Kevin Bronson on December 11th, 2014

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Midway through “XLO,” the album from the artist going by the name Dzang, a spoken-word sample at the beginning of the song “Human Nature” asks: “Is this music denying human nature? Is the human ear equipped to take it all in? If the human ear can take it in, will the heart be moved?” It’s a snippet from the late Leonard Bernstein’s 1959 classic “The Joy of Music,” discussing composer Arnold Schoenberg’s tone-rows. And while we are out of our realm addressing twelve-tone technique, or anything related, those are fair questions in tackling a lot of ambient music. Dzang is the nom de tune of L.A. native Adam Gunther, once of the band Harriet and before that Flora & Fauna. About a year ago, Gunther relocated to Germany to continue his music explorations, and he describes “XLO” as carrying “the restlessness of Los Angeles all the way to Berlin.” Fans of Nicolas Jaar, L.A.’s Shlomo and other experimental electronic music might find something intriguing here; certainly the track “Sea Floor” takes you there.

||| Stream: “Sea Floor” and “Another Lover”