Damian Valles – Fixtures

Damian Valles is the curator of the ‘Rural Route’ series on Standard Form. Judging by the artists involved with the series it would be safe to assume that Damian knows what is up when it comes to ambient music, in terms of both listening and creating. Of course, being Canadian and therefore by default immediately under the shadow of Tim Hecker and Aidan Baker is probably a difficult thing to contend with, but he seems to be handling it really rather well; having released one physical full length with the mighty Under the Spire and various other EPs and free downloads with labels such as Resting Bell and Audio Gourmet.

“Fixtures” is an extremely varied set of compositions that straddle the lines between ambient and experimental; using a combination of piano, guitar, field recordings and all the other usual suspects, Damian has set fourth capturing a very winter based sound set but applying that atmosphere and that tone to a bunch of different textures and soundscapes. Opener “Black Locust” looms slowly in with its bleak gradient of crystallized distortion and leads you through a vast fog laden forest of claustrophobic blackness. “Adzes” wakes you from this death-trance and you suddenly find yourself immersed in a glassy toned river bed, over looking endless clear skies and a horizon cover in bright white snow. It’s an incredibly refreshing piece and is a stark contrast to the heaviness of “Black Locust”.

“Bird’s Mouth” is the stand out track however, with its sense of longing and drifting with subtle nods to the dronegaze of Nadja and the melodramatic nature of various post rock bands. The second half of the track is stunningly beautiful with throbbing bass hits and aching piano and guitar passages.

Throughout “Fixtures” it is Damian’s attention to detail in terms of structure and content that makes each piece great; the mixture of textures and melodies perfectly balanced every time.

“Fixtures” is a cassette only release limited to 50 numbered copies soon to come from the Australian label Left (Field) Recordings.

- Review by Daniel J. Gregory for Fluid Radio

www.myspace.com/fromtheleftlabel
www.last.fm/music/Damian+Valles