Audiopile Review: Regular readers of our weekly email who dig down deep into the nooks and crannies of the electronic section will likely have come across albums from 36 (pronounced three-six) over the years. With releases on imprints like Past Inside The Present and A Strangely Isolated Place, not to mention his own 3six imprint, the UK-based producer has been slowly building an impressive body of work that ranges from hypnagogic synth soundtracking, immersive ambient music and even lo-fi ambient-techno (check the utterly sublime 2016 album The Infinity Room for an earful of that). In 2019, he released a series of cassettes called Dreamloops, all of which are collected on vinyl for the first time in this 4xLP set. The name of the set is a bit of a giveaway to what you’re likely expecting to encounter here—a series of loops deep in the somnambulant zone, reaching for the sublime while retaining the melancholic atmosphere of our dreaming lives. The synth-based loops, usually inhabiting a BoC-esque smeary hue, play out while he slowly escalates the lengthy tracks (exactly 18 minutes each) into towering dreamtime sculptures, undergirding the nostalgia-inducing tones with thickly layered shoegaze ambience and serpentine drones. While his discography is a daunting one for those just dipping their toes in, Dreamloops is the perfect entry point (a pricey one, we confess). Also comes recommended for fans of the emotive looping works of Rafael Anton Irisarri, William Basinski, Abul Mogard or Celer.

Presenting the first vinyl release of Dreamloops, a collection of long-form tracks that form a stunning two-and-a-half-hour suite over four LPs. The box set has been created, mixed, and designed by Dennis Huddleston, who, as 36 (“three-six”), is among the most celebrated electronic musicians operating today. Praised for his ability to imbue songs with strong, relatable undercurrents, Huddleston achieves a new level of subconscious connection with Dreamloops.

First appearing in 2019 as a series of cassettes, Dreamloops was revisited by Huddleston in 2023 to bring newfound clarity, focus, and cohesion. There are eight pieces, each an 18:00 minute standalone self-contained work. In each song, time slows as an ensemble of sounds builds on themes and develops emotional power. Much like epic works such as The Sinking Of The Titanic by Gavin Bryars, LaMonte Young’s Well-Tuned Piano, Daughters Of Darkness by Natural Snow Buildings and Morton Feldman’s String Quartet II, each fragment of Dreamloops culls developing melodies towards hauntological steps forward. Sound spectrums don’t spread wide but instead focus on a precise musical statement, exploring its absolute potential.

That said, Dreamloops does not exist in its own idealized sphere. Deep listening reveals tape hiss, oversaturation, wow and flutter, and similar imperfections. The fingerprints deepen part of these tracks’ emotional impact. Henryk Gorecki’s humanity meets Max Richter’s sense of grandeur meets Deathprod’s absolute sound mining, as Huddleston deftly maneuvers his songs toward momentous epic impact. “Emotions get tied in our mind with specific sounds,” Huddleston says. “The whole point of creating music is to explore and discover those frequencies.” A simmering nostalgia is ever present.

“There is a beauty in this sound…[where] you can truly glimpse into the soul of the composer.” —Headphone Commute

“Warm, hugely emotive loop-based compositions, with particular emphasis on melody and atmosphere.” —The Rest Is Noise