Solar Bridge

Description

Emeralds - composed of John Elliott, Steve Hauschildt, and Mark McGuire - emerged from the post-millennial, rusted drone/noise scene of the Midwest. Their prolific output was intimidating. Essential to any underground experimental event, these basement enthusiasts shape meditative, psychedelic, arpeggiated electronic music in the vein of their German krautrock ancestors Ash Ra Tempel, Klaus Schulze, and Tangerine Dream. Primarily composed of synthesizers and guitars, Emeralds' music possesses the same astral psyche with a DIY punk edge, a distant descendant of that pioneering era, and a bridge to a new place, a burned-out place. Released in 2008 on Aaron Dilloway's Hanson label (Wolf Eyes), Solar Bridge was the first album in an unmatched series of five albums before the group's dissolution in 2013. The Midwest leaves an indelible mark on Emeralds' sound; here remastered by Ghostly International, Solar Bridge vibrates characteristically as if it came from a ghost mall or another relic of the "Rust Belt." There is a power at the heart of Emeralds' sound that displays a kind of egalitarian psychedelia, a working-class krautrock, a proletariat trip. Their discography has evolved and incorporated different qualities and vocabularies, but hearing the starting point will always be a singular experience. The density, patience, and pure refinement presented on Solar Bridge clearly demonstrate how and why Emeralds became a legendary part of the contemporary electronic music canon. For fans of Tim Hecker, Yellow Swans, Oneohtrix Point Never, Tangerine Dream, Fennesz, Wolf Eyes.