You may have already heard or listened to composer Derrick Stembridge’s work that we know especially through Drifting In Silence. But do you know unknowndivide, his side project? Today we invite you to discover (or rediscover) the musical universe of Derrick Stembridge with Existence, his second album under this name. Released on April 24, 2021, it is available digitally as well as a compact disc, in a limited edition that features two bonus tracks.
Existence brings us on a journey, a journey of the soul into the heart of charming soundscapes. In these aerial regions, the harmonies blend together, sometimes to the point of forming only a vast moving sound halo. Within this aerial and nebulous universe, the rhythms are like entities that are born, live, evolve and die always more organic from one track to another. Nostalgia emanates, but above all a deep peace of mind. With Existence, Derrick Stembridge proves once again that he has mastered the genre of ambient and electronic sounds.
Among the ten tracks of Existence, a few stand out from the rest and punctuate the musical discourse of the album. After four relatively peaceful first tracks, “False” plunges us into the heart of a much more nervous atmosphere with some rhythmic patterns reminiscent of rock. “Transmission,” the sixth track, evolves by adding sound layers and rhythmic elements and offers a fairly strong SF identity. The image of a comet crossing the sky came to me, but it could also be seen as a signal that traces its course or the mechanisms and gears of a train. “Reverence,” offers a celestial picture filled with sparkling cosmic objects. Finally, “Existence” offers a universe that plays with musical pauses, breaths and more or less short interruptions.
If you feel the need to let your imagination run wild, this Existence is what you need. Nebulous and poetic, it will take you to the heart of a poetic universe of great serenity.
