Black Dahlia is a relentless sonic departure and nuanced droning record of ominous, ecstatic and sublime fractures that will certainly appear among best albums of the year for lovers of adventurous music with ascending spiritual motifs.
A visceral and flowing meditative excursion
Markus Guentner is a singular and distinctive voice in the universe of abstract sound-art and textured ambient soundscapes. He has established himself as one of the leading artistic personalities thanks to signatures on various well noted indie labels. With a vast collection of micro-sounds and meandering darkened and harrowing electronic sequences with deep sonic qualities, the sound architecture of this Black Dahlia offers a visceral and flowing meditative excursion beyond the terrestrial, reaching otherworldy coordinates. Detailed, with new sonic shapes and refined degrees of emotional ascent, the album operates a perfect balance between enveloping, ethereal, longitudinal, unobtrusive, and silky sounds that are discreet organic pulses. The result is elegant, and constantly moving. Occasional processed-digitalized field recordings interact with the body of electronic generated sounds and rolling micro-glitch interferences.
This is not the first release from Guentner for the excellent Affin headed by sound producer Joachim Spieth. After the exceptional Onda (published in 2023), Black Dahlia is quite recommended as anything from this label; venturing with innovative leanings through kinetic ambient, micro-house, and post-techno minimalism. Black Dahlia represents the most spacious and dense minimalist ambient facet of the label.
All in all Black Dahlia is a relentless sonic departure and nuanced droning record of ominous, ecstatic and sublime fractures that will certainly appear among best albums of the year for lovers of adventurous music with ascending spiritual motifs. A very harmonious, generative, expansive, blissful, cozy and delicate album that will favor fans of Loscil, SVLBRD, WARMTH, ‘t Geruis, and James Bernard.
Black Dahlia is available on Affin. [Bandcamp]
