The first album by Tokyo-based producer Zefan Sramek aka Precipitation sparkles like a healing crystal. Ambient and field recordings mix, a few remnants of house can be detected. We are entirely with ourselves when listening to »Glass Horizon«; the synths tickle our solar plexus. That this album doesn’t drift completely into New Age is because of the fact that Sramek knows exactly that he has to add several layers to his sound. He leaves empty spaces for this purpose. In »Breakwater Acid« the melodies have fantastic gaps that make the track work. It’s not that this sound is merely meant to be enveloping. Sure, there are waves, birdsong and crickets, but this doesn’t turn »Glass Horizon« into background music. Alone »Futatsugamé Contemplation« worms its way into your brain stem with all the relaxation it can muster. Everything laid back, everything spherical. That Sramek got the inspiration for this album by sleeping in a hammock for weeks is evident in every track. Sramek also uses the field recordings very carefully. Once the opener »Gradient« starts with waves and soon dives into a rhythm, it becomes clear: »Glass Horizon« represents the antithesis to those hectic moments in clubs and the empty background music in reels and shorts. Here, someone is still taking their time. The only point of criticism: The album doesn’t come with a hammock.
Glass Horizon
