treesspeak

More than a few descriptions of this Arizona-based, analog-ish, synth-obsessed band’s music reference similarities running from the vague, inaccurate catchall, “Krautrock,” to Italian horror or John Carpenter film soundtracks, Giorgio Moroder’s desolate synth-scapes, or private press ambient and New Age. If you know some or all of these styles or players, the first seconds of *Timefold*, Trees Speak’s sixth Soul Jazz-released LP’s opening title track, conjures Moroder, Tangerine Dream, and perhaps Ariel... Because that opening track mentioned above, at 4:05, is the longest thing on a 17-track album that clocks somewhere around 39 minutes, Trees Speak don’t have time to wander; instead, their attention to brevity alone signals slightly less-charted territory for music whose spaciousness seems so familiar. In other words, they don’t noodle aimlessly or arrive at their music accidentally. By contrast, tunes fold in and out of each other, riding on hints found in their predecessors. “Timefold” literally melts... On and on like this it goes. Drums return, a harpsichord-based riff underpins what sounds like a flute, a disembodied voice announces something from a tunnel, and by the album’s fifth track, “Psychic State,” we’re in classic Moroder territory, full of frantic synth-induced anxiety. This is as much the sound of the desert’s endless expanse as the claustrophobia of an underground, dimly lit maze. Yet, as mapped out as the music is, the track shifts seem natural, as if the decision to separate them by title... At times, it does feel as if there’s nothing new here, as enjoyable as this Umberto-meets-Kluster sound is; you’ve heard it all flutter past somewhere before. But then Trees Speak throw “Among Us” at you. Here, for under three minutes, they let those keys and drums play a repeated figure so uplifting it’s nearly overwhelming. It’s a moment of unbridled optimism in a haze of unpopulated landscapes and just-out-of-reach horizons, a bit of “right now.” By Bruce Miller Rating 8 @popmatters @souljazzrecords

UNCUT Magazine UK - Interview Trees Speak on @souljazzrecords Damian and Daniel Diaz: “The desert seeps into our sound” With their lysergic, cinematic, largely instrumental audioscapes, fraternal U.S. duo Trees Speak pay devoted homage to a lost era of cosmic vibrations, psychotronic oscillations, and Tangerine Dream-inspired soundscapes. While the Arizona-born brothers, Daniel Martin Diaz and Damian Diaz, are clearly connoisseurs of vintage krautrock and analog synthtronica, they also cite influences such as Stockhausen, Erik Satie, John Cage, and Klaus Schulze. “It’s about how they treated sound,” says Daniel. “Like sculptors shaping something out of nothing.” The latest Trees Speak album, Time Fold, is the first to feature spoken-word artist @ashleychristineedwards “She brings a fearless, experimental edge that pushes us in new directions, especially live,” Damian explains. “Her openness to explore any idea, no matter how out there, has been important for us.” The album also boasts a typically gorgeous sci-fi sleeve designed by Daniel, who has a side career as a visual artist. “The graphics are as essential as the music,” he says. “We obsess over every detail: the fonts, the subject matter, even the empty space.” With Daniel still based in Tucson and Damian now settled in Brooklyn, Trees Speak insist that both locations have subliminally shaped their music. “The desert definitely seeps into our sound,” says Daniel. “The vast open spaces, the quiet, the stretching moments. But there’s also an undercurrent of tension a sense of something hidden beneath the surface.” - Stephen Dalton @uncut_magazine Photo from left to right Daniel, Gabriel, Damian

A Natural Frequency This project began as an experiment during the pandemic and is still in its early phases as we continue to refine it. We are exploring the unfiltered chaos of the natural world. Birds became the performers, their presence creating a dynamic and evolving sonic landscape. In the future, we aim to release a record composed entirely by nature, where the wild becomes the sole composer and performer merging organic unpredictability with an otherworldly resonance, free of human performance.

