An array of inaudible voices greets the listener at the beginning of this EP, almost as if eavesdropping on a field recording of train station announcements sourced from a damaged cassette. With the arrival of a repeated three note keyboard riff lurking beneath a world of ambient sounds – ranging from something that sounds like the rhythmic clatter of trains on tracks, to noises that evoke imagery of workmen shifting huge piles of rubble – it’s clear that this listening experience will be more about creating a mood than enjoying any “traditional” music.

In some ways, the repetitious nature of the keyboard riff that runs through ‘Freeze’ carries a faint echo of ‘1/1’ by Brian Eno, but its synth-based tones pull things much closer to a minimalist score for a horror film from 1983. No matter the outcome, the result is a recording that continually draws the ear. Chances are, on first listen, you’ll find yourself wondering if the sound collage is leading to something bigger; on further revisits, you’ll certainly be paying closer attention to see if any more interesting sounds can be gleaned from the selection of drones, rattling sounds and other elements. It’s safe to say that by building slowly, and then just falling into silence after just four minutes, this number leaves its prospective audience wanting more.

The EP’s other three pieces are similarly brief, but for the fan of the more avant-garde elements of ambient music, each one will share something of interest. ‘Thaw’ opts for sounds that veer much closer to a horror score by placing loud, heavily reverbed, clanking sounds against a deep drone. Each one appears to ramp up the tension, even before some rather spooky whispered voices creep through the cracks. Allowing a slight concession to a more traditional ambient recording, high tones emit something that fuses synth sounds and feedback, and a few warbling, deeper notes hint at a classic synth/electronica base, but whereas some artists would allow the deeper sounds to form the track’s base, Megafauna merely allows these pulses to drift in and out, whilst harsher noises take centre stage. Moving into something even quieter, the opening of ‘Bloom’ sounds as if the music is being piped in from a different room. The keyboard notes, again, form a repetitive loop, but are so faint, they’re certainly not meant to be the main focus, despite providing the only musical element. Instead, the ear is drawn to intermittent sounds appearing throughout: something that could be footsteps on gravel; scratching noises that sound like the opening of a heavy crate; other objects being shifted. It’s only at the midpoint that the various sounds come together and make sense, along with the help of a looped sound featuring birdsong, which evokes even more of an outdoor activity. In terms of actual music, it’s rather thin, but approached as another ambient snapshot, this is the EP’s standout, despite the previous ‘Freeze’ doing far more to keep the listener engaged.

Finally, having teased with various different moods and allowing ‘Bloom’ to lend a feeling of quiet optimism, ‘Die’ moves back towards the downbeat. A slow melody driven by synthesised sound blends drone with tones that could be a cello – should this be transposed to an orchestral setting – and the way that rises and falls presents something rather cinematic. Wordless voices bring extra layers of sound, almost like a Tibetan monk’s chant, and steady, rhythmic beats finally allow something with a more traditional melody to grow. A few extra rhythms and a slight increase in volume pulls the track further away from ambient and into something that blends soundtrack work with world music tones, eventually allowing a repetitive melody to wash over the listener. In keeping with this pairing’s more obtuse side, of course, at the point where everything feels really natural, the beats begin to fall away, the drones become more aggressive, and having jolted the now fairly relaxed listener, everything falls into silence.

These four pieces created by Megafauna in collaboration with Homesick Ghosts rely more on mood than melody, but as a sound-cycle moving from the coldness of winter, through a full on bloom and into the murky death of the autumn, it works, and the overall bleakness of the EP as a whole means it plays very strongly as a room colourant. Assuming you’re happy to have your immediate surroundings take on such a downbeat tone, ‘Nature Is Healing’ is great. Falling somewhere between the minimalist sound collages from Billy Yfantis and the more drone-centric moments of Eno’s soundtrack pieces, this short listen might just be the ultimate slow burn.

June 2025