Imagens

(This article’s English version was produced with AI-assisted translation)

Ambient techno is a shapeshifter, an umbrella genre that adapts, transforms, and takes on forms as contrasting as they are fascinating, depending on the context and era. This was the case in the '90s, when its fusion with IDM gave birth to the underground gem of the Nuron/Fugue project, and again between 2010 and 2019, where, mixed with the reductionist approach of minimal, it found expression in the deep techno of Voices From The Lake (Donato Dozzy and Neel). From this, it becomes clear that ambient techno is not an end in itself but a means to convey a broader concept: whether through excursions into Detroit territory (like Arne Weinberg) or the boundless spaces crafted by dub techno (cv313, first and foremost), ambient techno is more of a thought process—one that reaches its fullest aesthetic and conceptual realization through introspection.

Perennial Wishes emerges as the missing link between yet another variation the genre can take—one that has been explored before but perhaps never so directly connected to the wall of sound legacy of My Bloody Valentine and their kin. Whether this choice was made consciously or not, Imagens’ work is a low-frequency tribute to shoegaze’s influence, particularly to that more ambient branch of the genre, best exemplified by Lovesliescrushing. However, it is revisited through barely audible kick drums, blurred rhythms, and, most notably, an intense use of reverbs processed with the freezing technique—an effect that extends echoes by "freezing" a timbre at a certain point, generating an infinite tail that lingers even after the original sound has faded. The result is a silent movement through the fog of a ghost city, as if an ethereal, cosmic soundscape had been crystallized ("Wrong"), akin to Burial’s atmospheres but with the nostalgic sweetness of Slowdive ("Lovebirth"), all filtered through a monochromatic glitch and dub lens ("Nocturne").

Homogeneous yet dispersive and evanescent, the Brazilian producer’s full-length effort is a cohesive work, suspended between the absence of sharp transients and a dense, misty sound that fully embraces the essence of immateriality and transcendence. Available as a free download, there’s no doubt that it deserves a listen.

07/02/2025