Orb Podcast 035: Earthen Sea

The Brooklyn-based producer Jacob Long’s recordings under the Earthen Sea moniker present a compelling synthesis of shadowy rhythms and opaque atmospherics, drawing on the most potent qualities of melancholic ambient and dub techno.

The artist has been releasing under the moniker of Earthen Sea since the early 2000s and has appeared on labels such as Kranky, Lovers Rock, and Silent Season among many others. In his last album and second excursion for Kranky, Grass and Trees, he moves towards a more purely elemental state, “simplifying things as much as possible,” Long describes the creative process, designing uncluttered spaces traced in nothing but breath, field recordings, and “sounds that could be played by hand but weren’t.” It’s a grounding vision that came out of the artist, as he says, “In response to living in a fairly hectic city, and at a very hectic time for the world at large, creating something more drawn back and restrained felt appropriate.”

For our 35th podcast series, Earthen Sea brings almost two hours of drawn back, hazy and abstract dub techno and experimental electronica from start to finish.

Tracklist
01. Chris Herbert – Elisa
02. Vladislav Delay – Lumi
03. Mikkel Metal – Untitled (Jan Jelinek’s Loop-Finding-Mix)
04. Vilod – Safe in Harbour
05. Margaret Dygas – 37 Min to 7
06. De Leon – 07
07. Frank Bretschneider & Taylor Deupree – Dug In
08. Hainbach – By The Motorway, By The River
09. Roger 23 – Gathering Dust
10. S Olbricht – Ktyring
11. Second Woman – Apart I
12. Ena – Gab
13. Topdown Dialectic – A4
14. Shackleton – Death Is Not Final (T++ Remix)
15. Hauschka – Ping (Vainqueur Remix)
16. Echospace – Spatial Dimension (cv313 Mix)
17. Rhythm & Sound – Carrier