Deep Magic

deep magic is an ascent of vibrating dreams. a reverence for the past. family as honor and narrative bliss. spun webs of high wet dew. deep magic is archaic spirit hymns. healing music.
reviews & releases

e-mail: listentocolour@gmail.com

coming: ‘reflective sheets’ lp (housecraft), ‘elemental interaction’ lp (under the spire), ‘closed eyes’ cd (debacle records), ‘mind waves’ cd (deep tapes), split with mohave triangles (diatom bath)…

Releases

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Reviews


“Tremendous, stellar ambient by Sun Araw member Alex Gray aka Deep Magic only a few months after the release of his excellent Lucid Thought via Australian label Preservation. Gray’s new cassette Altars of Veneration is now out on our much beloved Minneapolis-based imprint Moon Glyph, and it’s another real masterpiece, comprising six untitled séances made up of far-reaching soundscapes of magnificently arranged guitar progressions and synth pads, all deeply contemplating explorations into mellow psychedelia. Just beautiful.” -no fear of pop


“Alex Gray has made a tradition of impressionistic and spiritual psychedelia under his Deep Magic alias– as well as his accompanying Deep Tapes imprint– but in his latest effort for Moon Glyph, the Altars of Veneration CS, the Sun Araw touring guitarist tweaked his textural drone to create something with a little more momentum. In “Untitled II,” the first half revolves around a repeated chord progression that supports Gray’s virtuosic guitar explorations, whereas the second half remains still with bated breath, as though he’d finally found the haven he’s been searching for.” –Matt Sullivan, Altered Zones


“Alex Gray is a man who’s been burning up the west coast with his subtle & euphoric psychedelics, either alongside Sun Araw or in his solo project, Deep Magic. For Moon Glyph’s 35th release we’re pleased to liberate Deep Magic’s nuanced drifting as a cassette entitled “Altars of Veneration”. Recorded at home in Los Angeles, “Altars” consists of the kind of wide-eyed panoramic ambience usually reserved for introspective & naturalistic time/space films. Infused with Gray’s particular sense of spatial relations, he fills his multi-colored spheres with flickering synths, glossy bottomless guitar ripples & shaded, abstract loops. Rapturous in its execution & cleansing for the spirit “Altars of Veneration” is a life-affirming, intimate expression of our universal vision.” – moon glyph

“Phil gave this 5/5.

Another batch of things have arrived which I’ve been forced to write about. It’s me doing the forcing as well so picture that will you. Deep Magic is Alex Gray who has played in Sun Araw, Pocahaunted, Black Eagle Child and maybe the Manics. I could be lying about the last one. Here he travels a tropical spacey path with some mellow wah wah, lots of flanging and a general feel of laying down on a beach in the sun, drinking fruit based alcoholic drinks having absolutely nothing to do. That does sound appealing though doesn’t it! It occasionally goes a bit wonky (like you’re melting on the beach) which keeps you on your toes. If you’re into that tropical psychedelic lazy sound (there’s bits of MV/EE here without the bluesy feel) then you’ll love this beast. Excellent! – Norman Records

“Through the warbling cassette-burn disintegration and neon waterfalls of guitar and synthesizer notes is an attention to detail not readily associated with the Not Not Fun label, which is I guess why this particular jammer has appeared on the really very reliable Preservation imprint. Sounding a damn sight more widescreen than I’d thought to expect from Gray, ‘Lucid Thought’ is a veritable audio journey, giving nods to Jodorowsky’s bleary-eyed drugscapes without ever sounding contrived or cheesy. It’s hard work making chemically enhanced psychedelic drone music without adhering to the usual tropes and clichés, but Gray has managed to come up with a record that succeeds in transcending its potential trappings.” -boomkat

“The effect of these sweeps, cycles and auras of expressive and scenic guitar vary greatly from person to person, depending on factors such as previous experiences, state of mind and environment, as well as dose strength/volume. Even at a low dose/volume this esoteric mix of exotic strings, spiritual synths and cosmic keyboards produces psychological effects that include an experience of radiant colours, objects and surfaces appearing to ripple or “breathe”, eidetic imagery, and an altered sense of time.” -fluid radio

“The panoramic, lyrical atmospheres on Lucid Thought are way more widescreen than ambience played out with cosmic inflections. ** Evocative and sunbleached instrumentation of fingerpicked guitar, synth, percussion, various keyboards and vocal tones lift Lucid Thought into a euphoric state glowing with microtonal melodies, continually shifting states with shimmering waves of psychedelia. This is bliss in delerium, ecstatically executed with true focus and clarity of purpose.” -preservation records

“Some chiming, unhurried ambient sounds here from Sun Araw’s Alex Gray under his solo moniker. This cosmic jam dresses droning tectonic shifts in organic guitar tones and bells and gradually intensifies the glow and then maintains the euphoric haze for ages. Hard to see how new age psychedelia could get any better than this as far as execution goes” -rose quartz

“…Since fragmenting out into his own DM sphere with two self-released tapes, Gray’s grasp of spatial composition and celestial cloaking devices has matured and expanded into a totally unique stargazing expedition worth its weight in ether. Solar Meditations is what it sounds like: 90 minutes of deep-sky holistic crystal healing. Melodic clouds of keyboards, chiming guitar, tubular bells, field recordings, moonlit piano, and amplifier gauze all shimmering down across stop-motion images of suns rising and vanishing into the Pacific. This is music for observatories; endless and nameless…” -nnf

“This member of Oakland’s psych act Dreamcolour is also a surreal soloist traveling under the pseudonym Deep Magic. His process is one of improvisation with laptops, amps, synths, drum machines, a bamboo sax and guitars on floors outside garages. The results leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach. His sonic outputs are solar meditations which give purpose to the terms ‘vibrational healing’ and ‘celestial tourism’. The magic on the A and B-sides of his cassette releases will take you to new atmospheres and then return your gut instinct to your heartbeat.”-peace lodge

“Unbelievable focus & creative pockets of dronal mystics present on this new tape. Deep Magic is Alex of Dreamcolour. Tribal patterns echo around progressive calmness; at times it’s a storm but at others we’re in control. It lulls into sleep, I suppose if things are sleep-inducing that’s bad? But now I’m not so sure. I’d like sleep after this, a power-sleep perhaps. DM’s material signals capturing of new ground & forthcoming tapes on NNF/DNT/etc are surely ones to await. Eagerly.”-dialobe warrior

“It’s the effortless melodies he creates and the lovely, indelible arrangement of the piece. It evolves slowly but never releases its core melody that entranced you in the first place. Have you ever seen the film For All Mankind? (you should if you haven’t) This piece totally reminds me of that, witnessing pure, inescapable, indescribable, otherworldly beauty for an extended period of time. You close your eyes while listening and you’ll either melt or just glide for eternity. Deep relaxation music for sure, just a brilliant piece of work. No joke, it’s seriously therapeutic. I love this.”-auxiliary out

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