Shipwreck Radio - July 18

It’s that time of year when a (no longer) young man’s thoughts turn naturally to the Sonic Structures and Enigmatic Episodes of Shipwreck Radio. Read the introduction to this series here.

JULY 18 - SHIPWRECK RADIO VOLUME TWO

The opening welcoming and chimes flow in like waves, then the track launches into a melancholic and haunting melody that sounds like ghostly voices. The undulate and shift slightly, several choruses folding in on top of each other, forming a constantly changing pattern of haunting moans. Behind the chorus float brassy samples, echoing the voices as they dance around each other. There’s a pause near the halfway point, with a few seconds of silence, before the chorus begins again, the peaks and valleys of the flowing melody growing more pronounced. While the track never grows complex, it also avoids the issue that July 13 had, of being too simplistic and expected; instead the swirling and pensive choruses of moans and brassy samples remain dynamic, never settling into a tedium.