Mount Shrine was César Alexandre, who passed away about five years ago due to complications from COVID. While Alexandre is principally known for output in the dark ambient vein, I’ve always found his works to be broader than that. The Yasu Ether Project is a posthumous re-release of an earlier, obscure album that had only limited availability.
The album centers on soft, airy drones, strong bass elements, fuzzy static, and field recordings. The latter provide the feel of nature, perhaps haunted forests and meadows full of birdsong, with synth providing a twinge of melancholy. Arpeggiated chords waft, anchored by deep tones.
The feel is melodic though unconventional. While the more experimental side of ambient music can be suffocating or isolating, this effort exhibits a degree of warmth. Not exactly upbeat warmth, but its incorporation of sounds from the natural world along with analog hiss, static, and gentle themes has that effect. A representative track is Kyoko, which builds slowly across its seven minute length. Field recordings are layered with two repeating motifs. Starting off slightly gloomy, its tones brighten and become atmospheric before the notes and then the natural sounds fade.
The Yasu Ether Project was released on August 4, 2026 by Cryo Chamber. It is a moving celebration of an artist whose life ended way too soon.
