- The long-time experimental artist pares down his craft on an LP of beautiful piano music that sounds like a fresh start.
- Turbulent times necessitate meditative moments. At this point, it's well established that we all had an awful 2020. Now it's about how we apply the lessons learned from it. Taylor Deupree, for one, is a master of sculpting personal struggles into beautiful ambient pieces. He wrote Mur last year, after abandoning a frustrating recording project meant for his own label, 12k. He said that leaving it behind in favour of Mur was a "lifted burden," and the resulting full-length feels appropriately refreshing, a reboot of sorts for the long-time experimental artist.
The opener "Mir" is a hesitant but determined walk across new terrain. Each key is played carefully but with a considerable amount of force, showcasing the percussive side of the piano, while ghostly chords alternately shudder with doubt and warble with optimism. The trickling keys that were previously used sparingly become effervescent on "Mor," with sustained notes emanating a warm glow. Both tracks are picturesque, suffused with what sounds like field recordings from a rushing brook.
A narrative emerges on "Mer," as the growing confidence of the first two tracks reaches a plateau. It's dense and adventurous in comparison, but still has a light, almost dainty touch. That feeling might come in part from the patina of white noise that covers all these tracks, particularly "(murmur)," where it enshrouds morose, pitter-patter notes. Here, the LP's atmosphere changes from drifting to free-falling.
Unlike the delicate and pretty composition of the earlier songs, the closer "Mar" morphs into something more claustrophobic. The sparse keys and ominous bass notes hint at darkness approaching, as whining chords and staticky noises corrode the decorative garden that Deupree spent the rest of the album building. Having lost his father last year, the darker tones on "Mar" seem abrupt, yet justifiably so—they embody sudden loss with stark, intense feeling.
Mur is one of many gems in Deupree's vast catalogue, sticking to his ethos of ambient and electroacoustic music made with refinement rather than forced innovation. Deupree's own 12k label is based on 12 principles, one which is to "explore sound as art, as a physical phenomenon—with emotion." Though Mur doesn't arrive on 12k, it follows that principle to a T.
In the same way you might discover additional elements in a painting each time you look at it, the microscopic adjustments Deupree makes in his compositions emerge over time, subtle enough to make you question whether each element was there at the start. Each track on Mur evolves constantly, and not only do the songs here feel emotional, they cleanse and channel life into whatever environment you're hearing them through. With any luck, Mur might even allow you to slow down and breathe more deeply.
Tracklist01. Mir
02. Mor
03. Mer
04. (murmur)
05. Mar