Reviews: ambient

(ambient / soundscapes / ritual / drones)

Herbst9 – Buried under time and sand

The duo H. Emich and F. Merten from Germany founded Herbst9 in 1997. Since then they released two albums and a 12″ on Loki, as well as a 7″ on Drone Records, before creating their latest work “Buried under time and sand”. This album has frequented my cd-player very often, after I obtained it at the impressive Herbst 9 concert in Leipzig this Easter…

Antlers Mulm – Silbergrauer Staub

Not a recent release (October 2003), but one which I listened to quite often recently. The productions of Antlers Mulm and its label Sonderübertragung, both run by Hans Johm, sound and look just a little different. The limited releases, both on vinyl and cd, are always packaged in cardboard boxes, which are functional, yet stylish…

Figure – When the Alphabet Hides In Your Mouth

The music of Figure (which is Brannon Hungness) sounds like coming from an abandoned stage in an old theatre. (‘An opera with closed eyes open.’) On this stage there are a lot of figures that are moving slowly in an out of the shadows surrounding them. Figure appears on the stage then, and opens the zippers on their bodies to release some blood…

Cyclotimia – Eschaton

Though I heard interesting material from Cyclotimia before, their previous mcd on Monopoly Records could not enteratin me at all. So I was curious what the deo from Moscow would come up with this time. They operate on the experimental border of electronic, neoclassical and ambient music. Their tracks often resemble collages, rich of samples…

Dawn & Dusk Entwined – The Hikimori Songs

Not long after a record on Athanor, Dawn & Dusk Entwined comes with a new 10″, this time on Eternal Soul. It contains half an hour of mostly tranquil soundscapes, which sound less martial and melodic than most previous releases. “The Hikimori Songs” is more in line with the “Scherzo” 7″, also released on Eternal Soul…

Niellerade Fallibilisthorstar – Hålrum

I did not know much about Niellerade Fallibilisthorstar, except that they come from Sweden, that five musicians worked on this material recorded between 2001 and 2004 and that they released their debut full length album “Hackelsekista” last year. Their new offering “Hålrum” is released on cd and vinyl, of which the LP I’m dealing with is somewhat abbreviated…

Bladh, Martin – Umbilical Cords

A solo album by Martin Bladh, of IRM and Skin Area fame and part of the Cold Meat family. These acts are known for their loud and noisy sound, but ‘Umbolical Cords’ takes a more restrained approach, though the end result is quite intense. The cd contains four long tracks, ‘Cord 1’ till 4, the last one being an appendix…

Lambwool – Fading Landscapes

What directly attracts my attention with this release is the original packaging. The cd is packed in a small book, a little bigger than a 7″ single. The artwork contains over two dozen black & white photos by renowned artist Peter Bengtsen, with deliberately vague, hazy images of various remote European places, in line with the album title…

Hamre, Karsten – Broken Whispers

Karsten Hamre is an allround artist (photo, video, music) who is active in several projects like Arcane Art en Penitent for several years already. Still this is only his first solo-album. It’s an album full of electronic dark ambient that reaches beyond the borders of this description. Experimental in its roots the music somehow doesn’t escape the “heard this before” stage…

Beyond Sensory Experience – Korrelations

Not long after completing a trilogy of the albums “Tortuna”, “Ratan” and “Urmula”, Beyond Sensory Experience is back with a new cd. Again the duo combines experimental ambient music with scientific subjects. “Korrelations” is related to the aforementioned trilogy and contains some alternative versions of older material. The original idea was to release the four albums in a limited box…

Leviathan and Grimbergen – Of Revisionism and Relinquishment

Two Scottish projects have joined forces on this split cd with three tracks by each artist, which was already released quite some months ago. Both Leviathan (which recently shortened its name to LVTHN) and Grimbergen have delivered solid dark ambient material before, and this new release is no exception…

Diskrepant – 33-12

On the split cd with Des Esseintes, Folie ? Deux, Diskrepant showed a harsh and noise experimental industrial side of itself. How different the sound on this record is. 33-12 consists of two long tracks with mostly very tranquil and spiritual music. The drones have a sacred feeling. Due to the bells, gongs and chants the music also has an oriental touch…

FDH – Novaela

Last year FDH made a good impression on me with the album “Disseminare”, released as a limited cd-r on Cynfeirdd in their Eye for Eye-series. Now Frank den Haan is back with a new, second album, self-released on cd-r. It’s typical such an album which pleases me from the start…

Lustmord – Carbon/Core

Lustmord doesn’t need a long introduction. B. Lustmord is one of the great pioneers of dark ambient music. And after more than two decades he still knows how to create impressive music. Recently Lustmord has been very productive. Apart from this album he also did a (unlikely) collaboration with the Melvins and participated in various soundtrack (“Underworld”) and remixing works…

Habeeb – Il Cancello Della Morte

It seems to become the new format of cd-packaging, the A5 DVD-box. And where this brings some problems with storage, it also creates room for more detailed artwork. Not exactly back in time to the vinyl album-sleeve, but it does look better, that much is for sure. However it still is all about the music of course. Habeeb is a project of L…

Moljebka Pvlse – The Leaves Of Their Songs

After several mostly harsh, loud, noisy and/or experimental records this Moljebka Pulse album is the first truly tranquil release on Fin de Siècle. On this record Moljebka Pulse goes back to its earlier sound with hypnotic and dreamy drones. Expect some long but beautiful sound sculptures made with electronic instruments and processed guitars…

Dwight Ashley – Four

The new album by American ambient composer Dwight Ashley, after one other solo album and two collaborations with Tim Story. ‘Four” is certainly a pleasant listening experience. Almost an hour of rather ethereal, floating ambient music. An album with a poetic, filmic atmosphere. Lush electronic layers, soft drones and treated guitar sounds form a harmonic whole…

Unicorn – Playing with light

Housepig Records, never heard of it before. But judging from the quality of this cd by Unicorn, their first release, this is a label to watch. Unicorn is the project of W.T. Nelson, perhaps better known for his activities in Bastard Noise. If you now expect that “Playing with light” is a harsh and noisy occasion, you are wrong…

Nordvargr / Drakh – Infinitas In Aeternum

The Scandinavian duo Nordvargr/Drakh, also known for variety of other projects, have created a new dark trip. As usually with Cyclic Law releases, the packaging is very nice, with negative black and white photos of forests and roads, with a spooky effect. As expected, “Infinitas In Aeternum” has a very chilling dark ambient sound…

Monstrare / Wilt – Graveflowers

Two of the most interesting sound constructors are brought together on this split release. Cordell Klier (aka Monstrare) and James Keeler (aka Wilt) got the chance to manipulate each other’s sound sources. This album comes in a nicely designed digipack and is limited to 500 copies…