Visible Cloaks – Lex

Visible Cloaks' new mini album Lex continues the work begun at the beginning of the year by Reassemblage. The six tracks, composed by software rooted in randomisation and MIDI-translation, provide a glimpse into the 'fourth world', a conceptual musical plane that transcends borders and traditional methods of perceiving sound.

The first five tracks are short snippets, all but Wheel are under three minutes, that hint at a global musical language. They correspond to Permutate Lex, a companion film that attempts to visualise these ideas. Wheel and Transient begin with chaotic noise, punctuated by dissonant voices (created by “feeding a chain of multiple dialects and accents through language translation software”). From the cacophony comes smooth, peaceful ambience, with natural sounds (breathing, humming) combining with manipulated electronic ones making for a digitally serene atmosphere.

Final track World is longer than the rest of the record combined and, although it was created in a separate space to the other tracks, it's where the ideas explored come together most successfully. The sounds of running water mix with the rippling effects of Dan Deacon-inspired notes as vaporwave whooshes breeze past (à la James Ferraro). The patient spaciousness of the track allows for reflection and it's what really makes it work. 

Lex is inspired by lofty philosophical goals, on attempts to 'communicate a world distant enough that it can't be captured or comprehended in the present.' On this front Lex is undoubtedly successful, sounding consistently otherworldly, but still retaining enough humanity to make it effective.

Listen to: World, Keys