Musique Machine / Multi-Genre Music Magazine

Constructed and recorded quietly, using only headphones, a laptop, and Audiomulch software, Zane Trow's 2004 ambient electronic work, For Those Who Hear Actual Voices, gets its 20th anniversary edition through Room40. Interestingly recorded in a similarly clandestine fashion to its childhood inspiration, Voices is a versatile set of tracks that weave frequencies, textures, and motion to create shimmering soundscapes that interact with the environment in which they're being played. Based around the idea sounds exist as "frequencies that danced around a space just shy of full perception," this album can be enjoyed in all manners, with each listen differing from the last as time and space has shifted just enough that the frequencies present themselves in new, exciting manners.

Despite this being the 20th anniversary edition, For Those Who Hear Actual Voices sounds as fresh today as it would have sounded upon first release. And although Trow was working with limited resources, constructing the album the way he did has given Voices a timeless quality that many hope for but few can attain. As noted above, the crux of the album is the collection of frequencies that lie just at our periphery, popping in and out, shifting in scope as the piece moves along, utilizing not only composed methods but the atmospheric elements wherever it's played. And Voices isn't just for those looking for an in depth listening experience. Trow notes that over the past 20 years, "many people have said that they use the sounds as a sleeping draft, others use them in offices, looping very gently as they work." Personally, I fall mainly in the latter category, but a few times this was the soundtrack to my exercise routine. Certainly not as high octane as many would choose, but the subtlety and motion of the work allowed me to shift my focus to whatever was required at the time. That isn't to say that Voices is background music, far from it, however, it works well in any situation. Other than speaking to the frequencies and layered movements, the album is soft and quiet, but not meekly so. It is very deliberate and moves with the surety of a ghost flitting about its residence, living in peace with those there now, but appearing here and there making its rounds. For Those Who Hear Actual Voices is extremely easy to listen to, but unlike many soft, shimmering works, it is engaging and memorable.

Zane Trow took his childhood fascination with radio stations on the fringe of perception, the breakdown of "music" into frequencies, their interaction with the world, and make a work that has stood the test of time. Now in a 20th anniversary edition, For Those Who Hear Actual Voices is set to reach further than ever before, challenging the limits of Trow's 1960's radio, reaching new audiences with crystal clear reception. Highly listenable and compulsively replayable, Voices is a fantastic piece of ambient electronic music. To hear samples/ find out more