TIMEFOLD: Retro-Futuristic Soundscapes That Transcend Time By @johnnyzuri Trees Speak’s TIMEFOLD is not just an album, it’s an auditory journey through time, blending echoes of the past with visions of a cosmic future. Drawing from krautrock, experimental electronic music, and retro sci-fi and horror soundtracks, it creates an immersive, hypnotic experience that captivates with its blend of nostalgia and innovation. A Unique Sonic Experience TIMEFOLD feels like stepping into another dimension. With nods to krautrock legends like Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk, it merges analog synthesizers, ritualistic rhythms, and spatial effects into a transcendent fusion of human, earthly, and cosmic sounds. Timeless Krautrock Influences The rhythmic motorik pulse of krautrock serves as the foundation, reimagined with lush electronic textures and experimental harmonies. This homage to 1970s German rock pushes its legacy into new realms, making the familiar feel revolutionary. Immersion Through Spatial Effects Expert use of reverb and delay creates vast, weightless soundscapes that feel like drifting through galaxies. TIMEFOLD invites listeners to lose themselves in its boundless auditory horizons. Retro Meets Emotionally Complex Soundscapes Hints of 1970s sci-fi and horror soundtracks, reminiscent of John Carpenter, add a minimalist tension. Yet, Trees Speak transcend mere homage, weaving deeply emotive and hauntingly beautiful layers of sound. Sound as Art and Science TIMEFOLD explores the concept of nature as a data repository, intertwining art, science, and sound. Vibrations and echoes serve as metaphors for ecosystems storing encoded information, prompting reflection on the intersection of technology and nature. A Glimpse into the Future Combining musique concrète techniques with accessible experimental textures, TIMEFOLD bridges the avant-garde and the familiar. It oscillates between being a tribute to the past and a bold vision of what’s to come. Hypnotic, nostalgic, and visionary, Trees Speak’s TIMEFOLD is both a time capsule and a sonic prophecy, inviting listeners to transcend boundaries and explore its mysteries. Translated from Spanish

A review by @delayanddistortion 5/5 Trees Speak – Timefold @SoulJazzRecords The cover of Timefold might evoke the desert landscapes of Arrakis, but the new album from the Diaz brothers, Damian and Daniel Martin, does not seek to rival Hans Zimmer in the realm of infrabass. Their krautrock has always drawn inspiration from desert expanses, and on this sixth album, they rediscover the hypnotic charm of one of their best records, PostHuman, across nineteen tracks. Timefold is unified by a seamless flow, with transitions that solidify the album as a single, cohesive movement. The interplay between 70s keyboard loops and ultra-smooth drums steps aside to make room for an array of instruments—flute, saxophone, and ethereal vocals, perceived as if transmitted through a disused space station speaker. These elements guide the record through a series of dramatic twists, leaving much to the listener’s imagination, yet packed with dense layers of information and emotion. This mix of instruments blurs the line between the desert and infinite space, crafting a retro-futuristic cocktail that is both unsettling and comforting. What are the dangers of a drifting space station compared to the threats of climate deregulation? On the contrary, Timefold offers solace in the vastness of nothingness, punctuated by celestial objects—cosmic waves rendered through keyboard melodies and meteors manifested as delicate drum solos. The album’s two sides flow effortlessly into each other, offering surprises that prevent any sense of monotony. Equal parts Carpenter and Kubrick, with hints of modern British horror (Censor, A Field in England, Berberian Sound Studio), Timefold explores the immensity of inner and outer space. It encapsulates everything we love about Trees Speak: a sensory laboratory that captivates both film enthusiasts and music lovers. With its enchanting fusion of jazz, krautrock, and filmic soundscapes, one can’t help but wonder if a Roadburn program is merely days away. Translated from French 📸 of Gates Pass in Tucson, Arizona

