K. Leimer, "Corrosive Ardor" (First Terrace)
In the late '70s and '80s, K. Leimer was a catalyst in Seattle's vital underground electronic-music scene, forging tracks that blended ambient, kosmische Clusterwerks, and loner songcraft into distinctive compositions. Along with the work of Marc Barreca, Savant, Young Scientist, and John Foster, Leimer's early recordings have been receiving much-deserved reissues and critical praise this decade, nearly four decades after the fact. This resurgence of interest in Leimer's output has been accompanied by a burst of new releases that show no decline in the synth composer's creativity. If you're curious about where to start exploring, check out A Period of Review (Original Recordings: 1975-1983), for which I wrote the liner notes.
His newest full-length, Irrational Overcast, boasts seven ambient pieces that balance quietude with the faintest hints of unease. The cover photo of a misty, gray forest marsh intersected by a fence perfectly captures the mood. With his usual eloquence, Leimer explains the intent behind Irrational Overcast:
Irrational Overcast is preoccupied with the perpetual failings of human tribalization, of assuming dominance over nature, of choosing belief and ideology over objective reality. The impetus was brought into immediate focus by the destructive impulses and actions of such excrescences as the Trump Administration and his republicans, as well as the blatant dishonesty and bigotry of thousands more retrograde, ill-informed nihilists operating in and outside the pubic sphere.
I do not profess that music — especially an experimental, lyric-free music — can change or influence such circumstances. But this is the context in which we now live, and this has shaped the music of Irrational Overcast — a coping mechanism for living under clouds of baseless beliefs and simplistic ideologies that disfigure and stifle what is an admittedly difficult though really quite lovely world.
The title "Corrosive Ardor" may trigger thoughts of Brian Eno's "Brutal Ardour" off his Discreet Music LP. Leimer has admitted to being influenced by the British ambient-music pioneer, but "Corrosive Ardor" actually murmurs closer in tone to Eno's On Land. There is a creeping sense of disequilibrium encroaching upon Leimer's prevalent becalming instincts—ominous ripples on the surface of a formerly tranquil pond. Gradually, the tension gives way to an utterly beautiful piano motif reminiscent of Eno collaborator Harold Budd, rekindling a sense of hope.
Most artists fade precipitously 40 years into their career, but Leimer's still operating at a lofty level of inspiration. Respect is (over)due.
