M. Cross Dougherty reveals an intriguing ambient enthrallment throughout his new single “Transmission.” The North Carolina-based multi-instrumentalist and producer crafts a woozy, spacey soundscape with warming synth swells and textural glimmers.
The effort precedes the upcoming EP Cosmic Engine, which Dougherty wrote as an ode to his late father-in-law Anthony Louis Acampora, who passed away in late 2022; the EP’s themes focus on “Eastern practices and aesthetics.” “Transmission” represents the first of a four-part homage to Acampora.
Thematically, “Transmission” audibly references encounters with dementia and other memory-affecting inflictions. Its sporadic doses of warm synths are reflective of “Anthony’s late-in-life moments of clarity,” while the subtle washes of additional synths and textures feel representative of life’s continued motions, even as memory evolves from constant attentiveness to short bursts of knowing. “Transmission” is a moving, beautifully atmospheric success from Dougherty.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of August 2023’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
