Monogoto: Partial Deletion of Everything, Vol. 3
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Add up the recordings with which Ian Hawgood, Porya Hatami, and David Newman have been involved as solo artists and collaborators and the number would no doubt stagger. The three channel their many years as ambient producers into the joint project Monogoto and their third chapter in the Partial Deletion of Everything series after earlier volumes appeared on 12k and Polar Seas Recordings in 2020 and 2022. The concept driving the series has to do with creation, change, and loss, and specifically on impermanence and the way even the most enduring phenomena changes across time. Consistent with the theme, the two tracks on volume three are long-form, the first weighing in at twenty-eight minutes and the second thirteen; such temporal expense affords ample space for the music to evolve and mutate, the project concept again referenced and reinforced.

Entering slowly and methodically, “Marine Snow (deletion 23)” settles quickly into a softly swirling dronescape, its rise and fall akin to an organism's breathing. Percussive flourishes sweep across the gently glowing base as the thrumming mass pulls the listener in. As the material patiently unfurls and its elements transform, the three opt for a peaceful presentation as opposed to one designed to fray nerves. Occasionally an identifiable sound surfaces within the dense stream, something like the strum of an electric guitar or the resonant plunk of a Tibetan singing bowl. Nature sounds fold their way into the overall fabric too, such that hints of wind rustle and water flow emerge as part of the sound mass. Halfway through, a noticeable transformation occurs when flickering percussive accents and micro-electronic effects flood the aural space and nudge the work in a different direction. The music builds again, with this time bird calls adding an evocative association to bolster the music's transporting effect and acoustic guitar shadings introducing a pastoral-folk dimension. Half the length of “Marine Snow (deletion 23),” “Virga (deletion 84)” emerges in a cloud of electronic haze and static from which celestial tones and washes radiate. Gradually piano notes appear to illuminate the crackling foundation, with swooping wails and bird chirps following fast behind. The piece resolves prettily when the piano component advances to the forefront to ease the material out on an uplifting wave.

June 2025