|
|
|
------Amethystium
- Evermind |
| STYLE |
|
Progressive, elegant
new age electronica. Amethystium has created a hauntingly
distinct sound built around wistful voices, twinkling chimes,
bell trees and seductive synthesizer melodies. The overall
sound of Evermind is more opulent, more cinematic, thicker
than previous Amethystium releases, the world sounds of
the last two albums are less in evidence here, the piano
melodies less dominant. There are soaring ethereal female
singers, synthesised strings and woodwind along with effected
and reversed guitars - all captivated under the same heady
Amethystium glamour. The beats on Evermind are subtle, gentle,
downtempo backbeats rolling, deceptively puissant, like
the undertow of the tide. Evermind has an almost timeless
lullaby beauty that suggests a conclusion, the end of an
enthralling journey - the intimation of new paths ahead. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
Evermind feels
like the soundtrack to a fantasy where everything is drenched
in moonlight and mystery, fireflies flitting among whirling
mists, a sense of wonder and enchantment everywhere. Slower
in pace than Aphelion or Odonata, this CD delves deeper
into Amethystium's fragrant dreamlands exploring melodic
territories previously hinted at. The overall mood is uplifting,
optimistic with soaring themes, yet the low key sections
contain some charming moments, indeed some of the most alluring
passages on Evermind are the soft, shadowy interludes between
the major themes. The tempo is largely on the slower end
of the spectrum; there are some pieces with more rapid percussion,
but even these patter across the surface of languidly rolling
undercurrents, retaining the overall downtempo mood. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
artwork maintains the high standard set by previous releases
- deeply atmospheric and moody. A new element is the cover
illustration of Silas Toball which thickens the connection
with fantasy and introduces a narrative aspect to the dragonflies
that have adorned Amethystium releases from the start. The
digipack is attractive and contains an eight-page booklet
with some of the most beautiful landscape/woodland photography
I've ever seen, courtesy of Fred Strømme. Track titles
such as Into The Twilight, Reverie, Arcus and Fable establish
the thread from which the album is woven. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
Brimming
over with atmosphere, passion and optimism, Evermind is
a lush soundtrack to Øystein Ramfjord's personal
world. A refinement of the now familiar Amethystium sound,
the production is stronger and the presentation more confident.
We're told that this album is the finale to the 'dragonfly
trilogy'; fittingly a wistful tone floats beneath the generally
positive note set by this conclusion. Despite the melancholy
elements, however, this is in no way a sad album, neither
a dark album, except lit by shafts of luminescent moonlight.
The vocals of Lee Nisbet of Animus Mundi and Martha Krossbakken
(who appeared on Aphelion) thicken out the already rich
layering of ethereal sound with voices floating deep within
the mix. The evolving, unusual beats are one of Amethystium's
strong points; languid breakbeats full of blunt reverberating
thuds, soft crunches, reversed hits and delicate variation.
|
| |
| WHO WILL
LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Anyone
wanting more of Amethystium's gentle dragonfly beauty will
enjoy this album. If you enjoy lush fantasy music, dreams
of fairy rings and twilight woodlands - this CD will delight.
In parts Evermind is reminiscent of Mike Oldfield's sound,
taking an almost orchestral approach to composing with non-orchestral
instruments. |
| |
|
|
|
------ePHeMeRiD
- Lost In Dust |
| STYLE |
|
Elegant and sensual, Lost in
Dust is the third studio album from UK artist Ephemerid who
creates a dusky musical admixture of ethnic vocals and instruments,
electro-world beats and rich textures to produce something
akin to early Deep Forest or Loop Guru. Yet, Ephemerid isn't
afraid to delve deeper and darker, as many of these tracks
have a slightly haunting edge. Traditional instruments with
their exotic sounds and voices are mixed with electronics
to create a very contemporary sounding fusion album that can
take the listener to different parts of the world without
him having to leave his [or her] armchair. Like Ephemerid’s
previous two releases, Icarus Wings and Sleeper on the Sea,
this album touches on many global territories, unearthing
treasures like “Seventh Moon” with its use of
Native flutes and cries, although as a whole a stronger focus
has been placed upon more Mid-Eastern and Asian influences. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
There
is an overall tribal feel to the album due to the rhythms
and chanting that occur in many pieces. This album is not
heavy going though, because in some tracks, such as "Bamboo
Bridge", epHeMeRiD demonstrates a deft touch - in this
case with an oriental flavour of sounds incorporating flutes,
tinkling bells, and oriental strings (possibly including the
Erhu). Lost In Dust is among the more tenebrous and thickly
layered ethno-techno albums, with dense electronic weavings
and beautifully recurring piano washes! Its music to get utterly
lost in, music to surrender to. It is, quite simply put, a
soundtrack to an inevitable seduction. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
lush glowing colours of the cover imagery well match the exotic
musical tones of Lost In Dust. The inner cover montage presents
a grotesque deep-sea fish that saw the light of day briefly
once before on an Ephemerid compilation CD "Still Waters".
|
| |
| OVERALL |
|
Middle
Eastern sounds, with danceable beats wrapped around delicate,
masterful piano work and whirling vocal samples. Just over
an hour of music is split across ten tracks, most of which
are around five to six minutes long; this is about right for
an album like this which seems to want to convey a different
mood, theme, or experience of a place in each piece. Saying
that, Lost in Dust is not disjointed because overall it has
sounds that make the listener think of Asia and Africa. What
strikes me about this album is the adroitness with which the
sounds of traditional instruments from around the world are
blended with modern beats and rhythms. |
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
I
can recommend Lost in Dust for anyone seeking a relaxing,
but also upbeat and occasionally haunting, musical trip
to various places - as though one is briefly looking in
on exotic parts of the world. Worth checking out if you're
a fan of cross-cultural electronica with modestly dark undercurrents.
