Absent - Absent's Children (Self-released) |
A well thought of work of downtempo electronica is the latest visiting card of Absent, a French duo active in the contemporary scene of audio cum visuals that can be regarded as the new laptop-based intellectualism to populate the avant-garde scenes. The work consists of four main tracks and as many re-mixes. All engulfed in a pretty clean cinematic atmosphere and a tidy minimalism that shrinks even prettier with the re-mixed contributions. The main tracks offer a mixture of ambient elements, rhythmic electronica and minimal melodic lines. Less is more is the paradigm here, as the forward-thinkers do away with the overrated abundance of chaotic layers that has charaacterised a vast amount of the electronic industrial music much en vogue during the last decade. There's no sign of pretentiousness in the clean rhythmic patterns that find their way into this work, nor in the mono-timbre melodies that push simplicity as a clean and direct form of expression. Dark on the whole, and much in line with a buoyant current of electronic artists delighting our senses out of France. www.collectif-ras.org |
Gianfri |
Albireon - I passi di Liœ (Palace of Worms) |
This latest release for the Italian outfit Albireon, lead by Davide Borghi, sees some of the most introspective and enchanting moments in the history of the project. The ten tracks featured are drenched in foggy, oneiric ambiences, so thin and fragile, they give the unreal feel of being sculpted out of mist and are free-standing in an abstract dimension, a layer far above the reach of human beings. Davide's poetry is sublime as we are used to and learned to love. His words are delicate, they embed themselves gently in the surrounding mist. There's a fair bit of experimentation in the backdrops to this unreal story, billed as a "collection of memories of a lost beloved one". A solitary guitar moves shyly through the haze. I passi di Liœ see Albireon breaking from the neo-folk paradigm, around which the band had already reached highly respectable levels, to explore a self-crafted way that conjures up visions ranging from Fin de Siecle to Ain Soph. Curiously, the last of the ten tracks spans about a quarter of the duration of the whole work, featuring more courageous experimentation, subtle noise and ambient research, that solitary guitar which occasionally picks up a melody, a strum duetting with background noises and the hazy vocals that turn ethereal at the apex. I have loved each and every work by Albireon, always for slightly different reasons, and I have to say that even if I passi di Liœ lacks an "headline" song, a sublime ballad whose melody leaves a lasting memory, there's a lot to go for declaring this probably the most accomplished work to date for the band. www.albireon.it - www.palaceofworms.com |
Gianfri |
Alex Tiuniaev - I Knew Her (Cold Spring Records) |
This is one if the rare occasions these days when I'm certain words will fail to convey the message about how strong a musical piece can be. Put this on, and watch it lifting you to a world of splendor, a mesmerizing swirl of grand emotions to which it's hard to stay cold. Mr Alex Tiuniaev is an electronic musician hailing from Moscow and he seems keen to get his talent at work on a variety of genres including film music, ambient and electroacoustic. I Knew Her is a single piece of just over 40 minutes of length, and it starts in a quiet, very unassuming way, with ambient noises and an inaudible melodic structure that struggles to get heard in the first place, from what is like synthetic cello strings. That single melody line built around a very simple 4-chord structure is the key to the work as it grows steadily in volume and gets subtle electronic and orchestral layers added over and over in a very fluid way. Repetition here is used in a very ingenious way, as the piece assumes a marked hypnotizing character that possesses a very high potential to work on some central neural system, to soft it down, melting the whole of the neural connections one by one as the music progresses to enslave the listener into a one way journey to an dreamy world were angels sing in glory and passion is no longer to be repressed as it is in the real world. At about half the play time, the first climax is reached, as the little riff has by now grown into a full blown classical string orchestration, while ethereal choirs start to build up to take the ride to even higher heights. Let yourself be caressed by hordes of soft-voiced angels while it becomes clear that the previous climax was only the starting point of a ramp-up to the highest skies, where operatic chorals take the lead for a good while. It is around the 30-minute mark that the catharsis is to be enjoyed in full, and it is by now that the author decides to let the passion slowly decay, still playing strong on the 4 original chords. A sense of exhaustion becomes apparent, as the angelic voices diminish in number, eventually leaving a single one to underline the proceedings to the inevitable end, which is as subtle as the beginning was, revealing a subliminal backdrop of ambient-like noises. This is clearly exhaustion after pleasure. The ability to let a piece this strong seamlessly build up and decay without introducing major traumas or unwanted senses of loss is another trait of the composer technique that deserves to be praised. As is the choice to employ hypnotic repetition to shape up the neoclassic and avantgardist grandeur to be enjoyed in this work. I find this work to be quite a landmark in an experimental scene that rarely in fact hits the target in such a convincing way, by wrapping the experimental added value in the conception of the work itself, rather than by the use of wild sonic experimentation, which is the main avenue naturally walked first by the vast majority who seek innovation. www.coldspring.co.uk |
Gianfri |
Arkane - Enraptured Serene Mesmerism (Seduction Prod) |
