"Like the tape’s worn out cover image, 'Your Future' elicits fragmented memories both real and imagined, along with a sense of déjà vu for moments that never happened"
Early in my recent interview, while describing the origins of his Precipitation project, Zefan Sramek said, “I found myself wanting to have a way of making music that was less constrained and bound up with technical skill, and more about expressivity and exploration.” Even with a decade’s worth of prolific output you could look at the previous 14 months, and five releases, of Sramek’s music and hear that philosophy play out.
Following a late 2021 cassette of floaty ambient pieces, Precipitation kicked off 2022 with a pair of vinyl releases, ‘Warm Embrace‘ on Umé Records and ‘Glass Horizon‘ on 100% Silk, which provided an excellent introduction to and synthesis of the sounds Sramek has mined to date.
Inspired by a trip to Sado Island in Japan, ‘Glass Horizon‘ moved into dance-friendly territory while still maintaining a home listening, ambient house leaning aesthetic. A subsequent self-released live tape leaned further into an acid house vibe that went beyond the contemplative long form pieces of the project’s past and towards a rich, absorbing beat-driven sound.
Precipitation’s latest album on Arizona-based cassette imprint IDS Recordings poses the question, “what would Precipitation sound like with Amen breaks?” From the first hits of ‘As Time Passes’, the answer is that it sounds very, very good. When the beat drops over the initial pillowy synth lines, what sounds on paper like a simple formula projects instead a complex, melancholy hour of sounds.
Stylistically, each of the tracks on the cassette don’t veer far from Drum & Bass rhythms layered with soft, cloud-like keys. You could isolate any of the tracks and hear that template, the only difference being that some are 6 minutes, the longest hits 10 minutes, and the rest are in-between. That would be a knock if the tracks weren’t so compelling. Take, for instance, ‘From a Distance’ where the introductory siren-call notes give way to a head-nodding beat coupled with soothing synths for an extended, dreamy ride.
On the album’s finale, ‘Understanding’, a simple keyboard loop plays over drums that drop in and out, acting as a gentle coda to the blasted yet blissed out rhythms that preceded it. With a sound that, in less capable hands, could become too homogenous to warrant the near hour long run time, Precipitation’s original and mesmeric style ropes you in. Don’t be surprised If you hit play on one track to sample the release that you find you’re so enthralled you end up listening to the whole thing.
Like many classic breakbeat productions, ‘Your Future‘ plays out magnificently on headphones, enveloping you in its environment and letting you get lost in the exploratory rhythms. Whether you’re hitting play for the first or tenth time, there’s a blurred, well-worn comfort to the tracks.
Like the tape’s worn out cover image, ‘Your Future‘ elicits fragmented memories both real and imagined, along with a sense of déjà vu for moments that never happened. While Precipitation has explored more celebratory, rave-adjacent styles on music released a few months ago, this latest iteration of his sound fits closer to the pensive sonics of the longer form ambient cassettes.
‘Your Future’ is scheduled for release on 30 January via IDS Recordings. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
A1. As Time Passes
A2. Holding Back
A3. From A Distance
B1. The First Step
B2. Untitled
B3. Understanding