Norm Chambers - Seaside Resonance (2021)

A key figure in the Pacific Northwest electronic scene, Norm Chambers has always been a tirelessly prolific artist. While his decade-long run as Panabrite remains one of the most beguiling and coherent bodies of work to emerge from the neo-new age tape explosion of the 2000's, recent releases under his own name have seen him slowly pulling away from the past and moving into uncharted waters. On 2018's 'Idea Region' (Muzan Editions) the languid synth swells and crystalline arpeggios of his early work seem to be fighting for space with something new: a kind of aleatoric modular exploration as present and immediate as his earlier work was distant and dreamlike. Fast forward to his 2020 Magnum Opus 'Facets' (Love All Day), and these unruly elements have replicated exponentially, creating a sound world unlike anything in his previous discography, and announcing a major new avenue of development. 'Seaside Resonance' marks yet another leap, with Chambers incorporating loops and samples into his process for the first time, to stunning and unpredictable effect. Touching on musique concrète, minimalism, and even late 90's glitch aesthetics, with a sound palette reminiscent of early Oval and Mouse on Mars, 'Seaside Resonance' (the title a nod to “Après deep-sea diving”, or armchair oceanography) is a fearlessly exploratory work by an artist who refuses to sit still.