Reviews: classical

This is not an easy cd.The music of Karin Höghielm is a mix of modern classic music and chamber music with various traditional music influences. Most of the songs are tranquil, almost meditative at times, often with a poetic twist. ‘Lighten up’ and ‘Watersong’ are good examples of that. The most folky song is ‘Döden’ which features Tängman from Ars Ultima/AU on hurdy gurdy…

These are the sounds I like best from Cold Meat Industry: dark, melancholy, moody, gloomy and tranquil. In short, All My Faith Lost has produced a beautiful album. The sound of this band is dominated by acoustic instruments. What you will hear are down-tempo melodies played on piano, violin, guitar and flute. These sounds are supported by subtle synthesizer sounds…

After a promising debut album the German neoclassical formation Ophelia’s Dream impressed me in 2001 with the “Stabat Mater EP”, based on the work of Pergolesi. It took quite some years, but now the second album of Ophelia’s Dream has been released…

Narsilion from Spain is a new name for me, apparently they were once active as Ordo Funebris, which released some material on Drama Company. This album was also my first introduction to the label Caustic Records, who seem to have more yet unknown but interesting material in their catalogue. “Nerbeleth” from Narsilion contains a collection of neo-classical, medieval and folk sounds…

Last year the French group Dark Sanctuary released their fourth album “Les Memoires Blessees”, which was well-received. “Royaume Melancolique” was their debut from 1999, and is now available again as a limited digipack. Their bandname always made me think of gothic metal, but in fact Dark Sanctuary creates tranquil neo-classical music…

I lost count how many albums In the Nursery has produced already, but it must be way over twenty. Amongst them are various movie soundtracks. In the Optical Music series ITN release new scores for silent films, like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or Man with a Movie Camera…

Sally Doherty created this music for the BBC series “Empire of Death”, about archaeological discoveries made in a region of the Sudan called Nubia. Here remains of what must have been mighty kings were found, comparable to the pharaohs of Egypt. An important focus of the documentary was the bizarre death culture with enormous tombs…

Tor Lundvall came to my attention through his lovely cover art for Sol Invictus. Later I browsed his online galleries and enjoyed his colourful and easily recognizable work: always very colourful, yet mysterious, with solitary figures dwelling in surreal landscapes. To my surprise Lundvall was also active as a musician…

A Whisper is the debut album by the Italian trio Chirleison. Their music sounds like something in between ethereal wave and heavenly voices. The nine tracks on this cd are built around soft and melodic keyboard sounds, melancholic guitar pieces and a beautiful female voice. With these ingredients Chirleison creates nice, mostly tranquil songs and perfect music for a daydream…

Vittorio Vandelli was until now mostly known as a member of the Italian medieval formation Ataraxia. But with A day of warm rain in heaven the talented guitarist has now created a nice solo album. The music on his debut is certainly less accessible than most work of Ataraxia, with a higher level of experiment and a darker sound…

This is the sequel to Absinthe: La Folie Verte, the conceptual album dedicated to the dangerous green liquor. Again it comes in an elegant digipack with vintage illustrations. The music on this new album by the two collaborating artists is not much different: tranquil soundscapes, with classical sounds, sample collages and spoken texts about absinthe and its delusions…

From Japan comes Jack or Jive. For almost ten years now this duo is making ethereal sounds to soothe the listener. What stands out in their music is the angel like voice of singer Chako. It is both beautiful and haunting at times. Also on this new record the voice has a special role in the music. On top of the vocals spacey synth sounds and melancholy piano melodies are placed…

Fin de Siècle is known for its neoclassical sounds and ambient soundscapes. This French act, related to the Cauldron music label, already released a couple of albums and EP’s, some of which are available for free download. After “Sans Titre” in 2003 (Divine Comedy Records), the new album “Nine Barns” will be released soon by Undevingti Records…

Arcana releases are not very frequent, so this compilation with 11 rare and unreleased tracks is a welcome gift. “The new light” also gives a nice overview of the career and development of Arcana. It contains demo tracks all the way back from 1994, as well as recent material. The songs are accompanied by comments in the booklet about their period of creation…

I was very impressed by the last Elend record Winds Devouring Men. It had many Dead Can Dance references but was more orchestral. Sunwar The Dead, the new album, is part two in a five album cycle that started with Winds Devouring Men. This new record is darker and even more orchestralthan the previous one…

The third album of Matt Howden under his own name. This time he has created an instrumental neo-classical album again, like the debut ‘Intimate and Obstinate’. On his previous solo work the English violinist/producer was inspired by hell, this time Howden takes us into space. The album follows the Voyager space probe, from Jupiter out to the edge of the solar system…

Caprice is a Russian neo-classical /pop ensemble that makes music in the fairy tale style for which the French label Prikosnovénie is known for. In the past the band made music inspired by the stories of Tolkien. For this new cd the inspiration comes from somewhere else…

The first track of ‘Arcane elitism’ sounds very orchestral and bombastic, think of Puissance. The other pieces are more restrained neo-classical tracks, often floating and ethereal. Most songs are created by electronic means, with additional classical guitar, snare drum and male and female vocals and choirs on some tracks. Acts like Die Verbannten Kinder Evas or Arcana spring to mind…

The French act Land really fascinated me with their album ‘Opuscule’ and two 10″ records, which brought a nostalgic cinematic atmosphere and a mixture of neoclassical, minimal ambient and orchestral music. Though their first offical release appeared in 2001, they have been active since 1988…

All the way from Novosibirsk comes the dark ambient / neo-classical project Liholesie. After a demo in 2002 this one man project by Sever now has made an album. It’s released by Stygian Crypt, known till now as a metal label. On this cd you can find 12 moody tracks. It’s dedicated to the concept of the Wheel of Time, the mystery of death and birth, rise and fall…