Papa Legba, Peter Zuniga (aka Pete Pan) releases his debut album Dead Air admist a rather turbulent time in his life and the world in general. While not a negative album, it is supposed to project a rather dreary aural overtone. The first Track 'Night Surf', that appeared on Celestial Dragon's Intermittent Memories has had a rework by Ishq, creating a more sparse version than the first.
'Digital Ice Pipe' fills the sonic static with an ambient track that broders on beatless dronebient. Following up is 'I Want To Believe', which broadcasts the grey day with a rather dreary chill track that showcases the big influence that Ishq has had on the Papa Legba project. 'Recovering' is the track that was written in a Nashville hospital while Pete's mom was undergoing surgery for a cancerous tumor it is meant to show the silver lining in a overcast cloud. A ray of hope for recovery.
'Greek Opium' which debuted on Future Sound Theory 2 off Celestial Dragon brings in some IDM elements into an ambient droney cinematic soundscape. 'Arranged Memories' is built around a banjo riff and is minimal ambient, where subtle nuances make up the melody. 'Abandoned Window' treks more into the idm/glitch realm yet still adheres to an ambient feel. 'Barely Holding On' stays with the idm structure and ends in an almost housey groove with tongue in cheek gospel samples that leave a rather comical vibe to a sound which overall is rather dreary and grey.
The last track 'Namek Coastline (Extinct Planet Mix)' is a new mix of the original which appeared on Lobogistic labs, Gnostic Traveller. The first track showed imagery of Gokus digital beckoning to planet Namek where the natives were creating the dragonballs. The Namek natives answered him with a happy greeting through the percussive call of their mallets.
In the Extinct Planet Mix Goku's calls go unanswered as the chaotic IDM sounds only bring to his attention that planet Namek has been destroyed. Overall this album is meant to project an isolated melody, yet in the overcast sonic projections the listener is greeted with a feeling of meditative solace in a chance for happiness within the middle of nothingness.
This is only capable if the listener focuses on the inbetween that is present between the aurally visible. Headphones and horizontal listening is a must.