The newest release from Thomas Ragsdale and record label Soundtracking The Void is a standalone track titled “Samsa”. It’s a hypnotic, dense piece that is to accompany Ragsdale’s next full-length, the epic Sonder(which arrives on 5/24.) In just the space of a little over 7 minutes, “Samsa” carries you thru a heady, sonic journey. A step into a portal that leads to Sonder‘s woozy, tape hiss world.
“Samsa” is a classic mixture of woozy, existential drifting with a low key dance floor beat that emerges from the ether. Up to the point where that beat emerges, the track feels like this massive black hole swallowing everything in its path, with Ragsdale’s ever present synth line fighting its way from the void. The use of repetition and a wall of bee swarm noise go far to create an element of dread, but a certain comfort envelopes you when you finally give into the void. This song puts me in mind of Huerco S’ brilliant Colonial Patterns, an album that feeds on hidden messages within fuzzy melodies and suffocated beauty.
There is a “beatless” remix of “Samsa” included here, which goes very far to close the sound in on the listener. A true introduction to what is coming next from Thomas Ragsdale.
Thomas Ragsdale continues his prolific run of work with “Samsa”. It’s a looming wall of noise; a soundscape of dread and peaceful surrender within the dense noise. It shows that even in the most darkest of sonic places, a glimmer of light exists.
8.1 out of 10
Complex Distractions 