The mysterious Six O’Matic has been playing the Scottish great highland bagpipes for over three decades. A Misnomered Pipe’s Dream is an upcoming EP release that combines this instrument with synth, electronics, and subtle percussion to formulate slightly more than 20 minutes of bright drones and shimmering atmospherics.
While the bagpipes are multiphonic and often discordant, the overall feel of the album is ambient verging on new age in nature. Each track appears to be largely composed and consists of numerous overlapping layers. Indeed, the pipes and synth often merge to the point that they can be difficult to distinguish from one another.
While not in any particular hurry, these pieces are mostly 4-5 minutes long, making a statement and moving on. Echoing and oscillations abound with cyclic patterns of notes. As a result, there is a minimalistic character herein, yet the album does not cleanly fit into this or any other category mentioned.
A Misnomered Pipe’s Dream will be released on April 21.
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