Non bastano 50 euro per comprare un CDr originale di Continents, il secondo lavoro di Celer pubblicato privatamente nel 2006. Finalmente Will Long decide di ristampare qual disco, rimasterizzato per l’occasione dalle mani d’oro di Stephan Mathieu. Il doppio CD di Continents mostra Will e Danielle alle prese con una declinazione di ambient piu bucolica e rassicurante di quella fatta ascoltare pochi mesi prima nel loro esordio: La Oroya’s Cantankerous Bells e un lento loop che si avvolge su se stesso trovando conforto in una melodia celestiale. Ancora piu romantica la seguente Bereft Oversight, un incanto di pochi secondi mandato in loop per dieci minuti. Ben due le bonus track in scaletta.

Un doppio CDr con due titoli, Sunlir e Scols. In molti hanno conosciuto cosi l’ambient crepuscolare di Celer. Nel 2005 Will Long e Danielle Baquet erano una giovane coppia innamorata del mondo, che amava fotografare con la propria musica la bellezza che incontrava. I nove brani di Scols sono stati rimasterizzati da Stephan Mathieu e resi disponibili in un bel CD venduto sulla pagina bandcamp della Two Acorns. L’album gemello Sunlir venne ristampato qualche anno fa dalla spagnola CONV e non e stato incluso nel trattamento. I nove brani in scaletta di Scols bastano a capire l’amore di Celer per i loop disintegrati di Basinski e per l’estetica analogica della 12k.

“Xèixie” στα Κινέζικα σημαίνει «ευχαριστώ» και είναι ο τίτλος που διάλεξε ο Αμερικάνος συνθέτης ηλεκτρονικής Will Long ή, καλλιτεχνικώς, Celer, για τη νέα του δουλειά. Στο γνωστό ύφος όπου κυριαρχεί η μίκρο – μίνιμαλ σε μια ατελείωτη ελικοειδή εξέλιξη από συνεχή drones- ο Long ενσωματώνει field recordings από τους δρόμους της Σαγκάης και της Χανγκτσόου, αποτυπώνει -σε δυο δίσκους- το σάουντρακ του σύγχρονου Άπω-Ανατολικού άστεως μέσα από φανταστικές ήχο-μουσικές εικόνες: η βροχή, τα αυτοκίνητα, το τσίριγμα των εκατομμυρίων νέον, ο θόρυβος των Mall-Mart, οι σειρήνες των πλοίων, το σφύριγμα του τραίνου υψηλής ταχύτητας.

Es erklingen gestreckte, orchestrale Sounds, die Atmosphären von Zartheit und Tiefe vermitteln. Ihre magische Unaufgeregtheit durchweht jeden Raum. Sich stets wiederholende Schleifen, deren Konturen die Harmonien nur andeuten, aber in ihrer Gesamtheit dann doch so etwas verspielt Melancholisches entstehen lassen. Dabei sind es erst die Wiederholungen, die diesen Samplings eine untröstliche Existenz einräumen. Eigenwillige Klangfarbenmischungen, Traumsequenzen, blühende Metamorphosen, subtile Soundtexturen, die behutsam vereinnahmen.

Seit vielen Jahren entwirft Celer, mit bürgerlichem Namen William Thomas Long, diese Sounds von bezwingender Schönheit. Schon in ganz jungen Jahren war er auf der Suche nach kultureller Identifikation. Er wuchs in einer, nach eigenen Angaben, „konservativen evangelischen Familie“ in Mississippi auf und konnte seine kreativen Ansprüche nur außerhalb dieser Enge befriedigen. Long studierte Literatur und Geschichte, fotografierte in seiner freien Zeit und beschäftigte sich spielerisch mit musikalischen Sounds und den Möglichkeiten der technischen Realisation. „Wie beim Schreiben oder Fotografieren war es nur eine andere Möglichkeit, etwas aus mir herauszuholen, das Bedürfnis nach einer Art Ausdruck. Ich erinnere mich, dass ich mich wirklich für alternative Techniken zum Musizieren interessierte, wie Geschwindigkeitsänderungen, Bandmanipulation und die Möglichkeiten des Samplings. Es war eine Möglichkeit, ein Gefühl zu erschaffen oder neu zu erschaffen.“

Bewusste Vorbilder hatte Will Long nie. Dass jedoch vieles von dem unbewusst aufgenommenen dazu beigetragen hat, seine eigene musikalische Stimme zu finden, ist ihm hingegen klar.

