Some beautifully ambient electronic on A.M. Architect’s new single, “Petrichor”
Have you ever tried to describe the scent that arrives just before the rain? It’s a slightly earthy smell mixed with dry grass.
I’ve just discovered that there is a word for that rare fragrance: “petrichor.”
The word was coined by Isabel Bear and Richard Thomas to express that earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. It’s how you can predict that rain is shortly to come — because this loamy earthen smell is carried on the wind to your nose before the water starts to fall.
These are the types of themes and feelings that the new album from Texas-based duo A.M. Architect tries to convey. The album is called, Avenir, and one of the lead singles is entitled: “Petrichor” — a song that creates an airy electronic backdrop before rising into life with encircling synths and shape-shifting vocals.
For the two men behind A.M. Architect, Daniel Stanush and Diego Chavez, it is important to create using both digital and analogue. For them, using live instrumentation and electronic production techniques create more elegant compositions that add up to something more emotive.
Avenir showcases the duo’s multifaceted approach to electronic production. Stanush’s musical training and melodic sensibility compliments Chavez’s knack for soundscapes and sonic manipulation. The result is a rich tapestry of pulsating beats, grainy loops, cinematic sensibilities, and charged vocal samples that cull from sources as varied as old crime movies and obscure country singers.
Have a listen to “Petrichor” below and if you like what you hear, head over to the A.M. Architect Bandcamp page to support the project and download the full copy of Avenir.
