Will Samson - Songs Of Beginning And Belonging (Dauw)

Will Samson has been floating around the gentler end of the folk, chill-out and ambient worlds, often fusing all three, and is no stranger to TSMM’s blog and playlists. Songs Of Beginning And Belonging was commissioned by Belgium’s ambient HQ - Dauw Records, and is his latest foray into electroacoustic ambience. It’s also without doubt this week’s ambient winner.

The ambient universe is vast, but Samson has done an admirable job of mapping the warmer, solar blessed end of it in just six tracks. To keep him company on the journey he wisely invited Ben Cashell on Cello, Thos Mason on Violin, Lim Orion on Saxophone and Julian Sartorius to assist on abstract percussion during “Loshult”.

As you’d expect with cello and violin players onboard there are classical infusions, but they sit in that: is it/isn’t it/certainly not if you’re a purist, classical realm where the bowing melts into the drones to imbue the interstellar atmospherics with an emotive quality that only stringed instruments can provide. The waters are further muddied with the precision placement of all sorts of shimmering tones that have zero gravity siesta written all over them.

If that wasn’t enough Samson also occasionally leaves his synthesizer console, dusts off his trusty guitar and provides some melodic minimalism to bucolic, earthly effect. Having already upset the classical purists he can’t resist teasing the ambient aficionados too, dropping the gentlest of beat patterns during “For Now” on which to hang its ethereal folktronica. I’m certainly not complaining, it’s a beautifully crafted album from an ambient sage.