On Drifts, Arp offers a compelling suite of ambient sketches shaped by an evolving fascination with shadow and interiority. Released by Modern Obscure Music, the album sees the New York musician assembling a cast of sonic collaborators including Patrick Belaga, Marilu Donovan (LEYA), and Takuma Watanabe, with whom he cultivates a series of immersive sound scenes, each functioning as both a clue and a gently unfolding narrative. Drawing on the tactile resonance of piano, harp, and strings, and anchoring much of the work in modular synthesizer abstractions, Georgopoulos destabilizes fixed listening habits. The results ripple with the dual forces of improvisation and compositional sculpture, pitching the listener into iridescent vapors reminiscent of aftermath and quiet recovery.
Rather than settling for static atmospheres, Drifts glimmers with attention to detail—each track revealing subtle harmonic shifts and kinetic interplay between acoustic and electronic timbres. The dialogue between aftermath and renewal is central here: slow-motion melodies dissolve into textural ambiguity, while sampled fragments and recomposed vignettes echo the unpredictability of lived memory. With its cinematic energy and non-linear approach, the album resists easy resolution, favoring a cumulative effect where meaning is mapped through rhythmic echoes and hushed motifs. Georgopoulos's trademark is evident—a narrative built as much on suggestion and omission as on direct statement, his sense of form shaped by a keen willingness to dwell in ambiguity.
The influence of ambient classical and club-adjacent genres surfaces in the album’s tranquil passages, while the more experimental edges recall the works of artists like Josiah Steinbrick or Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Yet, the mood is consistently intimate, electric, and unhurried—an invitation to deep listening, where the act itself becomes transformative within the immersive sequence of tracks. Distributed worldwide by Wordandsound and Forced Exposure, and presented as both LP and digital edition, Drifts stands as a testament to Arp’s continued exploration of sonic boundaries, offering listeners a patiently sculpted environment where drifting between emotional states feels quietly radical.
