The tracks are of that lush ambient tradition where the club is not even in the thought process, where there is only musician and sound blending in a sea of pulses and drone.
Electricity, up. Gas, up. Cold winter forecast. One way to beat the frosty onset is to strap on some headphones and sink into some warm ambience. Arne Weinberg’s diametric. has a remedy for those long cold evenings, the duo of Ophion and their début release Pallor Absentis.
This UK twosome start the show with “The Realm of Slumber.” The track gently brushes along, with cold panels of rain falling from the greying sky. Field recordings have been employed across the CD, and that organic undercurrent runs throughout. “Staring Into the Heart of the Sun” balances wonderfully moody melodies with a lightness of touch. Electric bird song flutter against the dense chords, brightening the track without sweetening. “Gorgon’s Fall” has something of Aphex Twin’s early meanderings to it. Thick analogue sounds recall the 90’s whilst the metallic pangs ground the piece in the present. “Cataclysmic Seasons” is of a lighter tone, a prelude to the eclipsed ambience of “Millenia.” Vocals enter, ghosting through the sonorous undergrowth. For the finale Brock van Wey aka Bvdub has turned his hand to “Staring Into the Heart of the Sun”with his Test the Depth of Your Heart mix. The track, an epic 18 minutes long, is a slow and lumbering piece of soporific ambience.
Arne Weinberg’s recent cessation of his techno moniker is reflected in the choice to now release Ophion. The tracks are of that lush ambient tradition where the club is not even in the thought process, where there is only musician and sound blending in a sea of pulses and drone. If you like your ambient music dark but not blackened, warm without being comforting and dense without retreating into absolute minimalism then Pallor Absentis will be of interest. A well rounded début from this duo.
Pallor Absentis is released on diametric.
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