3 out of 5

Label: Auris Apothecary

Produced by: Dante Augustus Scarlatti

As the head honcho of Auris Apothecary, it follows that Dante Augustus Scarlatti’s output on the imprint can be a good summary of the far-reaching stylistic scope the iconoclastic label has covered, from the edges of the harshest of random noise to zipped-up classical covers. While it’s possible to surmise that as DAS / the label has matured, the releases are, perhaps, less aurally challenging, I think it’s more that experimentation is baked into their premise, and you kind of start out by banging on pots and pans, and then get more targeted and nuanced with that experimentation. Scarlatti’s ‘Dimensional Synthesis’ feels in line with some of his other efforts from the late 2010s / early 2020s, which drill down (in my mind) on a particular sound or instrument; in this case, vintage synthesizers. But if the theme of AA is experimentation, Dimensional Synthesis also seems like DAS experimenting – noodling. “Noodling” may be an odd term from 15-minute tracks of synthy drone, but all the same, the middle two tracks (Dimension 496; Dimension 902) are, at first blush, thin and conceptual compared to the much denser and relatively shorter bookend tracks, Dimension 812 and 817. These conjure up emotions that align with the spacey artwork and investigatory title: 812 has layers of keys bubbling through reverbed organ-esque sounds and scale into computer bleeps and blops; 817’s ambience hum and distant notes X-Files us into the beyond. 496 recalls a keytone test – it’s very stripped down, and not necessarily immersive in its plunking, speeding up and slowing down the same basic notes ad nauseum. 902 is much better on headphones, limited to a hazy drone, but its runtime and snail-like pace don’t pair well to enliven our impressions from the preceding bit, and is then overridden by a more substantial version of its ideas in 817.

This stuff is not uninteresting, and, fairly, as with a lot of experimental music, gains more the more you listen to it, and know what to expect.

Packaging interesting as always: a square plastic case; a fold out insert with appropriately sci-fi art.