Ezekial Honig & Morgan Packard – Early Morning Migration (Microcosm Music)

It should be a split album, with both producers conceiving and producing their music separately, then sprinkling their tunes amongst each other. Though the reality is that without the aid if the liner notes you would never be able to tell. This is due to the duo’ shared aesthetic, of gentle low-key progressions, deep warm bass tones and the desire to use plenty of space within their sparse electro acoustic tracks. And it’s gorgeous and inventive work, a gentle kind of ambience similar in size to Susumu Yokota, though operating closer to the edges of electronica. In fact it’s this proximity that provides much of the interest, widening the gap between sound art and electronica and cheerfully occupying the middle ground with occasional visits to either side. Both Honig and Packard have a history in drum and bass, though at some point they moved away and there is very little evidence of their past here. What they do have is far less tangible and far more valuable with Early Morning Migration filled with numerous tender moments of subtle though innovative beauty