Three Fields: "Isolator"

Having only released photos of himself but no name, Three Fields is ambient’s resident Batman—nothing is known about his identity except he’s a Birmingham-based electrician who’s been tinkering with signal processors for years. If you live in the West Bromwich area and are having new sockets put in, check to see if the bloke who fits them in is blasting Enya as he pulls up in his van. You can wait till he’s finished, then unmask him.

Gaelic chillout is a far cry from the Three Fields sound, however, which focuses on harsh static balanced out by gentle instruments. “Isolator,” released ahead of debut Cambridge Blue, is his style at its most digestible: fuzzy Casios peppered with guitar, glass bells playing a melody. The exotic, misty feel screams enjoy while bathing, and implies Three Fields is meant to be savoured with candles, beads and sea minerals. But the composer keeps an air of menace in the mix and proves that ambient should be enveloping first, relaxing second. He’s probably basing the approach on real life experience—if you’ve ever cross-wired your phase and CPC feeds, you’d find it hard to assume the lotus pose too.