Coast by Mike Majkowski

I'm in it.
The music on Coast doesn't beckon,
it purely compels you closer through sheer insistence on its existence.
insist
in sist
ins ist
i nsist
insist
'Spiral' presents full gorgeous tones, timbres and textures.
Round throbs like the lighthouse spins of light, very orbic.
orbic
orb ic
orbi c
orbic
'Later' is distilled even further. It makes you stand up,
announcing itself not with some cry or bang but with a style of momentum rarely encountered:
inviting yet insistent.
ins orb ist ic ent

- Andrew Choate

"The follow up to 2021's killer Four Pieces and is very much in the same vein. That vein lies somewhere between loscil-style dubwise soundscapes and the austere sophistication of classic Tortoise or early Oren Ambarchi, which is certainly a fine place to set up shop, but that is merely the backdrop for some truly fascinating forays into sustained, simmering tension and exquisitely slow-burning heaviness. Unsurprisingly, I am like a moth to a flame when it comes to longform smoldering minimalism and I can think of few artists who can match Majknowski's execution, as he consistently weaves magic from little more than a few moving parts and a healthy appreciation for coiled, seething intensity.

The album consists of two side-long pieces ("Spiral" and "Later") that feel like divergent variations on a similar theme. "Spiral" opens with little more than a simple bass pattern, the pulse of a lonely high hat, and semi-rhythmic washes of bleary feedback or ravaged synth. There is also something resembling a minor key vibraphone melody languorously weaving through the mix, but it feels more like impressionistic coloring rather than a focal point. Gradually, a pulsing synth motif fades in that feels out-of-sync with the rest of the rhythm, giving the piece an organically shapeshifting feel that propels it into increasingly frayed and subtly unpredictable terrain: reliable rhythms start to falter, textures become more distorted, and the relationship between the various parts is increasingly in flux. It calls to mind a spider patiently spinning an incredibly intricate web while also resembling a state of suspended animation that is increasingly gnawed by an unsettling outside darkness.

While mostly built from similar materials, "Later" takes a very different path than its predecessor, opening with an industrial "locked groove" rhythm that is coupled with an insistently looping bass pulse. Gradually, however, additional notes creep into the bass pattern to transform the rhythm into something a bit more fluid, though the mechanized foundation boldly reasserts later in the piece. If "Later" was only an experiment in subtly shifting industrial rhythms, it would still be an impressive and absorbing piece, but a sickly swooping sound joins the churning and hiss-ravaged factory floor rhythm in the final minutes to elevate the piece into something more intense and haunting. Aside from the warmth of the bass line, it almost feels like a "lost classic" industrial tape from the '80s, except that tape murk has been replaced by crystalline clarity and precision-engineered dynamics. That clarity suits Majkowski's tightly choreographed artistry beautifully, as he expertly wields space to create a vacuum in which every subtle change or manipulation is felt deeply enough to transform and shape the whole. While I admittedly have a strong predisposition towards any virtuosic instrumentalist who spends a lifetime mastering their instrument so thoroughly that they eventually come out the other side to make hyper-minimalist music (like the two- or three-note bass lines on this album, for example), Coast feels like an objectively brilliant album to me (or at least an absolute master class in the manipulation of dynamics and tension)." - Brainwashed

“With two long pieces this is durational music, twenty minutes each melding electronics and synth with double bass. The music is really quite minimal, repetitive, feeling somehow peaceful, yet still possessing a feeling of momentum perhaps due to the cadence for each piece remaining remarkably consistent. It’s music that doesn’t seem interested in development, rather it’s more about developing and holding a mood. And it’s incredibly evocative... This is a world you just want to sink into, and you never want it to change. When change does come it’s relatively subtle and it occurs without altering the tempo, like the introduction of a new sound or perhaps the altering of the pitch of an existing one. The listener exists somewhere between no longer hearing the music as they dive within themselves, and being highly attuned to even the slightest alteration… This means it’s working. When it comes to intention though it seems pretty simple. Majkowski is remarkably content to find a groove and ride it put for 20 odd minutes, layering in subtle changes but always maintaining the integrity of the groove. In this sense whilst sounding nothing like it, the intention feels entirely consistent with the intention of ambient music, using tone and atmosphere in lieu of any structural development. It also rewards both active and passive listening.” - Bob Baker Fish, Cyclic Defrost

“Music that doesn’t just ask but demands your presence, drawing you in with its gentleness and inviting insistence.” - objects & sounds

“Two long pieces of crepuscular electronics which pulse and glide minimally, building layers at a glacial pace… The result is a fascinating and beautiful work.” - Andy Hamilton, Jazz Journal

Double bassist & music-maker, Mike Majkowski, has played in groups led by Oren Ambarchi, Hailu Mergia, is a member of the trio Lotto, has collaborated with the likes of Jules Reidy & members of The Necks.
His solo music ranges from purely acoustic to electro-acoustic to electronic.
"Each of Mike Majkowski's records tends to have its own distinct sonic insignia..." - The Wire

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