The first release as a part of Flaming Pines’ Birds Of A Feather EP series that celebrates the role of birds and real world sounds more broadly in ambient music sees Iranian sound artist Porya Hatami take on the Black Woodpecker.
Although the twenty-minute piece begins peacefully enough with open and fluid ambience that is at once both restless and still, it doesn’t take long for it to take on a more sinister tone. The piece is overtaken with dark, monotonous synths that accompany the woodpecker sounds whilst becoming awash with harsher feedback that conjures up waves crashing. Lonely muted xylophones strikes complement solitary footsteps in the forest, as the mood becomes even more foreboding.
Hatami’s work is an exercise in restraint though, and before the piece can get too heavy the music peters out. Hatami’s textures at once feel charmingly intimate and introspective, whilst also hypnotic and infinite. This is music that is ideal for slow movement that craves headphone listening in the open air.
Wyatt Lawton-Masi
