Sonarpilot Releases Two New Singles/Videos

There’s something both unfocused and completely defined about the way the physical presence of music fills the air upon getting into the meat and potatoes of “Cathedral,” Sonarpilot’s fifth part in The Mirage Project, and I’m not talking about the stylization of the track’s music video alone. The music itself is impossible to really classify – I guess a label like ambient might fit, but then again, this is really too complex to fit into such a tight box. Whatever you call it, this sound will penetrate your mind and leave you feeling as connected with the universe as an astronaut recently returned from an extended mission. 

“Cathedral” does indeed invite a conceptualism that must have been something Sonarpilot picked up from his time studying under deities on some other plain of existence outside of the one you’re reading this review in, but in The Mirage Project’s sixth chapter, titled “The Last Machine,” things actually feel a bit more industrious and tethered to earthly electronic experimentation.

This is a track in which the ambient community will likely feel more than at home listening to right out of the box, but not because it lacks individuality. In some ways, “The Last Machine” is the yin to the yang of “Cathedral,” and they liberally represent who their composer is at his most vulnerable and honest. 

Sonarpilot’s music might sound like something you need a degree to really appreciate, but in all actuality it’s some of the more soul-affirming songwriting I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing in the year 2020. There’s nothing guarded about his narrative here; everything is fluid and centered on the notion of a groove more than a specific tempo or hook, and if you need something to simply recharge off of as December winds down, The Mirage Project is something you really might want to explore. 

Mindy McCall