Sounding the Deep-A Union According to Energy; Sonic Meditations Records 2010

 

A Union According to Energy, the 2010 CD from Sounding the Deep has been in kind of a heavy rotation with Disaster Amnesiac for a couple of weeks now. Recall purchasing it way back then and wanting to enthuse about it, but for some reason that never happened. I came across the disc in the "S" box when looking for some Slayer to be pummeled by. That pummeling did indeed occur, but soon afterward A Union According to Energy was played, and its gorgeous guitar tones just had to be noted here. Six string man David Williams concocted lots of really lovely and fascinating sound from his electric guitar and amplifier. At times during listening to the disc, Disaster Amnesiac has thought that he pulled pretty much Electronic Music sounds from his rig. Realize that the electric guitar is inherently an electronic instrument, of course, but seek out and find this album and I'm sure you'll get my drift. Along with that abstraction, Williams played lovely, pastoral, spacious chord progressions as well; his techniques on the guitar are notable for their creativity and vision. I've seen online that Sounding the Deep morphed into a mostly all-acoustic configuration, and totally understand why. Williams, judging from his music, must be very inclined to go deep into the sound world of his chosen instrument, and guitarists often seem to turn to the acoustic side in order to get to those desired zones. The electric version of Sounding the Deep, and its guitar performances, are no doubt imbued with a deepness of hearing, too. Also great to hear is the sparse, considered drumming of Mike Vera. He utilizes a playing style which isolates selected pieces of the drum kit and really digs in within limited parameters as such. This gives rhythmic and percussive-tonal framing to the guitar sounds, but never gets in their way. A really creative way to approach percussive performance, and admirable in its humility. Vera never bashes through any of the pieces. He lets them develop, free from a lot of the controlling impulse that often besets drummers. Mention must also be made of the audio engineering from one Jamaj. Great tonal/sound capture throughout the entirety of this seven piece album. And that cover art, too! An alluring listen throughout A Union According to Energy is pretty much guaranteed for any fan of spacious guitar-centered meditation sounds.