A spectacular debut for this one-man project from Greece Enraptured Serene Mesmerism doesn't hide behind a wordy title, on the contrary wholly honors the title itself with 40 minutes of enchanting orchestral classicism that is a gorgeous entry in the neo-classical arena straight through the front door. The eight tracks are lined with operatic female vocal lines, over backdrops traced by dramatic orchestral synths, resulting in a journey seamlessly moving between ethereal, ascetic and infernal, sometimes amazingly within the same passage. Seduction is the key, as ArkanumX underlines in several of the song titles, not to mention the label name, and seductive this journey certainly is. Seductive and mysterious. Dark and, yes, serene; and mesmerising, or better, enrapturing. The orchestration are fairly basic, yet empowered in a way reminiscent of some Cold Meat tradition, and the real selling point is the voluptuous vocal play, mostly akin to atmospheric synth lines and celestial ambiences, sometimes even too much overpowering the scene. Aside from this consideration, there's little to fault in a record like this, provided you put this on the better part of the day (read night, of course!). seductionprod@hotmail.com |
Gianfri |
Artridge - Butterfly Wing Theory - Part I - Think Tank (Interlink Audio) |
After a 4-year hiatus, the Berlin-based duo made up by Christoph Mainz and Robin Pleil are back with a new visionary work of eclectic connotations. Artridge bring under the same roof a variety of styles to give life to the first part of a compendium of their night-time creative wanderings. Drifting from post-industrial to jazzed up electric rock, ambient to prog, IDM to psychedelic, Artridge broadcast a message that knows no boundaries and leaves little place to clichŽs. Although they call themselves 'retro-garde', their approach to composition is purely avant-gardist and markedly freeform. Yet they build up and maintain a sonic coherence that holds for the duration of the work, which consists of eleven tracks and just over 45 minutes of playing time. The journey they offer is purely fascinating and, as it's easy to see this is on the wrong side of the pop sensibilities that dictate mass-appreciation, it goes without saying Butterfly Wing Theory is not for mass appeal. Although its soft approach, the caressing layering of suede-like sonicscapes evolving in several directions, is certainly an element that helps focus the imagination, to the point that by the end of the album, their sonic message will probably ring as well established on the listener sub-conscious. At least that's what Artridge do to me! www.artridge.org |
Gianfri |
Attrition - Smiling, At The Hypogonder Club (Two Gods Records) |
Smiling, At The Hypogonder Club was originally released back in 1985. That's nearly a quarter of a century, or a couple of generations, by modern standards. Countrary to much of the early production by Martin Bowes' outfit, this particular album does show its age, not that this is necessarily a bad thing though. A bit of a lateral exercise on electronic disco, much of the outdated elements simply lie in the funky synth bass lines and the electronic drum sound choice. Of course, disco is outdated by definition these days, which is not bad news in my opinion! But that's only a small forming element in the complex jigsaw Attrition have always been musically speaking. A collaboration with Alex Novak, who also contributes charmingly suitably dark backing vocals adds perhaps one of the nicer touches on this bizarre work by Attrition. Smiling... is pure electronic cabaret, it's the world seen through distorting glasses, and there's no denying this being clearly avant-garde back then. And in fact, tracks like Pendulum Turns can easily be filed as avant-garde these days as well, well avant-retro-garde, to be more precise. In truth, it's hard not to be fascinated by Attrition creativity at any given time down their career, partly due to Martin Bowes unique vocal contribution, but also because there's never been a formula that has been dragged on by the band, more like their formula being 'break the formula' any day. Least we forget that one of the most visionary hits of the band, Shrinkwrap, belongs to this era and is in fact included in this re-issue to allow an extra portion of pertinent entertainment to sneak in to reward those choosing to upgrade their collection with this version of the album, or those working their way back through the band production. Not to mention all the rest who unwittingly will find this album so cleverly outdated that it's clearly superior to anything trying to be unnaturally retro these days, and prosaically failing the task at hand. www.attrition.co.uk |
Gianfri |
Crow Tongue - The Red Hand Mark / Prophecies And Secrets: The Red Hand Mark In Dub - 2CD (Dark Holler / Hand Eye) |
This is not quite like anything else I've heard before. A mini-album of ethnic folk with tribal undertones. And gothic-like vocals. If you are asking yourself what this is all about, you are probably not alone, so a listen is what can give you full realisation and make justice to this little jewel of a work where minimalist rhythmic underline six tracks of pure crystalline sonic hedonism. If "guimbri-banjo" and hand-drums are items that might titillate your appetite for curiosity, then Crow Tongue from Pennsylvania, US are the expected reward, penning their purely acoustic and dark ballads with an originality second to none. Breaking beyond an already extraordinary product, they decided to dissect and rework their own tracks and add some more, populating a second disc with nine more offerings that get hints of dub treatment and more analogue-style embellishments, under the expletive title Prophecies And Secrets: The Red Hand Mark In Dub. Crow Tongue are visceral in their simplicity, their music reaching unexpected depth, given the stripped down tool line-up and unpretentiousness of the execution. If you have ever wondered whatever happened to originality and fresh ideas these days, then this double-disc release is most definitely part of the answer. From the press release it appear as if the second disc is an optional purchase as opposed to a bonus or even regular disc, but I would urge anyone to buy the two at all costs as things do look out of the norm and appetising on the original disc, but they take yet a few unexpected twists on the second. www.somedarkoller.com |
