Headphone Commute (US)
In order to fully appreciate the latest release from Corey Fuller, I suggest that you go back [like I did] to his earlier works, the Illuha collaboration with Tomoyoshi Date with many albums on 12k, and of course, the solo ambient explorations on Dragon’s Eye, Seas Between, dating back 10 years now. He even got to work together with Ryuichi Sakamoto for a Perpetualrelease in 2015. What is pleasantly surprising on his latest for Taylor Deupree‘s label is the appearance of a soft piano piece, titled “Lamentation” which I immediately picked up and started playing on my own. In fact, I found that piece so strikingly beautiful that I’ve recorded it and shared it with Corey, and now you can also hear it for yourself here: Mike Lazarev plays Corey Fuller’s “Lamentation”. The beloved instrument continues to appear on Break throughout, at the centre of the stage, often uplifted by the time-spanning porous soundscapes that let in the vapour as they breathe in space. The neutral tonality invites the listener to open up their drawers and let out all the stories locked away, unless, of course, the key has long been hidden, and so there is no hope in letting old pain out. Here then, at the very core of the album, “Look Into The Heart Of Light, The Silence” and find out for yourself, all those events in time that surely break. “A crashing wave, the breaking dawn, an impact, the crushing of emotional spirit… the breaking of a storm. These are all relevant ideas behind his choice of a title for this highly emotional album. Fuller has addressed the universality of human struggle without going into specifics of his own personal waves. The ideas that we as humans all share many of the same difficulties is both a launching point and a message he wishes to share with Break — the catharsis.” This is a very special album, one that I will treasure on for years. Highly recommended!