36 - The Lower Lights

3six Recordings: 2019

Wot d'is, then? Even more 36 music, a double-LP at that? Is there any limit to how much material Dennis Huddleston can kick out anymore? Well, sure there is – he isn't Merzbow or something of the like. If inspiration remains hot, however, may as well continue capitalizing on it.

Unlike most of the other items I've covered from him, this particular album didn't have a particular theme in mind. Rather, it's a series of sonic sketches and ideas explored over a period of a year (an 'audio diary', Dennis called it while releasing them on Patreon), freeform music making at its purest. And you might be thinking, gosh, aren't there a bunch of those already in the 36 discography? Of a sort, sure, like those Version rubs he did for the Sine Dust sessions, but that was still working from an original concept. Nothing of the sort exists with The Lower Lights, each piece created as it came to him, with no thoughts of how it may fit within a broader, thematic album context. Ah, so it's like that Nine Inch Nails Ghosts album, then? Yes, yes it is, Mister somehow talking to me as I write this. I mean, obviously it's not exactly like Ghosts - ain't no harsh guitar tone going on here – but the core approach remains the same.

So seems like a fun concept for an album, and it certainly resulted in plenty of music. When The Lower Lights was initially released, the tracklist was culled down to just ten tracks, making it easier to fit on the spiffy vinyl option. Why let all those sessions go to waste though, so Beneath The Lower Lights gathered up the remaining pieces for a cassette release. And now, with all the music available, here's a nineteen tracker for the digital version. Um, oh dear, that might actually be a bit too much for one sitting.

The thing about 36's music is it can be rather draining. He seldom holds back on laying the emotions on, which can be a turn-off for those who prefer more subtlety in their ambient dronescapes. His albums understand this balancing act quite well, a run of major emotional pieces followed by some downtime to recharge. As these Lower Lights tracks weren't crafted with that in mind, hearing them all play out one after the other, relentlessly bombarding you with sweeping synths, unfortunately grows tiresome. It isn't until the Beneath... pieces that things taper off some, and only three tracks of which I'd consider 'soothing', one of which being the closer Signing Off at number nineteen.

There are variations among all the tracks – some even have rhythms in them! It's just the lack of any structure or narrative in their presentation that leaves me longing for the concise nature of a Void Dance or Black Soma (or even Dreamloops). Which, again, was the point of The Lower Lights' exercise. Maybe should have stuck with separate releases.

36 - C45 Dreamloops 5-6

3six Recordings: 2019

Am I a hypocrite, liking 36's brand of overtly emotional music so much? I've gone on and on about how obvious sentimentality can turn other forms of music into hokey tripe (Dutch eurotrance the most egregious example), so you'd think I'd have similar thoughts on Mr. Huddleston's brand of ambient. This is a genre built around nuance and subtlety, freeform music making and abstract concepts. For sure Dennis does this too, but when he goes big on the emotional front, it's all in. Yet slide an overwrought breakdown and generic trance beat under some of these melodies, and I'd likely be rolling my eyes to the back of my head.

I honestly don't have an answer for this. Whatever it is that Dennis does with his compositions, it just hits that perfect sweet spot for yours truly, sometimes pushing close to the brink but never crossing that threshold. It's like the difference between perfectly crafted cheese, and a lump of dairy product that'll give you the lactose-runs. I suppose if a 36 track does get to be too much, I can always wash the palette with another D#m session from Michael Mantra.

But nay, I'm far from reaching that point with these Dreamloops. Even after four sessions and ninety minutes, the concept hasn't grown stale or run out of musical ideas. Yet here's Dreamloop 5, with a lovely three-chord sequence of layered pads that feels like the cosmos itself is doing meditative breathing, all the while a gentle piano plays along in support. That may sound New Agey, but something about the 36 stylee transcends such hokum, never sounding cliched or forced. And got'dang, when those airy choir pads emerge, escalating the emotional resonance within this piece, how can one not feel as though your soul's getting a good cleansing scrub? This keeps going for a full twenty-two and a half minutes, never growing tired or repetitive, only leaving this person feeling strangely refreshed in mind and soul. Hey, it takes a lot for me to get these sort of feels from music, and by gum, I ain't gonna hold back on the hyperbolic praise when it does.

