NRV - Seasons Beyond the Ashes (2024)

Following the label's landmark fiftieth release, the ‘Majjie’ album from Lyli J, the next release on See Blue Audio continues the theme of the wonders of the natural world expressed through music. As ‘Majjie’ evoked the power of mountains, mystery and magic, and heralded the arrival of spring, so ‘Seasons Beyond the Ashes’ by NRV takes its inspiration from the four seasons and the healing properties of nature. This is the second release from NRV on See Blue Audio, and it follows the widely acclaimed ‘Blue Roofs’ in 2022. ‘Seasons Beyond the Ashes’ also examines the relationship between nature and modern society, and the fifty-first release on See Blue Audio is timed to reflect the passage of spring into summer.

NRV is the drone/ambient project from Japanese electronic musician, producer and radio host Nerve, who is based in the city of Sendai and best known as one half of the trip hop, dub and electro-pop band antennasia. 2023 saw the release of their eighth album, ‘Warped Lucky’. After its completion, Nerve found himself drawn to making ambient music again and created the first sketches that went on to become ‘Seasons Beyond the Ashes’.

‘Blue Roofs’ features two extended sonic rivers of soft simplicity. Its successor inhabits similar musical territory, but instead takes the form of eight short tracks dedicated to the eternal cycle of spring, summer, autumn and winter with two for each season. They were all designed to soothe and create harmony, even when some of the sounds used have a noisy or abrasive edge.

A thread that runs through both releases is the continuing effects of the earthquake and tsunami, and subsequent nuclear accident, that hit Japan in 2011. Nature may continue to soothe the artist through all its seasons, just as it did when he was a child, but even landscapes that seem the same as they did before the disaster somehow look different now. Perhaps this reflects his own state of mind, the influence of something that has changed in Japan since the catastrophe, or the continuing destruction and tragic events happening in many parts of the world; whatever the case, it’s as if a layer of noise, dust and ash has formed between his eyes and the landscape. This is the meaning of the album’s title, and what the noise and disturbance heard during the music represents.

Before he began working on the album, Nerve got hold of a small cassette recorder and recorded many synthesizer patterns onto tape. The tapes were old and with irregular wow and flutter, but they felt intensely real and became a ‘sound effect’ utilised in the music. In this way, the past and the present are symbolically connected, and a kind of reconciliation can begin.

The tracks may be shorter, but each has its own distinct character and mood. At times beatless and as light as a feather, at others with a harder edge to reflect our industrial age. Mournful strings and floating synths, a delicate piano line reminiscent of Ryuichi Sakamoto, and field recordings from the ever-moving world of insects, frogs and plants, but always with a rich undercurrent of energy that comes from our interaction with nature.

See Blue Audio is honoured to present this subtle and sublime musical meditation on the continuous flow of the seasons, and how they can bring comfort and contrast to the fast-paced modern world. ‘Seasons Beyond the Ashes’ is both a beacon of hope for the artist and those of us who share his concerns, sensitivities and dreams.

‘Seasons Beyond the Ashes’ is also available in a limited edition cassette version.