Audiopile Review: Hot on the heels of Music For Bus Stations, his overt nod to Brian Eno, Rod Modell burrows even deeper into finely detailed ambient immersion with the appropriately titled Northern Michigan Snowstorms. Once again landing on Italian imprint 13, the label has been a primary outlet for Modell to delve further into his ambient urges, his recent albums with Gigi Masin, Taka Noda, as all well as good handful of solo LPs, are all fine showcases of the flip side to his better known work as DeepChord. This ongoing series of investigative ambient albums are what DeepChord would sound like if you stripped out the pulsing orbs and bass-y depth charges, leaving us with this capital A Ambient music. Even though the cover features a frozen winter landscape—the title itself makes our teeth chatter—the album is still imbued with the warm touch that has made DeepChord and Modell’s solo work resonate with so many over the past thirty years. The chilled and grey atmosphere of his gaseous plumes and slow-looping tones are offset by a glowing hearth of crackling textures, a cozy shelter to watch the storm pass. Admittedly this would have been better suited for release back in the dregs of winter, arriving just a hair too late to have the full effect intended, but ambient music this sublime is good year-round.

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“Northern Michigan Snowstorms” is an auditory journey that captures the serene beauty and introspective magic of stormy winters nights in the countryside. Each track transports listeneres to cozy cottages nestled in tall pines. Music that mirrors the serene solitude of a snowy evening, where time slows, allowing the listener to be enveloped in a cocoon of sonic wonder. Ambient layers mimic the gentle whispering of the wind through snow covered branches. Eight tracks of blurry loops, soft pads, and recordings of snowfall in the forest. An immersive experience designed to transport you into the heart of nature’s winter wonderland, all white nestled in the confort of your favorite retreat. Another “monumental” work by Rod Modell.