Spencer Nilsen: Volcanic Reef

One listen for this one.

I wrote this whilst feeling quite rough after eating and I don’t know if that affected what I wrote. I think it may have. What I wrote reads okay but I think I could’ve done a much better, much more expansive writing.

Spencer Nilsen’s “Volcanic Reef” is from “Ecco the Dolphin“, the soundtrack for Ecco the Dolphin. Specifically, the Sega CD version from what I understand.

I hope you enjoy.

Percussive melody rises into a strike that drags. Percussive melody then descends into a silent floor. It loops as something akin to strings stirs and draws out a subtle intensity. More sound comes in; the space is filling with a slowness and it seems gentle, but there is an edge.

An otherworldly feel comes through as the sounds build a pressure that lingers more than it presses. When percussion comes in there’s a gentle urgency, and the various sounds lap here and there, creating some sort of mystery and wonder that they cannot stay on. The space is vivid and detailed, but it also is vague and dark, and it goes by in fading moments.

The percussion strikes harder and all builds, or seems to be building even though it has reached its largest moment, and then it suddenly stops. The sounds then return to where they started. The space is there but now, in the loop, a greater urgency reveals itself.

Perhaps this is a dire time stretched across a short moment, but caution is required. Perhaps the build is not as intense as it implies, but rather a moment of calm; of held space so as to reach clarity.

Once more the sounds reach a conclusion, but this time they do not return and the song ends.

About Stupidity Hole

I'm some guy that does stuff. Hoping to one day fill the internet with enough insane ramblings to impress a cannibal rat ship. I do more than I probably should. I have a page called MS Paint Masterpieces that you may be interested in checking out. I also co-run Culture Eater, an online zine for covering the arts among other things. We're on Patreon!
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