Clocking in at over 27 minutes, the Antenna Project apparently submitted only a sample of a”Calm Culture,” which I imagine could be a near-endless piece. Longtime attentive followers of Ball of Wax and deep Seattle scene aficionados might know the artist behind the Antenna Project as the Music of Grayface, one of many monikers of one Christopher Hydinger. Whereas the Music of Grayface is vocal-driven art pop, the Antenna Project seems to be about ambience and minimalism, a la Stars of the Lid or La Monte Young.
“Calm Culture” opens up with a gurgling single-note drone, which sustains for a while before smatterings of padded percussion and other distant sound details float into the audible field. What sounds like a palm-muted electric guitar part emerges at one point, hinting at a soft-LOUD-soft Mogwai-esque movement before settling back into the calm sea of drone. Other musical motifs emerge from time to time, but none change the dynamics any post-rock-ish way.
It’s hard not to describe this music as meditative, as I found myself losing track of both the time and shape of the piece while still enjoying it. I periodically found myself mulling over ideas like “feelings are not facts” and “just because I have a jarring or upsetting thought, that doesn’t mean I have to follow it and feed it.” Make no mistake, though, this isn’t the kind of gossamer new age music that might soundtrack a deep tissue massage. At one point, a high pitched, percussive sample (maybe a hammered dulcimer?) approaches like a swarm of locust or bees, turning the dream feverish. But a steady, pulsing guitar sample serves to soothe before a percussive part like some sort of double dutch pattern gently shifts the mood again. Gradually, everything else in the piece melts away, leaving only the percussive pattern like some sort of alien heartbeat before fading to silence and it ends.
The Antenna Project will create some more calm culture live at the Ball of Wax 51 release show this Friday.