zakè(ft. various artists) : Silentium

Zach Frizzell, aka zakè, has done a lot to build a musical community within the ambient/new age/drone worlds. Between his label Past Inside The Present(which he co-runs with a collective of like-minded artists), as well as his own zakè drone recordings, Zach has gone a long way to build a vibrant, engaging, and forward-thinking musical community.

With that in mind, Zach has an entire collective of artists and as well as friends to reach out to when the collaborative spirits strikes. That mindset and that community is what helped zakè put together Silentium, a 22-song set of gorgeous ambient tracks. Combining field recordings and found sound sent to him via a friend group of musical creatives, Zach combined those sounds with arrangements he created in the studio. The result is a masterful collection of spiritually-healing sounds that seem to resonate from both nature and outer space. A cosmic sound world that goes a long way to put heavy hearts and heavy minds at ease. With the world where it is right now, this is the kind of musical healing we all need right now.

The list of fellow sound artists collaborating with zakè is an extensive one. From Lucy Gooch to Slow Dancing Society to Cat Tyson Hughes; from Tyresta to Marine Eyes to the legendary William Basinski. There are many recognizable names as well, if you’ve followed PITP and zakè drone recordings in the past. City of Dawn, Marc Ertl, James Bernard, bvdub and Angela Winter show up, just to name a few. They’ve offered up a bit of the organic, and Frizzell uses their organic sounds and colors them in synthetic bliss. Eventually blurring those lines, bringing those sound worlds together in a natural, thoughtful way.

Each song feels as if it’s one piece of a sonic puzzle. Stepping stones from one world to the next. From opener “Canapis(ft. Lucy Gooch)” we sway into the ethereal and cinematic “Spes(ft. William Basinski)”. There’s a vastness in the latter that feels like a science fiction score; early Tangerine Dream mixed with those early synthesizer scores of the late 60s. “Oliveto(ft. Drum & Lace)” hangs in ethereal light, like early morning sun shining through a frigid February window.

There’s an aching darkness in “III(ft. Belly Full of Stars)” that pulls you in to its eerie, droning sound world. “Paradisus(ft. marine eyes)” sounds like an awakening in a deep, misty forest. Like waking from some 1,000 year sleep. Simply stunning. “Nox(ft. Christina Giannone)” has a cryptic feel to it, like walking alone in a winter storm too blind to find shelter. Static wind noise gives it all a quiet desolation.

From “Patriam(ft. From Overseas)” to the epic 11-minute reality escape of “Tenebris(ft. Angela Winter)” to beautiful, cavernous closer “Melius Cras”, Silentium is an engaging and riveting set of collaborative works. zakè brings the worlds of found sound and ambient music together in a wholly new and vibrant way. Hit play and get lost.