Chimet by MINING

The release date for this was originally January 2024 but thankfully it was pushed back to this week because repeat listens are always the key to unlocking the secrets of a long player, particularly a slow-burning, deep proposition like Chimet. And it feels like an appropriate time of year for an album based on weather. In this case we’re talking about storms off the south coast of England in 2017. Through a process called sonification, Craig Kirkpatrick-Whitby and PJ Davy, converted weather data from that period into music.

You’d be forgiven for expecting wild and undulating sounds reflecting the ebb-and-flow of a storm but the music is subdued, almost like the calm afterwards. On Ophelia, the seemingly random piano notes suggest something significant happened (during the storm) while the drawn-out underlying synths swell and shrink like white-noise. This near 15 minute opening statement sets the tone for the rest of the album with a natural surge emanating through the seven tracks, perfectly encapsulated in the streaming ripple of synth notes on closer Debris. Throughout, the addition of Matthew Bourne’s improvisational piano and cello embellishes the subtle electronic translations, with a scratchy rhythm emerging in the spaces between; a juxtaposition that heightens the sense of tension and the unknown. Extraordinary work.