Moustachioed modular-synth maestro Stephen James Buckley brings others into his immersive sound world with sublime communalist results

After 2019’s prodigious prolific run of works under his primary Polypores guise, 2020 has seen a slightly slower start for Stephen James Buckley than we perhaps expected. However, this collaborative self-released cassette/download album – only recorded last month – is certainly a remarkably strong if low-key way to kick things off properly, ahead of further wares that are due to set sail from other familiar and reliable label ports later in the year.

The first Polypores album known to feature more than just Buckley himself, Piano: Dismantled finds him manipulating and moulding recordings from five piano-playing guests – namely Con Daniels, Zeynep Ozsabuncu, Thomas Ragsdale, Stuart Smythe and his brother Chris – in/around his modular synthesizer-led set-up. Rather than feeling like a side-project curiosity, this is another substantial Polypores statement in forging something to truly submerge the senses into.

A few obvious but complimentary comparisons could be made with the electronically-framed elements found inside Nils Frahm’s terrific All Melody and All Encores releases, particularly on the serene likes of “Continuity”, “Fluke” and “Cornucopia”. Yet Buckley goes deeper and wider than that. Thus, “Paints” conjures ambient-classical moodscapes; “Noom” sprawls out into near-ecclesiastical ethereality; “Lune” and “Boy” ripple with retro-futuristic layering; “Organ” and “Measure” explore oceanic burbling; “Deepfake” delves into murky glitchtronica; and “Pollen” closes proceedings with buzz-tinged tranquillity. Nearly everything comes with an impression that Buckley is determined to keep pushing his own envelopes into more and more imaginative and cohesive places.

At sixty minutes in length, the densely-assembled Piano: Dismantled may require some genuine commitment to be truly absorbed aurally, but it’s unquestionably worth the effort. Moreover, having such a fine example in these troubled times of creativity that finds harmony between social connections and inner-world building is something to be greatly commended.

polypores.bandcamp.com/

Adrian
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