Matthew Cooper aka Eluvium continues to innovate his approach to ambient music, albeit this time, not in style but in form.
I commented on his last album, False Readings On as yet another new take on the sound we had him down for as the album slowly transgressed into a power-house of angelic vocals and heart-tugging drones. For his next masterpiece, Matthew has stripped the actual music down to a very simple, cinematic sound and embraced today's most annoying habit, the 'shuffle'; building each track so it fits in sequence no-matter what order the album is played.
For someone who respects the sequencing of albums, especially when it comes to something as considered as ambient music, the concept presents an interesting juxtaposition - one I hadn't really considered before as an actual output for an album.
In a similar approach to Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers generative app (and album) Reflection, you're now presented with an endless possible combination of music. The difference here compared to Eno's album, is that Matthew has been very forthright in embracing today's listening patterns and pushing the Spotify/streaming versions to encourage shuffling (as opposed to locking it behind a very expensive app...) And whilst the output isn't as inconspicuous as Eno's liquid meditation - Shuffle Drones has a very distinct 32-second pattern - it's just as magical when you put it into practice as the slow and beautiful swells wash over you again and again.
Available to buy on Bandcamp, and stream everywhere else - give it a go below.
Listen to Eluvium's isolatedmix here celebrating his last album, False Readings On.