Er konzentrierte sich in seinem Leben immer stärker auf Musik, als auf alles andere und produzierte mit einfachen Mitteln, und anfangs gemeinsam mit seiner Freundin Danielle als Duo unter dem Namen Celer, etliche Aufnahmen. Die erste Identitätskrise hatte Long als seine Freundin tragisch ums Leben kam und er nicht wusste, ob er überhaupt noch Musik produzieren wollte.

2011 ging er nach Japan. Von Tokio aus wirkt er seit fast einem Jahrzehnt, produziert immer neue Musik, deren Wärme und Dringlichkeit beeindruckt. Wie denn der Alltag von jemandem aussehe, der bisher über einhundert Alben veröffentlicht habe, wurde er vor einiger Zeit gefragt: „Ich bin freiberuflich tätig, daher ändert sich das auch immer wieder. Aber typische Tage beinhalten das Verpacken von Bestellungen, das Gehen zur Post, das Spielen mit meiner Tochter, wenn sie Zeit hat, Geschirr spülen, Wäsche waschen, Teilzeit in Ost-Tokio arbeiten, pendeln, Freunde nach der Arbeit treffen, Plattenläden besuchen, um Platten und CDs zu verkaufen, mit der Familie zu Abend essen, lange aufbleiben, an Musik arbeiten und nachts im Park spazieren gehen.“

Völlig unspektakulär also. Zu solch einem Tagesablauf passt aber die Musik Celers wunderbar. Diese Mischung aus Ambient und Drone (La Monte Young erklärte Drone einmal als einen anhaltenden Ton innerhalb der Minimal Music) ist eine stark emotionalisierte Herangehensweise an die Musik. „Manchmal muss man nur den richtigen Wiederholungspunkt für die Schleifen finden, der einem das richtige Gefühl gibt. Wenn ich das Band bewege und den Punkt finde, an dem ich es nicht ausschalten möchte, trifft es genau diesen Punkt. Es geht fast nie darum, etwas mit der Idee zu kreieren, sondern herauszufinden, wo genau die Musik mit Ihnen verbunden ist“. Ästhetik auf der Höhe der Zeit.

L’elemento della ripetizione dà adito alle critiche più feroci (e invero comprensibili) da parte di chi non ascolta musica ambient e/o minimalista: perché soffermarsi indefinitamente su un breve estratto che si ripresenta quasi o del tutto identico a se stesso per minuti, o persino ore ininterrotte? Che ne è del tempo – sia esso il nostro o inteso in senso assoluto -?
È quello che sarei tentato di chiamare il ‘principio/paradosso di Basinski’ (titolo attribuito per i meriti sul campo, non perché sia l’unico esponente della tape music): una cellula melodica individuale, di per sé prossima all’insignificanza in termini estetici ed emozionali, acquista maggior rilevanza e rivela la ricchezza delle proprie sfumature intrinseche soltanto nel processo di reiterazione, che accresce il portato di quella cellula nel moltiplicarla potenzialmente per sempre.

