Markus Mehr Lava

Writing about deep ambient isn’t the easiest thing to do, after all, while pop music aims to tell stories with a beginning, middle and end – ambient artists instead opt to create still, frozen pictures that intend to be experienced rather than listened. German-based technician Markus Mehr does allow his compositions to move, but ever so slightly – incorporating deep, monolithic washes of gurgling synthesizer that move across the listener like tectonic plates. His debut record Lava is certainly a low-impact listen, but it’s inherently imbued with a subtle layer of beauty – making it appreciable for everyone, not just music majors.

Like a lot of ambient artists, Markus Mehr is at his best when he’s his most spacey. The kaleidoscopic tones of tracks like Hubble are full of astronomic imagery, and glide through the listener’s ears like a spaceship passing overhead. They’re ‘big’ compositions, the sheer scale of the sonic work is rather awe inspiring, but they never sound antagonistic or uncomfortable. is a very dormant album, it sounds like the ebb and flow of space itself – individual snippets of a grand, repeating, organic process that keeps the universe in balance. You’ll never hear anything that tangibly relates machinery or human intervention; this is an album that sounds as old and neutral as the cosmos itself.

In fact, the only ear-shattering moment on Lava comes near the end on Up Sturz, where Markus replaces the droning nature of his work with a rapid-fire, error-message sequencer assault. It’s the closest he comes to harsh textures on the entire record. It breaks the flow of the album in a fairly irritating way; it’s just so completely out of left field. While all the other songs occupy the same pace and gradual demeanor, this song quadruples its BPM and abandons all of the elements that made the rest of the record rewarding.

However, that’s the only real complaint I can levy against Lava, everything else is spot-on, effective, deep underwater ambient – demanding to be listened to – refusing to fade into the walls of suburban homes all across the world. Markus Mehr has created a bold, stouthearted work that deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as other current ambient champions like Emeralds or Oneohtrix Point Never. Expect to hear a lot more from this guy in the future.