Last night I had an interesting conversation with someone about human identity and its chronological dependence on itself to unfold in a way that we never truly have control over the decisions we make, but are constantly influenced by past events that shape us. It was a frustrating conversation to have, however enlightening it was, based solely that I was craving the knowledge that my life wasn’t entirely fated as the philosophy suggested. I don’t exactly know where the segue is into the newest track by Squelcher, entitled “Acquire and Borrow”; however, coincidentally my interpretation is based on having had this conversation, and I can’t help but wonder what my interpretation would have been like had it not been discussed?

Opening with breath like noise and somber chords undulating beneath it can’t help but be likened to sonic painting as other expressionistic electronics and samples crowd the picture. Are we listening to the sound of someone as they recall their life on their death bed? Are the noises memories? In this way, is time what is acquired and borrowed? Is the repetition “over my head” meant to evoke levitation? Does Squelcher even mean for these things to be troubling? Perhaps it was fate that I would encounter this song at a time when I was weighing my own transience. However, what cannot be ignored is the undeniable beauty of the composition combining sweeping synths and 808’s into a pensive, yet grooving soundscape. Interestingly, Squelcher creates all of this ephemera via hardware; machines that at once are fixed but are infinitely changeable.