Format: LP
Label: Field Records
Catalog: Field 32 D
Release date: 5/24/24
Track list:
1 Slightly Apart, Almost Touching
2 Distressing Sensations
3 Ultra-terrestrial Yearning
4 Absolute Receptivity Of the Senses
Release description:
Field Records takes a look into the vast catalogue of Celer, the prolific ambient project from Tokyo-based American artist Will Long. Perfectly Beneath Us was originally released in 2012 as a CD-R on Still*Sleep, and now it’s being presented as a vinyl release, remastered by Stephan Mathieu.
Celer began in California in 2005 as a collaborative project between Will Long and Danielle Baquet, resulting in reams of self-released work up until Baquet passed away in 2009. Long opted to keep their project going, and Celer has continued to grow as an expansive exploration of purest ambient. With such a sizeable library of sounds to explore, the reissue of Perfectly Beneath Us serves as an ideal entry point into the middle period of Celer’s catalogue, presenting four pieces of sustaining, lethargic movements, wreaked in profound subtlety.
This captivating piece of work rewards the attentive listener as much as it soothes the casual drifter. Now beautifully framed on a carefully considered reissue, this record fits neatly with the label’s own repertoire of evocative, subliminal electronics.
Remastered by Stephan Mathieu at Schwebung.
Press reviews:
Aural Aggravation
It’s funny to reflect on how things evolve, and how one evolves as an individual. Ten years ago, I was pretty underwhelmed on my first encounter with Celer, commenting on Zigzag that ‘aside from the occasional ripple and swell, there are no overt peaks or troughs, there is no drama. In fact, very little happens.’
Over time – a lot of time, in truth – I’ve come to appreciate that things happening aren’t always the maker of a quality album. And when it comes to more ambiently-inclined works, there’s not a lot that’s supposed to happen.
Released on 24th May, like every other album this year, Perfectly Beneath Us was originally released way back on CD in 2012, and now, 12 years on, it’s getting a well-deserved vinyl release, with four tracks spanning roughly thirty-four minutes occupying an album.
Each side contains a longform sonic expanse and a shorter piece, approximately three minutes in duration, and everything is segued to bring a connected flow the work. I’m not going to debate the pros and cons of the formats or how nigglesome some may be. If you buy the vinyl, you’ll need to turn it over after about a quarter of an hour. It’s exercise at least, and that’s a positive as this certainly isn’t ruining music.
Just as I complained that nothing much happens on Zigzag, nothing much happens on Perfectly Beneath Us, either, only now I’m not complaining.
Since the inception of Celer In 2005, initially as a collaborative project2005 between Will Long and Danielle Baquet, until the passing of Baquet in 2009, since when, as the Celer bio outlines, ‘Long opted to keep their project going, and Celer has continued to grow as an expansive exploration of purest ambient.’ Purest ambient is indeed a fair description of Perfectly Beneath Us, and to report that I found myself nodding off at my keyboard on more than one occasion while trying to pen my critique of the album is proof positive of a mission accomplished. It isn’t that Perfectly Beneath Us is dull, or boring – as I may have surmised many years ago – it’s just the very essence of ambience. It’s mellow, it’s background, it’s soporific, and it’s supposed to be.
Musique Machine
Originally released on CD-R in 2012, Celer’s Perfectly Beneath Us gets a well-deserved vinyl release and remaster courtesy of Field Records. This four-part ambient work revels in the soft, shimmering atmosphere of highly distilled drones and oscillations. Like an audio recording of the moving sky around us, Perfectly Beneath Us is enigmatic and beautiful, all while remaining fairly simple and classic. The original was limited to 100 copies, so thanks to Field Records, Celer’s gem will be exposed to a bigger and wider audience.