City of Dawn & Sherry Finzer - Moonwheel
City of Dawn’s most recent collaboration delivers his most distinguished and powerful take on meditative music.
Score: 9/10
For years, City of Dawn’s Damien Duque’s modus operandi was to make pretty beds of ambient and new-age drones paired with Robin Guthrie-ish guitars. Always easy on the ears, never surreal or intense. This time around, Duque delivers a more potent and distinguished sound with the addition of two factors.
The first is the use of the Muse EEG headset, which is used for meditative purposes, but has become known in the music world as a way to use brainwaves to move parameters of instruments in a DAW. This adds a freestyled element in the same vein as surrealist automatism, letting the unconscious mind take the wheel. The second major component is the improvisation of world and new-age flutist Sherry Finzer, whose healing breaths lilt and soar over these ethereal soundscapes. Although this is not the first time City of Dawn has used this headset or collaborated with Finzer, the two elements form his most intense experience to date.
The light stargazing drones of “Drift” take a backseat to let Finzer shine as her flute vibrates, sputters, and coasts with supple prowess. “Amity” brings some childhood wonder with its Minecraft-like bells, while Finzer’s flute gracefully sustains over Duque’s melodious backdrop, instead of his usual wall of sound. “Solis Occasum” is the highlight of this EP, demonstrating how dissonance can also be soothing. It features Finzer at her most nimble, with Duque stirring up a cavernous soundscape, rewarding listeners who use a good pair of headphones to hear the deeper tones rumble and clip against each other. Sheets of freezing wind howl and screech throughout the title track, and with the addition of Finzer, it creates a hallucinatory haze that feels profound and powerful.
Moonwheel unlocks the treasures of City of Dawn’s mind. It also unlocks the possibilities of meditative music. It doesn’t have to be strictly background fodder. It can also be distinguishable, varied, and above all else, engaging.
Score: 9/10