Soporus – Divers (cassette)

Soporus is the musical duo of Matthew Stone and William Stichter, childhood friends who have played in bands together for over 25 years. Formed in 2003 to explore their shared interest in ambient music and honed after-hours while playing together in instrumental rock group Saxon Shore, Soporus combines shifting drone with shimmering glacial melody that builds into dense layers of enveloping sound. Stone and Stichter craft songs primarily on guitar and bass, using careful techniques that often obscure their origins, and add accents of keyboard, electronics, and field recordings.

DIVERS, their sixth release, continues their musical trajectory as well as the themes of the frightening power of nuclear reactions, a long-time inspiration in their work. The album was completed in the often apocalyptic-feeling spring of 2020, lending an unsettled undercurrent to the otherwise soothing sounds.