Ferng: Long Mountain Travelogue
Ferng
Long Mountain Travelogue
Genre: Techno
‘Long Mountain Travelogue’ is the first LP release of Ferng, the techno alter-ego of long time Zouk resident Hong. Boasting not-so-subtly-named tracks like ‘Isolation Day 7’ and ‘Isolation Day 8’, this long-player follows in the vein of last year’s Non-Essential Funpack EP, a volley of COVID-birthed techno that emerged inspired by the bedroom daze of the pandemic. I get it though – it’s been a long couple of years, and there’s nothing quite like a techno album to bring out the durational aspect of COVID-19. It’s been a journey and yes, I feel it in the music.
Like the name suggests, this album is a trip, and the first track ‘Enter The Long Mountain’ is its initiation, beckoning us with ceremonial-sounding loops before the record picks up the tempo with some good ol’ four to the floor. Though packing squelching warbled synths on some numbers (‘Crazy Rich Toxic Levels On The Socials’) and lush textures on other cuts (‘Meteorites on the PCN’), the album never quite ups the BPM, preferring to oscillate at a languid pace.
Being a ’post-pandemic’ venture, Long Mountain doesn't rush to go anywhere or do anything except reiterate upon itself, to the point where you might not notice that you’ve already cycled through the nine tracks a couple of times. But I enjoy the levity – as a whole, the album holds a soothing locomotive quality that facilitates easy listening. After some internet stalking, Ferng seems to be an avid cyclist, which explains the record’s distinctly wayfaring quality and langarous momentum. One can glean from the track previews on his Instagram, juxtaposed against blurry phone footage of bike rides through the Singaporean 'countryside', how whimsically titled tracks like ‘The Secret No ERP Scenic Route’ could have come about.
In the past few years, time has definitely slowed perceptibly – in order to preserve our sanity, we all learned to adapt to ‘long mountain’ survival mode; and on better days, even mildly enjoy it. The aptly titled ‘travelogue’ could be said to be a musical memento of a time that felt extremely durational for many, but I guess two years is as good enough of a time to sit down and work on some serious music.
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