Gianfri |
Daniele Brusaschetto - Circonvoluzioni (Bosco Rec.) |
Daniele Brusaschetto returns to the scene with a carefully crafted jewel of moody existentialism, underlining the fragility of the existence in its fuller meaning with a prosaic poetry that is offered to the listener in a quiet, often whispered fashion, as if it were not to disturb the on-goings of the passer-by's. The musical accompaniment follows suit, moving to a combination of electronic and organic elements which are barely asserted, offering a non-invading backdrop to Daniele's own recitation of his surreal narrative which is as mind perturbing as is difficult to follow. Under-stated rhythms, minimal electronica moving unpredictably yet softly to perversely caress the psyche of the casual listener. There's a lot to love about this latest Brusaschetto's release, one that will find friends well into the avant-garde scene. There's lots of unexpected surprises in Circonvoluzioni, like the moments devoted to ambiences and specifically the capacity to create placate and self-observing moods that are as powerful as they are simple. I would not hesitate to rate Circonvoluzioni the most accomplished work of Daniele Brusaschetto to date, one that is crafted in a moody surrealism that has the appeal of moderately engineered madness. Or brightness. www.danielebrusaschetto.com - www.boscorec.com |
Gianfri |
David Galas - The Cataclysm (Vendlus) |
Just to put this in context, it's worth mentioning that David Galas is a former member of the enchanting darkwave legend Lycia, having worked on some of their album and also been part of the live formation. Here he is showcasing his abilities on his own, in this work that has been several years in the making. You can feel a marked Micheal Gira's flavour throughout the record, that incarnation of Swans that flirted more with the gothic and darkwave side of the dark spectrum. Monotonic vocals, repetitive rhythmic patterns spelled out by rhythmic guitars and solid drumming, a free-running sense of turbulence of the soul permeating the whole work. At over 70 minute running time, there's a sense of heaviness in The Cataclysm, and if the album title (or any of the track titles for that matters) is to go by, this is wholly intentional and fully achieved. Cuts like Capsized with it's hammering rhythm driven by an acoustic guitar, and repetitive string phrases is perhaps a great compendium of the traumatic intensiveness of this work. David is clever enough to provide short segments of relief every so often, yet several tracks end up developing into fully involving cavalcades, which will no doubt satisfy the needs of the most dramatic oriented segment of the gothic/darkwave audience. Uncanny similarities to the Swans aside -which by the way, I do welcome as a matter of personal taste-, I do find this album quite an addictive listening, mostly thanks to the creative vein of the author, always ready to twist the theme that much to renew attention on a track by track basis end even within the same track in some occasions. One to satisfy old school goths, of the brand who had moved way beyond the simplicity and commerciality gothic rock and into more complex and demanding grounds. www.vendlus.com |
Gianfri |
Der Blaue Reiter - Silencis (Cuastic Records) |
Der Blaue Reiter follow up on their debut Le Paradis Funebre... (see review in Darklife Online v.X.4 of Nov 07) with a new work well in line with the qualities they had showcased with their debut album. Silencis works on the same well integrated dualism between martial and bombastic neo-classical and smooth ambience of sacred connotations. There's little in the work suggesting Der Blaue Reiter have got the means for pursuing a longeve career in the vein of artists belonging to the Cold Meat roaster for example, however overrated that might be. The album is worryingly intense, taking the listener through emotional roller-coasters whereby voluptuous piano lines emerge from medieval choral passages, to leave then place to baroque string arrangements that set the scene for more muscular neoclassicism. Then back to martial and bombastic, and back again, with the best moments being no doubt the emotional and melancholy fueled neoclassical articulations. Perhaps a bit disorienting to the purists, Der Blaue Reiter push the boundaries of cross-talk between genres that are clearly emotionally related although sonically less obviously so in some instances. They capitalise on the heritage of pioneering bands such as In The Nursery, taking their cinematic experimentation out for a ride once more and with renewed vigor. There's lot's going on for Der Blaue Reiter on this album and lots to expect for their future works. www.causticrecords.com |
Gianfri |
Elktronik Sciety - Industrial Cadaverous Demos |
Heavy guitar riffs, cavernous vocals, guitar solos, frenzied rhythms, schizophrenic atmospheres. Could it get any worse than this? I'm sure it can, but Elktronik Sciety come close, which of course mean they probably have a huge fanbase out there! Like Ministry and the like? Well, these are not quite the Ministry, but you get the idea. You also know what happened to Carl Mc Coy at some point down the line, don't you? I mean, after the demise of the Fields of The Nefhilim. Some interesting use of electronic samples here and there, but unfortunately, all is swallowed by the chaos reigning courtesy of out-of-control guitars, over the top vocals and belligerent drum hits. www.elktronik-sciety.com |
Gianfri |
Fear Falls Burning - Frenzy Of The Absolute (Conspiracy Records) |
Dirk Serries continues his slow-moving and innovative journey with a stanza of voluptuous guitar drones for his Fear Falls Burning latest incarnation. Frenzy of The Absolute consists of three long tracks and under an hour of cathartic guitar movements accompanied by sparse drumming, to build a castle of sounds that slowly evolves in to enveloping moments of grandeur. The opening title track, accounting for well over three quarters of playing time is a case in point. Dirk's excursions into abstracts cognitive states move along contemplative passages, through enigmatic motionless stages and over to cavernous resonances. There's certainly lots of venerable sound research and a well measured dose of experimentation, but I reckon this is mostly spontaneous stuff, the mirror of a mind hell-bent on creative deviationism. Well over conventions, this album demands and equally unconventional audience. www.fearfallsburning.be |
