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Drone: Brian Grainger - Benthic Ice Barrows (2021)


78 / 100
A cold yet immersive drone journey, rewarding for fans of the genre and those familiar with Brian Grainger’s meticulous craft.
Brian Grainger’s name surfaced for me back in the early days of discovering drone/ambient during the pandemic, though his earlier work Sembre [Side One] (2016) has long faded from memory. What drew me back recently was his practice of offering some releases for free, and the fact that he manages several ambient-related accounts on Bandcamp such as Milieu.

This time, we arrive at episode 48 of the Workingman’s Drone series, titled Benthic Ice Barrows, running 71 minutes and released on December 3, 2021. It was recorded at White Pillar in November 2021 using a Yamaha KM-802 analog mixer (1986), a Moog MF-101 low-pass filter, a Tascam DP-008EX digital recorder, and a Peavey FX2 mixing console.

Grainger explains that this twelfth and final volume was built from a no-input configuration of the Yamaha KM-802 mixer, layering independently routed feedback, filtered through analog and digital gear, then polished in post-production with Arturia processors and parametric EQ shaping.

For an amateur listener, the technical details may sound overwhelming. Personally, with only limited experience on Bandlab, I find the gear talk hard to grasp.

Musically, as one might expect from drone, there’s no major progression. Instead, it unfolds as a long, reverberating growl, resembling dark ambient but without heavy murk. It successfully conveys sensations of benthic and the creaking of ice barrows in a chilling atmosphere. Though cold and abrasive a bit at times, the current moves swiftly enough that the 71 minutes pass without inducing severe boredom or sleepiness.

As a veteran in dark ambient/drone, Brian Grainger once again proves his mastery. This album is a must-listen for anyone looking to experience the depth of drone music.
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