Saapato

Saapato’s latest is a study in decomposition. The NY ambient artist has often interwoven pieces with verdant atmospheres, so an album based around nature’s trend towards the husking of life feels like a slow step outside of his comfort zone. Inspired by an experience watching a fox decompose over the tenure of a commute, Brendan Principato sought to replicate the process musically. Taking into account that outside factors largely play into the decomposition process, the album evolved into a large-scale collaboration with several musical peers and heroes. Mirroring the influence of animals, bacteria, fungi, temperature, moisture, and time, Principato has invited Laraaji, Shuta Yasukochi,, Diatom Deli, Haruhisa Tanaka, Ki Oni, Green- House, Golden Brown, Gregg Kowalski, Ben Seretan, Patricia Wolf, and more to decay his original tracks, adding their influence into the way the album evolved.

A meditative study, the album ponders the connective tissue of life; the erosion that every interaction has on us in life and, so it would seem, even in death. While the tracks don’t ever truly dry up, contrary to the carcass that inspired it, there’s a trend towards sparseness as the album wears on. The latter tracks achieve a bucolic acceptance, a flow towards the whims of the universe. The album starts and ends with tracks called “Worms In” and “Worms Out,” both featuring ambient luminary Laraaji. The tracks bookend the album, with the first tiptoeing into view on dampness, mirroring the first moments of breakdown, and the last an airy sigh that sends the listener away with some sense of peace. The ambitious record succeeds in feeling transformational. Some moments blend into the ether, as not all days in the death cycle can be completely transformative, but quite a few others alter the temperament of the listener. The arc rises and sets on the speakers, pulling environments and emotions out of the listener with subtle prods.

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