EXTENDED WANDERINGS (W/ MMI)

Extended Wanderings is the second release by 6LA8 in collaboration with MMI, and continues the monolithic ambient soundscapes of their wonderful previous collaborative release. However, some subtle changes have been made: the production sounds a bit less ethereal and floating and instead has a much more aquatic atmosphere, and the production seems a bit rawer and organic. Each of the 4 tracks on this album sound chilly and submersed in water, similar to Edgar Froese's Aqua except entirely ambient.

"The Dreamer" is a half hour of blue, oceanic drifting synth patterns with meandering delayed guitar playing that sounds somewhat like Boris' masterful Flood. The track doesn't change much besides becoming deeper in sound as it progresses towards its end, but the meandering guitar creates a constant point of interest so the track doesn't become stagnant.

"Stumbling Underwater" takes the aquatic atmosphere to an amazing level. This track is relatively upbeat and active for ambient music, and is actually kind of catchy. Honestly, you can almost dance to the subdued beat that this half hour exploration rides on. Again, there is a intermittent noodling guitar with a liberal amount of delay added, creating a point of interest if the catchy percussive bass melody overstays its welcome.

Seamlessly, the previous track leads into "/noclip /breakarm" which goes a bit deeper into the inevitable darkness of the ocean while maintaining the established breathtaking beauty. Things are bit more echoed, and a bit more saturated. A constant nearly dissonant drone flows freely through the background as jovial Pinhas-esque guitar fills the foreground.

"Unison" slows things down considerably, and flows a bit more freely than the relatively structured compositional style of the previous two tracks. This track is loosely flowing ambient darkness with dreamy guitar melodies that sound even more distant than before, as if the bottom of the ocean has finally been reached, and everything else is leagues above you.

On Extended Wanderings 6LA8 and MMI prove to be masters at the ambient style, improving on the sound employed on Minimal Wanderings. If you're a fan of oceanic dreamscapes, then you'll most likely love this album. The frequent moments where this music becomes catchy is a huge plus and, out of all the ambient music I've heard, this album leaves a huge chunk of ambient albums in the dust. Thoroughly expressing my feelings about this album is a bit difficult, but I can't justify giving this album less than 4 stars.