- Since the closing of its physical store in 2006, London's Smallfish label have kept their unique identity and virtual shop on the map with a consistently interesting run of limited edition 3-inch CDs geared towards the dub techno, ambient and experimental ends of the electronic music spectrum. Yet Bvdub's latest offering—while crossing aspects of all of these terrains in a single 20-minute track—manages to coalesce into a highly moving and original ambient piece.
The key to the track is neither the beauty of the textures and rich instrumentation, nor the powerful emotional currents. Instead, it's the journey. Bvdub gradually erodes one mood, while simultaneously introducing you to the next one that's already sprouting from within its core. The track opens like a film, with shimmering Asian melodies and breathy, buried voices acting as the mysterious dawn light brightening a scene of abandonment. Treated piano echoes—again Asian-sounding—then tumble into the sad swirls ushering in a magnification of loneliness and despair. Gradually, the music wears down repeatedly over several minutes, giving rise to a potent sense of self-awareness once the pure silence crystallises.
A violin-driven orchestral lament soars outward, but ever so briefly, only to seep away again into nothingness. Incredibly, the return of blurry synth waves, angelic voices and brief piano chimes conjure memories of the opening half, as if it happened years ago. The slow dream-like fade gradually strengthens in resolve as the drones repeat and thicken, to fade out in a sense of frail hope. Although sorrowful, "To Live" is not a funeral march: It's a sweeping affirmation, and a stunning piece of music.