LA-based producer Danny Scott Lane created his latest album Memory Record out of a thoughtful moment with his grandfather. After his grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, he gifted Lane and his brother microcassette recorders and told them to record and document their memories in physical form. Moments big and small locked onto tape to be revisited long after synapses slow to a crawl and memory space in the mind is full. An analog cloud for times and emotions. With that in mind, Danny Scott Lane has created an album filled with snippets and shots of life and captured sound, part ambient and part recall.
Lane used a variety of instruments, including woody percussion, bells, morphing synthesizers, natural field recordings, plucky keys, early-digital synth tones and warm, aqueous pads. Along with the gorgeous flute of Ei Talley II, Lane has created an ethereal landscape of hazy rhythms, dreamy vibes, and a high only reached thru a deep connection to the world around you. Memory Record is a musical dream about days wasted in the best way possible.
Lead single “Join” encapsulates the joy of a sunny day, the walk along a shoreline hand in hand with someone special, and the curiosity of a child’s mind. Flute, keys, and simple percussion coalesce into the feeling of sunshine coming through a hazy window. This is sublime music at its best. “Is It Really Nice” has the effect of water dripping after a heavy rain. Icy synths and echoing keys work off woody percussion to give us a moment of zen after some rapturous storm. “Pepper” has a Far East feel thanks to flute and swaths of synth, while “Bubble Years” has a melancholy feel. Field recordings, subtle synths, and sparse percussion gives this a dreamy, moody vibe. Part waking dream and part hazy recollection.
What’s so amazing about Danny Scott Lane’s newest release is its timeless quality. Some moments feel like ancient musical scroll, deep-diving into a well of fading memory, while others feel very modern and present. He builds a dream-like world where memories wait for emotional markers to bring them back, much like hitting play on that analog microcassette recorder.
Memory Record is a dream of an album. Individual blips of time and moments, brought on by subtle instrumentation and the kindness of a fading mind.
7.8 out of 10
Memory Record drops 11/15 on Moon Glyph Records. Preorder it here.
Complex Distractions 