Behind its usual black massive drones the music reveals very dramatic, mournful and mysterious soothing melodies (mainly obtained by guitar waves) which help to be immersed without getting bored by the apparent monotony.
Cryo Chamber and Apocryphos are back with a new astonishing sculpted and darkened droning opus in the true tradition of the genre. Cryo Chamber is highly prolific and because of the lack of time I must admit that I tend to miss a few releases. My last review is Dredge Portals by the excellent God Body Disconnect.
Apocryphos is quite a young project in the dark ambient sanctuary with one notable solo album published on Cyclic Law and one collaborative work for Cryo Chamber in 2015. From memory the first release was playing the card of subterranean, spacious and utterly bleak soundscapes, deeply evocative and cinematic at the same time. An honest release in the genre. I can not pronounce myself on the collaborative work Onyxas I’ve never delved into it, just heard the teaser. As usual, and from the external aspect, this edition looks really beautiful with nice artwork by Simon Heath, clearly a Lovecraftian flavor about those visuals and darkly mystical vibes which almost remind me the work of contemporary painters Zbigniew Brzezinski and Yaroslav Gherzedovich.
Stone Speak follows the path of its predecessor, giving a large space to slowly moving, spherical and darkly expressive droney tendencies obtained by various sound manipulations, e-guitar tricks. A very textural, spooky and foggy ambient release with a great amount of sonically intense bass tones, natural noises and effects are looped and included in the textured ambiences to reinforce the cinematic impact. Behind its usual black massive drones the music reveals very dramatic, mournful and mysterious soothing melodies (mainly obtained by guitar waves) which help to be immersed without getting bored by the apparent monotony. Generally the mood is more melancholic and plaintive than on the previous catacomb-esque album. A work that might be compared with materials from AllSeits, Sinke Dus and Exit in Grey. Most notable tracks include the eerily atmospheric “Consanguineous Spirit,” the rather epic, sorrowingly spiritual and nostalgic self-titled track and “Sepulcher.”
Stone Speak is available on Cryo Chamber.
INTERVIEW with Robert C. Kozletsky of Apocryphos
Igloo :: What is the story about Apocryphos, what is the symbolical meaning behind the project?
Robert :: Apocryphos started as a sole evolution from what I was doing in Psychomanteum. The meaning and purpose of Apocryphos is highly personal as it serves as a conduit for my emotions. My music takes me to a sacred place and relieves me of all my stress and anxiety that seems to worsen as the years pass. The name also relates to that which is hidden or inexplicable and I feel the human experience is difficult to describe with words—but music, specifically dark ambient music, can represent these strange feelings well.
Igloo :: Without revealing any secret or recipy how do you usually conceive the compositional process?
Robert :: I usually start tracks with some sort of improvisation—mostly on guitar with various melodies and progressions. I record many tracks and slowly pick and choose which ones that resonate something in me. Then those get expanded into fuller tracks when I have a concept to explore. It’s a fairly simple and modest production. I always write and record in isolation, too.
Igloo :: How do you decide to move from Cyclic law to Cryo Chamber?
Robert :: It seems this is getting misinterpreted. I never plan on leaving Cyclic Law. Simon has grown to be a great friend and colleague of mine ever since he worked on The Prisoners Cinema artwork. Then we worked on Onyx together with Pär and it only seemed natural to release something on Cryo Chamber. I feel my music will constantly shapeshift into something that might not adhere to one label’s criteria. There is even talk of doing something for Winter Light in the future as Mark O’Shea (who runs Winter Light) is also a good friend of mine. I want to see unity and friendship among labels. I love and respect all the labels that have released my music. They help me achieve my visions and am eternally grateful.
Igloo :: What are your thoughts about dark ambient music latest development and how do you see your involvement in this field of sound experiments?
Robert :: I think dark ambient music is expanding even more now than it ever has. Even after the demise of the lauded Cold Meat Industry, we still have powerhouse labels like Malignant, Cyclic Law, Loki-Foundation, Cold Spring and Aural Hypnox churning out incredible releases. Now we have Cryo Chamber with Simon breaking stereotypes and expanding the audience. I feel honored to be a part of this expansion. If there is one thing I take from working with Cryo Chamber, it’s how close all the artists are and collaborations are constantly being formed. This is also a great way to evolve and expand your skillset as a producer—syncing up studios and production techniques—as every artist has their own blueprint to creation. It’s an exciting time for the genre.
Igloo :: Any live plans to support the new album?
Robert :: Yes, I plan on playing a couple live shows at the end of July 2016 with my friends Murderous Vision and Of Earth and Sun. We have a great week planned and we’ll possibly work on music together. The world is a bleak place and I feel great pleasure in creating the soundtrack to the end with close friends. I’m definitely open to playing out more this year, but we’ll see if I get to cross that bridge.
