Greig Baird has been releasing music under the moniker of Moss Covered Technology since 2016. In this relatively short period of time he has managed to produce some of the most evocative and moving pieces of ambience music I’ve ever come across. His beautifully deft approach to soundscape sculpture takes his listeners through a myriad of emotions, inviting you to share some of his most personal moments. Each album is crafted with incredible precision and attention to detail weaving rich and meaningful sonic stories that help you discover what it is to be human.
His latest album ‘A Shared Place’ sees his second release on the Canadian imprint Polar Seas Recordings. The album was recorded in response to a rare weekend away on the North Devon coast of England, awaiting the devastation of incoming Storm Eunice. It’s an album about standing strong against the tides of life and those people who stand with you, offering shelter during these trying times.
Beautiful melancholic melodies weave around dark beds of static textures, swirling around the stereo field creating subtle dynamic movements in each piece. Soft arpeggios splutter in and out, creating rich layers of harmonic tone pulsating slowly like the deep seas of the North Devon coast. Deep hypnotic pads drift in and out of the listener’s ears, slowly submersing you into the waves and allowing the howling winds to pass by overhead. The albums takes the listener through a deep sonic journey traversing a wide range of soundscapes, harmonies and drones, it’s delicate balance of noisy washes of texture and gentle soothing melodies work wonderfully together creating a real sense of place.
This album is beautifully rich and warm, its melodic phrases comforting. It slowly brings you into Greig’s world, each track invites you a little closer, it unveils a little more until eventually you are standing there with him. It brings us face to face with our vulnerabilities as human beings, it reminds us of the important things in life, it teaches us that the strength and love of others can help pull us through some of the most chaotic times and that by standing together we can weather even the most savage of storms. It’s an album of hope, something we could all do with in this current climate.
‘A Shared Place’ is now available directly form the Polar Seas Bandcamp page or via the Moss Covered Technology Bandcamp page..
https://polarseasrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/a-shared-place
https://mosscoveredtechnology.bandcamp.com/
Review written by James Osland
wallofambient 