But though Somnia has its head in the clouds, it drags its tail on the ground, skims the water, passes through the teeth of grinding cogwheels and between the leaves at the very top of the trees.
[Release page] Shrine from Bulgaria asks that we imagine ourselves in a state of quasi-lucid dreaming, unaware that we are dreaming yet capable of controlling the “story.” Shrine (Hristo Gospodinov) has combined acoustic and synthetic instruments with field recordings for his hour-long, eight-chapter opus, a full four years in the making. Obviously time well spent. His work is subtle, traversing the unseeable lines describing the meridians and separating the elements, ever-drifting. The languorous, repetitive organ of the opening track both hints at “The Grand Design” behind this project and prepares a receptive audience with a kind of aural hypnotism. Prepare to be swayed.
But though Somnia has its head in the clouds, it drags its tail on the ground, skims the water, passes through the teeth of grinding cogwheels and between the leaves at the very top of the trees. On “Ruins” it seems to travel through the asteroid belt. While this never hinders its forward momentum, it serves as a reminder that in dreams mankind can fly, but that in reality, his feet are still made of clay. Shrine is a consummate weaver of dreams, however, and for an hour, he gives us wings. Cyclic Law, a label specializing in dark ambient, is with the release of Somnia a bringer of light.
Somnia is available on Cyclic Law. [Release page]
