June 24, 2022 - Night Time Stories
I’m very afraid of a world that actively chokes out our awareness. Most of us experience culture these days primarily through algorithms that reflect ourselves back to us without consideration of the costs. Well, the algorithms have done a cost-benefit analysis, of course. Have we?
Thank goodness for Ron Trent and others like him, members of a bright niche of the musical world who seek out new shapes but hold enough ties to the mainstream to bubble up to the surface. They bring with them words we haven’t heard yet or in a long time. Conversations that are happening somewhere, but that we can’t hear from the fenced-in shallows of the World Wide Web. Like an act of generosity from an ancient god of the deep, Trent stirs up the waters from below and fortifies us with primordial nutrients.
Ron Trent’s album What do the stars say to you is an eclectic electronic collection chock full of pillowy production, worldbeat, the optimism of 70s funk and jazz fusion, collaborations with fearless artists from all over, and a little bit of rock-n-roll. Juicy, rich, and sparkling, WDTSSTY takes you on a complete journey from start to finish, and it hits really nicely when you listen to it in its entirety. In fact, I insist you do. Take the time to read the whole book and absorb the manna.
If you must have a run-of-show, consider the unofficial acts, written by me, outlined below.
Act 1: A skyward question.
‘Cool Water feat. Ivan Conti (Azymuth) and Lars Bartkuhn’
‘Cycle of Many’
‘Admira feat. Gigi Masin’
‘Flowers feat. Venecia’
Act 2: Break me open into a phantasmagoria of gilded bliss.
‘Melt into you feat. Alex Malheiros (Azymuth)’
‘Flos Potentia (Sugar, Cotton, Tabacco) feat. Khruangbin’
‘Sphere feat. Jean-Luc Ponty’
Act 3: Luxuriate in an extended outro of rock-n-roll beats with tender jazz melodies.
‘WARM’
‘On my way home’
‘What do the stars say to you’
Ron Trent got his start in the Chicago house music scene in the 80s and has since impacted the global music industry over the decades as a DJ and producer and label head who shaped what house music sounded like. But with What do the stars say to you, Trent offers a realization that’s grown far from the soil where his roots in house music tether, to those of us who are curious and brave enough to explore the influences he reaches toward.
With its eclectic blend of genres, WDTSSTY showcases an in-depth sensitive perspective to experimental music-making that can only come from a long time spent observing, absorbing, eating, and living in the musical mode. ☔