Lueur by Bjarni Gunnarsson

Lueur consists of four electroacoustic compositions; the product of unfolding and unpredictable generative processes spread across 38 minutes.

An exploration of process as much as tone and texture, the album takes shape through a series of ever-changing movements, interweaving dense low passages and abrupt changes of atmosphere and sound. It is a record that rewards close and repeated listening.

Mastered by Erik Nyström, the record is housed in a custom sleeve, screenprinted in two-colours with procedurally- generated artwork by Luke Twyman. Variations of each layer are combined to make 16 unique sleeve designs, with a further screenprint on the inner sleeve.

The music is derived from generative processes that often appear directly entangled, that are set in motion and activated while maintaining their own degree of autonomy. It takes a certain time for a process to manifest itself. To express its time-varying qualities.

How it unfolds resembles a certain kind of evolution, a becoming that does not have a clear goal but that is based on a constant renewal and recreation. The title refers to faint, quiet but unsteady light sources. Brightness that disperses and refracts at different angles and unfolds through a series of connected developments. Processes that continuously produce output implying a ‘tending towards’ characteristic where certain elements endure while others fade away.

The idea is to uncover details, to introduce something very specific that expands and develops through two important layers of temporal experience, a very direct action-oriented perception and the slower experience of a past that folds into the present.

Vinyl/Original release available here:
https://tartarugarecords.bandcamp.com/album/lueur

Tracklist

1.	Prisme	12:25

2.	Brackets	6:47

3.	Epicycle	12:00

4.	Aperture	5:51

Credits

released November 26, 2018

"Gunnarsson’s explorations reveal dynamic systems of interplay that produce patterns intentional and unintentional, evident in the parabola-shaped “Brackets” but perceivable in the perennial rushes of “Epicycle” as a returning chorus of static. Closing track “Aperture” highlights this cycle of retreat and approach, producing the LP’s most succinct display of volume and implying that we have been headed somewhere all along. As the album sinks into pop and hiss, one is left with a question about electrical objects: do their lives imitate our days? The glow fades like that of a filament bulb, but the impression of light lingers just a bit longer."
A closer listen

"The deeper you go the more peculiar the squeaky stops/starts follow. There is so much patience in the approach to detail. And as it opens, Aperture, the shortest work at under six minutes, brings us home. It warbles with a crippled slowness, leathery twists and airy rushes. At one point it sounds like a big exhalation. As the rugged dial turns to viscous microstatic and other circumstances, the record seems to blend the worlds of Nurse With Wound, Wolfgang Voigt and Basic Channel somehow, yet it is in its own lane."
Toneshift.net

"Gunnarsson has a distinct personal sound signature that is hard to describe. It is not at all ‘ambient’ because there are many layers of noise, yet the electroacoustic compositions are calming in their own way. The ‘exploration of process as much as tone and texture’ uses ‘generative processes that often appear directly entangled, that are set in motion and activated while maintaining their own degree of autonomy.’ Lueur (‘glow’) refers to ‘faint, quiet but unsteady light sources’. The four compositions on this album follows its own ‘unpredictable’ path, ever-changing paths with a lot of adventurous sounds. But they fit together very well – it is not a collection of conflicting extremes. It’s a bit like walking through a forest , observing every detail, without losing sight of the complete picture of the forest."
Ambientblog.net

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