I'm honestly rather thankful Dennis decides to tone things down a little for Dreamloop 6. There's definitely still an emotional undercurrent here, but doesn't quite build the same way the previous Dreamloops do. We're mostly in drone ambient territory here, synth pads harmonized in a warbly-warped sort of way (the authentic tape sound!). Different tones and timbre come and go throughout, the sparsest of piano occasionally heard beneath stretched melodies. And geez'it, that final, melancholy fade-out, sounding like a dirge coming from the catacombs of Cryo Chamber. How did this piece turn so dark and lonesome at the end? Considering how sparse the actual musical ideas are between these two Dreamloops, this EP sure takes one on quite the ride of emotions.

Perhaps a sad conclusion is fitting though, as this concludes 36's Dreamloops sessions. For now...

36 - C45 Dreamloops 3-4

3six Recordings: 2019

It's absurd how much of a 'tape industry' remains, isn't it? Vinyl I understand, the DJing circuit keeping it afloat long enough for a collector's market to emerge. How did tapes hang on though? Their initial unique features – portability and home recording – were completely and utterly usurped by the digital age, MP3s doing all that tapes could, and more. You'd think the market for blanks, much less professionally produced copies, would have utterly died by the 2010s. Yet here we are in the 2020s, the medium clinging on by the slimmest of margins. I wonder if there was some warehouse filled to the brim with unused blanks, just waiting for the time when a website like Bandcamp would emerge, suddenly creating a collector's demand curiosity for a format time would rather forget.

And it feels weird that there are two music formats I will never own for practical reasons. Vinyl is understandable, records bulky and expensive, but surely tapes are no more inconvenient than CDs to store. I've no means to playing them though. Sure, I could go out and buy a tape deck and hook it to my home theatre system, but why would I want to invest in an inferior playback device? Just to have a physical copy of something? I'll admit, there was a time that line of thinking might have worked on me, but I've since come around to digital if no CD option exists. Plus, with a Bluetooth hook-up to my main system, I can now play those Bandcamp exclusives on the big speakers!

Not that I'm saying artists shouldn't toy with whatever formats they wish – I'm no arbiter of what must be done for time eternal. I'm just wondering if I'm getting the full, proper Dreamloop experience by not hearing them as played from tape. Am I denying myself some ultimate listening euphoria in bypassing all that analogue hiss and occasional warping from repeated plays? Oh, what the heck, I'll take the digital. This music's great no matter where the sound originates from!

Anyhow... Dreamloop 3 carries on with the opulent layers of drone, but instead of relying on escalating loops, ol' Dennis gets his synth soloing on. Not that you didn't get a sense of him playing these live in the previous Dreamloops, it's just more pronounced here. Some five minutes in, they synth soloing dies off, letting a subtle twee-bleepy melody play. Most 36 tracks would end around here, maybe fading off, but no, we're only a quarter way through! Can he somehow maintain interest for the duration? Damn straight he does, though the synths do get to be a bit much towards the end.

Fortunately, Mr. Hiddleston dials things back some for Dreamloop 4, a piano melody the main focus while one of those vintage 36 heart-tuggers glides in the background. Oh dear, I hope it doesn't start taking centre-stage. I... I don't know if I could handle that much feels. Aahh, there it is... Fighting... manly... tears...

36 - C45 Dreamloops 1-2

3six Recordings: 2019

I'd seen these Dreamloops plenty of times while browsing 36's Bandcamp, but didn't give them much thought. Not that they didn't intrigue just a little, but as they were specifically designed as tape releases, I figured them another of Dennis' more idiosyncratic indulgences. Then I noticed they were on Spotify, so gave them a listen and... oh. Oh my! These are wonderful! Heck, I'll even spring for digital, since I've no use for tapes (they're all sold out anyway). Six tracks, each around twenty-two and a half minutes long, essentially a double-LP album then. Will probably be a bit on the pricier side as far as digital buys go, but it's worth it. Wait a tic'... There isn't a 1-6 option for Dreamloops, only the original three EPs? I mean, I don't mind paying for them separately either, but dear me, now I have to do individual reviews of each one.

The concept behind Dreamloops is simple enough: maximize the playing time of a standard 45-minute tape, a single composition per side. Indeed, this was how most ambient was produced in its underground scenes (shaddup, there was underground ambient scenes ...you just hadn't heard of them). It's just... a perfect length of time, twenty-so minutes. Stupid CDs and streams, making things longer than they need to be, all because the space is there.

Still, I did initially wonder if this would work in the 36 stylee. Part of Mr. Huddleston's appeal is that his ambient songs typically don't endlessly dawdle. I've checked out a few from him that breach the double-digit mark (Seconds & Forever the most prominent to my recollection), and I'm sure there's more in his discography. For the most part though, his music gets in quick, hits you with the big feels, then gets out before they overstay their welcome, even when you want them to linger longer (Sine Dust forever and ever...). Can these Dreamloops hold my attention in a similar fashion, or will they simply fade into the background, lulling me into a half-attentive daze?

