Interstitial - Temporal Arc - review by Shimone Samuel / StaticBeats

[John Koch-Northrup]

Shimone reviewed my Temporal Arc album (released on Red Antenna in 2002) on July 30, 2002. I do have plans to re-release this on AtmoWorks, I already have Red Antenna's approval - as it's long out of print. He just archived the old StaticBeats website to Archive.org and sent me the review:

I received several promos in the mail this afternoon - one of which I am listening to at this very moment; Temporal Arc by one John Koch-Northrup aka Interstitial. By sheer coincidence, just this weekend I was checking out some Interstitial tracks from the free downloads at StaticBeats. Admittedly, I was expecting some form of techno, breaks or IDM. Surprised I was to find beatless ambient instead. With that noted, I had the notion this album might be the perfect thing to accompany me during a nice long bath... The first track of the album 'Frozen' clocks in at just over 15 minutes and is comprised of an ambient almost tribal track with the low thud of a kickdrum and slow backing of rhythmic pulsations.

The track that follows is 'Movement in Glass' which takes it down a couple notches to the more ambient while still adding just a hint of glitch. Half as long maybe and yet twice as trippy.

The third track on the album is best listened with eyes shut and head tilted back. The sounds here introduce you to a world devoid of waves and yet not lacking in ripples. Bones of the Dead is a very fitting title for the track. It isn't dark or morbid but rather serene and peaceful. Almost as if to say - it's alright, there's a better place.

Refraction is a lovely segway to what comes after - a light beat is introduced, repetitive sounds are to be heard, while a deep groove lulls you to a gentle trance. Refraction is very reminiscent of music from the early 90's Rising High era - back with releases such as Chill Out or Die. It is an exquisite example of the true definition of ambient trance.

The fifth track of the album Gnosio is in a word - drone. Pure and simple, without even the subtlest change of pace right up until the track slowly dissapates into the next.

The final and title track of the album slowly introduces a new beat. While still keeping the energy of the previous track, subtle sounds begin to be noticed while the steadily increasing footsteps of a snare weave in and out. When listening to this I'm reminded of Journeyman's 'Mama 6'. I could see this track working very nicely as a soundtrack to a movie like PI.

Temporal Arc is a release that invokes memories of several other albums I rather enjoy - albums like TUU's 'All of our Ancestors', The Third Barramundi Sampler, The Irresistable Force's 'Global Chillage' and even Joey Beltram's ambient excursion 'Aonox'. The album makes the perfect companion for any numbers of tasks - from meditating to bathing, working to being engaged in a creative process, or even just walking, sleeping, thinking, resting or deep in conversation.

Temporal Arc surprised and impresses me greatly. The atmosphere of the album is tightly woven as even the subtlest of sounds are pointedly moved from the foreground to the back, the imagined to the heard. I believe this album would be a real treat to hear composed live!

Standout tracks for me (admittedly all the ones with beats) are: Frozen, Temporal Arc and Refraction. Each one by itself is a small journey but together with the complete album are akin to evoking life, death and rebirth.

The emotion is best described on the Interstitial website: "Between art and technology, ambient and pulse, atmospheric and glitch, piano and noise, jazz and detroit".