An affinity with the environment is at the forefront of who elijah jamal asani is as an artist. The multi-instrumentalist is based near the Columbia River, whose watershed is one of America’s largest, and its sheer vastness can be traced within his delicately-woven compositions – ones that flow endlessly. asani deftly plays with space, drifting past the listener like a river’s ceaseless flow using acoustic and ambient textures. What is illustrated is a natural landform, coexisting with coiling sound. The frisson lasts well after the runtime of his exquisite collagings.
On ',,, as long as i long to memorise your sky ,,,', asani takes us through his 60-day residency at the wondrous Grand Canyon. A monument so colossal that its eroded, hued gorges overpower the human eye – pictures do not do it justice. Yet, little immensity is recorded on this exploration. The title of this documentary partly reads as a plea to keep the memory of experiencing this awe-inspiring rock formation in the flesh, alive. The listener envisions asani walking as a comparatively minuscule being, stepping through its foresty trails and downwards, inching closer to its gargantuan depths.
The longest journal entry is the 18-minute opening goodnight in muav ♭, its prolonged length deliberately so, as it gradually takes shape like gently folded origami, calmly adorning the canyon’s intricate details. Wooden creaks and twinkly chimes flicker in view, as if asani is gathering supplies for his celestial expedition. Then, deep piano stabs awaken amid the canyon’s native wind-whispers – a third in, ethereal, honeyed tones lay at the fore, the marvel of the naturalistic, earthy mauv limestones illustrated in living sound. The softness etched upon those stones feels dynamic, a product of the river and desert floor coalescing into the perpetually twirling, towering canyon walls. In the final third, faint, faded voices emerge, disrupting the intimate immersion of one soul marvelling at this stunning beauty in solitude – the words “it looks gorgeous” can be parsed from the breathy conversation, to preserve the precious feeling of a silent trek across a dusty desert floor.
asani’s other entries are like vignettes, some repurposing fragments of the introductory mission statement to highlight different beauties on his lengthy trails. thirtyonecircles /// soft shoulder(s) confluence near second mesa flutters with the sound of an insect brushing against glass in the evening warmth, as a buoyant rhythm plays out like a heartbeat. The orange-y stones are bathed in a beautiful, twilight colour as the sun settles. The track ceases with cosmic sound collaging as the Grand Canyon welcomes a luminous stargazing night sky. An undeniable connection to the surroundings.
~~~littleriverhypothesis•• is especially serene, with the Bibio-esque guitar noodlings as consistent as the momentum of the Colorado River’s dramatic whitewater rapids. The notion of erosion from the river’s flow against the ancient rock is succinctly depicted in this three-minute passage, almost honouring the stunning canyon we see today.
The moment the journal ends, the images of the Grand Canyon remain. asani deftly preserves the wonder’s great sights to produce a contemplative document adorned in rich hues, as if the sublime ridges are within touching distance. Even if you’ve never seen the canyon in person, the next best thing is meditatively listening to his dispatch from the very heart of the landscape.
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