(03.19.06) The ancient Romans would have said ‘omen nomen‘, that means that an individual is already described by his own name. Now, go figure what kind of music you should expect from Amen Orchestra. No, it’s not emocore, it’s really classical music played over ultra processed amen breaks. Until a year or so ago this idea would have been judged almost impossible, but since Venetian Snares showed how it should be done on Rossz… (Planet-Mu), this combination of distant elements is no surprise.
One of the main problems that affects this record is in fact the unavoidable comparison with Rossz…, and the verdict is definitely not in favour of Amen Orchestra. My thought is that nowadays, where every genre-crossing has been tested, you’re allowed to mix any musical sub-category with another, provided that they merge nicely together and it’s not only a challenge for the craziest combo. Sadly, the tracks on 17 Waves sound like two distinct songs were put together, on one side you get scrambled amen breaks, chopped up and very well processed, and on the other side there’s the symphonic part, with strings, piano and other instruments that flow separately. The production is indeed skillful, but this is precisely the case where the technique is mere technicality. There are some good moments in “Notane” and in “Noan Ame 17,” but after a couple of minutes I lose interest, also because the orchestral arrangements become too baroque and it’s really difficult to follow them for the entire duration of the songs, which sometimes reaches nine minutes.
The guy behind Amen Orchestra has evident capabilities but I think he should try doing something less pretentious, maybe starting with some standard raga-jungle, a territory where every newcomer is hailed as a genius.
17 Waves is out now on Art-Tek. (Buy it at Electrosputnik)