TimeFold review La Magia De La RETRO-FUTURISTIC MUSIC LO + MUSIC
What is retro-futuristic music, and why does it captivate us? Imagine a bridge connecting the echoes of the 1970s with the vibrations of a future yet to be imagined. That is retro-futuristic music. It’s not just a sound—it’s a journey. The use of analog synthesizers, revered for their ability to generate warm and organic textures, evokes a sense of motion that feels pulled straight from a sci-fi film. But this genre doesn’t linger in nostalgia; it looks forward, blending digital elements that expand the sonic horizon. “TIMEFOLD” by Trees Speak encapsulate this spirit. With each pulse, it feels like a portal opens to an “imaginary future,” a space where the listener is suspended between memories and visions of what is yet to come. “Music is the art that most closely resembles time” – Jorge Luis Borges. This quote from the celebrated Argentine writer deeply resonates with the spirit of retro-futuristic music. Here, the notes don’t just mark rhythm; they draw timelines that blur the present. Translated From Spanish

@uncut_magazine UK TREES SPEAK: TimeFold @souljazzrecords 7/10 Cosmic soundscape duo remix all of yesterday’s tomorrows Based somewhere between Arizona, Brooklyn, and the outer moons of Jupiter, fraternal duo Daniel and Damian Diaz specialize in retro-futuristic sound paintings with an emphatically analog aesthetic. Lavishly packaged in Daniel’s lovingly rendered sci-fi artwork, their sixth album borrows heavily from vintage 1960s and 1970s prog, psych, krautrock, embryonic electronica, and cult film scores. Even so, there is an innocent, infectious charm and an impressively meticulous attention to detail on stand-out hypnagogic inner-space journeys like “Emotion Engine,” “Forever Chemicals,” and “Post-Truth.” Spoken-word artist @ashleychristineedwards guests on several tracks, her spectral chants adding an extra edge of trippy folk-horror. —STEPHEN DALTON

Forever Chemicals From the full LP TimeFold Apocalyptic spoken word by @ashleychristineedwards Out now on @SoulJazzRecords

@mojo4music Trees Speak – TimeFold 4/4 @souljazzrecords The Tucson, Arizona duo’s sixth full-length electro-scarifier since 2020’s Ohms. Fraternal electronic avant-gardists Damian and Daniel Martin Diaz have been churning out extraordinary synth music at a staggering rate lately, albeit to bafflingly insufficient fanfare. Perhaps the implicit future-retro feel of their ‘70s analogue kit obscures the intrepid experimentalism they conjure with it. Ace keyboard players and musical arrangers, as well as visionary sound-mappers, their records have consistently explored the expansive middle ground between artists like Brian Eno and Cluster, John Carpenter, David Axelrod, and Delia Derbyshire. Channelling what they describe as the “cosmic nighttime magic” of the Arizona desert, they reached peak productivity with 2022’s Vertigo of Flaws. Two years on, TimeFold carries more of the fragmentary feel of a left-field soundtrack LP. Melody-rich harpsichord themes (Emotion Engine) are interspersed with unsettling aural sketches (Xenoworld) and forbidding monologues (Psychic State). With piano and dulcimer adding unforeseen acoustic texture, Trees Speak’s soundworld is ever-changing, often terrifying, but rarely short of awe-inspiring. Mojo Magazine (UK) Andrew Perry

With nineteen tracks segueing into each each over two sides of vinyl, Tucson duo @treesspeak continue their earthy yet intergalactic run of albums (6 in 4 years!) for @souljazzrecords . ‘TimeFold’ is a krautrock Blade Runner set in a doomy 1970s horror film castle (filmed on Mars) but with powerful arpeggiated Tangerine Dream synth weapons and disembodied spoken word amongst their heavyweight blend of influences. Intoxicating stuff. Read / Listen. Link in @truthandliesmusic bio 💥🔥🏴‍☠️👾

In celebration of our record release this Friday, we’re excited to share our new track and video, EMOTION ENGINE. Thank you all for your support!

Here’s a preview of TIMEFOLD, our upcoming record set to release on November 15th. Pre-order at your local record store or through @souljazzrecords and @sounds_of_the_universe