Rafael Anton Irisarri

Slow Music

Tonight’s triple-threat ambient showcase with Irisarri, Tyler Potts, and Denshion will swap a minimal amount of patience for maximum atmospheric pleasure. Each composer utilizes piano tones and other acoustic instruments in a unique way, and while they all drift and meander, none make the misstep of flat-lining. Frequent show-goer Irisarri is on the other side of the stage tonight with a laptop, effects units, and a guitar to debut work from his Miasmah full-length, Daydreaming, before heading on tour. Daydreaming evokes the naturalist, orchestral ambience of Germany’s Marsen Jules, as well as old masters like Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie (with whom Denshion has worked). At times it feels elegantly weathered, like something nice that’s been left outside and gently battered by the elements. “If the piano sounded more defined, shiny and polished, the record would have lost its fragile, almost broken sound quality,” says Irisarri, who cites Mahler as a favorite. “I love the way he arranged a motif to repeat for several measures, only to be taken away when you were enjoying it the most. It’s like experiencing something good, love for instance, only to be separated from it—just like real life.”