Gianfri |
KeyDragon - Legend of The Dragon (Conspiracy Records) |
An outfit out to spread legends about dragons, KeyDragon choose the fairly heavy rock style to hand on their favorite lore, something they call metal, but luckily enough, it isn't quite like it. Granted, the prevalence of heavy guitars and the use of male growling vocals do pull in that direction, but to counter-balance, they offer angelic female vocals and moderate inventive in the arrangements that distance them from the uni-dimensional metal approach. Unfortunately, the whole album is marred by very low production values, so that, even though ideas and concepts are in there, it sounds very rough and its building elements disjointed, which is not good in terms of catching the listener attention for more than a few tracks, let alone the whole 50 minutes the album is worth of. If I had to rank this as a demo, I would say the folks have a direction, but have to add production value and choices such us trimming down the growling and treat vocals so that they'd sit in the mix with comfort is where I would start from. I would also add more instrumental parts to break the perceived monotony of the nearly continuous vocal presence. Meanwhile, for lovers of the fantastic who are not bothered by hi-fi issues and can put up with what tastes as un-unfinished work, this is certainly an outfit to check out, if not just out of curiosity. www.keydragon.com |
Gianfri |
Lorin Richards - Enki (Self-released) |
The release of Enki dates back to 1999 and is the first full-length production by Lorin Richards. Out of Los Angeles, there are little geographical connections to the artistÕs style, a delicious brand of slow-moving electronic pop, with smooth romantic and melancholic tones. The whole album is built around minimal arrangements of nicely crafted electronica set against a thin backdrop of ambient synth effects and vocals are heavily treated and often vocoded. Lorin's play with synths is delicious to say the least, particularly as he prefers to put mood before technical complexity, and also the use of a bit of exotic oriental instruments adds to a sense of gothic mystery around this work. I dare to draw a stylistic parallel with some of the finest Silke Bischoff, which I think is quite fitting. His live performances feature modern dance choreographies, so there is an additional dimension to Lorin's art. But I should not neglect to mention the literary dimension as well, as his albums are mostly based on literary sources, and also film sources, in fact. A 360-degree artist like this is not so common these days and it's no surprise that he comes through as self-produced and released, which goes a long way to tell where contemporary talents are relegated to. If relegation is what this really is! More likely a long-sighted choice, in fact. www.lorinrichards.com |
Gianfri |
Lorin Richards - An Occurrence Remembered (Self-released) |
Another work by Lorin Richards to land on our lucky desks, An Occurrence Remembered was composed and firstly performed back in 2001, but only released on CD last year, 2008. His synth craftery has moved slightly forward as the compositions are slightly more intricate and there is also more emphasis put on rhythms which acquire body and often drive the tracks through their own microcosmo. The general mood is still laid back, melancholic and softly pop and once more I catch elements of the German school in the genre, but, as it is more rhythm driven, there is also room for dancefloor instantiations of many of the tracks, although do not think stomping dances here. More sensual ones. There is also no shying away from a bit of sonic research and perhaps the weakest link on some of the tracks are the vocals, this time round quite dry and left as inexpressive in some instances. Intriguing pop research for Mr Richards on this album. One or two ingenuity mistakes are not enough to shadow the subdued beauty of this work. www.lorinrichards.com |
Gianfri |
Lysergene - Critical Mass (Aesthetic Death) |
A musical adventure by Esoteric member Gordon Bicknell, Critical Mass is a dynamic album encompassing a variety of approaches to electronica, industrial all the way to electronic pop, all blending in a ore or less smooth journey through a whopping 75 minute of instrumentals. Starting in a marked industrial fashion, Critical Mass promises a tantalizing excursion into dark electronics drenched in ethereal ambiences aided by noise samples and loops. Intelligible vocal samples provide the missing link to concrete existence, albeit they are not much reassuring about the quality of the latter. The atmosphere shifts slowly towards more tangible rhythmic electronica even if the expanded melodies and sample manipulation still provide a soft backdrop, while the noise keeps affairs on a blurred boarder to industrial, then back to more worrisome soundscapes that do not refrain from offering more than a gloomy picture, sometimes painted in drones and heterogeneous assortment of unsettling noises. There's a lot to go for this one-man effort into revealing a personal approach to soundscaping, one that has the potential to please those feeding on dark electronic ambiences and electro-industrial. freespace.virgin.net/aesthetic.death |
Gianfri |
Mannequin Depressives - Girls Are Evil (Klankboom Productions) |
