Keith Berry - Viable Systems 4 (2021)

he previous instalment of Viable Systems wasn't that long ago (Vital Weekly 1259), and now the fourth one arrives. The gap between two and three was bigger. I can only speculate about the speed and would think this is because the COVID-19 pandemic keeps Berry housebound and what else can you do, other than doing new music. By now, Berry has a clear vision of what he wants with his music and number four is very similar to the previous three works in this series. While much of this stays in very much the same musical territory as before, and it is hard to write about such things in renewed glowing terms, (see what I said last time about!) I think there the devil here is in the details. I still have very little idea as to what Berry does with his sound and how it is all generated. There is the well-known piano sound, set against an ambient background that reminded me of the best of Brian Eno doing ambient music, but I believed to be hearing guitars as well and in 'Liminal State' the sound was broken up with an effect that reminded me of an eroded tape. There is quite a bit of variation in the various moods and textures here, some between lighter and some darker, some very smooth and some a bit rough. Oddly enough, the last one I played on a quiet Saturday afternoon, and so I did with this one, and again on random/shuffle repeat for quite some time and again pondering over the fact that an application in which the listener is allowed to control sounds that Berry produces would indeed be something to desire.

Vital Weekly
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In the fourth installment of Keith Berry’s Viable Systems series, the composer is once again orchestrating comforting soundscapes that drift on open aural seas. “Tropical Sediments” loses track of space and time, adrift on the open ocean into a vast unknown. Drenched in sweeping reverb, “Vapid Bucolia” sits in a pocket of melancholic lament. Scouting the next peak on the horizon, gauzy synths seep into every pore like a passive virus, coaxing you to continue the journey forward. Sunrise beckons on “Gliders” as gleaming sonic surfaces reflect light into a prismatic display. Berry extracts warm, gentle tones while deep bass pads and sparse guitar plucks act as guideposts. Viable Systems 4 is cool to the touch, but that glossy exterior shrouds an engaging and sympathetic embrace. Berry’s explorations always tap into auditory dimensions meant for traveling. Viable Systems 4 is another beautiful chapter in this continually unfolding story.

Foxy Digitalis