Musician Keith Canisius has put out a steady run of guitar and Eurorack-based ambient/shoegaze/dream pop instrumental music over the last several years. Starting in 2020 with the drone/ambient/experimental world of Shortwave Broadcaster. Plugging in and playing, improvising and then swirling guitars, bass, synth, Eurorack and field recordings into ethereal tracks that seem to emanate from some other dimension. Dreamy and mysterious.
In early 2024 Canisius began creating music as Morph Stereo, a more cinematic approach to his artistry using familiar tools and process but with film scores as a kind of jumping off point. Vangelis, Colin Stetson, and Hans Zimmer come to mind while listening to Morph Stereo.
If you’re a regular reader of these digital pages then Keith Canisius, Shortwave Broadcaster, and Morph Stereo should ring more than a few bells. I came to Canisius via Astral TV, a project he was in with fellow Danish musician Rasmus Rasmussen(of Causa Sui and Aerosol fame.) The two records they put out as Astral TV were incredibly inspiring and important to me. Wavy, cosmic synth in the spirit Froese and Schulze that came out of El Paraiso Records. When Keith started putting out EPs -first under Shortwave Broadcaster, then Morph Stereo- I knew I was going to check in and see what he was up to.
I was not disappointed.
Over the last three months Canisius pulled Shortwave Broadcaster out of semi-retirement and dropped Still Point, a 4-track EP of elliptical, ethereal sound collages. Then on Sunday he dropped a new Morph Stereo EP titled Change of mind, three lush electronic tracks to melt into the scenery with.
Shortwave Broadcaster’s Still Point is built on four looping, amorphous tracks that float along on a sea of circuital joy. There’s nothing “downer” about these songs. From the the title track which opens the album to the Cocteau Twins-esque “Baby”, Canisius makes good use of reverb and delay, dousing the instruments with just the right amount of effect. The nearly 9-minute suite of “Moonlit Drift” hangs in the air long after the last wavering note dissipates. Contemplative, alien, and exquisite. “Sunwashed echo” sounds like an old black and white movie playing in another room, making its way into your subconscious as you lie in dusk-like sleep.
Morph Stereo’s Change of mind brings those cinematic vibes back into full swing. Title track “Change of mind” shines like a light in the ether, its electronic tones almost coming across like symphonic brass. The 10-minute “Going places” comes out in an array of electrical optimism. Synth notes blip and bleep in a caffeinated swirl of noise, almost coming across like Lindsey Buckingham’s fingerpicked guitar. It builds with percussive hits and high-toned electronic notes. “Reconsider” ends things on a swirl of hopefulness and energy.
Hit up Morph Stereo and Shortwave Broadcaster’s Bandcamp pages and deep dive into Keith Canisius’ thoughtful and dreamy electronic sound worlds.
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