Phantom Brickworks by Bibio
Ghosts of the past
Inspired by nature, landscape and places haunted by the faint ghosts of industry, Phantom Brickworks (LP II) is the latest work in Bibio's ongoing Ambient project, inaugurated in 2017. Exploring the human echoes still present in various locations around Britain, Bibio (real name Stephen James Wilkinson) draws attention to new these sites:
...some are intriguing, vast scars on the natural landscape, others survive only in local memories, historic clips and photographs. A few remain submerged from ordinary sights, while some exist purely as legends and stories.
Mostly improvised, the tracks are spacious and earthy, with layers of subtle noise intensifying the idea behind capturing the gauzy shades of the past. Through spectral vocals, scratchy piano loops and choice samples (like the subtle sounds of machinery underpinning BROGRAVE) parallels can be drawn with the work of Basinski and The Caretaker. It's also quite easy to get distracted listening to this album, contemplating one's own memories and ghosts of the past.