Jon Porras – Undercurrent

“Undercurrent” by Jon Porras is visceral like a coma – epic and dense, and with a similarly all-encompassing hold…

The eight weighty tracks balance melodic drone with apocalyptic distorted guitar, a balancing act managed with flair and grace – no easy feat when the guitars sound at times like they wouldn’t be out of place in an art metal recording. This is accomplished by pushing the guitars far back in the mix, behind the foreground, like it was hidden behind mist. Like that mist, there’s a space visible close to you, but moving further than one step takes you closer to an unseen space that could lead to anywhere.

There seems to be mist and fog around us everywhere, now. Barn Owl, of whom Porras is one half of, speak openly of their love of fog as they relate to it in shoegaze and black metal. Evan Caminiti, the other half, has just completed a project with Lisa McGee called “Pacific Fog Dreams” as Higuma. Keen observers will have noted Lawrence English’s 2008 release “Kiri No Oto” (a Japanese phrase which translates as ‘sound of fog’) has just been rereleased on vinyl.

So fog is a reliable muse it seems, especially for those that call San Francisco home, as Caminiti and Porras do. So how does his approach compare to the others?

The logical comparative point would be Higuma, as it represents one branch of the same tree. Whilst Higuma’s releases have a more emotionally oppressive musical characteristic, weighty in tone, Porras has managed to lean on the more melodic side whilst still injecting heft into the sound. Distorted guitars (when used the right way) have an uplifting grandeur and searing immediacy that is unmatched in the musical spectrum, and here they are harnessed in an intelligent and cohesive fashion. The tracks have emotive weight, but the general ambience is one of exhilaration and release.

Nowhere would this be better demonstrated than the ten minute behemothic opener ‘Grey Dunes’ – there’s a reassuringly hertz-y foreground clean texture mixed with gutturally distorted guitar chords up the back, leading into an extended organ-esque outro – some faint and mournful angelic delayed tones in the distance give the track a lift out of the gloom, whilst keeping it in character.

The guitars are, as you’d expect, recorded magnificently. It’s been mastered and mixed well; some faintly confronting tones hover just at the edge, respectfully bridled not neutered. You can visualize speaker cloth on the front of giant amps wavering furiously inside a dimly lit room, a solitary figure holding absolutely still to keep his guitar feeding back just so…

‘Seascape’ is as the name suggests – an aquatic drone with panning pedal hum morphing into underwater pressure and faint piercing high fretwork.

‘Shore’ returns us to same, amongst deep analogue synth landscape. Deep is the word; the booming bottom end here is doom personified. The tail end is brushed and strummed Eastern reverb chords, with delayed picking amongst the foliage.

‘For ARH’ is searing guitar, behind swirling crystalline drone; segueing into ‘Calm’, a brief and tidal mood setter, contextualizing the preceding and introducing the following ‘Land’s End’.

‘Gaze’ is definitely a winter piece, but also works in bright sunlight. It’s a fitting closer – accessible yet deliberately distant, a bright light through persistent murky haze.

“Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term art, I should call it “the Reproduction of what the senses perceive in nature through the veil of the mist” – Edgar Allen Poe.

For those interested in strong, effective guitar in drone, “Undercurrent” is textbook soundscaping.  Released by Root Strata on LP May 10 in a limited run of 500.

‘California Gothic set to the tidal rhythms of the Pacific and tuned into the metabolic pathways of the northwest coast. Recorded in the winter months of 2009/2010, Undercurrent is the debut LP from experimental musician Jon Porras. Using primarily electric guitar with voice, synthesizer and processed cassette tapes, Porras offers eight immersive compositions that move from layered, crystalline distortion to solemn, contemplative guitar meditations. Influenced by the melancholic serenity of the grey, Northern California coastline, Porras employs romantic melody and overwhelming crescendos to convey an inherent anonymity felt in presence of geologic grandeur.’ – Root Strata.

- Review by Alex Gibson for Fluid Radio

www.rootstrata.com