Entry 1558 - BVdub - 13

Style: hazy ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: and lo, he rode in on a pale horse through the fog

Thoughts: I forgot many things. I forgot how much BVdub's music moves me. I forgot the altered state of mind that the music puts me in. I forgot how all encompassing the music is. I forgot how it evolves seamlessly from one idea to another without me even noticing. Many things were forgotten with time, but now they have returned. 

13 is a bit of a different album from BVdub, mainly in track length - but also in the musical execution to some degree. I'm used to sprawling 15-20 minute epic songs from this project, but on 13 they are both shorter in length and more numerous than a typical album. 

Fittingly there are thirteen tracks. Each represented by a single character. What these characters mean I do not know... the mystery of the titles adds to the experience of 13 as a whole. This sense of mystery is one of the core tenants of the album. Melodies obscured. Structures undefined. Lost in a fog of myth.

It's in this mystery that I find my joy in not only 13 but all of BVdub's music. The lack of clarity, the constant guessing of what will happen next - these are the things that I listen to their music for. On 13 specifically these mysteries are presented with slowly evolving notes and chords that are buried behind endless layers of reverb and phasing effects. A single note is played and then it is resonated throughout the audioscape nearly endlessly before fading into oblivion. Repeat this for thirteen songs and you have the essence of what makes 13 the album it is.

With music like this it risks becoming monotonous or droning. BVdub avoids this elegantly by shortening the normally twenty minute songs down to about five to six minutes. This allows for more ideas to be present on the album rather than just taking one and molding and shaping it over the course of an entire side of a record.  

I forgot many things while away from BVdub. I have now recalled all of them and more. Every time I listen to Brock's music I fall back in love with the atmosphere and texture that he is able to produce. It's obscure enough that I keep digging, but not so much that I'm never fulfilled. It's deep enough that I'm compelled to listen more, but never so much that I can't find what I'm looking for. One of the absolute best artists in the ambient genre active today.