Mannequin Depressives are a 4-piece from Canada, working out their own brand of synth based new-wave, very close to synthpop but incorporating many more elaborate elements and a certain subdued industrial edge from time to time. Perhaps not scoring high in terms of originality, the band are however very competent and get their ground well covered, moving from Depeche Mode to the like of Mesh or similar acts or back to the early eighties minimalism then forward to the shallow 90s evolution of the genre. They have good melodies, but none that scream really, so even if they are quite a good listen overall, they are unlikely to leave a permanent imprint on your memory. Somehow I come to feel that they would fit better their own bill if they would confine themselves to pure synthpop, which seems the best suitable place to better channel their formulaic creativity. www.mannequindepressives.com |
Gianfri |
Midnight Syndicate - The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates (Entity Productions) |
Having written "music to imaginary films" for well over a decade, it was only a matter of time until Midnight Syndicate would come to compose their first soundtrack at last. Well, not quite the official soundtrack, in fact, but track off it are anticipated for inclusion in the soundtrack itself. The Dead Matter, isn't hard to guess, is a film dealing with vampirism, living dead, occultism and such merry themes. Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka preoccupation so long as I can remember has been the underworld of crypts, the gothic-horror aural symbology, the ghastly, creepy atmospheres that provoke fantasies of fright. The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates offers state of the art dark orchestrations that offer a new high in he history of the duo. The full palette of dark-horror themes is covered with sparkly competence within this hour-long journey into the fantastic realm of the dead, or the living dead if you like. Look no further for a taste of glorious orchestral creepiness, Midnight Syndicate have reached another landmark in their career, growing steadily from release to release and setting with each new album a new standard to the gothic underworld. www.midnightsyndicate.com |
Gianfri |
O Quam Tristis... - Les Chants Funestes (Palace of Worms) |
Fourth full-length effort by this French outfit, offering their own take on darkwave, combinincg electric and electronic with a good dose of medieval thematic, and an intricate vocal performance combining male and dual female vocalists contributing a blueprint for a sound that the band is continuously shaping into an own direction. The building blocks are the tested and tried ideas that bands such as Qntal and Collection D'Arnell Andrea have uniquely shaped up over several years and I suppose I can be forgiven if I state that O Quam Tristis... in Les Chants Funestes come across as a balanced mix of the above bands, with perhaps hints of Rosa Crux thrown in for good measure. Not the most original trail one could think of, but truth is that the album is sparkly and enchanting, and despite the obvious references to other acts pursuing the same wave, it does not sound much derivative, more like belonging to a certain school and building on it with a very own sensibility. Middle age poetry and liturgical texts mean the focus is on spirituality, but the loud interaction between traditional and modern instrumentation leaves the formed quite scarred, as the electronic elements tend to prevail, primarily in the form of atmospheric synths and a geometric drum machine that could do with a bit of thickening to better fit the bill. On the whole, I do enjoy the uplifting character of the twelve tracks on Les Chants Funestes, which ends up being a bit at odd with the album title after all! site.voila.fr/o.quam.tristis |
Gianfri |
On/Off Corporation - Decrease (Urgence Disk) |
A rather creepy affair of twisted dark-electro industrialism, complete with brutal electronic arrangements meet grotesque vocals meet twisted rhythmic meet sonic gore. On/Off Corporation is a one-man project, moving boldly into bumpy territories where FX reign undisputed, translating the connotation of dark electro to madness-driven tonal brutality. Hard to listen, hard to dance to, hard to swallow in general, Decrease is the latest expression of sonic terrorism. A sort of a schizoid electronic version of Ministry, a new drive towards the scission between genre rules and the recalcitrant artist. As I said, sometimes quite hard to swallow, doing perhaps no favor to the cause. Or perhaps entirely doing the favor it needs! www.darksite.ch/urgences |
Gianfri |
Ouroboros - Sigillum Solis (Invisible Eye Productions) |
Close to one hour of deep dark ambiences for this 2008 release by Marco Grosso's project Ouroboros, split in two long tracks that offer long dark journeys into arcane underworlds. The first suite, Sanctuaria, moves from drone soundscapes complete with hints of demoniac presences over to even less reassuring movements. The quiet backdrops evolve to atmospheric and meditative and are in a few occasions broken by interludes of abstract nature, sparse percussive elements, pulsating entities and other otherworldly patterns. The second track, Tetrakis moves even more deeply into ritual and esoteric grounds. The presence of human elements if confined to voices reciting intelligible litanies, presumably in Latin, and drenched in the atmospheres, while the tone of the ambience turns to peak levels of darkness. An organ cuts in shortly, as to announce a new, eminent presence, after which the ritual moves slowly to its end, with a solemn drum spelling the last phrases. Ouroboros is certainly a product of niche appeal, and in that niche it is moving very well with an album that followers of the dark ambient, esoteric and generally experimental styles will certainly widely appreciate. invisibleeyeproductions.blogspot.com |
Gianfri |
Permafrost - Cold Vision I (Invisible Eye Productions) |
