Golden Retriever - Sense of Place (2021)

Neo-kosmische duo Golden Retriever continue their sparkling voyage into the clouds with this fluorescent intermingling of lifted modular synth and heavily effected bass clarinet. Twenty minutes of heaven for followers of Emeralds, Bee Mask, Terry Riley or Klaus Schulze.

Another banger from the Longform Editions stable, "Sense of Place" gives us a lengthy dip into the world of top class synthesist Matt Carlson and bass clarinet player Jonathan Sielaff. The duo have maintained a fathoms-deep run on Thrill Jockey in the last few years, as well as releasing records for cult outlets NNA and Root Strata, and this composition swells the canon effortlessly,

Fuzzed-out cascades of modular sparkle usher us into the duo's gilded zone, draping themselves around deep woodwind drones and subtle piano loops. About mid-way through the piece, we flip into surrealist euphoria as deep bass tones cut through the cloudy pads and Sielaff's clarinet dances with theatrical whimsy. It's moving, emotional stuff that links the '70s trippers with the '00s tape/cdr wave and adds a sprinkle of magic dust.