20. Horchata
“Saprobe”
from “Basidia”
analog, digital and soft synthesizers, samplers, field recordings and sound generation software created and programmed by Michael Palace
www.zero1media.com/horchata

Horchata’s dense layers of dark, organic drones, drifting melodies and pulsing beats are the creation of Michael Palace, a scientist by day at UNH’s Complex Systems Research Center. Perhaps the only band ever to take its name from a Central American beverage, Horchata began in the late ’90s as Palace’s first solo project. Over the years, Horchata’s discography has now grown to include over 20 releases, including two full-length recordings, appearances on several compilations and over eight collaborative releases with like-minded artists from across the United States and Europe, such as Twine, Zenopede and Ocosi.

Horchata’s music is an unusual aural marriage of raw organic mutability and stark digital accuracy. This integration is displayed in all aspects of Palace’s project, from his mix of warm but unstable analog modular electronics with precise digital synthesizers right through his choice of album titles and cover art. Also notable is his willingness to relinquish control of his music and allow manipulation of his works by other artists. This all-encompassing embrace of both random chance and guided process separates him from many of his peers.

An important factor in Horchata’s electro-organic sound and concept is Palace’s attitude toward nature and judicious use of field recordings.

“I find being in the outdoors, whether it’s the Amazon rainforest, a trail in the White Mountains or my backyard, to be a wonderfully intense, humbling and beautiful experience,” he says. “It’s almost a state of nothingness. I try to get that across in my songs.” Palace’s job regularly brings him to the Amazon, and his compositions often use recordings of the natural environment made during these expeditions. Sounds range from a typical night in a small town to insects and animals moving within the forest. Far from being soothing, the layering of these recordings within a bed of shifting and humming synthesizers brings to mind the unease of walking alone through the forest at night, where the shadows coat the familiar and beautiful surroundings with something dark and alien. Palace’s skillful balance between atmosphere and melody keep the sense of isolation and unease from becoming too oppressive—except when he wants it to be. Adding to his evolution, the pronounced rhythmic elements of his latest release, “Basidia,” mark a shift to a more beat-oriented sound, different from the primarily dark ambient focus of his earlier works. In addition to Horchata, Palace also plays Theremin and synths in the band Hateful Little Cakes and is currently brewing his own beer.