Permafrost is another project out of Mr. Marco Grosso substantial portfolio and, despite this being classified broadly as dark ambient, it is entirely another beast when compared with the production under the Ouroboros moniker. Both the project and album name are clear hints to the theme of this album. Glacial atmospheres are the set of this work and a remarkable absence of human presence points to either the parts of our world where humans won't thrive because of the adverse conditions, or, more realistically, a world that has finally turned the tables on the arrogant humans and re-gained control while the man-made machines quietly settle and enjoy their new Eden. Marco's machines certainly work to this effect, with delicious synthetised evolving lines creating chilling moments of rarefied beauty. There's a high dose of experimentation at work on this album and the subtlety of the sound design and the compositions shows really that Marco has a poly-dimensional approach to production and tends to work on his personal flow of creativity rather than on clichŽs. Cold Vision I has the potential to capture attention of both the dark ambient and industrial crowds alike. invisibleeyeproductions.blogspot.com |
Gianfri |
Plasmodivm - Paradise Under Fire (Caustic Records) |
A new outfit in the roaster of Caustic Records, Plasmodivm cover a lot of ground in terms of a take on Electronic Body Music that is nicely darkened and well measured in terms of cold impact, yet pounding but never overdone. Hailing from sunny Canary Islands, Spain, Plasmodivm is the one-man project of Mr Sandro V., and Paradise Under Fire is in fact his debut work. All the tracks revolve around very well conceived arrangements, dominated by beats and dark electronics that are cleverly kept from diverging towards over layering and aggressiveness, traits common to the "sunny" dark electro school headed by acts such as Hocico. Although there's a clear influence here, Plasmodivm is more reminiscent of the early age rhythmic minimalism of Suicide Commando. It's quite hard for a work of EBM not to be derivative in essence, and so is for most of the 13 tracks of Paradise Under Fire, but to the credit of Sandro V. goes the fact that a debut album is seldom of this high quality, and, quite frankly, this is an album that blows away much of the semi-contemporary acts who equate EBM to nothing more that high BPM and sonic aggression. Plasmodiuvm offers clear glimpse of song-writing qualities to boot, which is not at all easy to come by these days in the dark electro/EBM world. www.causticrecords.com |
Gianfri |
Prospero - Folie ˆ Deux (The Elements / The Madness) (Artoffact Records) |
A very unconventional work of deep maddening crossover between tribal electronica and rhythmic dancefloor based tangential EBM. Prospero, also known as Mr. Wade Anderson, springs off the Canadian scene of Toronto, proposing what is essentially club music, meaning you'd struggle to hear this at home unless your life is a permanent dancefloor. The first four tracks, subtitled as The Elements, offer heavily rhythmic electronica, based on tribal beats and spilling ethnic flavor over the dancefloor. Intriguing, if a little monotone in the long run. But certainly a step in a diverging direction, which is always to commend. Where things get considerably more conventional, is the second part of the work, dubbed The Madness, which gives way to run of the mill EBM slightly marred by vocal samples likely to be of interest to pilled-up clubbers and no-one else. Repetitive electronic patterns seem to go on forever, gravitating between full bodied electronic appeal and breaks of questionable impact. At least one track goes on the more conventional path of beats cum distorted vocals, but it all sounds so outdated that even makes us wonder whenever could it ever had sounded up to date in the first place. Of course, it did at some point, and it still does for a great deal of people out there. In short, of high appeal to mindless dancefloor stompers who'd trade their life for a fast beat any day. And who said anything is wrong with that? www.artoffact.com |
Gianfri |
Second Skin - Illa Exuro In Silentium (Palace of Worms) |
Welcome to those good'ol'days. Good, I hear you say? Death punk-goth-rock of vintage connotations can be classified as good, specially when conceived and executed with a good dose of know-how. Second Skin do know their way to the market square, selling unsuspecting 'ballads' manufactured with a perverse sense of cartoonesque malevolence that is subtly scaring. From Rozz Williams through Virgin Prunes all the way to very early Sisters of Mercy, they pick and mix clues of a musical past and revive them with nonchalance in a work that is bound to titillate abundantly the batcave-styled posse that still crawls impudently the underground scenes worldwide. Anyone else might find this simply anachronistic. But then, they simply need no apply. www.secondskin.net - www.palaceofworms.com |
Gianfri |
Sound Tesselated - Ghostwriter (Self-released) |
Sound Tesselated return after their usual 4-year gap with renewed energies, a cleaner production and a classy visual presentation. Ghostwriter is pure synthpop Made in Germany, a genre on its own, here interpreted to the core of its clichŽs by the Berliner duo. Ricardo Beck and Norman Haase lay down soft catchy melodies, complete with obligatory boy-band vocals and the cleanest synth arrangements to fit the high standard of electronic pop the duo aspires to. Ghostwriter is a considerable step forward with respect to their previous productions, if nothing because of a better overall sound and production values, while it's always been clear the duo know how a melody when hit its them and have put a lot of effort in diversifying the sonic palette, which makes the album well digestible even in the context of a genre dŽjˆ-vu. It's clear the band have reached full maturity within that scene, so synthpoppers unite, tune in Sound Tesselated carefree trip through synth freshness. Also odd the one of the catchiest cuts, You, is placed in close proximity to the end of the album, probably to buckle the trend that sees too many catchy pop productions irreparably fade out towards the end of the albums due to incapacity to keep the listener attention vivid throughout. Something that Ghostwriter does admirably. www.sound-tesselated.de |
Gianfri |
Sunao Inami - How-Bow 2 (Electr-Ohm) |
