Bounce House - ∞

As exploratory as I've been on Bandcamp in my recent days, I think it would be relatively right to search the depths of the unknown. The stars above are always shining down upon us when the sky darkens and the moon comes out to play, and there are millions of times I've looked up at the heavens in bewilderment, wondering what could be out there, and - in a sort of sci-fi trance - always thought of surfing the galaxies far past our time. It's with space ambient music that I can not only dream of attaining these goals, but also picture so many different planets and the dangers and beauties that may or may not inhabit them.

So many artists shoot to attain that goal of allowing a listener to sink into their sounds, attempting to open their minds to creative outcomes, and few can fully say they've done that. Bounce House is one of those artists that I've just discovered, and their latest creation ∞ has completely captivated me after a long day of work. And what's there to say about Bounce House? They're simple fellows not boasting too much, not too much detail revealed about them. To put it plainly, their description on Facebook reads:

"Bounce House is a sonic/musical project created by a group of friends interested in a wide variety of experimental music."

And, as simple as their description is is also their music. But, that's not to say that it isn't pulled off with grace; from the beginning track of (1), you'll understand that their candor is also their agility. With bits of static overlaying drone like textures which, again, overlay muffled samples of what sounds like fifties scientists speaking among themselves, an automatic feeling of something greater than you are lurks about you.

The song alone speaks out a story to me; from the talks of what seems like space travel, to the actual lift off into space, right into the amazing discovery of having breached the Earth's atmosphere, and entering a world that's alien to most of us all. That's what I was able to imagine when listening to this song. And, hell, it was wonderful.

Nomads beckons straight forth into another fact-finding visage; again, a simple drone takes precedent, the alluring structure behind all other sounds and noises, but completely shattering expectations. Alpha Centauri almost played out as a victory tune, being fairly uplifting in a field of darker and more forbidding sounds.

The beginning alarm like sound in M31[/250.000] was annoying at first, but as it faded and the gratifying, yet haunting, blurs of past words worn through from the mouths of the deceased uttered out, I was immediately sunk back into the track. Lastly, (∞) came bursting forth with a bit of a looping rhythm that sounded like a steam engine train rampaging forward. The cracking wind whistling by made it sound as if it were run by the damned, and eventually I found myself enjoying a fairly rhythmic noise inspired track, that was later taken over by a full wall of static. Ghosts were not hard to lure out in this one, and I found it lovely.

Again, just as time and space can teach us much and show us new horizons, I think by accidentally stumbling across the path of Bounce House I have found something more than I bargained for. These guys are experimental in as many ways as possible, and though the number of artists involved in this project is unknown, they are great at what they do.

This five track collection is available for free via Bandcamp, so give it a shot in the dark. Dec 20 2014