Arbre Noir – Serpent

Like I am used from the German Polymorph label, a lot of attention has been given to both the sound and the visual quality of this release. This cd from Abre Noir comes in a nice digipack with good graphics. It is the third release from Arbre Noir on Polymorph, earlier they made the album “Beyond” and a collaboartion with Polygon, entitled “Traveller”.
Arbre Noir consists of three members: Jens Dittberner on various types of percussion, Rüdiger Schlecht plays didgeridoos and Mickael Vassallo takes care of various instruments, including the electronic parts. The result of this combination is a mixture of modern technology and ancient traditions. I would describe the music of Arbre Noir as tribal or ethnic soundscapes. One of the songs is called ‘Futuretribal’, that would also be a nice label. The music is most of the times rather slow, with subtle rhythms. A few pieces are a little more uptempo, almost danceable, like ‘Sacred’ or ‘The Hunt’.
The didgeridoo sound fits in well with the tribal percussion and the atmospheric electronics. Added to this are elements like nature sounds and at times some voices in the background. Sometimes I have to think a little of the work of Ulf Söderberg (Sephiroth), or perhaps some more ritual projects of Peter Andersson (Raison d’Etre) or some ethnic pieces of Delerium. But overall Arbre Noir manages to create an own sound, which is at the other hand rather universal, taking you to various times and places…