Mike Grabarek/Mor Air - Eight Pieces for Mandolin The Appearance of Being (2021)

Pearsoll Peak's fifth release comes as a split from Mike Grabarek and Mor Air.

For Grabarek's half, eight tightly-wound mandolin exercises massage the mind, stimulating and relaxing simultaneously. Recommended for fans of shimmering stringed acoustics à la Laraaji or Joanne Robertson.

Mor Air's half is considerably more digital, presenting seven electronic sketches so harrowingly beautiful they're perhaps best suited as soundscapes for the apocalypse, though we can't wait that long.

Together, the two disparate yet parallel halves form an amazing album of heightened rawness and sonic immediacy, showcasing the artist's mindsets and aesthetics circa 2021.

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Mike Grabarek is one half of the Portland, Oregon duos Magic Fades and Location Services. Having explored the sonic depths of cybernetic electronica and post-human club rhythms with Magic Fades, Grabarek moved firmly into the territory of gentle ambience and acoustic warmth with Location Services, playing counterpoint on the fretless bass alongside bandmate Josh Ward’s masterful harp melodies, all accentuated with delicate hints of synthetic processing from an SP-404 sampler. In a continuation of this sound palate, Grabarek presents his first solo effort for Pearsoll Peak, this time putting down the fretless bass and picking up the mandolin.

Mor Air is the project of London via Vancouver BC artist Colin Moir. With releases on Genot Centre and Healing Sound Propagandist, Mor Air weaves together synthetic pads with processed samples and field recordings to a harrowing effect. This combination of moody electronics and introspective themes is occasionally accented by the undercurrent pulse of a trip-hop beat and does so in a way that alludes equally to the rain-soaked streets of London and the mystical natural world of Western Canada.