Since I did spring for all six of these, that should answer the question. I mean, how can you not instantly get swept into the gentle lullaby of a melody in Dreamloop 1? It may be repeating the same simple notes over and over, but with the accompanying pad and soft rhythm that sounds like a spongy metronome, it's remarkably hypnotic such that it holds your attention for as long as it plays. This isn't a static series of loops though, grander pads building in intensity as the track carries on, giving Dreamloop 1 a startling sense of urgency for something supposedly intended to relax you. It's as though Dennis is forcing tension out of you before easing you back out. Dreamloop 2 is more straight-forward, getting in on that opulent space ambient vibe I so much enjoyed in Sine Dust, and never grows old even as it keeps going, with plenty of gentle lead-out. Cosmic dreams ahead, Captain!

36 - Black Soma

3six Recordings: 2017

Obviously this was an instant-purchase for yours truly. Mr. Huddleston taking his 36 project ever further into 'space music' territory after the Sine Dust sessions? Just inject the music straight into my occipital cortex! That wasn't enough for Dennis though. He had to go ahead and include the Sine Dust and Tomorrow's Explorers EPs in with Black Soma as a bonus second CD. My God! Those two are super-high in my “Records I'd Buy For A Record Collection I'll Never Have” list, and now I have them in a physical format anyway? Sure, it'd be nice if their original artwork was included with the inlay, but I'll still take 'em.

Before getting into those extras though, let's get into the album proper. As mentioned, Black Soma is something of a continuation of the space inspired EPs that sprung off from Void Dance and shut up, just take my money already. Or is this following on from themes set up by Lithea and Dream Tempest, what with the similar artwork? Seriously though, this is a bit of a different focus 36 has taken from before, most of his albums generally all about those mood setters and emotional gut-punches. While this one hardly lacks in those departments either, there's more of a sense of place and imagery going on here, ambient music less about the abstract atmosphere than it is painting a setting. Or at least, so long as you read the track titles. Who knows what wayward themes you could conjure without some guiding hint.

So while the titular opener mostly features choir pads among 36's usual string and pad tones, follow-up Black Sustain flows on that with, well, sustained pad drones, gradually building and escalating with opulent grandeur. Never one to hold back out from the gate, that Dennis. Black Halcyon goes for the sentimental jugular, with a touch of piano that just might have you reminded of the opening of that Orbital track. Black Shore features the sound of waves lapping upon the beach. Black Sun and Black Future imparts something of a reflective tone, contemplation of our place in all this emptiness. Black Sleep is pure tranquility, while finale Black Cascade shimmers like several points of light washing down on you.

And... it's over, just like that. Aww, was just getting warmed up. Fortunately, there's that tasty second CD to detail, though in some ways I feel like I've talked about this a bunch already. Sine Dust and Sun Riders both had extra love when I covered Sine Dust Versions, though Tomorrow's Explorers is all original music, including one of his longer pieces in the titular cut. Wish I could say I was equally enraptured by these tracks as the Sine Dust ones, but the more traditional use of string pads, and even a little Berlin School action, leave these feeling less effective in reducing my soul to a puddle of melancholic-goo. Hey, if that's the 'worst' criticism I can give this album, how can anyone complain?

36 - Sine Dust Versions

3six Recordings: 2015

Wait wait wait!!! Dennis Huddleston released a single with Saturn on the cover!? Yeah, guy, a mini-series at that. Awww, man, it's like 36 knows me or something, my one true weakness for any artwork. Can't say I would buy the vinyl of Sine Dust or Tomorrow's Explorers though, if anything because they're already out of stock and jacked up on the open market now. At least I still get to hear tunes off those records on the bonus CD of Black Soma, but I cannot deny those Sine Dust copies do look exquisite.

While crafting the four tracks of that particular EP, Dennis made alternates, mostly as a means to explore various ideas or paths on each before settling on the finished versions. Not that this is a unique thing musicians do, especially ambient ones, but unless they're the sort who'll release every and anything that strikes their muse, it isn't often they'll make such works available. Given how immaculately produced 36's finished material typically is, I'm surprised he's even letting us hear his alternate pieces, but I guess he figured there was enough to differentiate them from the originals.

