Air Pressure by Philip Samartzis and Michael Vorfeld

The Christmas season conjures images of cozy fireplaces against a backdrop of gentle snow, the relationship between our buildings and our environment functioning smoothly and peacefully to keep any and all natural forces off our minds. However, a radically different relationship, a fierce, relentless antagonism, develops between structure and surroundings on Air Pressure by Philip Samartzis and Michael Vorfeld, an ambient record built primarily upon harrowing field recordings from a research lab in Antarctica. A constant blizzard acts as a wild horse bucking off its human invaders, expending enormous energy to move unbelievably volumes of air and water with seemingly no other purpose than to rain hell on the exceedingly few life forms there to witness this display of rage. For the people there, danger never leaves the mental forefront, rearing its head in every whip, crackle, and bang through the endless polar night, letting through these signs of nature’s destructive power that we may rarely consider.