Dark Ambient/Drone: Encym - Music for Meditation (2020)

60 / 100

Music for Meditation struggles with the expectations set by its title.

Finally, we arrive at the letter E. I’ll start with Encym, since the music is still something I can recognize—firmly within the ambient realm.

Now, if Darren McClure comes from Northern Ireland, then Encym is based on the British mainland, specifically London. This album, Music for Meditation, was released on July 10, 2020 via Neotantra.

I am somewhat hesitant to describe what is presented here as meditation music, because there is a contamination of noise and dark ambient in the first two tracks. Personally, that is not meditative, though it can still be effective as a sleep companion. The title track itself is fairly decent, as it is kept clean, even if it is neither gentle nor particularly deep. From that point onward, the following sequence starts to feel more fitting, although it is wrapped in drones and noisy dots that create a slightly startling or uncomfortable impression—for example in “The Wakening of the Sky (Bliss Version)” and the tracks that follow, culminating in the final piece, “Traffic Kng.”

The most comfortable zone for me lies in “London Departures,” which plays pure ambient pads. “Music for Meditation” and “Voyage” follow, though they are not as clean as that track.

For that reason, I feel somewhat deceived by this album title, even though I did manage to finish it. For meditation? Perhaps not everyone will agree—but it may work better as music to ease one into sleep, or as entertainment for the ghosts in the house.

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