Either that, or he just wanted to show off more Saturn porn, which I'm totally fine with. I mean, just look at that beauty shot, the golden globe hovering in space so majestically, its rings stretched out and enhanced. Yeah, I don't think that's an actual Cassini photo, probably a composite. Plus, if you stare really closely, you'll notice concentric lines encircling the planet, as though the light from the background stars are being warped by gravitational forces. In fact, the whole top half of this picture looks more like painting smudges. It's all quite subtle, the sort of thing you won't notice unless paying attention. Hey, kinda' like where 36 takes his music with Sine Dust Versions!

The originals were some of 36's most focused pieces of melancholic music – I'm sure I mentioned as such in regards to the titular track which also appeared on Void Dance. The associated tracks on the single generally followed in Sine Dust's mould, and so it goes with Versions too. Only in this case, tones and melody are drawn and stretched out such that each composition is turned into lengthy pieces of drone, sometimes doubling their runtime in the process.

On one hand, this definitely falls more in line with the type of ambient you'd expect of a space music outing, especially with a lonely Saturn against as stark, empty black backdrop. Whereas the originals could melt your heart, these may leave you feeling lonesome and cold. Hell, the ghostly vocal of Sine Dust is essentially non-existent in its Version counterpart, though Sun Riders Part II (Version) does retain some moving moments in its droning timbre. I wouldn't recommend this EP for anyone other than 36 followers though, which was the intent behind releasing it anyhow – offering a glimpse of different angles Mr. Huddleston's takes his musical ideas.

36 - Seconds & Forever

3six Recordings: 2016

I've settled upon a New Year's Resolution: don't be so anal about buying MP3s anymore. I really can't justify being against it as in years past. There's a lot of wonderful music out there, but without ample funds behind it, a great deal of it simply isn't viable in the physical medium, often limited to small, collector runs at best. And when some of those runs stick to the vinyl option – a medium I must resist because I know it will financially ruin me – I've effectively and stubbornly cut myself off for decade-old petty reasons. Well, enough of that, I say. Bandcamp has provided me with an outlet I feel comfortable paying monies for musiks with – direct compensation to artists. And while I'll hold out as long as possible for CD options, I shouldn't feel beholden to it either when the high-quality MP3 is right there at a cheaper price too. Obviously I'm not gonna' go on a spending spree of MP3s now, but should a discount offer pop up for an item I know I'll never buy in physical (sold out, wrong format, etc.), well, sure, why not, eh?

Okay. Let's now dig into this mini-album from 36, a vinyl release which I bought as a high-quality MP3 from his Bandcamp because there was a discount code available. I'm so easy...

Really, of the short list of artists I'd be willing to take this route, Dennis Huddleston's 36 project is near the top, especially since he self-releases so much material. Seconds & Forever, though, appears to be one of the few items he's put out on a separate label. That same year, he released The Infinity Room on the semi-popular label-blog A Strangely Isolated Place, but Mystic & Quantum is a regular ol' print running out of Spain. They're relatively new, only a handful of records in their catalogue, but have LPs from the likes of DMX Krew and VHS Glitch to their name. 36 is an odd addition, his ambient nothing like the synthy electro and techno Mystic & Quantum peddle in. Why, if you tilt your ears in just the right direction when playing back Seconds & Forever, you'll hear the sounds of worlds colliding.

As for the music, yeah, it's more ambient from 36. Consisting to two eighteen minute pieces (one for each side of the record, 'natch), Part 1 takes a little to build. As it gradually emerges from the lowest registers of human hearing, however, you can tell it's gonna' be another lovely, pleasant, heart-warming composition of layered pads. I initially had shades of Vangelis' Creation du Monde when first hearing this, though 36's dense timbre soon puts that comparison to rest. Part 2 goes in an opposite direction from Part 1, a subdued and sombre melody maintaining a general through-line, as additional layers of strings come and go. Overall more calm and gentle, letting you drift into melancholy thought. Works best while gazing through winter windows.

36 - Hypersona

3six Recordings: 2009

With so many ambient artists on the market, it takes remarkable skill and ridiculous luck at cracking through the glut. I mean, after forty years of official existence (and some prior years of being called something else), how many unique angles are left in this genre? Even some of my present favourites typically tread territory covered by artists from the past, which isn't a bad thing by any stretch. Music genres become genres because of the familiar tropes that define them, relying on each musician's personal touch with established tools to distinguish themselves. Yet that may not be enough to get noticed, not without some serious sleuthing by dedicated diggers trawling for new material for their podcasts and blog hype. No, I'm not of that sort, usually content in letting others do the discovering for me. It's almost accidental if I happen across something none of my usual sources haven't yet.

