Arbor marks the latest offering from Daniel Klag, a New York-based musician who delights in dense and syrupy electroacoustic samples. A repeat visitor to the Hudson Highlands as part of Dan Goldberg’s heralded Mountain Shows concert series, Daniel’s bespoke blend of ambient, kosmische, and drone styles echo the natural biorhythms of New York’s storied state parks — and the darkness that lurks within them. 

The six tracks that comprise Arbor conceal a melancholic undertow swirling underneath pitch-shifted mellotron and vibraphone samples. Making heavy use of modified Casio SK-1 samples, Arbor draws stylistically from historical touchstones such as Tangerine Dream’s analog synth explorations and Berlin-era David Bowie. Klag’s chugging drum machines and drifting arrangements provide a harmonic counterpoint to his hallmark grayscale tones — whereas “Arbor 4” evokes a pastoral atmosphere, “Arbor 6” closes out the record with a darker-hued, plangent offering. 

Each purchase of Arbor is accompanied by a text-based computer game designed and programmed by Klag himself. Drawing inspiration from the surreal arboreal setting depicted in comic artist Lando’s album artwork, players are invited to enter an abandoned structure deep within the woods. Inside, a mysterious mushroom awaits. As the game progresses, players encounter randomized glitches in the text output, which — in the spirit of Alvin Lucier's I Am Sitting in a Room — increase in frequency until the text is all but obscured. (For the heads — there are eight possible endings to the game, depending on the choices made by the player.) A sly nod to the fictitious masterpieces of Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves and Reddit’s Search and Rescue Officer stories, the album and its accoutrement allude to the new and ancient ghosts who stir the leaves beneath our feet. 

Arbor is available in limited cassette and unlimited digital formats on July 16, 2021. As an ode and an offering to the Hudson River region in which it was conceived, each cassette will be accompanied by a bonus pinch of dried chaga mushroom, known for its powerful antioxidant and healing properties. Tread lightly and enter at your own risk. 

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Arbor

Daniel Klag — Arbor 3

Soap Library is a holistic cassette tape label in New York City.