William Doyle, formerly known as East India Youth, is back with a new release taking him away from the material of his past project, and launching a new label called DOI Recordings.
Lightnesses consists of two long-form recordings by Doyle, clocking in at around 30 minutes each. Above, you can stream the first of those two recordings, ‘Aisles of White’, in full.
The release, which is available now as a digital download and on limited edition cassette here, is described as "a sound experiment that pays tribute to the original ideas of ‘ambient music’, while nudging our expectations of the form".
On ‘Aisles of White’, Doyle stretches out various piano loops and soothing melodies to form a piece that carries all the hypnotic qualities of the finest ambient music. The project is said to have evolved during the recording of an as-yet unfinished album, with the coda of one track Doyle was recording unfolding into an ever-evolving ambient drone.
"Lightnesses emerged over one weekend, the recordings accompanying a night’s sleep, a particularly drab edition of Children In Need and an ATP Tennis final," reads an accompanying text announcing the release which names Brian Eno and Tim Hecker as natural inspirations for the release. "The name is inspired by the soft sunlight that falls on the wall of Doyle’s whitewash, new-build walls, oddly beautiful in such domestic circumstances; especially after an afternoon drinking in Wetherspoons."
"My propensity for melody, and my history of songwriting has usually placed structure and anticipation at the centre of my work, so it was a surprise to realise that I could turn my process on its head quite easily and become open to the idea of randomness and chance," says Doyle. "I just let it run, coming in and out of the room, writing emails and reading a book while it continued. This drone changed not only my headspace but it seemed to have a powerful effect on my physical environment too, no different perhaps to the addition of a new piece of furniture or ornament to a room."
