An altogether lysergic combination of samples, field recordings, live performance, drones, moans, phlogistons and vintage synths longing for dark, arcane, but eternal bliss.
Both package and album open portentiously, the former to reveal a Ouija board inspired inner, the latter like a dark, Grand Guignol space adventure performed by Victorian werewolves in top hats and opera capes. Lunar Abyss Deus Organum is Evgeny Savenko from Russian Karelia, whose discography dating back to 2000 is bursting with releases whose names betray a fascination with Eastern esoterica and cosmography. On Atimundra, the track titles are borrowed specifically from Tibetan and Jain philosophy.
Launched liberatingly spaceward by “Ardytalos” only to get slimed by otherworldly ectoplasm, the album moves into the gentle world of “Yeshe,” a-sparkle with chiming starlight. “Milarepa,” named after the celebrated Tibetan monk, is Atimundra’s patiently cultivated unearthly earthly oasis, twenty-three mid-album minutes drenched in moonlight, dreamy synth and monsoon.
The final third of the album opens with collaborations with fellow Russians. “Ndul'” with Kshatriy is a hailstorm on Jupiter while “Khandro,” which uses “materials” by Hattifnatter, Savenko’s duo with M.M., head of the excellent Zhelezobeton label and distribution house in St. Petersburg, has a monk at the fore chanting gravel to lead the duo into more pacific climes. “Samvara” makes for a gentle landing. An altogether lysergic combination of samples, field recordings, live performance, drones, moans, phlogistons and vintage synths longing for dark, arcane, but eternal bliss.
Atimundra is available on Biosonar Labyrint.
