Drakhon (MZ 412) has started two new musical projects: Al-Wahaar Dhin and Beyond Sensory Experience. Where listening to Al-Wahaar Dhin is a rather physical experience, with its powerful ritual rhythms and eastern religious mantras, Beyond Sensory Experince is more material for the mind. Not so strange when you consider that this project not only consists of Drakhon, but also of musician/scientist K. Meizter. Together they create soundscapes, which blend calm ambient passages with harsher industrial sounds and which have yet unknown effects on your psyche. The concept behind BSE (!) is to deal with the correlation between numbers, music and life. “Tortuna” is part one of a trilogy covering these three areas. The second release is already out: “Urmula”, also on Old Europa Cafe.
“Tortuna” contains 52 minutes of music, which is not very melodic or energetic, but nevertheless not dull. The album contains enough variation and different sounds to keep me interested. The ambient compositions are enhanced by various types of vocal samples, a varied menu of rhythmic elements and some doses of manipulated electronic and guitar sounds. The overall mood is dark, but not exaggerated evil. Some tracks, like ‘Carnival of the Chained’, are rather industrial, with strong percussion, it certainly has a link to MZ412 material. ‘Two modes of understanding’ is much more tranquil, but it builds up a great dark atmosphere and tension, comparable to classic Lustmord stuff. It is followed by the longest (12 min.) track ‘Journey in Four Dimensions’, which is also quite calm, I find the first half of this track quite bleak, but the minimal classical ending makes up for it. ‘Himmelen’ has a cold machine sound, and the atmsosphere is further made unpleasant by the tortured vocal sample. The title track ‘Tortuna’ is one of the most interesting pieces, with quite some variation in its structure, from strange rumblings against soft ambient backgrounds to a harsh industrial wall of sound towards the end. The last short song ‘Nineteeneightyfour’ does not sound so unpleasant as the title suggests, or are we being brainwashed by seemingly soothing sounds?
