Entry 322 - 36 - The Box - Part 1 - Hypersona

 

Three Six. Two numbers that a younger me found about a decade ago. I was drawn into the deep meditative soundscapes of 36's early works and found a strange tranquillity there. Not true peace, but a place of stillness and introspection rather than the business of the world around me.

For whatever reason I never picked up the early works on record and by the time I realized that they existed the pricing was beyond what I was willing to pay. Fortunately the wonderful folks over at @pastinside released a boxed set of the early works in a beautiful package called The Box. This is the first of several entries that will focus on that boxed set.

Hypersona is where the 36 project began. While I have many albums that sound like Hypersona, I have none that were released before this album. The combination of simple melodies, semi obscured production, rain, and minimalism all are musical concepts that are near and dear to my heart. They also seem to be a prime influence for many ambient artists that came after Hypersona.

36's debut album focuses almost exclusively on slow repeating melodies that sound like they are observed through a thick wall of fog. Not too unlike the same production that is employed within the Silent Hill soundtracks. While the execution is quite different than many of those works the overall atmosphere can be quite similar at times.

The songs have this eerie warmth to them, like coming home after a long trip and not quite remembering where everything is. Everything is familiar but you are not quite at ease yet. It's a rather unique feeling and it permeates the album.

Hypersona is one of the major reasons I got into ambient music again after many years away from the genre. It is an absolutely essential addition to my collection, and I am very happy to finally be able to spin it on my turntable.