omni - secretflowers (Review)

 What are we  t a l k i n g  a b o u t ?

omni by secretflowers is an explorative, atmospheric piece of ambient vapor recently released on cassette by the prolific and elusive label, Global Pattern.

Created from tape loops and samples along with processed guitar and keyboard layers all on a Tascam 4-track, secretflowers has designed a work of imaginative audio escapism. 

After speaking with secretflowers more in depth, they explained to me that escape was in fact the driving force behind the project. What was originally an escape mechanism for personal use quickly blossomed into a fully formed musical passion project. 

omni was recorded as part of a livestream with Prekursor and was looped and improvised in real-time. The versions that became the final album were slightly embellished edits based on the live mix.

The original live stream: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp4hoH-3gwY&t=2815s

Passion for the concept of sound manipulation (specifically the degradation of imperfect, dying technology) is another driving force behind secretflowers’ latest album. As I attempted to transcribe some chord changes within songs, I noticed some songs were between keys. 

A good example is in the song These Things Happen. At the beginning, we are covered by an ethereal blanket of major seventh chords, seemingly between the key of A and Bb major. It seems the degradation of loops has brought us to a key that is warped a quarter tone between the keys, creating a vamp of A(.5)major7 to C(.5)major7!

So many beautiful and unusual artifacts are created from this use of “dying technology” used in present day. That is the charm and allure of the album.

(((p l a y  BY  p l a y)))

We enter a large lecture hall, dusty desks, creaky chairs, scratched-up blackboard. We turn on an old, busted up radio and are gradually welcomed by crescendos of angelic, flapping pads, breathing and pulsing from ear to ear. 

Eventually, the warm harmonic environment expands into something much larger than life. The song, “System Analysis” comes to a close.

Next up is, “Nebulous.” I have one word to describe this track: meditative. This song is decorated with beautiful, celestial pads that illuminate the sonic space in a near-godly way. 

As the pads fade to nothingness, some radio transmission obscures the previously established meditative state and brings us into our first melancholic soundscape, my favorite track on the album, “These Things Happen.” 

A sublime layer of processed guitars and keys wash over the listener like a warm bath. There are a few tracks on the LP that have a sense of “danger" (this being one of them). This track’s use of borrowed chords definitely helps to illustrate that sense of abandonment and wickedness that occasionally pervades over the purity that fills the track to the brim. It also unknowingly gives the listener a non-Westernized harmonic source (being in between keys and all), so even if you're not realizing it, these tones are all brand new to you. 

This hybrid mix of emotions persists throughout the album.

We are then transported to, “Crystal Beach.” It feels like it may be a tad too cold to go swimming. We close our eyes, sit down on the sand and listen for that distant ebb and flow of the waves as they crash on the shore. 

After a quick trip to the beach, we enter the ritualistic world of the track, “Cleansing.” This track also brings about a sense of trouble. Strangely enough though, it also evokes feelings of warmth, romance and mystery. The strands of harmony unravel and we are met with raw musical emotion. This track really sent me somewhere special. 

“In Time” brings us back to those decorative electric keys from track 3. As birds create a migratory V formation in the sky, we walk down a foggy boardwalk on a chilly afternoon. Birds bicker as they attempt to keep the V intact. 

For any 90s kids, this song is incredibly reminiscent of a song from Super Mario 64’s underwater level titled, “Dire Dire Docks,” (a prominent OCRemix cover song). As we hear kids skipping rocks, we are brought back to a place of nostalgia, a place of peace.

Next up is, “Soul Transcends.” We begin with a gentle pan back and forth as we enter a massive amphitheater to listen to a serene anthem of yesterdays and tomorrows. 

The tail end of the album is incredibly emotional. In fact, I closed out my second listen-through with a box of tissues. 

The next track is titled, “Blind,” and it turns off the lights.  Completely. The ornamented afternoon sky goes dark, and something is not right once again. 

A faint flicker of light appears in the distance and friendly apparitions hover around the room as we listen to, “Just a Ride.”

The sun rises as, “Hope This Lasts” begins. As this track starts, we witness a huge blast of light as the sky turns bright pink and we are finally propelled into the final track, “Complete Restore,” a marvelous, pulsing depiction of a warm Spring morning. As the sound fades away, we are left with a sense of calmness, completeness and finality. 

B O T T O M  L I N E . E X E

omni by secretflowers is a sincere and bountiful ode to all those who stacked the musical blocks in a more obscure fashion in the past. It is most definitely worth a listen and purchase!

C:\Where?

The LP was released by Global Pattern virtually as well as on cassette. You can purchase the album at (https://globalpattern.bandcamp.com/album/omni).