B-Side Guys

In a Prague apartment filled with weathered tape machines and custom-built reverb systems, Vojtech Vesely spent three years perfecting what might be ambient music’s most significant technical innovation since William Basinski’s “Disintegration Loops.” The result is “Drifting Intervals,” a stunning 35-minute album that introduces both a new compositional method and an expanded vocabulary for ambient expression.

The Czech artist, recording as De Moi, has developed a technique that transforms musical intervals through an elaborate system of decaying tape loops and what he calls “kilometer-wide reverberations.” This approach creates a constantly evolving harmonic texture that transcends static drone composition, inviting listeners into an environment where individual notes gradually dissolve into unified resonance while maintaining perpetual motion.

Opening piece “Drifting Intervals I” demonstrates the core concepts immediately. Beginning with a simple perfect fifth interval, Vesely introduces additional notes that initially create distinct harmonies before the tape degradation process begins merging them. By the three-minute mark, what began as recognizable pitches has transformed into a shimmering harmonic cloud that feels simultaneously stable and in constant flux. This paradoxical quality—stasis in motion—defines the album’s particular magic.

“Drifting Intervals III” takes a more aggressive approach, beginning with dissonant intervals that create tension before the merging process transforms harshness into unexpected beauty. The technical achievement here is remarkable—Vesely has discovered how dissonance, when subjected to his tape manipulation techniques, evolves into complex harmonic structures impossible to achieve through conventional composition.

The album’s emotional center arrives with “Drifting Intervals V,” where Vesely introduces pitched percussion elements that interact with sustained tones. As these distinct sounds drift toward each other through the decay process, they create rhythmic suggestions that hover at the edge of perception. This ghost-rhythm effect produces a strange temporality where listeners may perceive patterns that exist only in the interaction between sound and consciousness.

What separates Vesely’s work from his influences—Basinski, Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros—is his precise control over an inherently unpredictable process. While embracing the organic evolution of degrading magnetic tape, he demonstrates remarkable compositional discipline, introducing new elements at exactly the right moments to guide the development without imposing rigid structure. “Drifting Intervals VIII” offers the clearest example, as melodic fragments enter the sonic field, partially dissolve, then unexpectedly resurface in altered form minutes later.

The recording approach itself represents a technical breakthrough. Vesely developed a custom system that creates what he describes as “simulated reverberation in impossibly vast spaces,” allowing sounds to decay for extraordinary lengths while maintaining clarity. This technique builds on Oliveros’ deep listening explorations but extends them beyond what’s physically possible in real acoustic environments. The result is ambient music that feels both intimate and cosmic in scale.

By “Drifting Intervals X,” the cumulative effect becomes transformative. Vesely has essentially created a musical quantum state where sounds exist simultaneously as discrete entities and as components of a unified whole. This philosophical dimension elevates the album beyond mere technical experiment into profound artistic statement about perception and integration.

The sequencing of these eleven pieces reveals careful consideration of the listening experience. Rather than presenting variations on a single technique, Vesely approaches each track as a distinct exploration of his method’s possibilities. “Drifting Intervals IX” focuses on the upper frequency range, creating ethereal textures that shimmer like sunlight on water, while “Drifting Intervals XI” explores the lowest registers, producing cavernous resonances that seem to originate from the earth itself.

Throughout the album’s 35 minutes, De Moi demonstrates how ambient music can be both intellectually rigorous and emotionally affecting. The technical process—layering intervals through tape decay and reverb—could have resulted in academic exercise, but Vesely’s compositional instincts transform it into deeply moving experience. These pieces invite deep listening while rewarding casual immersion, a rare balance in experimental music.

“Drifting Intervals” establishes Vesely as significant voice in contemporary ambient music, one who builds thoughtfully on tradition while pursuing genuine innovation. While his influences are apparent—Basinski’s focus on decay, Riley’s tape delay systems, Oliveros’ deep listening philosophy—he has synthesized these approaches into something distinctly his own. The album arrives as a fully realized artistic statement that offers both new technical approach and compelling aesthetic vision.

For listeners seeking ambient music that moves beyond passive background sound into active engagement with harmony, texture, and transformation, “Drifting Intervals” provides richly rewarding journey. In creating musical space where boundaries between notes dissolve while maintaining perpetual motion, De Moi has expanded our understanding of what ambient music can achieve.