/European duo, all stemming from the synth melody that pervades the entire release. In fact its ubiquity is primarily in spirit, with the levitating drone of “SEASONS NEEDLE” and the radio interference of “SEASONS EENT” infused with its beautiful searchlight swirl. So many of the sounds here seem derived from interactions with earthly elements – the boot-sucking mud that opens the release, synthesisers drenched in water, fireballs from nowhere – with the whole experience speaking to the symbiotic nature of the environment and the seasons. Time isn’t a straight road but a lattice of pathways leading forward and back, twisting endings into beginnings, planting seeds in the future to produce blooms in retrospect.