#KoraliReview - Aviary by Digital Flock (2025)
An aviary serves its purpose as a sanctuary, and building a sanctuary can make you forget that a safe space is still confined. Nearly ten months after the release of the debut LP, the album, collaboratively built around six local artists, claims to be a piece that was meant to push boundaries, but regrettably falls into the generic cadence of radio- or set-friendly music. While promising Maldivian folktronic coasts in this eight-track project, the release underwhelms the solitary listener in its arrangements and formulaic progressions.
True to the name, Digital Flock AKA Mirah Ally blends electronic world-building with the cultural frequencies of Maldivian folk, a landmark moment for the local scene, marrying modern ambient electronica with traditional rhythmic identity. There is an enveloping warmth in how organically mixed and produced the tracks are, acting as the project’s ultimate saving grace. DF’s impressive multi-instrumental skill is undeniable, yet the album plays too safe to leave a lasting impression. By staying true to the vision and not leaning too heavily into the digital realm, the album flows naturally, despite the songs slipping into grooves that are more set-friendly. With it being described as a collaborative album in previous interviews, the expectation was that it would showcase all the featured artists along with DF’s versatility to the fullest - a goal that seems not fully attained in execution, with the songs having minimal sonic risks.
When the vocals are stripped, almost every single track shares the same structural sonic DNA. That makes complete sense in resort DJ sets and club music, which rely on predictable, comfortable blueprints. On a full album, though, it misses the mark when creating with other artists whose recognition comes through delivery and lyricism. The experience is rather different from that of the armchair listener. There is a repetitiveness that's forced with the rigid 8-bar loop trap, which takes away human storytelling and emotional delivery. When each track shares the same heartbeat, it creates passive listening rather than someone connected with headphones, completely immersed. Ambient house music is notoriously known for being a hard genre to create originality in, simply because of its structure – and without nurturing an artist's capacity to spark the unexpected, the genre will remain tethered in predictability. Grit, friction, and the unpredictable are the edges that give electronic music its soul.
In no way is the LP without merit; with isolating tracks such as “Thaafaana” and “Raanee,” there is a level of skill displayed that truly shows that the issue does not lie in foundational aspects. These two standout tracks are the songs in which the arrangements steer away from safer production loops. Experiencing “Raanee” with Iqyan Rafeeu’s melancholic, falsetto-driven R&B bears a striking resemblance to The Weeknd. The shift in the arrangements turns darker to accommodate the vocalist's delivery, providing a vital contrast that elevates the interpretation of genuine emotion, giving way to an uncompressed performance. The high-fidelity highlight of the cut belongs to the last track on the album, “Thaafaana”, the closest the album got to enriching the bridge between Maldivian folktronic. By abandoning the “four-on-the-floor” club beat and utilizing Dhivehi rhythmic syncopation, the synths have no choice but to bend and adapt to the momentum and unpredictability of local folk percussion. It produces true friction that's embedded in the track’s architecture with textures that seem to breathe life into what feels deeply culturally rooted.
Almost a year later, Aviary remains precisely what its name implies. A beautifully structured sanctuary to view from afar. It stops short of a true breakthrough as an immersive, collaborative statement. The highlights ensure that the foundation of something groundbreaking is already there. It just needs to be harnessed. The prioritisation of the comfortable borders of ambient house over the raw energy of the collaborators proved to be a compromise that diluted the album's desired ambitions. The only hope is that on his next flight, Digital Flock abandons the sanctuary and embraces the wild.
Listen to the album on Spotify below.
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