For those not so familiar with Wellington, Kansas sound mangler Zachary Lawrence and his musical outlet Endless Chasm here’s a brief catch up.
By now quite a well known face on the US underground Ambient / Drone / Noise / Experimental Electronic scene, it wasn’t until after a small collection of bandcamp singles that the ‘official’ debut Endless Chasm record exploded onto the scene in the form of a 2015 EP, an all out noise assault entitled ‘A Pedantic Critique of Modern Cultural Discourse’.
Keen not to kill any momentum, the following year saw plenty of activity from the project including two albums, ‘The Myth of Sisyphus' and ‘We Cannot Keep This A Secret Any Longer’ both released on Kansas label Big Pharma Records, run by fellow noise-heads RAGK and Contraktor.
Spreading across the states to various cult tape labels, New York's Endless Landscapes Of Decay put out a cassette titled ‘Sorcery is the Rich Man’s Curbstomping’ that was warmly received while the Chicago based Lurker Bias released ‘Harm Health' which sold out almost as quickly as the tapes could be dubbed! It presented a glowing if not slightly scatterbrained example of EC's progress and potential.
One of it’s most notable contents was the title track, which I stumbled across one day in the YouTube video linked below. Filmed in a decrepit Kansas tavern, Zach clad in smart shirt and trousers works away over his pedals, manipulating dials to twist the chilling words of American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman into a frenzy of cacophony.
Bringing us back to the present day, Endless Chasm returned to another Kansas based label, this time Wichita’s This Ain’t Heaven Recording Concern to release ‘Dweller On The Threshold’ making it’s arrival back in July 2017.
The physical release opts for a simple layout with a few token extras. After breaking the seal stretched across the cassette’s case, it’s front cover splashed with some delightfully entrancing glitch art, I spy tucked behind the colourful tape a translucent plastic card sporting the EC logo, as well as a free download code written upon a small strip of paper that I happily help myself to.
Looking at the tracklist, with titles named after locations in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series you'd be right to expect an abstract audio experience as opposed to some easy listening.
-Although for those still yet to indulge in the addictive surrealist TV series, the ‘White Lodge’ is a place of purity and all things good while the ‘Black Lodge’ is a darker, more evil spot. (Which must certainly mean that we are due a ‘Red Room’ themed release sometime in the future).
Listen below:
SIDE A: White Lodge
With ethereal whooshes whose harshness could only be found in the coldest, deepest point of space, a descending two note intercom like mantra plus some sparkling audio residue that twinkle like distant stars, White lodge gets itself well underway.
To me, these sounds resemble life onboard a travelling hotel space ship, and it’s continual journey through the cosmos observed through a port side window.
For a brief moment everything cuts out, and we are left with nothing but the isolated whooshing and sparkling, illustrating the emptiness of the cold, dark spacial void. Just past the track’s mid point a soft synth passage glides into view, it seems to want to detune itself into oblivion but it keeps rolling on. In the meantime, the housekeeping impatiently fire up the hoover.
A haze of feedback makes itself known, causing the huge space cruiser to groan as if on it’s last legs while the hum of the vacuum cleaner seems to combine with the engine’s thrusters for maximum velocity and maximum cleanliness. An electronic bleeping quietly hints at some approaching sinister space beings but the primary synth part is reprised and calm is soon restored. The ship speeds on.
It is when beheld, a very well layered soundscape with various effects that could have been lifted from some long forgotten sci-fi motion picture soundtrack (think Dr Who meets Stanley Kubrick) now it’s over to Side B.
SIDE B: Black Lodge
This is where our imaginary traveller aboard the hotel space ship finally decides to get some rest, he lays down his head and begins to dream. Backwards loops lead the way along a path of toasty synths illuminated by the hypnotic echoing of soft cymbal hits.
As the track progresses deeper, it builds in thickness, as if closing in around the listener, like some kind of psychedelic beginning to take a firm grip of our protagonist, who is now unable to shake off the trip.
At one point, an icy layer of drone noise gains vast momentum, reaching a raucous level that borders on harsh, it sputters indignantly but doesn’t manage to break away. The shrieking fizz is eventually drowned in the tide of backwards sonics that lap over it like the waves of an uncaring ocean, crackling into nothingness as it expels it’s last.
While the track may dip it’s toe in the abyss, there is no wandering off into the darkness that the title would suggest, instead remaining as a trance induced, meditative slow burner that makes for an exquisitely beautiful listen. It’s pure abstract theatre for the musical mind.
Conclusion
Like many an Endless Chasm release, ’Dweller…’ brings together both the vintage and modern sonic worlds, brilliantly showcasing the duality and ever expanding consciousness of the Chasm.
The project’s ability to transport the listener into far away musical dimensions is remarkable and undeniable as always.
The project’s ability to transport the listener into far away musical dimensions is remarkable and undeniable as always.
Caving helmets on, it’s time to begin the descent into the Endless Chasm once again.
Special thanks to Zachary for sending me a physical copy of the album.
You can order the cassette here
Also try:
Phantom Burn
And a formidable collaboration with How I Met Lauren
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