Mytrip - "Empty"

Artist: Mytrip
Album: Empty (7")
Year: 2015
Label: Amek
Genre: Dark Ambient, Drone
Website: mytrip.bandcamp.com













Basics:
It's been about 3 years since I last heard from Bulgarian dark ambient producer Mytrip. I recall his previous efforts to have been lo-fi, gritty explorations of darkened sewers and claustrophobic catacombs. I liked these, but there was certainly room for growth. Now in 2015 he has released his first vinyl, Empty, courtesy of the Amek label.

Stuff:
There are only 2 tracks here, so:

"Wait For Me" - the first thing I noticed was that his production has made a colossal leap since his previous cassette releases! This track is incredibly spacious, deep, and everything sounds very clean. I really like this new hi-fi sound. The song has a very low, deep droning that makes up its foundation and serves to move it along, while over top play a variety of other sounds. The controlled, heavy low-end makes it feel as if you are descending deeper into a long forgotten cave system. The real beauty in this pieces lies in the somewhat amorphous sounds that meander above the drone. They have a distinctly melodic, yet nebulously un-graspable nature which gives them a tantalizing, highly sacral / divine quality. The combination of these bits and various sound effects is incredibly visionary and evocative. Towards the middle of the track it feels as if you have discovered a subterranean temple, long ago lost within this underworld, filled with relics of high magic still radiating white light. Overall this is an exceptional track and perfectly showcases how to evoke visionary spaces from a fairly minimal composition.

"Wherever You Are" - this song reminds me more of the previous Mytrip material. It is darker and more densely confined, focusing on lo-fi sounds and gritty textures. This one is not as interesting to me, but it does convey a darkened, claustrophobic sense of being trapped in a cave and losing your source of light. Again, he does a good job with keeping the tone minimal and giving different elements room to breathe. This track goes through several movements as it ebbs and flows for it's six minute duration. Overall, I would have liked more of the melodic elements from the first piece, but I suppose this offers a good "darker", unsettling balance to "Wait For Me"'s more ascended sound.

Overall: 
A couple of solid tracks for fans of dark ambient, both of the spacious, hi-fi, and the danker, more gritty varieties. It's good to hear Mytrip progressing and evolving his sound and I am interested in seeing what else he comes up with in the future. This is easily the best stuff he has ever created and if you are a fan than it is a must hear.