Inland Empires Disregard The Sea

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About Album

D Haddon has released a string of eclectic electronic albums as Warning Light on Atlanta label Stickfigure Recordings while simultaneously curating his DIY CDr/Cassette imprint Persistentmidnight. His latest Inland Empires Disregard the Sea is an impressionistic electronic workout, inhabiting a minimalist nether region between 80s soundtrack music and modern ambient techno textures. Cultivating sounds he experimented with on his recent Oftenchance and XXXI albums, Inland Empires finds Haddon again playing with the intersection of arrangement vs improv. Synthesized drones, airy field recordings, and cascading dub echoes commingle across the record with motorik drum machines, manipulated vocal samples and raw live percussion.

Inland Empires Disregard the Sea is really an album about how perspective (or lack their of) can shape one’s view of the world, and the continuous attempt of the thinking human to redefine that perspective. Having also produced a litany of records for Persistentmidnight and Stickfigure (Outer Gods’ gloom ridden Dismal Rift specifically), 2016 also finds Haddon redefining his role and shifting his personal perspective in music. For years, Haddon has charted a subtle evolution of projects, from his days with the art-noise duo Suitcases to playing in mutantdisco quartet Roman Photos and his minimal synth albums as High Marks. Inland Empires feels like a summation of that journey. It’s a traveling record for the long, thoughtful stretches, the places you pass through as you let your mind wander.

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Release Date
September 30, 2016

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Album Review

As you might be able to guess from the album title, this is not your typical 2016 recording. Warning Light is the project created by Atlanta, Georgia's D Haddon. This fellow has been operating in the undercurrents of the Atlanta music scene for years, making music that has far more in common with folks out West or overseas. While basically an experimental recording, Inland Empires Disregard the Sea features tracks that are in many cases surprisingly accessible. Listening to this, we are reminded in many ways of the wonderfully inventive trance music that was so popular in the 1990s. Haddon doesn't follow trends or ape styles. He's following his own unique path and, in doing so, apparently creates whatever feels right at any particular moment...rather than trying to please a certain audience. Nine intriguing cuts including "Surviving the Buried Earth," "I'm Gone," "Automat 4 Lovers," and "This Room Will Never Be the Same."

Baby Sue Magazine

Warning Light’s 7th album nearly escaped our notice, but the consistency of Drew Haddon’s solo project makes it required listening for anyone looking to keep up with Atlanta’s wide-ranging electronica scene. Though easily accessible, it rewards the patient listener, especially those willing to trek the circular synth journey until it dissolves into aquatic bliss. The nine-track album isn’t much of a shift from Haddon’s recent work, but he builds on the ambient soundscapes of previous records with pulsing beats drawn from eclectic post-punk and krautrock. Beyond the its technical mastery, Inland Empires Disregard the Sea is another testament to his ability to inject mystery into the simplest of melodies and then refract the dreamy tones through an evolution more mystical than scientific. – RR

Immersive Atlanta

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