Will Long, alias Celer, non ha mai scisso la sua attività musicale dal viaggio e dalla sua documentazione visiva: la composizione per loop è il suo modo di stabilire un’equivalenza approssimativa tra il suono e la fotografia, nell’utopico eternamento di un istante che è passato non appena lo si è vissuto. I quattro brani/cd del box autoprodotto Future Predictions sono il monumentale complemento a Memory Repetitions (Smalltown Supersound, 2018): con queste delicate orchestrazioni, incise su nastro e soggette a minime modificazioni additive o sottrattive, Long proietta il sentimento di nostalgia nell’avvenire, medita su ciò che lo aspetta oltre e accompagna l’avanzamento con queste suite contemplative, rincuoranti nella loro essenzialità senza un preciso fine descrittivo, capaci di entrare nella vita di chiunque e lasciare una traccia di bellezza che, almeno idealmente, non sbiadisce mai. Perciò la sua durata non rappresenta un’appropriazione indebita di tempo, ma anzi un suo arricchimento per certi versi inestimabile.

So this past week I have befallen ill. I’ve got the cough, the chills, the fever – all of that fun stuff. I spent a week in bed. Well, not literally in bed – a bit in front of my computer, but mostly on the couch, watching Mubi and drifting off to Celer. As you can imagine, I’m not exactly in the mood for anything too rambunctious [there is a loud word for you!], and yet the music of Will Long is just as luxurious, exuberant, and full of the resplendent sound as my mind now desires. To be fair, it’s been so long without Danielle Baquet, that I have almost gotten used to crediting the work of Celer to Will Long alone. And yet, Continents is a remaster of the original self-released album from 2006, one of the first CDrs by then, and thus, on here, Celer is a duo. This is that early authentic sound that I fell in love with. The stretched and time-warped strings, the endlessly reverbed and delayed keys fused into sonics, unknown textures always threading into each other until they weave a quilt of warmth and space – a cradle for your mind. To appreciate the magic of Celer is to understand the sound itself and to allow it to repeat until you hear something new in resonance, in timbre, and in silence. Absorbing this euphonious medication enables me to float, rest, and heal, while all of the frequencies caress my body. Released for the first time on a CD, the album is offered with artwork featuring the photography of Danielle Baquet, packaged in a 6-panel 2xCD eco-pack. The repress includes two extra tracks not available on previous editions. While you’re there, you should also grab Celer’s Scols, which was also re-released, and just like Continents, remastered by Stephan Mathieu.

Celer is an established name in electronic ambient, and a prominent name on my sleep playlists already. This four-disc set, with one single piece on each disc, adds confidently to the repertoire without throwing in any major surprises.

The press release states that “each piece begins with all layers playing, with minimal additional long-term structural development in order to maintain a state”, and frankly it’s difficult to either argue or add to that. Each piece is rich, and quite densely layered, with calm and tuneful top ends over soporific bass hums that can wash over you with pleasure.

The warmest is first piece “Merita”, a 35-minute concentrated sonic lullaby that pulls you gently out of time. Despite its name, “No Sleep In Medan” is certainly something you can fall asleep to, but a slightly gritter low rumble and a more plaintive slow two-chord alternation do add a sense of loneliness and melancholy.

“Nothing Will Change” has a strongly Eno-like vibe to it, again rotating the chords but with a slightly more acoustic flavour and a velvety tone to it that might or might not be connected with the use of old reel-to-reel tapes for recording. Final piece “Qarauan” adds more of a gradual rise and fall to the slowly evolving melody parts, a stepping process that feels oddly inebriating after a while, playing on the most primitive of psychological effects where rising tones feel optimistic- so there’s a certain happiness to the audio drunkenness here.

If I were looking for something to criticise, I would mention one gripe which is more environmental than artistic. The average running time of these pieces is under 40 minutes and despite being a four-disc set, the music on here could easily have fit onto two discs, with room to spare. So in a physical sense, it is a touch wasteful. And if you fell asleep whilst the first track on a disc was playing, and slept through the second piece, would it really matter?

The press release also describes the concept as “a meditation on future events”, and while it’s hard to discern where the future events lie within this sound- or indeed any events at all, an implication reinforced by the track title “Nothing Will Change”- it certainly is meditative music of the highest order.

