Sunday Morning Medicine: Jesse Woolston bathes breathtaking ambient in otherworldly visuals
The electronic music world is constantly evolving. With new technology making its creation more accessible than ever, the question of what pushes it forward becomes more prominent. Live elements and sets are currently in vogue, with artists exploring the cutting edge with diverse instrumentation, complex rigs, and bands.
But what goes beyond that? Jesse Woolston’s vision might be the answer. He’s dipped his toes into multiple mediums, and is now merging them into one. As a base, the New Zealand-born producer’s brand of electronica is cinematic, and layered with precision. Though his roots are in the drums, he has a keen ear for melody, creatively stitching together piano chords, cello, synth, and samples into ethereal soundscapes that hit the mind at profound angles.
µstructure brings together is unique musical talents and his knack for visual design, telling a sensory story that creates a new reality while jump-starting a meditative state. Its release came alongside giant installations that were stationed around the globe.
“When it comes to the process behind my writing, I often lean on two contrasting inspirations. The former being technology and the intricacy and precision of programming while the latter being nature, environments, and unrestricted emotion,” he explained on his Facebook. He accomplishes this well in µstructure. Its opener, for example, opens with an eerie piano that bares a resemblance to Max Richter’s “Organum;” albeit, more intricate despite its lighter weight.
Much of the EP is formless, yet at the same time, catches and maintains attention through its duration. Ironically, µstructure’s title track is lacking in definition, yet it’s haunting, drawn-out notes and innovative sound design make it brilliant nonetheless. Sonic waves crescendo and decrescendo strategically in “Movement” and “Design In Motion,” whilst “Lambent 01” creates intrigue in its minimalism.
Mellow and entrancing, µstructure makes an outstanding standalone candidate for this week’s Sunday Morning Medicine.
