The Third Eye

Philly-based guitarist/composer Nick Millevoi’s newest record, Moon Pulses, is the latest excellent release from Island House Recordings. It’s an enveloping musical meditation revealed in a flash of inspiration that’s due out on April 22nd by the leader of Desertion Trio, Grassy Sound, and more.

Nick has received high praise for his music, including from NPR, Pitchfork, and Brooklyn Vegan. Moon Pulses draws influences from Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno, and Robert Fripp, along with the playing of guitarists Neil Young and the Edge. Nick’s previous work spans harsh noise, brutal jazz-punk, free jazz doo-wop, and beat-heavy Eighties experimentalism. But on Moon Pulses, he’s created a focused record of sonic bliss.

The record’s six tracks pulsate with elemental melodies, creating otherworldly textures. Nick says he’s been looking for a way to create an enveloping meditative vibe for years, something that could leave listeners transfixed or something they could simply fall asleep to. He was shooting for a highly immersive lo-fi Lanois, Eno, and Fripp vibe. It came to him while he was experimenting in his studio, and he needed to respond to the muse immediately.

Moon Pulses’ six songs use only one guitar for rhythm and one for melody, both on the same instrument, except for the final lap-steel piece. Everything was played by thumb for maximum connection.

Before recording Moon Pulses, Nick had just finished his album Digital Reaction. That record, which was created over a couple of years with tons of collaborators, overdubs, and detailed arrangements, was the most ambitious production he had ever done. After all that hard work, the idea of Moon Pulses popped into his head, already basically completed, and he knew he had to make it happen.

Nick jumped into recording with a simple strategy to achieve the meditative sound with limited tools. “It felt like a gift,” Nick says. “Recording about an hour a day for six consecutive days, I created Moon Pulses.”

Moon Pulses’ six tracks emerge as a lunar serenade where every note and texture is a brushstroke on a vast canvas. Nick’s guitar acts as a vessel of his creative expression, with his flash of inspiration so apparent. Each song melts into the next through a delicate balance of reverb-soaked chords and shimmering melodies, everything bathed in silver moonlight.

One of Moon Pulses’ most striking qualities is how it evokes a sense of spaciousness, weaving together instrumental themes of solitude, wonder, and awe. The music feels haunting in places and warm in others, much like the work of Daniel Lanois, perhaps especially on Brian Eno’s 1983 album Apollo.

The music also evokes a sense of longing that’s never quite fulfilled. Nick savors the quiet ambiance he creates as a dreamer gazing toward the night sky with each passage, shifting between the quieter moments to the harsher textures and back again to the quiet.

Ambient music is all about creating soundscapes that serve as portals for the imagination, and Nick achieved this with Moon Pulses. In an album dedicated to the moon, Nick conjures lunar landscapes with layers of sound.

Coming off the recent success of Vague Plots’ Crying in 9, Moon Pulses is another terrific release from New York City-based Island House Recordings. If you like Moon Pulses, check out Nick Millevoi’s previous work, including last year’s Digital Reaction and 2020’s Streets of Philadelphia. Enjoy!

Pre-order Moon Pulses by Nick Millevoi on Bandcamp here.

Support Nick Millevoi by finding him on Bandcamp, his official website, or social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

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