Following chilling mysteries emerging from Arctic expeditions and unveiling the metaphysical strength captured in ice-cold landscapes, the droning sound art project Netherworld (alias Alessandro Tedeschi, founder of Glacial Movements Records) is back to the forefront.
A collection of the project’s earliest experimentations
Following chilling mysteries emerging from Arctic expeditions and unveiling the metaphysical strength captured in ice-cold landscapes, the droning sound art project Netherworld (alias Alessandro Tedeschi, founder of Glacial Movements Records) is back to the forefront. This album appears to be a collection of the project’s earliest experimentations and marks the 20th anniversary of its creation.
After a handful of months’ break, Alessandro Tedeschi decided to relaunch his label’s activities with this body of raw recorded material, exhumed, restored, and arranged for the occasion. Over the years, and thanks to its high-quality deep (cinematic) audio production, Glacial Movements has remained one of the true leaders and most emblematic labels in the development of isolationist ambient music. Numerous class acts such as bvdub, Murcof, Scanner, and Loscil have been released to date. I have always appreciated this label for its aptitude for exploring radical electro-acoustic sequences while retaining a beating heart, without rejecting the potential melodic lines hidden behind the sonic textures. On this album, Netherworld follows the most uncanny and darkly enthralling path of its music.
A tremendous and menacing sound odyssey ::
The first three tracks mentally lead the listener through deadly and doomed historical chronicles rising from the magnificent yet ominous North. This tremendous and menacing sound odyssey carries on with gloomy resonances and looping bass frequencies. Fragmented, meditative synthesized lines and blurred, evanescent melodies progressively rise to the surface on “In the Blizzard.”
All in all, The Hermit reveals abstract, cryptic, and brooding oceanic hymns (with a few soothing moments) that will delight fans of spectral ambient music, from Lull, Thomas Köner, Sleep Research Facility, Nerthus, and Inner Vision Laboratory.
This edition is offered in a luxurious three-panel digipak, including an assortment of vintage-like photographs associated with the overall concept and aesthetic of dangerous North Pole expeditions and survival in extreme conditions.
The Hermit is available on Glacial Movements. [Bandcamp]
