Originally Posted on the ChipWIN Blog on July 16th, 2019.
Edited by Adam Seats
When a long day finally comes to an end, there are just a few things we can say are ‘universally pleasant’: taking your shoes off, laying on the bed with your face on the pillow, drinking or eating something, playing some music, or taking a shower to name a few. Thinking on those little pleasures sometimes is the reason we hold ourselves together and keep going through a hard day. This time I want to bring to you a tremendous EP that would be useful in a situation like the one I just described – I’m talking about ‘Sine Sleep Session EP’ by Saitone, released through Future Disorder.
Before we immerse ourselves into this sonic adventure, I want to point out two things. The first one is the compositional method: a Game Boy. I know this is kind of an obvious thing, but the important matter here is the sound design. I’ve listened to some people pull off some crazy sounds from a Game Boy, but this work goes in an almost completely different way. The clearness in the sound and the minimalistic usage of the waveforms make a perfect combination to highlight the intention of the whole EP. Saitone doesn’t abuse the technical resources he has on his hands, he uses them in an equilibrated way, but without setting aside the technique.
The second one is the order of the tracks. Even when you can just press play, sit back and enjoy; I’d recommend you to listen to it a few times, the first time following the recommended order and the later ones in a different order each time. Undoubtedly this will boost the experience – or you can just go straight to ‘Sine Sleep Symphony’ and listen to how the four tracks interact with each other, how it was intended.
This track is like a puff of fresh air. The way it starts is like coming out from the darkness, the cold, the bottom of the sea, the unknown; the sound starts coming from the center, going through the right and left channels and the Pulse waves approaching out of nowhere changing the direction of the track, bringing in the light and gently interacting with the vagueness. Not fighting it, but accepting it. As it evolves, this relationship grows stronger and shows us how each element is slightly modified to enrich the whole spectrum of sounds, cooperating to build a stable unit that takes the listener through some familiar places, but always keeping it interesting.
One of the most appealing aspects of this song is the drum pattern – it definitely is not conventional, but it keeps a line that is really easy to follow along and allows deep expressivity to the track.
‘Sine Sleep Session II’ is definitely a good optional starting point.
On this EP every track is connected to the subsequent one in order to match and make of it a full experience. That’s why if you don’t play them in order, sometimes, it feels like if there wasn’t a proper resolution to the tension that is built at the end of each song which is relieved at the start of the next one. And that’s exactly what makes ‘Sine Sleep Session IV’ stand out from the rest of the tracks: it accumulates a higher amount of tension at the beginning. While this could make it sound a little bit more aggressive at first, it develops in a really satisfactory way. Saitone does not just resolve the tension – he transforms it into the whole tone of the track and does this without taking an unsettling approach. It sounds more like making a discovery or going through a new route to a previously known destiny.
While there are many compositional tidbits to talk about for this track, the one I’d really like to highlight is the smart use of silences. This not only serves as a really powerful support to the general impression and structure, but it actually connects the listeners to what’s happening, catches their attention, and let them foresee the key points of the track.
‘Sine Sleep Session IV’ is a great conclusion to the EP, but, from my point of view, it is a great juncture point as well.
Writing ambient music is, probably, one of the most challenging tasks for any musician. It’s not like write BGM, or at least not the kind you just play to do something else. Leading the listeners through a journey, making them feel, drawing for them with sounds, getting them engaged with the concept, those are things not every artist can achieve but Saitone nails it just perfectly. I would add an extra attribute to the previous ones I’ve mentioned to properly talk about this EP: it is easy to listen to. It doesn’t demand much from the listener, just to pay attention. It’s a really transparent work; Saitone doesn’t keep anything for himself from start to finish.
So if you just had a rough day, please give this EP a listen, you’ll find how healing it can be if you give it a chance.
Thank you so much for reading, see you next time!
Saitone:
Saitone | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Future Disorder:
Future Disorder | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram
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