Subsonic Winter: Scorched Ice

As part of ongoing reviews of works by independent artists alongside established stalwarts of the electronic music tradition, The Sonic Music Review presents a trio of works by Subsonic Winter. Effectively defenestrating any notion of impartiality with great aplomb but satisfying a desire for full disclosure, the artist here featured, Subsonic Winter, is an alias of The Sonic Music Review's cheif writer, Alex Harden.


CMC CW2 by Subsonic Winter

This trio of compositions begins with 'Scorched Ice,' a track which makes no secret of its influence from Tangerine Dream's output from their Independent years. The track begins with an exposition of a recurring theme, set in a dark and breathy timbre which immediately introduces the overriding brooding mood to this track. As the piece develops, additional musical material is added alongside development of the first section. Later, the piece becomes led by harmonic and sequenced material in place of melodic counterpoint, before returning for a final exposition of the primary theme which slowly crossfades into the following track, 'Wind Of Change.'

This second track takes on a more ambient style, taking a lead from Jean Michel Jarre's 'Geometry Of Love Album' (reviewed here). This track fuses a much slower rate of harmonic change and the extended use of sampled strings alongside various synthetic timbres which create a soothing atmosphere which contrasts against its predecessor. Another key element is the soundscape of singing birds and crickets which underpin the majority of the piece.

The third and final track, 'Aquamarine' exhibits a highly optimistic mood in comparison to the other tracks featured. This track also incorporates elements from trance music which is previously unseen. This short portfolio, lasting just over 13 minutes, was created as part of coursework for a degree in Creative Music Technology. If anyone has any comments or questions regarding this work or its conception, please contact the blog.

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