I'd like to say Dennis Huddleston's 36 project (remember, that's “three-six”) is one such example, but that's not quite the case. While hunting for examples of contemporary ambient regarding Guide 3.0 matters, I was checking some 'Best Of' lists from Discogs users, and 36's debut album Hypersona was coming up a fair bit. He was still fairly new then, only a couple years removed from self-releasing this record, but the buzz was palpable. After plucking a sample, I made a mental note to check his stuff further, and didn't get around to that again until this past year. Um, oops?

Well, better late than never (and before physical copies are sold out!), but yes, Hypersona definitely is the sort of album that deservedly cracked that thick ambient soup, floating to the top in the guise as a tasty bit of garnish in the bowl. See, Mr. Huddleston had a trick up his sleeve that helped him stand out from the pack, making sure you heard what his music had to say, and would want to hear more from him from then on out. Within the first five minutes of this album, which includes three tracks of Signal, 2249, and Inside, you're met with a rush of nostalgic, melancholy melodies and dreamy synth-pad layers that reach deep into your chest, rip your heart out, and forces sweet tears of blissful innocence into that gaping hole where your soul lies.

Okay, I'm laying the uber-hyperbole thick there, but conventional ambient album construction dictates these sort of tunes are reserved for closing numbers, melodic denouements after being led on an emotional journey. Yet here's 36 saying, “Nuts to that, I'm gonna' hit you in the heart-strings early and hard.”

And don't think Hypersona's front-loaded, equally evocative tunes cropping up throughout the album, just with different variations. The Box adds ethereal voices, Nephyr does the white-washed dub-drone thing, Juliet gets abstract with crackly radio chatter, and Forever is insanely grand, opulent, and lush. That, my friends, is how you get a debut ambient album noticed in this scene.

36 - Void Dance

3six Recordings: 2015

Anyone worth their ambient salt these days knows about Dennis Huddleston’s 36 project, but it still feels like he flies under the radar. It’s that name, y’see, one of the most ambiguous handles you’ll ever come across in the world of music (remarkably, Lord Discogs states this is the second (2) usage of a ‘36’ alias). Good luck doing a Googling without the ‘ambient’ accompaniment, though why anyone would search for such a thing without that context is beyond me. It would be much easier if Mr. Huddleston wrote his musical nom de plume as it’s intended to be said: Three-Six, or even offered as his label, 3six Recordings. Ah, ahh, bet you were saying it as ‘Thirty-Six’, weren’t you! Okay, not you, who is all in the know about this stuff.

Name aside, Mr. Huddleston has built himself a tidy career this past decade, making his debut in 2009 with Hypersona, and steadily gaining all the plaudits along the way. He’s released nearly twenty albums and singles across various formats, been featured on Very Important Ambient blogs such as Headphone Commute and A Strangely Isolated Place, and playlisted by AstroPilot, ASC, and Ultimae Records. Not bad for a chap who’s somehow built his ambient mini-fiefdom primarily through independent means.

That said, I can’t comment on much of his music, as I’ve only taken in a few releases thus far. For some reason, I want to savor the mystique with the guy’s work, feeling his discography is an embarrassment of riches I shouldn’t binge on too soon. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the 36 brand of ambient is some sort of revolutionary, groundbreaking, immaculate sort, but damn if it doesn’t hit all the blissy triggers my brain-matter desires. His sound has been described as ‘glowing melancholy’, and I’ll say it’s apt.

Void Dance is 36’s seventh album (or eleventh if you want to include a series of tapes), which Mr. Huddleston claimed as culmination of his music writing up to that point. For an LP that is about as singularly ambient as ambient can get, there is a decent amount of diversity too. For sure you get the standard layered pads and droning timbre, but each track offers something different enough such that Void Dance doesn’t come off like an endless loop.

Hold On and the titular cut go the bright synth route, Equinox and Endless take a more modern classical path, while Stasis Eject, Nova, Diamond Rain, and The Last Light do the old-school, warble-crackly ambient sound. A couple tracks show a little rhythmic potential, Pulse Drive adding hi-hats and Tomorrow’s World getting its Berlin-School arps on. And let’s not leave Sine Dust out of this recap, such a lovely slice of melancholy ambient that includes ghostly vocals like so much future garage goes.

Oh yes, get yourself some Void Dance if you’ve yet to sample the 36 stylee. It’s a tasty entry point, even for folks unfamiliar with the genre.