[review] SLEEP RESEARCH FACILITY – Deep Frieze

I always thought Sleep Research Facility was one of the coolest artist names I’ve come across. It’s right on the spot and is perfectly fitting for the type of music he creates. The music of Sleep Research Facility can be described as cold, emotionless and mechanical (in a way). It’s just there and doesn’t do much else besides just being there. And that’s just the point of it all. It’s meant for filling up the air with sound, at low volume so that it remains at the back. This sounds a bit… Cold, right? Is that all there is to Sleep Research Facility? In short; yes and no.

The guy behind Sleep Research Facility stated in an interview that he started this project purely for himself. When he came home from a long day he wanted to listen to music that had no beats and couldn’t cause any distraction at all. He couldn’t really find it in artists he was listening to so he decided to make it himself. And so Sleep Research Facility was born. His previous releases were (and still are) totally unmusical, consisting out of sounds from broken household equipment,then heavily edited and managed to create a really empty and eerie soundspace. A portrait of a seemingly endless black space.

Deep Frieze, however, is all but that. The purpose still remains the same, but what is presented here is different in many ways. The emptiness what marked the previous outputs is still there, but forged into something more earthly. Deep Frieze shows us desolate cold plains, where nothing is alive or could possibly survive. Antarctica, anyone? What caught my attention was that the album contains actual subtle melodies at some points and a clearer structure. I welcome this very much, since it offers a more interesting listening experience than Nostromo or Dead Weather Machine. Nostromo and Dead Weather Machine are two releases I put on purely for background purposes, while I can enjoy Deep Frieze as something to actively listen to as well.

Sleep Research Facility does again what he’s good at: creating empty and rarely changing soundscapes that are meant to be enjoyed as background sound on low volume. But, Deep Frieze offers more than just that. It offers an immersive experience that fans of drifting Ambient music are sure to enjoy. This album is also easier to get into than his other works, so for those just getting familiar with Sleep Research Facility, I suggest you try this one first.

Please support the artists and buy his music here:  http://coldspring.co.uk

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