When you first look at the packaging and track listing for the Wisp’s Shimmering Hour, you might expect it to contain medieval, fantasy themed, Joanna Newsom-esque freak-folk. But think again when you notice the Rephlex logo on the back cover. Wisp is Reid Dunn of New York and this is his first full-length release on Rephlex, following a string of releases on various netlabels since 2003.
Dunn doesn’t hide his influences; Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, and Mike Paradinas are obvious reference points, but add Tomita, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream to the mix and you get a sense of the scope of Wisp’s vision. With a strong emphasis on melody and movement, the tracks collected on this album take on an optimistic, hopeful, almost epic quality you don’t often find in IDM (or braindance to use the term preferred by the Rephlex stable).
‘Teddy Oggie’ opens the album with Aphex-esque wobbly chords and squelches underpinned by a 150bpm programmed break. Freeform melodies weave around the beat delivering us to ‘Picatrix’ which, with it’s four on the floor beat and uplifting yet wistful chord progression, wouldn’t have sounded out of place played at sunrise at a warehouse party in the mid-nineties. It’s not until the fourth track, ‘Flat Rock’, that the pace drops a little, with its melancholy chords and a swung UK-garage-meets-post-rock vibe. Other highlights include the energetic ‘Cultus Klatawas’ and ‘World Rim Walker’ and the epic ‘Summoner’s Shadow’. While there are hints at the medieval fantasy theme throughout, it’s only really overt on ‘The Shaper’, where it’s not hard to picture the odd morris dancer waving a hanky about.
Overall this is a fun album. It has a sense of adventure, optimism and forward momentum that will keep you listening to the climactic closer, ‘Winter of Flight’: like the soundtrack to some long forgotten sci-fi fantasy featuring robotic knights who like to dance.
Ben Askins
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