Under normal circumstances, any musical artist who forms a band title by putting the word "Experience" after his or her own full name should be slapped with a pretentious stick. However, when the name happens to belong to an obscure 18th century type designer, and the "experience" in question is a meditative journey through strangely devised symphonic landscapes, the label is quite appropriate.
"The William Caslon Experience," the new self-titled album by musical duo Nate Butler and Mart Schaefer was released on Wednesday. The album is a compilation of select works from the group's previous four releases on P22 Records, which is incidentally the same label that distributes Buffalo's own kilted rock group Jackdaw.
The result of the compilation is an incredible collection of sound that immediately draws the listener in and suspends them in a musical reverie of ambient lounge. Watered-down strings and brass accompanied with down-tempo electronic beats paint a landscape of roving sounds that are too liquid to consciously follow but too luxurious and inviting to block out.
Songs are given titles like "Fooking Brilliant" and "Favorite Lunch Spots No. 22," excellent choices considering that the pieces have no words and therefore could be named virtually anything. So why not be absurd? The duo's success in creating such a chill masterpiece certainly gives them artistic license to reminisce over instances like "The Night I Touched Yr Mama."
Tracks like the fabulously titled "The Birthplace of Massive Stars" could indeed be the musical score to the expansion of the universe. There is even a remix of Eric Satie's classical song "Gymnopedie No. 1" that is rendered through a wavering theremin and a loop of chirping birds.
Unlike most of the mediocre music put out by independent artists this year, "The William Caslon Experience" is fully matured and very confident in the direction it takes. This is truly the ultimate chill-out album, excellent for getting completely lost in thought and putting life in perspective.
Perhaps it's also the sign of a good album when the packaging itself is interesting. The disc is nestled in a cardboard foldout case, the cover emblazoned in silver with an old portrait of William Caslon and the ornate colonial font that he created. There is even a foldout poster of the Caslon font that can be scanned and used on the computer.
Strange, but certainly original.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
