I was writing an email to an old teacher and good friend of mine, who is also a music lover, concerning SOTL. I've recently gotten her into them so I was sending her a few tracks from the different releases to show her how they've developed over time.
I thought I might post this bit here:
"And then we have 'Their Refinement of the Decline', which took on an even more distinctive sound. I think the name itself was very tongue in cheek, but it also encompasses what they have been doing for years. Taking musical moments and stretching them out into an ocean of sound.
The word 'oceanic' is frequently heard when describing ambient music, and it is a curious listening experience because the term implies something massive with an indefinite end, but that isn't true. The album always ends. I think that is what the title is getting at in a way, the music will inevitably end, and all they have done is to take the final moments of something and expanded it, refined it. It is amusing to think that perhaps they were thinking about the last few seconds of a pop record."
I wasn't serious about the last sentence of course
