One of the most productive artists in the ambient/industrial fields must be Peter Andersson. Not only has he released various great albums under the name of Raison d’Etre, there are also numerous other projects in which he is active. Each project has a slightly different atmosphere, but they still sound related and they also have a high quality standard in common. So it was the highest time for an overview of Peter Andersson’s activitities. On this compilation you can find tracks of 9 different projects under which he creates his music. As always the release is looking great, a nice digipack with beautiful artwork. It comes with a glossy booklet, in which you find descriptions of all the different projects. The introduction is very serious: “those who have ever attended a concert by any of Andersson’s projects will inevitably know his other side: the mischievous exhibitionist, prone to excessive drinking and striptease”. Some of the projects on this compilation are still alive, others were a one-off thing. As far as I know all tracks on this release are exclusive, some were created especially for it.
The cd starts with a harsh piece of noise: Stratvm Terror, Peter’s most uncomprimising industrial effort. Then his most known vehicle, Raison d’Etre. This project has now created eight albums full of atmospheric dark ambient, taking you to desolated landscapes, apart from a few ruins and churches. Atomine Elektrine sounds a bit more experimental and psychedelic, leading you to interstellar spaces. Cataclyst was a temporary project around 1993, together with the female half of Institut. For this compilation the project was revived again. And I must say, it is a great solemn ritual track, reminding a bit of Ordo Equilibrio. ‘Panzar’ is a label for oldschool industrial in the Brighter Death Now vein, with slow, dark noisescapes. Necrophorus is closely related to Raison d’Etre, but has a lighter sound, with slow, minimal ambient. Bocksholm is Andersson’ latest project, together with the other Peter Andersson, from Deutsch Nepal. They grew up in the same village, Bocksholm. This project was started to reflect the industrial environment of the ironworks this village. This track has a dense industrial sound, with many samples and layers. Bocksholm is followed by Svasti-ayanam, which was a temporary project with ritual and tribal elements.The cd is closed by a track from Grismannen, Peter’s oldest and probably most obscure project. Strange sounds and lyrics, a bit scary and not very accessible.
All in all a worthy overview of the versatile creations of Peter Andersson…