A bit on an atypical work for Sunao Inami, a Japanese electronic musician keen of sound processing, in fact a true experimentalist. Viewing it this way, makes How-Bow 2 much less atypical than it actually feels upon first listen. True, the layered spectrospheres of dark ambient sounds are not a common finding within he artist vast production catalogue, but to me his approach to the subject is purely individual. Most of the sound collages are the fruit of aggressive sound manipulation, some of which featuring quite un-merciful frequency spectra. This is not everyday listen, although I must admit I have had this on before bedtime for quite a while now, and still frequently do. The perceived sounds of crashing metals is vaguely reminiscent of industrial harbor landscapes, or equally of deep underground mines. How-Bow 2 makes the fantasy ride fast, on the wave of an oppressive darkness abstraction that permeates the whole album. I like the direction undertaken by Sunao with this work, his brave sound experimentation that drips industrialism of the darkest connotations. Not everyday listen's and not everyone taste either. But these are the main ingredients of every work of innovation. www.cavestudio.com/electr-ohm |
Gianfri |
Sunao Inami - Laid Back Computing (Electr-Ohm) |
Getting back on to more familiar grounds for Sunao Inami, Laid Back Computing takes to the more comfy approach of rhythmic glitchy electronica, diminutive beats and break patterns. As usual, the Japanese moves along vastly experimental routes. His sounds do not follow any concrete pattern, on the contrary, the abstract dominates. Picture broken geometries made of intersecting squares move in perpendicular directions, enriched by pulsating noises or dried-up ambiences, or even decadent industrialism. Every detail recalls something that has very little of human in it, yet is human-powered to some extent. As usual, the listener fantasy is stimulated to wander out and high, because it is in a different dimension that Sunao's works project themselves, taking the listener brainwaves along for a widely rewarding ride. As with the composition technique, which owes a lot to live experimentation, the sound palette is quite exquisitely unique. Not that no one has ever come up with such sounds, but the personal way they are combined is testimony to the fact that Sunao Inami's book of rules probably includes a single, simple one: do not give in to rules! www.cavestudio.com/electr-ohm |
Gianfri |
The Spiritual Bat - Through The Shadows (Alchemist Music) |
This is the follow-up to the similarly named (The Spiritual Bats) ran by Dario Passamonti back in 1992, which we have covered back in the days of printed glory. The Spiritual Bat sees Dario team up with lyricist and vocalist Rosetta Garr“. to concoct an album of death/goth rock with a marked spiritual flavor to it. Mainly guitar-based and centered around Rosetta's expressive vocal work, it also features uncanny instrumentals of virtuoso flute work, courtesy of Mr Bruno Paolo Lombardi who's got Italian National Television orchestra on his CV. The Bat move rapidly between the cuts and there's always room for a new invention. Originally born as an instrumental demo, Through The Shadows has retained some of the pure instrumental work, which I find well complementing the tracks featuring vocals. The latter being a marked batcave-type affair, would risk fatiguing the listener if proposed over the full length of the work, so I find the idea of alternating instrumentals a well thought of diversion. There's always lots of uncertainty about the activities of such underground artists, that it makes sense to take this release as a one-off for the time being and hope for he best for the future! We are certainly not in ground breaking territories here, but certainly way above the noise to say the least. And there's lots of potential in this work, so let us hope there's a few more pages up the sleeve in the history of The Spiritual Bat. alchemistimusic@hotmail.com |
Gianfri |
The Stompcrash - Requiem Rosa (Nomadism Records) |
A work of anemic indie rock tinted in dark tones that will probably fatigue to raise many eyebrows in a scene were all has been tried and re-tried over and over and there's little room left for banalisation. Tired darkwave is another way to look at this, and I suppose the best way to look at Requiem Rosa is to consider it a demo of sorts. I don't deny ideas emerge frequently among the twelve tracks that make up the album, but really what this work badly needs is a collating layer to bring the best out of the ingredients -such as the Siouxsie-sque vocals by Miss Daniela Palermo- but some other traits need a radical work-over, namely the male vocals courtesy of Christian and the anonymous light synth layers that could do a lot to raise the impact of the generally good compositions. Work in progress for The Stompcrash, perhaps a producer is just about all they need. www.thestompcrash.com |
Gianfri |
Tat - Le Sperme De Tous Les MŽtaux (Urgence Disk) |
A quiet, contemplative work of dark enigmatic pieces that sit in the realm of dark progressivism, with some pale folk traits and a dose of neoclassical grace. Most of the album is based on classic guitar strumming and what is most essentially spoken word work, in deep guttural male tones, sometimes half-whispered, although this is in some occasions counter-balanced by female vocals leaning on the ethereal. The stage is set for moody atmospheres, vitalized by brief interludes sporting avant-gardist experimentation smoothly fused with more typical goth like traits, but also with traces of death industrial. The outcome is surprisingly fresh as all breaks are indeed strategically placed to keep the flow of inspirations from stagnating, which is where it risks to fall due to occasional over-indulging on the creepy narration. The texts are entirely in French and far from intelligible, but one thing I can guarantee is that sun and flowers are not the among the main themes in Le Sperme... Tat seem to dwell on quite enthralling grounds. Darkness and sorrow seem to be an inspiring motor behind their compositions and their integration of classical guitar work and doom experimentation earns them a quite attractive positioning in the dark scene somewhere between classicism and industrialism. www.darksite.ch/urgences |
Gianfri |
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SAMPLERS |
