Die Wilde Jagd

★★★ Atem BUREAU B. LP

Berlin-based sound artist’s pulsing one-track exploration of life’s elixir.

Sebastian Lee Philipp reveals himself as a master of ambient suspense on his fourth LP. Commissioned for Tilburg’s 2021 Roadburn Festival, the composer/ producer developed this liverecorded, unbroken 45-minute piece examining the everpertinent “science of breathing”. In contrast to the modern psych stylings and Krautrock rhythms of 2020’s Haut, the drone-centred Atem finds its continuous low hum slyly intersected with techno, naturalist touches – rushing waves, distant ships’ sirens, the hisses and hums of whispering jungles – summoned from synths, and wooden organ pipes controlled via air compressors. Bisected by the skittering abstractions of cellist Lih Qun Wong and the perceptive grooves of percussionist Ran Levari, it builds and builds before taking an unexpected turn at the death. A transportive, celebratory emission, Atem taps into the heart of existence.