Non-Functional Harmony – Queen City Sounds and Art

Non-Functional Harmony’s Ambient Modern Classical Piece “Days” is a Sustained Expression of Melancholic Emotional Solidarity

An unsettled, melancholic, almost resigned mood courses through Non-Functional Harmony “Days.” It’s nearly abstract, processed piano chords stream into the horizon and a simple string line like a pall over a desolate space drifts in and through the soundscape in seeming mournful resonance about uncertain and perilous times. There is a palpable sense of loss in the track that looms even more when the vocal sounds bloom in cold sonic colors, slowly expanding arcs of tone like penitents seeking mercy from a seemingly hopeless situation for which they don’t know the reason for their suffering. It’s a moving song and while it doesn’t offer false hope or faint fires of resistance it expresses a feeling like one will have to gird oneself against a wave of darkness in the world for awhile even after what feels like years of struggle and sustained perseverance. And yet there is a comfort in its sounds through a spirit of emotional solidarity. Listen to “Days” on Spotify and follow Non-Functional Harmony at the links below.

nonfunctionalharmony.com

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The Non-Functional Saints Take Us on a Journey From Spiritual Unrest to a Place of Deep Tranquility on the Title Track of Its New EP 2

TheNonFunctionalSaints1_crop — The Non-Functional Saints 2 cover (cropped)

This second EP from The Non-Functional Saints (Phil Minns of Non-Functional Harmony and Nick Lewis of Nicolas and the Saints) and its title track, the sprawling, evolving “2,” is a composition in five parts. But all are unified by a pacing that seems consistent but never seems stuck. The song opens with hazy drones imbued with a hint of urgency and spiritual unrest as though a journey has been undertaken after long preparation. But that energy gives way to a more contemplative tenor with electromechanical sounds like a great engine pumping along. One imagines the voyage of a vehicle like the trains in Snowpiercer if they existed in a world that wasn’t built on a techno-authoritarian, post-civilizational model. When the high-pitched flaring sounds come in over the constant pulse it’s as though some kind of process has been initiated to slow the vehicle down. Then, on a dime, the track transitions to more expansive, spaciously melodic territory akin to having arrived at one’s destination and walking about in a large metropolis constructed from metal and crystal and on into a darkened plain lit intermittently by bioluminescent trees, the moon above hidden by low lying clouds. The effect of this hazy abstract drone thrumming with low end puts you in a reflective mood. Over the horizon is the flickering of light from nearby buildings, the flash of transportation streaming by in the near distance as well as expressed with splashes of bright, shimmering tones. The ambient drone subtle turns to a revolving set of tones as the journey is drawing to an end and the climax part of the piece approaches like a meeting with some kind of destiny. The ambient haze clears but the low end presence and revolving tones guide your mind to a place of deep rest after a traveling away from the distractions of the world to a place where your mind can free itself from the inessential before going back to normal life again. Fans of Robert Rich, Numina, Tim Hecker and Phaedra-period Tangerine Dream will likely appreciate this entrancing sonic journey. Listen to “2” on Spotify and follow The Non-Functional Saints on Soundcloud.

soundcloud.com/thenonfunctionalsaints

Non-Functional Harmony’s “—b— (the Torri in Sabina Ambient Remix)” is a Guided Meditation Through Layers of Textural and Tonal Flow

Non-FunctionalHarmony_cover — Non-Functional Harmony, “—b—” cover (cropped)

“—b— “ (the Torri in Sabina Ambient Remix) finds Non-Functional Harmony in a mode of abstraction like the charting of undercurrents in what seems to be a still body of water. Its flows of drone layers and textures are subtle as though you’re contemplating vectors of nearby breezes while meditating on the minutiae of the natural world around you to get you out of your usually conscious perspective. Tones ring out like rivulets on the desert post spring drizzle and others hover like the Aurora Borealis or clouds moving rapidly in the sky against the sun from fast moving wind that isn’t touching the ground. As your mind takes in these stimuli and your imagination and consciousness drift into an altered state the gentle winds and streams of the song’s leaves you in a zone of tranquility with the worries of everyday life dissolved by erosion in miniature. Listen to “—b—” on Soundcloud and follow Non-Functional Harmony at the links below.