Borders: the inescapable buzzword that lingers in everyone’s minds as the fear of a hard divide in Ireland looms, the word that incites debate and sometimes outrage – the title chosen for Ryan Vail and Eoin O’Callaghan/Elma Orkestra’s new collaborative project that attempts to explore the power held by this word, through visually intense live shows and authentic, analogue electronic music.
‘Arrival’ is the second single from the pair’s collaborative album. Sat right at the intersection (or, border) between O’Callaghan’s understated pastoral ambient pieces and Vail’s moody, late-night electronica, ‘Arrival’ twists and morphs its way through a seven minute run time. The piece feels weightless, much like the sweeping drone footage of Irish landscapes projected at the Borders live shows, as Vail & O’Callaghan gracefully guide the track through its peaks and troughs like avian conductors.
Field recordings of birdsong and the lulling hiss of rainfall lend ‘Arrival’ a nostalgic air, while soft analogue kicks and tropical shakers fill out the textures created by Mellotron-esque flute samples and warm, enveloping synths. The lighter sections of the track are violently broken up by interludes of pounding techno kicks, skitters percussion and glitched out vocal loops, creating a welcome contrast which makes the calmer sections that much more enjoyable.
‘Arrivals’ is an incredible track from the already promising Borders project – it’s electronic music that feels so organic, you can picture the hours spent plugging and unplugging patch cables, tweaking sounds and moulding a selection of samples into something greater than the sum of its parts.
Borders is set to be released through Quiet Arch on June 14th.
