[International] Jackson VanHorn Releases New EP ‘Liminal Music, Vol. 1’

26 Sep

KATIE BROWN - 26 SEPT 2023

Liminal Music, Vol. 1, released September 9th by Indianapolis singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jackson VanHorn (prev. of bands TV Ghost, Phases), is an intriguing listen from the get-go. It’s a tight, eerie collection of six electronic, synth-driven tracks, each linked but inhabiting its own sonic space and creating its own particular soundscape. The first instalment of Jackson’s new ‘Liminal Music’ series, the EP is entirely instrumental and intended for continuous play.

By nature, a liminal space is a transitional one: a space between entities, a space neither here nor there. In a sense, it’s like a journey, the boat adrift on the ocean, having left one shore in pursuit of another. Jackson captures this idea perfectly in Liminal Music, Vol. 1: the entire work feels like such a journey or voyage, but one not entirely of this world. It’s compellingly strange, complex and directional, and it embodies both the excitement and the discomfort or disorientation of transitions in the interplay between its pulsing energy and its ominous undertones and dissonant layers.

The EP opens with “Vessel”, a track communicating a sense of anticipation in its arrangement as its instrumentation builds and grows. Persistent and driving with a morse code-reminiscent beep tone throughout, it’s the journey begun; the speeding across the waters under a slate-grey sky. But what’s on top must go below, and if “Vessel” is a voyage on the surface of the ocean, then “1100”, the second track of the EP, is an otherworldly plunge downward in a submarine. It’s dizzying, entrancing and lush; it’s exploration — you’re deep down in the darkness, but far, far above there’s a faint glimmer of ghostly light.

Throughout the EP, gentle ambient soundscapes transition into gritty darkness, such as in “Lichen”, where initial soft and mesmerising synth layers, flickering like light behind closed eyelids, are cut into with metallic synth textures. Likewise, the textural “Isle”, grounded by synth pads quietly hovering around a single tone throughout, conjures flickering images of sepulchres and a swirling, yawning void of digital darkness before melting back into the anchor of a gentle, unhurried piano riff pulling the listener back to a safer place.

Other tracks are more upbeat, such as “Hemlock”, with its distorted drums and hypnotic, undulating rhythm calling to mind work by the School of Seven Bells, and the driving “Peregrine”, which could be the soundtrack to an intergalactic 80s video game. In this track, dominating drums laced together with jagged, pulsing synths create a sonic atmosphere of relentless and energetic movement — it’s the traveller hitting their stride.

Jackson’s composition throughout the EP is very cyclical, and there’s a dexterity to the arrangement and production that feels very considered. Nothing is out of place unless intentionally so — elements are added and removed to twist or redirect a track, sometimes holding to the new course, sometimes softening back to what was. This method of composition speaks to the sense of journeying and exploration throughout, reflecting the tension between either side of the liminal space: the before and the after, the origin and the destination, the old and the new.

It’s clever, it’s directional and it’s exciting, and we’re looking forward to the next instalment in the series with great anticipation.

Listen to Liminal Music, Vol. 1 via Bandcamp below, and carry on the journey into Jackson’s work by listening to 2020’s debut album After The Rehearsal along with sophomore album A Silent Understanding, released in 2021. We also highly recommend giving Jackson’s work as a duo with Heather Rose under moniker Katherine a spin - you can revisit our coverage of their outstanding EP Everyday Ennui here.

Find Jackson VanHorn on Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp