J.M. Da Silva, or Luciernaga, trades on a murky brand of ambient drone that squeezes spiritual elements out of the art form. I didn’t even realize that was possible until several years back, when that Riceboy Sleeps 2XLP woke me up to the possibilities. Thing is though, I’ve heard a select few manage the same feat and, what’s worse for my particular situation, I can’t rightly describe what renders one amb-dro a religious experience and another an average tape-pile piece of fodder. The conclusion I’ve come to is that the tape-flippers who are tugging my soul’s strings like that are simply working harder than the rest to bring their vision to fruition. Luciernaga makes it look easy, but he’s pulling levers and sprinkling sugars you almost certainly aren’t aware of, the relatively thin production of To the Centre Of the City In the Night belying its dense, multi-layered nature. You witness an imaginary city coming to life, care of a simple brew of synth, guitar, and voice, and as the compositions slowly take shape the mind can only latch onto small details (the fade-out of an element you didn’t know existed, the high-pitched synth emanations that stand out in the mix, the whirls of sunshine crowding “Sleeping Green-Eyed Girl”). And that’s easily enough to become absorbed in the mainframe of To the Centre Of the City In the Night, circular enough to fool you into listening through two or three times but memorable enough to remain saved in your mental data banks for life. Sold out from the source, and at only 50 copies, why’d it take so long? (Speaking of which, this review is long overdue and actually began life as a column entry for another site, only now finding new life as a Cerberus post; thanks for the patience, Mr. Luciernaga!)
More about: Luciernaga
