Hidden Beams shaping new realities darkly toward the light on "Reveal"

"I must learn to forget myself"

Carlos Argon's "sonic laboratory project", Hidden Beams, gives birth to art rock that seems to emanate from the cosmos itself, Take the atmospheric universe of Reveal. The narrative here is so densely drawn that the track that times in at a bit under 4 minutes feels half that length. The jammy shuffle beat and Argon's vox may be the most organic sounding elements of the song that is awash in what sounds like a droning sustained guitar chord(s) with synth sounds that bend and move in mysterious ways. Those synth melodies that sometimes mirrors Argon's whimsical vocal melodies push hard into fantastic places, there is a fable-esque quality here steeped in both sci-fi and maybe hidden past tones all at once. That old fashioned veneer here with the big organ sounds hearken back to big 70's post rock. A lot going on, a lot to get lost in and dream.

“Regardless of experimentation, the focus is always on creating healing, soothing and, sometimes, jarring songs. These songs serve as windows into confusion and acceptance, realization, and insight,” Carlos Argon.

-Robb Donker Curtius

Hidden Beams · Reveal

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“I felt like the opportunity to connect with others through music was missing from my life,” shares experimental progressive-rock composer Carlos Argon of his sonic laboratory project Hidden Beams.

Carlos has released many albums, performed and recorded around the world, but Hidden Beams remains his outlet to channel his boldly adventurous musicality into a format that is broadly resonant. “I feel this way people have better access to the beauty and the healing I am trying to share,” he explains.

Signpost influences to the Hidden Beams aesthetic include a melding of the avant-garde and the pop-rock garde with artists such as Syd Barrett, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Henry Threadgill, alongside The Beatles, The Cure, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix, among others. Hidden Beams compositions are constructed from found sounds, improvisations, and composed sections. “Regardless of experimentation, the focus is always on creating healing, soothing and, sometimes, jarring songs. These songs serve as windows into confusion and acceptance, realization, and insight,” Carlos notes.

If there is a mission statement for the project it is that Hidden Beams is a metaphor for the invisible forces that shape our lives, these span polarities that drive us such as love and hate, healing and harming, and others energies that spur is into light or dip us into darkness.

New single, Reveal, is a potent dose of atmospheric rock richly layered with goth electronic textures, tribal drums, and bursts of chaotic noise. The thorough line here is Carlos’s dreamy low-register vocals which, taken with the song’s self-love thematic bend, are hypnotically healing. He clarifies: “It’s all about starting to step out of the shadows with the help of a knowing and strong bond with a loving partner. Beginning a ‘journey’ of revealing the parts of the self and discerning ‘true feelings from fantasy.’”

Reveal showcases new hues within Hidden Beams as Carlos, who typically produces the project’s output, sought out producer Eli Crews (tUnE-yArDs, Son Lux and Sean Lennon) for a fresh artistic perspective. “I wanted to do something outside of my comfort zone for this track, and Eli was a perfect choice because he’s worked with many non-traditional progressive rock acts.”