Im März erscheint bei Two Acorns ein neues Album von Will Long alias Celer. Die vier Stücke auf “Future Predictions” basieren auf Tape Loops von digitalen und akustischen Instrumenten, Field Recordings und weiteren Sounds. Jedes der instrospektiv ausgerichteten Stücke der CD korrespondiert mit Bildern und Texten, die im umfangreichen Booklet abgedruckt sind. Als Download ist das Album bereits erhältlich.

Scols is Celer’s sophomore. Originally released in 2006, and presented along with Sunlir as a limited edition 2 x CDR, Scols is a slow-burner, a forever-looping ambient/drone LP in which sustained tones drift, surge, and recede, and the music becomes soporific in its actions and swaying movements. It has aged remarkably well, and the recording has been left with its birthmarks intact, as some skips, clipping, noises, and other artefacts are preserved from the original recordings.

Continents came right after Scols. Both albums have now been remastered by Stephan Mathieu, and they shine a light on Celer’s music as it was still developing, and as a younger artist. And yet, listening back and being very much aware of his output to date, it’s clear that a special form of ambient was already blooming. Although remarkably prolific, there’s a steadying, consistent quality to Will Long’s specific blend of atmospheric, delicate ambient. Like a well-diluted drink, Celer’s music is lighter than most…thinner, one might say…which is down, in part, to his life in Japan, the Japanese lifestyle, and the nation’s specific style of ambient music, but lightness doesn’t equal a lack of depth, and his music goes deeper than most.

In 2020, Scols and Continents are still mesmeric, and they both offered more than a glimpse of what was to come. With the benefit of hindsight, and looking back on his extensive and impressive discography, it’s good to return and revisit the original foundation, to tread once again through the drones, cutting through the atmosphere, and to see the development of a young trail. Tonally, a beautiful continuity runs throughout Long’s work, a tonal tributary which has never run dry, veered off course, or outstayed its welcome. In fact, his music continues to remain fresh.

The ebb and flow of ‘Archival footage of only the lost and forgotten’ carries over to the rest of his work, and the ambient textures have something of a spectral quality, all wispy contours and transient vapours, a film noir scene from early Hollywood, but repeated over and over again as a heavy, slow-burning loop. Celer’s music is raw and young. At this stage, he was still developing his sound (when does an artist stop developing their sound? Does it ever stop?), and this, along with a stellar remastering, is what gifts the music a renewal of energy, and a fresh feel in spite of the 2006 conception.

Sometimes, it’s good to go back.

Explaining why one Celer album is significantly better than another is no simple task, as Will Long is generally an extremely consistent artist who has released a huge volume of warmly lovely, loop-based ambient drone albums.  Consequently, it is dangerously easy to take his artistry for granted, as a casual listener would not be crazy for finding a lot of Celer’s oeuvre relatively interchangeable.  From my perspective, however, Celer can be viewed as Long’s tireless and Romantic quest to conjure up fragments of melody so achingly sublime that they can be looped into infinity.  In that regard, Long has rarely come closer to realizing that dream than he does on Future Predictions.  These four lengthy compositions capture Long at the absolute peak of his powers, resulting in the rarest of achievements: a 2+ hour album that leaves me wanting more and regularly inspires me to start it all over again as soon as it ends.

