Folded Into Boundaries

Folded Into Boundaries is the latest release from Darren McClure, a collection of eight immersive compositions crafted between the summer of 2023 and the winter of 2024 in Matsumoto, Japan. Nestled within a basin and encircled by the towering Japanese Alps—mountains formed by the slow collision of tectonic plates—Matsumoto’s striking topography deeply influenced both the album’s title and sonic direction.

McClure employs a dynamic interplay of sound erosion and texture, where layers of asymmetric looping melodies, softly jagged tones, and hushed field recordings converge. Chains of effects serve as tools for weathering, shaping sound through distortion and tape degradation, uncovering its tactile edges. The result is a landscape of widescreen drones and abstract ambience, blurring the lines between organic and synthetic, structure and entropy.