Local Review: The Zion Curtain – Zero 9F

The Zion Curtain
Zero 9F

Self-Released
Street: 04.09
The Zion Curtain = Tycho + Dye + Aphex Twin

With the surge in popularity of deep and tropical house, I have noticed that the word “ambient” gets thrown out a lot in terms of describing more laid-back electronic music. When I think of ambient music, though, I think of Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin’s #3, and the music of The Zion Curtain. There is little online about The Zion Curtain, and trying to find them just has you sifting through search pages of liquor laws in Utah, but what little there is by them is extremely well-produced and hypnotic. The pitch shifting of voice samples over an empty and vast background can give you goose bumps, like in the track “Proem.” Zero 9F shines through its subtleties and its ability to get you lost, especially if you have it on a loop like I did. It’s the little details thrown into each song and the feelings they can evoke. Tracks like “Lake Effect” bring a haunting nostalgia with its samples of sheathing swords, running water and Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The Zion Curtain is an artist who seems to be true to the hauntingly dark and ambient, from their limited paper trail, one-song Soundclick profile and black-and-white photo of a sculpture from La Passerelle Enchantée. I hope this low profile is not a permanent one, because Zero 9F is an amazing album, and though its six tracks may have you wanting more, it will allow you to take in each song. I am glad to hear an artist producing real ambient music and to be producing it so well. Right now, this is the only Zion Curtain that Utah needs. You can listen to Zion 9F at thezioncurtain.bandcamp.com. –Connor Brady