Divination

Divination emerged as one of Bill Laswell’s numerous endeavors, initially intended to fuse ambient textures with rhythmic elements drawn from dub, house and jungle, though the percussive component gradually receded after the earliest outings. Consistent with many of Laswell’s ventures, the project never functioned as a stable ensemble; personnel shifted with each recording, and several releases functioned more as compilations than conventional group efforts.

Ambient Dub Volume I appeared on Subharmonic in 1993. Working alongside Liu Sola, Jeff Bova, Nicky Skopelitis, Buckethead and Robert Musso, Laswell merged weightless atmospheric layers with pronounced house grooves. The sequel, Ambient Dub Volume II: Dead Slow, followed in 1994 and enlisted Bova, Jah Wobble and Mick Harris; the result grew darker, emphasized ambience further and kept rhythms restrained. Both albums were later packaged together as the two-CD set Light in Extension, which added a pair of previously unheard pieces and surfaced that same year on Stoned Heights/4th & Broadway exclusively in the United Kingdom.

In 1995 the double-disc Akasha arrived. One disc offered pure ambience through individual contributions from Laswell, Haruomi Hosono, Anton Fier and M.J. Harris, all rendered in an airy, delicate register, while the companion disc introduced spacious rhythmic material that incorporated jungle and drum-and-bass pulses. Laswell and DXT produced two of those tracks; Hosono supplied the third with substantial involvement from Laswell.

Following Laswell’s split with Subharmonic founder John Matarazzo, the 1996 double album Distill was issued on SubMeta. Focused entirely on ambience, the set compiled eight new pieces by eight distinct practitioners: Paul Schutze, Pete Namlook, Hosono, Mick Harris, Thomas Koner, Anton Fier, Tetsu Inoue and Laswell. Two years afterward, Sacrifice appeared on Meta, presenting an extended meditative soundscape shaped by Laswell and electric zither performer Laraaji. Although the project now appears oriented toward ambient work, its future direction remains open to further change.