East Portal is a collaborative effort between John Atkinson and Patrick Taylor. Their self-titled album was released on AKP Recordings earlier this month. On paper - or floating in the buzzing harmonics from delicately plunked string from an upright bass - the story of East Portal seems anachronous, yet squarely in 2022’s headtrip.

John Atkinson’s work with Aa is a hallmark of 00’s Brooklyn big vision of exploding psychedelia mixed with what is now retrospectively being called “Sleaze” - this kind of post-9/11 hedonism of partying in a collapsing and flattening empire. Instead of the inward turn, subsequent solo work has found Atkinson creating patient experimental electronic compositions with a heavy emphasis on recording a world that Atkinson’s work around climate change is trying to preserve - or at least mitigate the worst effects of habitat collapse.

Hailing from Los Angeles Patrick Taylor has lent his multi-instrumental skills to countless established and upcoming pop and indie rock acts in the studio, and has been touring bassist for acts like Nick Jonas and American Idol Live.

Hearing East Portal in it’s entirety, one could completely discount the pedigrees of its creators, but doing so would discount how truly special a record this is. This record truly doesn’t need to go this hard. In it are extended electroacoustic explorations of silence, microtonality, timbre and extended voyages into bespoke processing. Tracks like “Sub Nest” marry to droning strings, muted clarinet and huge swells of ambient undertows that peak and crest in irregular intervals while tracks like “Untitled #3” have distinctive enough “parts” where the confluence of clarinet, upright bass, strings, guitar and pedal steel share similar sonic space with artists like Fuubutsushi and the resurgence of unabashed ECM-influenced ambient-jazz that has been reaching more ears. Things aren’t all drift, however, tracks like “Swords Reverse” explore the grittier side of the double bass - creating an open maw of nasty tonality that recalls the all acoustic collaborations between Sult and Lasse Marhaug.

These uncompromisingly experimental elements of East Portal make this album not only an engaging, and often times extremely beautiful listen, but also a challenging one. East Portal didn’t have to go this hard. But they did. Repeated listens continue to yield more and more hidden sweet spots, unexpected vocabularies and strange bent sounds eager to find an ear.