This CD review is a montage
of reviewers' comments from Wind
and Wire, Ambient
Musings, Hypnagogue
and Global
Trance.
04.11.04 |
| |
|
|
|
------Phutureprimitive
- Sub Conscious |
| STYLE |
|
Phutureprimitive employ dark,
haunting, extended, introductions that gradually build into
equally brooding down-tempo tracks. Very strong basslines
drive many of the pieces with blunt, gut thumping, dubby patterns
creating a powerful low end. Layers of synth arpeggios and
chord developments are laid over the top with excellent attention
to detail, clarity and quality of sound. There are tribal
hits and beats in places with sparingly employed ethnic flutes,
didgeridoos and yells adding to what feels like a lush, thick
sound. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
A
consistently moody yet refreshing tone is carried throughout
most of the album, supported by deep, evolving laid-back beats.
Sub Conscious feels like contemporary music of substance,
it is cool, unhurried and passionate. Tracks slowly build
into rhythmic passages; the beats shift and at times are gone,
before dropping back in with new elements added. There are
moments of ambient, environmental sound, unplaceable mechanical
noises and droplets of water and even some flamenco guitar
- yet the overall mood of 'subterranean electronic tribalism'
is never lost. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
A
close up primitive human face with hi-tech camouflage and
blue unblinking eye fills the front cover. Variations of this
same image reappear on some of the other panels. The booklet
is of three folded pages, dark on the outside with minimal
text - monochrome grey on the inside with text of a simple
font laid out in the shapes of an eye and a spiral. Text on
the back cover proclaims "A cinematic journey through
'sub conscious' sound. Deep swirls of rhythm meet phuture
dub. Vibration arouses the imagination. Find comfort in the
darkness." The Phutureprimitive logo is effective and
distinctive - I expect to see a lot more of it as word gets
around. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
A
strong, atmospheric album of electronica laced with female
and ethnic spoken and harmonic vocal snippets. There's a lot
going on in the low frequencies where weighty, hypnotic bass
and beats form a rolling canvas for some bold synthetic structures.
The synth work is engrossing - full of filter sweeps, gate
effects, morphs and arpeggios. Melodies are frequently understated,
almost arpeggiated, with the sensuality of the chord developments
being sufficient to carry the compositions. |
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Electronica
fans who prefer exploring the dark to the sunshine. This
is deep ambient dub for down-tempo dancers. If you enjoyed
Delerium's Semantic Spaces album this CD is a possible development
from there.
|
| |
|
|
|
------Entheogenic
- Spontaneous Illumination |
| STYLE |
|
Seven extended, mid tempo mixtures
of electronica, ambient, chill out, ethnic influences and
intelligent electronic dub. The Entheogenic sound is a rich
electro-acoustic melange designed to transport the listener
to esoteric, psychedelic, imaginary environments. There are
deep blissful, atmospheric passages full of reverberating,
floating sounds - some familiar, others intriguingly otherworldly.
There are restful rhythmic sections where vocals samples,
various flutes, chimes and synths play off one another. There
are pieces with light, driving beats, acidic software effects
and swirling sonic manipulations. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
The mood is generally
bright and inspiring yet well suited to relaxation. Tribal
voices and world instruments lend an exotic air to the constantly
bubbling synth-arpeggios, melodies and under-washes. The
production and sound quality is beautifully clear, comfortably
facilitating the smooth psyambient transportation of the
listener. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
Sharp,
busy psychedelic imagery with ethnic symbolism matches the
densely packed mix of the album's seven tracks. The largely
green, purple outer imagery conceals a comic luminescent lilac
sunburst within. The booklet further opens out into an eight
panel folded sheet, the innermost surface filled edge to edge
with a swirling lilac mini-poster. Text on the cover is largely
functional, apart from the bold Entheogenic logo, with a generous
section devoted to the band's thanks. The inside cover warns
"Please do not listen while driving or operating heavy
machinery and tools. c.o.r.n. recordings do not take any responsibility
for any unexpected perceptions". The CD is enhanced with
mp3 copies of all seven tacks. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
The
seven pieces are all quite long, allowing for drawn-out,
hypnotic introductions and an unhurried building and evolution
of each theme. Sounds range from an abrasive crow on track
one, streams of water and real world ambiences through bells,
monks, tablas and world voices to every imaginable form
of electronic melody and effect. The CD was composed and
produced by Piers Oak - Rhind and Helmut Glavar at the Entheogenic
Soundlabs in the southwest of France. |
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
This
is for electronic psychonauts, anyone enjoying lively, groove
oriented synthesiser music heavily laced with global samples.
