Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizoba, members of the acclaimed “Air Krew,” spent three years meticulously planning and producing the delightful album “Debtor of Presence.” Many reviewers have described it as an “unpredictable” musical experience, but i think this album has much more to offer than that, let’s go deeper into the value of this album.

Let’s begin with the title, “Debtor of Presence.” It’s not just a conceptual term to identify the work; it’s essentially an instruction on how to engage with these pieces. If there is a debtor of presence, there must be a creditor of presence, and that’s us. Regardless of our political affiliations or beliefs in the new ideas of the cloud market and cyber politics, it’s a fact that the market now capitalizes on our attention. The biggest tech companies thrive because they have a market based on our information and attention. We are, in a way, presence creditors, and the debtors are not paying back the price—with interest.

With this title, we see that the artist has taken the debtor role in our current situation. Yes, the artist, that often overlooked individual in a market that bases value on attention.

The opening piece, “Fisher,” features simple melodies that work well as background music. However, if we pay enough attention, the surroundings reveal heavy masses of highly directed vapor. On the macro level, the melodies are simple, but each micro section is weighted with purpose and emotion. It’s literally a “Fisher”; the surface of the track is a “hook,” and the mythical haze around it is the catalyst that draws us into “Presence.”

The rest of the pieces are no longer hooks—we are already captivated. When musicians rely heavily on field recordings, wave synthesis, and sound design, the common outcome is often ambient music, sophisticated techno, or concrete music. However, these artists have a symphonic mindset; those field recordings serve as textures, much like an orchestra changes textures with different blocks of instruments. These textures are frequently interrupted by melodic and polyphonic statements, creating a complex and immersive listening experience.

Certainly, its level of complexity demands a high degree of attention and presence.

Author: Martín Cacho

Martín is a video game composer, producer and writer from Sonora, México.