A tremendous collection of sonorous dreamscapes populated by delicately transporting visions, moods and feelings.
After three sumptuously soothing and cinematic ambient-goth releases, including one opus in collaboration with Tor Lundvall, Leila Abdul-Rauf is back with a new release published by the essential Malignant imprint. The musical style offered on Insomnia is relatively similar to the one we can appreciated on the previous efforts: Expanded synthesized chords, ghostly treated voices, e-guitar drones and ritualistic electronic oscillations. The textured ambiences are quite isolationist and reflective but never dark, oppressive, funereal or desperate, stylistically marked by clean melodious sounds and basically atmospheric-orientated sequences.
Insomnia presents a tremendous collection of sonorous dreamscapes populated by delicately transporting visions, moods and feelings. The whole album invites the listener to a state of rare plenitude, peaceful serenity and contemplative posture, surrounded by sculpted and gently flowing textural waves and other chilling cinematic-like moves. Very soundtracky and beautifully ethereal minor key ambient album inextricably combined to spiritual naturalistic references and a delicious sublunar-like flavor. The album culminates with the entrancing, epic and neotonal “Wane” and the sublimely aerial “Dark Hours of Eearly Morning.” Most of the tracks can be perceived as an unintentional cross between the deep listening of Pauline Oliveros, the mellow dark ambient patterns of Melankolia and the droning sonic sound tapestry of Northaunt with the add of an original touch. All tracks guarantee first class mystical soundscaping dream-like moments.
To sum up things Insomnia is a recommended effort and a nicely evocative musical experience. In its own characteristics it represents a more meditatively absorbing dimension of Malignant Records’ unique experimental electronic music production.
Insomnia is available on Malignant.