Ambient/Electronica: D York - Southport (2024)

65 / 100

Southport aims for a coastal ambience but instead drifts into an strange, alien-synthetic territory that doesn’t match its imagery.

In April 2024, D York return with a new album titled Southport. Well, releasing material in short intervals is a common practice in the ambient scene. Is there any compositional development here, and does it suit my taste? Let’s take a look.

D York seems to craft a more synthetic, outer-space-like atmosphere—something rather alien—instead of preserving the calm coastal ambience suggested by the title. The synth textures and the addition of a more subdued trip-hop/electronica-style drum beat do not make it pleasant for my ears. Even “Riverside” doesn’t only portray the movement of a river at night; it feels more like the motion of water on another planet or a dungeon deep underground. “Longleaf”, which lacks any beat, still can’t hold my attention for long due to its mysterious-sounding synth elements. It reminds me of the poster for Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion, showing Shinji and Asuka by the water’s edge as they face Ayanami Rei’s angelic form on the horizon—even though what D York presents here isn’t nearly as dark or psychological.

Well, perhaps this description of Southport sounds exaggerated, but the point is that the title and cover do not quite represent the content of the three tracks. There is no serenity or beautiful atmospheric feeling, but rather touches of something foreign and slightly strange. So, I won’t be taking anything from this release.

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