Horchata - Isolated House Album

Horchata, the alter ego of American scientist Michael Palace, has publised an album before on the net label Dark Winter. "Isolated House" is his second album here then. But upon having a closer look it turns out Horchata has been making music for the last ten years already. As the title suggests, this album focuses on Horchata's fascination of old, derelict buildings. Inspired by many a visit to such abandoned structures over the years, "Isolated House" is the accompanying soundtrack, with each track named after a room.

For those who expect an album full of field recordings, no. Apart from some doors being unlocked in track 3, "Kitchen", this album heads straight into drone / soundscape territory. It all starts relatively lightly with "Yard", a track that I like very much, especially since it evokes Jean Michel Jarre's soundscape-opus "Waiting For Cousteau" from the album with that name. After this the album dives headlong into the dark with layered soundscapes and drones. If you really take the time and sit down for this album, preferably in a quiet environment, it is easy to imagine oneself sitting in one of the mentioned rooms or lying stretched out on the bare floor, while listening to the breath of the lonely building around you and fascinatedly staring at a cockroach, as it looks back at you, motionless but equally fascinated. The real power of this album however are all the sounds that have delicately been woven into it, usually on, or just beyond the edge of your perception; birds, the sound of children outdoors, the static humming or ticking of a machine that somebody forgot to turn off or a ghostly plucking of piano strings. If only to remind you that we are dealing here not with a barren concrete ruin that has been open to the elements for decades, but a boarded up building that housed people not so long ago, and now is haunted by just their memories and impressions.

With over an hour of music this is, as mentioned above, an album that requires you to sit down for it. But then it is very much worth it. Well-suited for late night listening sessions or, and I'm tempted to just give this a try sometime soon, to take it along on your MP3 player to that nearby boarded up building that has been decaying for the last two years. In that respect Horchata has certainly managed to make a very thematic soundtrack.

- Originally written in Dutch for the IkEcht weblog, English translation by the author.