"Academy of Light is a Los Angeles-based ambient ensemble founded by songwriter and producer Ryan Pollie. A fixture in the LA scene for his easygoing manner and robust home-recording operation, Pollie’s recent projects have seen him shifting between more traditional songwriting and less-defined yet deeply concentrated forays into ambient music, a passion he has long wanted to explore with other people.

“I knew I wanted the experience to be modal and fluid, taking shape in real time. Intuitive music guided by principles and adjectives rather than chord changes or structure,” he says. “Once we completed the first session, I knew we had something pretty special.”

Upon gauging interest from friends and collaborators in forming a larger, instrumental-focused collective, Pollie was “gleefully surprised” by the number of musicians eager to give their time to the new project. Both old acquaintances and new faces turned up. Before long, a series of recording sessions were scheduled at Pollie’s house, a space he describes as “halfway between a home studio and a full recording studio.” Prior to each meeting, group texts went out to all interested parties, though attendance was never mandatory.

As the sessions got underway, standard pre-production tactics proved hard to maintain. Instead, while that day’s band made their way into the studio, Pollie offered each member a few descriptive words to establish a general drift. The only other directive, informally modeled after traditional Quaker etiquette: speak when compelled to speak; listen when not compelled to speak. Recording commenced with a minute of silence with no set rules to follow. Taking inspiration from the improvisational philosophies of German composer Peter Michael Hamel, curiosity sat at the forefront of everyone’s mind, as ascent proceeded to rule the room. Pollie’s cat, quietly perusing the sprawl of gear, perhaps the only grounded lifeform present.

“I would see smiles all around the room,” says Pollie on opening his eyes mid-session. “I think we created a place to visit rather than an album of songs.”

Open Air, the first official release from Academy of Light, delineates that sense of ephemeral beauty. Captured during the final recording session at Pollie’s house, the album is comprised of a single, 40-minute progression of rapturous sonic inquiries set to a droning backdrop. As with the rest of the material captured during the sessions, the track is void of overdubs, its innocence preserved in the wonderment and spontaneity of the recording.

On the surface, Open Air is a sparkling soundtrack suited for all forms of cosmic contemplation. A deeper examination reveals a raw and shapeshifting spectacle, one that invites both musician and listener to become agents in a joint act of exploration and to submit to the living stillness that exists deep within our inner world. Unforeseen harmonies arrive subtly from unexpected places, quietly converging in vibrational agreement. Percussion showers rain over a canvas of dreamy synthesizers and evanescent piano arrangements. Martial drumming punctuates the serenade of humming bells and bowls. Burbling basslines intermingle with transient spells of flute, while timely strings sing the language of stars.

This medley of instrumentation extends into the live setting, where so far the Academy’s performances remain similarly fluid and open-ended. “I think sometimes you go in thinking you'll play one note the whole time, and then surprise yourself by really stretching out and saying something more complex,” says Pollie, who is quick to acknowledge the long and rich history of prompt-oriented ensembles favoring improvisation over conventional methods. “We feel excited to carry this lineage out in our community.”

With more material from the recording sessions forthcoming, Pollie’s vision for exploring ambient music on a grander scale is set for a joyous unveiling. Open Air deems Academy of Light an institution in which rhythm rules over reason, relinquishing the formalities of modern song and offering entryway into an atmosphere absent of form, conjuring a world in which all are invited to exist in direct communion with light." - Roberto Johnson