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Interior - VV.AA. (Invisible Eye Productions) |
An interesting effort by Invisible Eye Production, bring to the spotlight 17 artists, whose names were unknown to me, save a couple of them. Iconic Italian Runes Order are one of the two, with a tracks that could fit seamlessly a Dario Argento film score. The second is Permafrost who we have met elsewhere in this issue. There's lots of dark ambient, apocalyptic and death industrial material on the disk, setting a pretty gloom tone, straight from the opening by Bonebound and carrying on to the end, some 80 minutes later. There's a marked DIY feel about the whole sampler and many of the tracks do offer the impression of being demo-stage development. This certainly fits with the admirable underground spirit cultivated by the label ran by Marco Grosso, who is also the man behind the Permafrost moniker (among others). Perhaps it is truly the case of many of the artists featured being newcomers, but I sense a bit of lack of originality hampering a few of the tracks. Noisy streams and creepy voices do find their way on some tracks as well, amplifying the sense of discomfort raised by the album. This is no doubt one of the goals common to all the artists in play, so we can credit them for that. Things pick up slightly in the second half, where some extra variety starts to surface with the likes of Colossoth, Colossoth and Corpoparassita who are bizarrely placed back to back. While things get a bit noisier towards the end with e.g. Neuropa. There's no denying that samplers like this are precious for getting acquainted with obscure artists who are still possibly at their first steps towards exposure. On the basis of this, I felt a bit disappointed for not getting any information about them. I presume this is just a shortcoming of the promo pack, which actually includes just a plain CD-R in a xeroxed jacket and plain plastic sleeve. The official release comes in both CD-R in slim DVD case and white c90 cassette, both kitted with a booklet. invisibleeyeproductions.blogspot.com |
Gianfri |
My Dear Freaks 2 - VV.AA. (Caustic Records) |
A truly enjoyable inner look through the depths of the Spanish dark underground scene, courtesy of Caustic Records, a label that is offering a great deal of support to home-bands, exposing to the international scene brilliant talents both in the electronic/EBM and in the dark folk and neoclassical genres. This compilation covers artists belonging to the label's "white brand", the one covering the latter genres, offering a stunning selection of music that has a genuinely dark taste purely made in Spain. Ou of the generous 14 tracks featured, two only feature "guest" artists, namely the acclaimed Kutna Hora (out of Argentina) proposing a tear-jacking acoustic guitar ballad which is some of the best output from the band to date, and The Joy of Nature from Portugal, who transport us back in time and into a landscape mutating from heavenly to apocalyptic with no way back. Some of the best talents on offer are the likes of O Paradis, who contribute a sample of their acoustic romantic timeless ballads, Fayrierie with a taste of faerie world as you'd expect, Der Blaue Reiter with a wide reaching take on their bombastic neo-classicism, Narsilion who give us a much needed taste of heavenly atmospheres. But even more exciting is to get to know new artists and there's plenty on display on this compilation. Persona perform cold-wave in the vein of acts as Fin de Siecle, Silent Love of Death perfectly mirror their name into their brand of death-wave, Trobar de Morte give a world twist to the proceedings, Eldar go bombastic while La Gueta La Runa is a bit of a weak link to the heavenly world, yet an act to watch. A variety of genres, all having a common ground though, and all blending seamlessly to give a smooth listening experience. The only act a bit apart in terms of feel are Kuu with a beat driven piece that struggles a bit to fit with the global mood of the album. As this disc rarely leaves the focussed attention of the laser beam of my CD player, I can confirm that this is a wonderful pulsating insight to the Iberic take on the darkest side of contemporary music. A very varied CD with a well-worked common ground rooted in melancholy, dreams, fantasy and a dive in the grandeur of the past, all in modern key. www.causticrecords.com |
Gianfri |
Nikolaevka - VV.AA. (Palace of Worms) |
The latest sampler by cult Italian label Palace of Worms features no less than 18 artists belonging to the Italian dark underground, each contributing a track for a generous 75-minute of sinister entertainment. The themes covered range from martial through neoclassical over to apocalyptic and neo folk. No pop I'm afraid, quite the antithesis, in fact. The compilation is a rich listening, offering a truthful overview on the state of affair of the Italian scene. The majority of the acts on display are new to me, so it's brilliant to get the chance to know new artists in this context, which I'm positive is a good incentive to look in detail at this product. Good surprises come from the likes of Sala delle Colonne, At The Funeral of My White Rabbit (!!), The Well of Sadness, The Growing Crystal Lab or Symbiosis, while more established names like Rose Rovine e Amanti, All My Faith Lost, Albireon, Der Feuerkreiner or Calle della Morte confirm their extreme taste noir which sits at the avantgarde of the Italian contingent. There's a running theme of grandeur and desolation, capturing the essence of war which is the theme of the sample, in the form of the battle of Nikolaevka which took place in a cold January 1943 around the small village, seeing Italian and Soviet troops fighting heroically (if there's such a thing) at the huge (irrelevant) cost of thousands of human lives. Palace of Worms and its Italian contingent catapult themselves into the international scene armed with music instruments rather than cannons, painting on their pentagrams the despair tied to such chapters of history. A very worthwhile album offering lots to discover under dimmed lights. www.palaceofworms.com |
Gianfri |