Taylor Deupree – Somi

Doing the rounds with many at the moment is the latest album by Taylor Deupree, on his long-standing and always exquisite 12k imprint. It’s been receiving lots of positive acclaim and it won’t take you many moments to work out why. Taylor has a knack for curating his label with expertise; showcasing some of the finest modern Ambient artists, often with a minimalist touch. The label’s work has always had that beautiful crispness in modern minimalism through the approach to sound design onto the stunning artwork and packaging. What’s unique is that some of the most subtle releases have been some of the best Ambient work I’ve owned in recent years: First on that list is Janek Schaefer’s ‘Lay-by Lullaby‘ followed closely by Minamo’s ‘Duree‘ and Marcus Fischer’s ‘Monocoastal‘.

It is the later of these that I recall as I hear this latest Taylor Deupree release on his own label and whilst I must make clear, ‘Somi‘ has a sound all of its own, I connect with it in a similar way to Monocoastal.
Simple notes are looped by hand and play out as a lazy Ambient soundtrack, filling your room or listening space with a lonely warmth. Despite the lonely feeling, it will give way to a fuzzy contentedness – perhaps because you know you’re listening to something that will continue to move you in years to come, in much the same way as the classics by Schaefer, Fischer and Minamo.