* En anglais uniquement
Earthen Sea is the experimental ambient/techno solo project of Jacob Long, best known to indie rock fans as a member of the Dischord-signed post-hardcore group
Black Eyes and the dubby, drum-heavy post-punk band
Mi Ami. On his own, however, he crafts dark drone and glacial dub-techno similar to artists like
Loscil,
Deepchord, and
the Sight Below. Along with a bevy of limited-run releases,
Earthen Sea issued several albums with venerable drift rock indie imprint Kranky, including 2022's
Ghost Poems, which was recorded during the early lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic and incorporated ambient household sounds among Long's somber electronics.
Long began releasing
Earthen Sea material during the early 2000s, while still a member of the Washington, D.C.-based
Black Eyes. Released on limited-edition cassettes and CD-Rs, some of his earliest material utilized violin, tape decks, and keyboards to create eerie soundscapes. After
Black Eyes broke up in 2004, Long moved to San Francisco and started
Mi Ami with former bandmate
Daniel Martin-McCormick, releasing several albums and EPs on labels like Quarterstick, Thrill Jockey, and 100% Silk. The group took up much of Long's time, but a few
Earthen Sea cassettes appeared while the band was active.
By the time
Mi Ami released their 2012 album,
Decade, their sound had become entirely electronic and house-influenced, and
Martin-McCormick had released similar material as
Ital on labels like Not Not Fun and
Planet Mu.
Earthen Sea released the Mirage EP on
Martin-McCormick's Lovers Rock imprint in 2014, but his style of techno was far more introspective and reserved than club-focused. Following a more abstract split LP with
Insect Factory,
Earthen Sea's full-length Ink appeared on Lovers Rock in 2015. A digital EP titled The Sun Will Rise was released by
Nicolas Jaar's Other People in 2016. Following a move to Brooklyn, Long released A Serious Thing (a collection of odds and ends) and
An Act of Love, his debut on Kranky, in 2017. Two years later, the same label released his third album,
Grass and Trees, which presented a stripped-down, skeletonized version of dub techno.
Ghost Poems surfaced in 2022, also on Kranky. The album continued Long's minimal approach to electronic dub techno but brought in samples of sounds made around his home while the album was being recorded during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinking silverware, room ambience, and the occasional plate dropping to the floor all folded into Long's vaporous textures and deep drum programming on
Ghost Poems. ~ Paul Simpson