… when you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in…
Release Notes
Label: Subtempo
Release: Storms Await Us All
Date: December 2019
Mastered By: Taylor Deupree
The end of the year is approaching – can you feel it? It’s got that certain textural quality all of its own: the slightly quieter email box, the emptier train rides and the softer necessity in everything that you do. It’s like the world has collectively decided to just let it go, before the last day at the turn of the decade. And so I find myself in this familiar space, reviewing the year, and playing through tracks, one of which is an appropriate soundtrack to the flow of the moments. Fluctuate is a project by Cameron Brooks, who has previously appeared on these pages with a premiere of his piece “Final Solace“, from the Vicissitude EP released by Subtempo. He is now back, with an arsenal of sounds which still carry his piano forth: the slow evolving synth pads, fluttering echoes, and the sounds of the waves – all of which make up a short charming story that comes directly from the heart. Please enjoy…
It’s about overcoming struggles and how that changes you as a person. It relates to and explores some quotes by Haruki Murakami: ‘When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in’ – delving into these metaphors and expressing what they mean to me throughout the music.
For the rest of the EP, Brooks offers us three pieces more pieces, with a little bit oomph, accompanied by arpeggiators, filtered synths, and tech-house beat, not unlike the further explorations that of Nils Frahm, whom it’s still a pleasure to bring up in this context. I think the only downside [if I can even call it that] to the release, is that it’s only fourteen minutes long – a short vignette that leaves us in desire for more. Last year I have predicted that we would hear from Brooks again – so here he is, with further explanations. Next year, I demand a full LP, my friend, so that we can spend more precious time with it and with each other…
