Eremitism By Dreamscapist

 

Eremitism

By

Dreamscapist

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

There are some subjects that are simply perfect for the realm of ambient music and Eremitism is most certainly one of them. Eremitism is the practice or condition of living in total or partial seclusion as a hermit, usually for religious or spiritual reflection, but also for deep personal reflection, however I would argue and postulate that literally anyone can do this, and further reference the fact that many of us also do this sometimes whilst in a relationship, especially if that relationship is so void of feeling and emotion that one can literally feel the loneliness of a hermit like existence, and that life style can then be extremely attractive to be a part of.

Here Dreamscapist provides us with an entire album based on the subject matter, and in my view encapsulates the very feelings of the aforementioned subject in a stunningly graphic and deeply moving way. The release is just 6 tracks in duration, but all are delicious long form opuses, and each one has the ability to be the watcher, the sentinel of observance, as each offering dissolves into the ebb and flow of life and washes over the senses like a calming early morning misty ocean tide.

The opening creation is a delicious meandering stream of keyboard tonal structures that floats akin to an errant cloud across the sky on an August afternoon in late summer. The Choice Now Chosen is our reference point, our beginning, that wonderful moment when one decides that this is the life style that the mind craves for, silence and simple observation. The calmness of the synths and keyboards, and moreover the consistency of the artists performance here is timeless and deeply cathartic, and something I can truly relate to.

And Now It All Begins is our first step on the road of our journey of Eremitism; this has an even more tender and careful tone to its construct, one can feel the first few moments of a day beginning in the world of the Hermit. Musically and in the context of the arrangement, this is where the erratic, shifting synth layers typically smooth out into the vast, sweeping, cinematic drones that define the heart of the album, The "reluctance" of the mind drops away, and the actual journey into deep isolation and spiritual reflection takes over. The performance here is suspenseful; we’re not taking of a total void of oration and sound, but a stillness of mental perambulations.

However this next piece is the most important off the release, it’s that point when the mind kicks in and begins to question. As humans we are naturally social animals and on The Reluctant Mind we see the first elements of doubt and hesitation begin to manifest. It acts as the thematic turning point of the album, utilizing shifting synth pads to depict the internal friction, hesitation, and mental doubt of entering total isolation.

A Glimmer Of Hope is our next step forward, there is a more meditative energy about this next piece, and garners a similar energy when one has started to get used to a certain change in their lives. The keyboard structures are light and airy and contain slithers of tender hope. The overall narrative for me would be one of a delicate calm settling in and an awareness of an inner peace gently growing. This piece perhaps represents the spiritual breakthrough. It captures the sense of finding peace, light, and clarity within isolation, where one could possibly say we have found comfort in our own circumstance, and found that most hallowed and cherished mythical land of balance and harmony.

There is a point when one feels that sense of comfort, the solitude of the moment can be a great healing journey to discover, this has happened several times to me in my life, once in England when I sat on the side of a hill on the Isle of Wight for many hours, lost in my own thoughts, but feeling the comfort of solitude and oneness, my only regret was that I had to leave and return to an unhappy life. I write this because this piece from Dreamscapist illustrates that mood perfectly; I believe that at that time I was Closer To The Self than I had ever been. This moving creation is an almost dreamlike narrative that allows the world to spin around us without hindrance; we have at last become the observer and that feeling, however fleeting, is one of the most wonderful halcyon moments we might ever touch, indeed perhaps even liberation from suffering. Closer To The Self functions as the actual destination of the journey. It explores the psychological reward of eremitism: strips away external noise to arrive at unfiltered self-awareness and inner peace.

The concluding narrative is called Hope Rests Here; one can feel a sense of freedom float within the tonal delights of this track. There is a hovering intensity that is charming and illuminating and cathartic. This is the final moment of letting go of the self and becoming part of the cosmos, when separation from a peaceful existence is simply no longer a reality. The tempo and melodic movements slow down to near-immobility, creating an anchor of peace. It gives the listener room to breathe and completely decompress. The skillset of Dreamscapist to manifest such a soothing final manifestation to literally celebrate one of the most ambient albums I have heard since Eno’s Neroli (Thinking Music Part IV) is a remarkable achievement.

Eremitism by Dreamscapist is worth taking a deep dive into, it is an album one can put on repeat and just be with for hours and hours and still enjoy every single nuance of brilliance. In my view one of the seminal and inspiring works of ambient music this century, I rate it that highly, surely if there is any justice in the world, awards and a very high chart placement will surely follow for Eremitism by Dreamscapist.