On 𝑺𝒚𝒓𝒆𝒏, Gafael’s extensive field recording archive of the waters of northern Wales are iteratively processed into hazy, extended chords. The tactility of crashing waves, trickling streams, and coursing rivers is the foundation of the album, functioning as a hermetic reflection of the physicality of littoral ecology and its emotional resonances, centered on the push/pull of danger and seduction. While the album’s title 𝑺𝒚𝒓𝒆𝒏 alludes to Homeric mythology, it is firmly rooted in Gafael’s wanderings through the austere beauty of Welsh coastline rather than addressing any Hellenic texts directly. Similarly, while the album’s sound gestures towards ‘ambient dub techno’, its sonic atmosphere is decidedly field recording.

Split into two movements, the first side of 𝑺𝒚𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦, brings us into dark, oceanic depths, echoing the working title for the album, 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. The other side, 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦, serves as the journey home, pulling us out of the waves and cast onto the shore. This arc also reflects Gafael’s own history, tracing his complicated relationship with Welsh and English languages, and coming to embrace his immediate physical landscape and its history while eschewing nationalistic implications.

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Matthew Ridgway is from North Wales, is dad of 3, and has released music as Gafael and noreply@.

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Recorded by Matthew Ridgway

Audio finalized by Glyn Maier for PLEN Audio

Design template by RJM Vanderheyden

Interview by Rob Goyanes