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'KaleidoSound: Time, Space & Frequencies Vol. 2' – f5point6 (SBA #011)

With the release of ‘KaleidoSound: Time, Space & Frequencies Vol. 1’, R.Cleveland Aaron (f5point6) further showed himself to be an artist with a clear creative vision and the production skills to carry it through. A project based around the creation of Planet Earth, it provided an audio chronicle of the first days of our world with 12 tracks of cinematic ambience. Now we have the second instalment of this ongoing series with ‘KaleidoSound: Time, Space & Frequencies Vol. 2’, which is also the third release from f5point6 and the eleventh on See Blue Audio, and the story moves to water and the beginning of life.

Volume one was about formation, so the sounds employed depicted atmospheric disturbance and shifting sands with colours of red, orange and yellow. The first lifeforms emerged, and the advent of water began the process of evolution – all creatures originate from the sea – and this theme is continued in volume two as the focus shifts to the aquatic world. The colours here are blue and green; new lifeforms spring to life, and algae drifts through the water. In this underwater realm, the rhythms of the music follow the ebb and flow of the tides; the beats and basslines are more like pulses from the ever-changing currents.

‘Theory of Change Pt 2’ opens this new collection of music as well as completing the journey that began on ‘Theory of Change Pt 1’ from ‘KaleidoSound: Time, Space & Frequencies Vol. 1’ with subtle patterns of sound that capture the submerged life below the water’s surface. As with volume one, the five short ‘[Intermissions]’ between tracks provide an extra dimension by preparing the mood for what follows, but also telling a story in their own right. A sense of mystery and dramatic tension pervades the mood of the ‘[Intermissions]’ on volume two providing contrast to the more reflective main tracks.

As titles like ‘Dance of the Molluscs’, ‘Trilobite’, ‘Porifera’ and ‘Stella Marina’ – the Italian word for starfish – suggest, the tracks reflect the aquatic world these primordial creatures inhabit, and the music feels like the soundtrack to their movements, which sometime have the appearance of a strange dance. This takes a leftfield turn during ‘Stella Marina’ with the introduction of jazzy breakbeats. As with all f5point6 music, a blend of ambient and beatless soundscapes, field recordings, refined melodies, deep rhythms, and a passion for retro synths and analogue sounds collide to create a richly cinematic musical universe.

All of which leads us to the closing ‘[Outro – The Beginning and the End]’. As by now must be apparent, ‘KaleidoSound: Time, Space & Frequencies’ is one project and an ongoing series, each instalment leading into the next. The '[Outro]’ provides the link and changes the mood of the music as we prepare to move into another phase in the story of Planet Earth.

On this forthcoming project, his fourth for the label, f5point6 explores the theme of architecture, starting with the architect that is nature. Architecture has also been one of main focuses of Cleveland’s photographic career. To reflect this, the music changes course on ‘[Outro – The Beginning and the End]’ with the crackle of static, glitchy machine noises, lo-fi effects and a sombre tone: the stage has been set for the next KaleidoSound project, which will be released at the end of 2020.

Artwork and photography: R.Cleveland Aaron.