If you want music with trance roots but a lowered tempo
somewhere in the mid-range, music with a new sound around
every corner, music that comes and goes in waves of ambient
intensity and danceable drum loops - try Spontaneous Illumination.
|
| |
|
| |
|
------Thom
Brennan - Satori |
| STYLE |
|
Long-form ambient
sound environment. Satori is simply one 71.49 minute track
of immense flowing beauty. A huge, undulating sonic plane
of sound with barely the subtlest of tone progressions creating
a sense of movement. The most obvious evolution throughout
the piece is the almost imperceptible variation of chordal
emphasis and the gradual oceanic heave in the level of frequency
sheen or depth. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
This CD conjures
up a vastness more completely than some of Thom's other
pieces and not just by virtue of the length of the piece.
The ambient soundfield presented here is achingly deep,
soaringly grandiose, transcendent, enormous. The listener
is enfolded, dwarfed by tectonic drones stretching off beyond
distant horizons. The usual shimmer and sheen of Thom's
music is present - but on Satori these are merely part of
a more profound trajectory. The idea with Satori is 'to
create a piece that is both bliss, and a has sense of tension
at the same time'. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
Mist
laden scenery anchors music to landscape. On the front cover
panel the view is of a medieval bridge in Japan tastefully
framed within a broad white border. The bridge aids a traveller
in making a crossing, Thom tells us that image this was the
starting point for the concept. Other graphic panels present
details of the same scenery; filling the inner booklet and
rear jewel case insert right to the edges, with the Kanji
symbol for the word Satori lightly superimposed. The main
text is gracefully composed and of a simple elegant font.
We're told inside the cover that Satori 'was realised as part
of a live studio improvisation' recorded at The Rain Garden,
Thom's own studio. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
With
few aural landmarks, you could come in at any point of this
silken, ambient infusion and not know where you are. Broad
scintillating tones fade in, sustain and slowly expand into
infinite space and timelessness. After some while of listening
the mind gives up hunting for detail, submits to the peace
of sensual indulgence and drifts. This is fully in keeping
with the title - Satori. Free from the clutter of detail
there can be a shifting of awareness, a sense of enlightenment
a feeling of infinite space. Thom explains "the music
however, like most of my music, has no solid references
to either the concept or the photo. The music was to create
an extended state of mind".
|
| |
| WHO WILL
LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
This
CD will appeal to someone looking for ambient music with minimal
structure. Music to create and fill it's own space, to become
your whole environment. |
| |
|
| |
|
------vidnaObmana
- Legacy |
| STYLE |
|
This conclusion
to the Dante trilogy maintains the restlessness and gloom
that vidnaObmana has carefully built up through previous
chapters 'Spore' and 'Tremor'. Tension and distortion pervade
the whole of this trilogy; Legacy is no exception, with
speaker-abusing beats, drones and electrical energy inhabiting
each and every shadow. There are sections of heavy, post-industrial
drumming pounding over some of the most edgy, scratching,
crawling ambience that you've ever heard. Moments of haunting,
lugubrious tonality wander some of the emptier passages,
but for the most part Legacy is invasive and cogent. Sounds
attributed to vidnaObman include electric guitars, rhythms,
various fujaras, overtone flutes and percussion, recycling
& abstract mutations, voices and Ebow harmonics. There
are also guest contributions by Paul Van Den Berg (recycled
electric guitar), Tex (recycled electric bass) and the 'recycled'
voice of photographer Martina Verhoeven on 'the Virtual
insomnia'. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
The tone - set
from the opening by the utterances of singer Steve Von Till
intoning the chosen monotone excerpt from Inferno - is dismal,
exploratory and riddled with neuroses. The sound often suggests
the wielding of deranged sonic engines, sound mangling devices
or the cross-breeding of musical abnormalities, tonal deformities.
As unrelentingly uneasy as the earlier chapters, Legacy
has a desolate beauty, a troubled allure - but is never,
never restful. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
highly textural, bleak, pale, silver/blue/grey photography
of Martina Verhoeven fills the graphic panels like documented
artefacts or field recordings. Obscure holes and debris litter
an abandoned wasteground, ambiguous rubble and earth surface
act as a monochrome backdrop for sharp, functional text. Titles
are indicative of musical content - 'bloodshift', 'sinner's
tongue', cycle of agony'. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
VidnaObmana's
web site explains that this series of CDs 'plays with the
duality of choices - covering the conflict of opposites,
between good and evil, black and white'. This is achieved
through a collage of foreboding musical mutation pulling
together sound sources spanning vidnaObman's considerable
history - we even have a morose, whining lead guitar break,
performed by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, echoing on
the final track. The trilogy concludes appropriately spiralling
off into oblivion. |
| |
| WHO WILL
LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Those
who are not afraid of sound, those with an open ear. This
is a brooding music, a music that explores the uncomfortable,
the more challenging alternatives, the path that others avoid.
Music without melodies, but coursing with dense droning texture,
charged brittle rhythm, charting obscure, bewildering depths. |
| |
|