One aspect of Will Long’s artistry that I have always appreciated is his ability to evoke the sense that there is a deep undercurrent of emotion, mystery, and meaning lurking within his work, which is a trick that very few other ambient artists are able to pull off.  It certainly does not hurt that Long is also a fitfully brilliant minimalist composer, but there is definitely something larger and more compelling than that happening with this project: Long has amassed a vast body of work that feels like a bittersweetly beautiful, impressionistic, and ever-expanding palace of memories.  As befits a release as ambitious as a 4-CD boxed set, Future Predictions is an especially poignant and enigmatic example of that unusually intimate and diaristic approach to art, as Long accompanies the music with a small booklet of poetic writings, travel photos, and some enticingly cryptic other images of elusive meaning (a black and white photo of a forest fire at night, a picture from an early 20th century Antarctic expedition, a grainy image of the Dead Sea).  The song titles deepen the mystery still further, as they make reference to cities in Sumatra and Lebanon.  Presumably, all have some ties to Long’s own travels and personal memories, but that is not made explicit nor should it be considered a given: Long is certainly welcome to craft any poetic fictions he wants while straining to express the ineffable.  In fact, all of the accompanying texts and image might be a fiction, as Long describes Future Predictions as “a meditation on future events” and a sort of inversion of 2018’s backwards-looking Memory Repetitions retrospective.  Still, I would be very surprised if Future Predictions was not largely inspired by real past loves and snatches of beautiful memories.  This is a Celer album after all.

Notably, there are allegedly some field recordings buried throughout the album, but they are far too well concealed to provide any further illumination (though I would be very impressed if they were field recordings from the future).  In fact, just about all of the source sounds have been blurred and processed into floating, billowing unrecognizability on Future Predictions, as Long’s layers of loops mostly resemble an orchestral recording that has been dissolved and stretched into abstraction.  For what its worth, my favorite pieces are the two bookends, though the gulf between them and the other pieces is not a large one.  Moreover, all four pieces are unified by their similar structure and tone.  Long made a conscious decision to avoid any overt “long-term structural development” within these pieces, so all of them begin and end with the same rich tapestry of collaged motifs in place.  The result of that approach is that each piece feels like a sustained dream state that lazily churns with deep drones and swooning, sensuously intertwining, soft-focus melodies.  Like a lot of Celer albums, these pieces evoke a mass of thick, slow-moving clouds broken by vibrant streaks of light, but the majestic ascending melodies of a piece like “Merita” suggest the beginnings of a brilliant sunrise as well.  In fact, only the more simmering and brooding “No Sleep in Medan” lingers in melancholy, as the remaining three pieces transcend wistful meditation to take a brighter, more hopeful tone.  In the wrong hands, such a tone would likely lead in a saccharine direction, but Long has the lightness of touch and intuitive grasp of dynamics and contrast needed to make it work.  The closing “Qaraoun” is an especially lovely example of that mastery, as its gorgeous ascending melody has a hallucinatory, shimmering texture that feels like it is echoing around a vast cathedral leaving a trail of quivering, ghostly afterimages in its wake.

The only arguable caveat with Future Predictions is that it is essentially just four elegantly crafted and layered loops allowed to unfold in floating stasis for roughly half an hour each.  That will likely drive some people mad, as there truly is no noticeable development within each piece.  I have a hard time relating to such a grievance though, as I would be just as happy if this album were just one of those four repeating motifs extended for two hours.  Long’s brilliance as a composer lies in the juxtapositions and in the details, so I see no reason for any further transformation to occur when the initial theme is already gorgeous, immersive, and hypnotically meditative.  I only find myself wishing something new would happen when I do not find the central motif fully absorbing on its own, which is why I was so fond of the prominent field recordings on Xièxie: they made good songs more rich, more textured, and more interesting.  A piece like “Qaraoun,” on the other hand, is simple, perfect, and fully realized right from the start so no further embellishment is needed or desired.  In fact, that statement applies to just about everything here.  I cannot pretend to have a comprehensive recall of Celer’s entire catalog, but I cannot think of any other albums that are this consistently strong from start to finish.  As I have said about William Basinski in the past, it might seem deceptively easy or lazy to compose a piece from just a few endlessly repeating notes, but achieving the balance of rhythm, small-scale dynamics, and shifting harmonies necessary to cast a sustained and beautiful spell requires an enormous amount of skill and patience.  As with Basinski’s best work, Future Predictions makes that process seem effortless and organic, but that is precisely because Long is a master illusionist able to produce a distillation so lovely that no traces of the intricate, meticulously shaped scaffolding remain.