Nathaniel Young and Warren Mattox co-run Blankstairs, a small label begun in 2013 which focuses on the outer edges of techno and ambient. The pair will also release a collaborative EP via their label on January 20th. Comprised of material written and recorded last January, “01_19_2015 (Version I)” is credited to Nathaniel Young–who grew up in Portland, OR, but now resides in New York, NY. Influenced by both natural and urban landscapes, Young’s music brings the two into a sonic relationship where open and ambient compositions filter the distant echos of the city. On this track, a warm but catatonic electric hum leads us into some hinterzone, possibly a place where the urban has broken down only to be recaptured by the edges of advancing wilderness. Soon blunt pulses and bit crushed ephemera bubble to the surface with radiating synth textures looping in slow rising circles of tone. Meanwhile, Young patiently presides, allowing his “machines” to do the talking, and yet the effect feels organic–like watching a weather system blow thru from some heightened vantage.
