Immerse Yourself in a "New Reality" via the Existential Ambient Drones of Solent

Ambient music, like most musical genres, is as broad and narrow a descriptor as they come. Whether it’s a track that gradually lulls you into a trance or a piece whose harsh exterior gives way to something purer, ambient music has the capacity to shock, inspire awe, or help you chill out to the point of deep, deep sleep.

So what's the common thread? If you were to ask longtime Beijing resident and ambient musician Daniel Lenk, he'll tell you it's the music's ability to "create depth." Lenk, who many may recognize for his role in such riotous rock acts as Luv Plastik and Death Narcissistic (and currently one third of UNIT), has been exploring the immersive side of music for the past two years under the name Solent, forging slow-burning, sonically challenging, and emotionally stimulating soundscapes that seem to inhabit a world far removed from our own. Or more accurately, a world that soothes us into loosening our grasp on our current state through rich textures and nuance.

This Friday, Aug 9 at Fruityspace, Solent will release his debut EP Digital Naturism with the help of local label Jingweir. Ahead of the show, I asked Lenk about how he came to first dip his toes into ambient waters, technology’s ability to recreate natural ecosystems, and the misconceptions of the ambient genre.

Digital Naturism sounds like an oxymoron – could you unpackage the meaning behind that title?
Digital Naturism is this concept that as we migrate further towards an ecosystem of digital devices, we become immersed in the convenience of digital life. Still, there’s a deep yearning for the ‘genuine’ and ‘natural’ in spite of these constructed artificial environments. This concept forms the basis for the EP, and a lot of the emotions and musical ideas in the EP were born out of this conflicting existential thought.

Before Solent, you were mostly known for your presence in some of Beijing’s most bombastic acts (Luv Plastik, Death Narcissist, to name just two) – quite the contrast to your work here. What led you down this path?
Well, thanks for those shout outs; I have a lot of great memories from those two bands. I think Solent is just a case of doing different things at different times in your life. It’s really common for band members to get busy or leave Beijing, so I wanted to start a project which I could carry on at my own pace in a sustainable fashion.

You mention how we all need to ‘recalibrate accordingly’ in your press release – could you elaborate on that? Was Solent your way of recalibrating?
I don’t think Solent was a way of recalibrating, it was just a different way of expressing similar ideas and feelings from ten years of living in Beijing, transitioning into my 30s, etc. I really wanted to try exploring different types of arrangement which are different from a band context. Personally, I would say it’s more of an exploration than a recalibration.

Do you imagine in the future, technology will look to digitally recreate the essence of natural environments in all their capacity? To what end? What’s the flip-side to this or the negative repercussions, if there are any?
I think this is already happening, we are using technology to create a new reality. I'm not saying these kinds of trends are good or bad, but it's easy to imagine a future with entire ecosystems built around VR, AR, and other technologies. However, the question is whether or not this will have an effect on our humanity, and if people will feel a sense of loss which can’t be verbalized.

What was the learning curve like when jumping down the ambient rabbit hole? 
Well, I always enjoyed post-rock and shoegaze, so a lot of the ideas on the first EP come directly from that strain of music. During tracking, I threw some synthesizer parts and field recordings into the mix to make the songs denser. As far as the whole "ambient" tag, honestly, more than anything else it's about just creating a feeling which is immersive and has depth – at least that's how I approach it. You could use a guitar and a reverb/delay pedal and create amazing ambient music, or you could put together an entire modular system. It's about how you feel comfortable expressing yourself. I can't speak for anyone else, but I find it funny that people think playing ambient music is this really zen experience. In reality, when I play I'm constantly thinking about how to move through transitions and keep the audience engaged.

Now that the EP is all wrapped up, how does it feel to be on the other side of the process? Does the act of listening offer the same release as putting it together?
Well, the act of listening is much more relaxing than producing it! That being said, I had a fantastic time working with Brad M. Seippel AKA thruoutin at Brevity of Motion Sounds. I've known Brad for years now, and he was a great partner in producing the tracks. He was very hands-off in his approach and over multiple sessions, we were able to fuse the various ideas together into coherent pieces. I plan to continue building on some of the ideas in Digital Naturism and develop more mature pieces for the next album. Brad was very professional every step of the way, and I hope to have the chance to work with him again.

In performing ambient music live, the environment can be essential to how the music translates – what kind of surroundings has Solent found itself in and how does one try to tap into that when performing?
The performing environment certainly matters, but in my opinion, the audience being engaged is even more important. On paper, you’d think that a Tuesday night at Temple Bar would be a disaster, but a few artists used the space to compose music on the fly for old movies. If the audience weren’t engaged and a part of the experience, it would have been an abject disaster. Instead, it was a very successful night. That being said, personally speaking, the most inspiring places to play ambient music involve the feeling of space, openness, and the absence of tension, etc. My most memorable shows from this year include playing a friend's private courtyard outside of the city as part of the Yichang at Home series as well as playing in an ancient memorial hall in Dou Mi Ao village, Zhejiang for the Doumui International Art Festival.

What else do you have in store for the release (I saw some pretty nifty art pieces accompanying the release)?
Yes! My talented artist and photographer wife Fang Yifei has created four series of paintings (five works in each series) in collaboration with the four tracks on the EP. We sold out all four series in the first three hours online, so that was pretty exciting. In addition to featuring the works at the Fruityspace show on Aug 9, we will be having limited sets of printed postcards with album download codes for sale as well.

Before signing off, I really want to express my appreciation for everyone who was involved with Digital Naturism. It was very much a "greater than the sum of its parts" type of project, and the process was a valuable period of growth. We'll be looking forward to blasting some experimental jams on Aug 9, hope to see you then!

Catch Solent's EP release this Friday, Aug 9 at Fruityspace. Tickets are RMB 60 on the door or RMB 50 presale.

READ: US Indie Rockers Colin Phils Return to China for a 21-City Homecoming Tour

Images: Fang Yifei, courtesy of Solent