“An ambient fresco with a rich palette of tones that lead us towards unknown territories”
1 Ionic Realms (Victronomy Plubonius) 4:52
2 Abundant Time (Stemiostratamos) 4:45
3 Chaos in Premonition (Firestimo Mutato) 8:53
4 Deep Chasm (Subliminostrum) 10:39
5 Mutations of the Highest Order (MOTHO) 8:47
6 Logic of Expression (Praetoreum) 5:39
7 Immortals and their Graves (Sacriligonus) 7:37
8 Crevices in Dark Places (Anexplicora) 7:12
9 Sleep of Innocence (Embulata) 4:52
(CD/DDL 63:16) (V.F.)
(Progressive ambient music)
The opening of Ionic Realms (Victronomy Plubonius) invites us into a fascinating musical universe where the sounds take on a character of their own, depending on the interpretation that our imagination makes of them. Interferences from another universe sparkle on a wave of oozing and gloomy effects, like muddy water. I can easily imagine a swamp creature, I can hear its breathing, soldering tiny communication wires in a laboratory where the loudspeakers make synth waves more chloroformed than orchestral. Waves of voices are grafted onto the floating movements of these layers while soft, water-soaked percussive effects disintegrate or resonate like a soft body falling on a rubbery tile. The track, and it is not the only one in this CHAOS IN PREMONITION, sharpens a questioning on our sensory perception with a sound dimension that defies the power of imagination. The synth layers have this bivalent texture where the humming, the sighs of the soul are transformed effortlessly into a communication between two depressed whales. The waves zigzag with more felt percussive effects and muffled explosions, amplifying the threshold of intensity as soon as Ionic Realms (Victronomy Plubonius) passes its halftime sill. Welcome to the world of Desensitized's sonic and musical fantasies. This second CD by Deborah Martin and Dean De Benedictis on Spotted Peccary is made of 9 ambient musical frescoes conceived on the same principle as Hemispherica Portalis (Portal of 1000 Years), that is to say on the basis of an improvisation which is strongly inspired by after death. The very eclectic duo is drawing in their roots by proposing a musical dimension set on a panoply of wind instruments, flutes, ocarinas and others, and tribal percussions, such as the marvelous Tibetan bowls and clay percussions, which are in tune with synthesizers, both analog and digital, and their infinite orchestral and atmospheric perceptions in mosaics where sound effects, such as samplings, are the prerogative of a creative excess where everything is possible. After all, aren't we in this labyrinth of life after death?
It's a heartbeat that unlocks Abundant Time (Stemiostratamos). The synth waves shimmer, vibrate and screech with a silvery blue tone, like a flock of spectres impatient for the next soul to come. An unsuspected tune escapes and becomes obsessive, like an evasive melody. Time is symbolized by various clocks and dials tinking and some light chords. It beats off-beat around this ambient rhythm that follows a circadian cadence. A cloud of humming extends all around, weaving a web of intensity that thickens as the finale approaches. And so it is, in all of CHAOS IN PREMONITION's musical panoramas. Each track evolves with intensity, even in an atmospheric cocoon! A sequence of chords flowing like a river crashing into obstacles opens the very atmospheric Chaos in Premonition (Firestimo Mutato). Iridescently colored synth blades fill its horizon, along with acoustic chords that stimulate a slow harmonious procession. If the synth blades have this tendency to cut the threads of the moods, the momentarily vibrating bass shadow adds a more dramatic vision. A structure of percussions, with mixed tones and a flow as agitated as a burst of machine gun fire, is at the origin of a temporary chaos. And on the other side of the spectrum, various sound effects, flute tunes and organic rattles are among those elements that make the music evolve into a heterogeneous texture whose essence stimulates an environment flirting with this life-abandoning struggle. With synth pads falling like a breath in need of oxygen, the opening of Deep Chasm (Subliminostrum) has something to unsettle the mind. This long track is a symphony of winds, whether fluted or possessed by voices, they blow with a mixture of hollow breezes in a quiet and yet quite musical movement. Samples of a night near the edge of a wood adorn this passive soundscape that evolves with an intensity dominated by layers of chthonian voices.
A synth wave of contrasting colors, and rustling winds carrying organic percussive elements bring Mutations of the Highest Order (MOTHO) to our subconscious. The opening is also surrounding by some rustling in the form of clattering, seraphic voices, tinkling bells and other acoustic percussive tones before rushing into a passage dominated by heavy howling breezes. The ambiences quietly clean up, giving way to those organic clanking sounds that flutter like purring cricket wings, forming an abstract rhythm that adds unreal hoofprints in the final third of the track. Despite these elements, the finale of Mutations of the Highest Order (MOTHO) is under the seal of serenity. Logic of Expression (Praetoreum) is the only track of CHAOS IN PREMONITION to propose a rhythmic structure. A slow rhythm, indeed, but strangely catchy for the neurons. Let's say a hypnotic rhythm with aboriginal tam-tams singing under breezes with the colors of the iris and some other very beautiful fluted airs. The ambiences are of the rebirth type with a vision clearly more purified here than elsewhere in the album. The work of the percussions is the jewel of this title, although the flute is not to be despised. It shapes this bewitching rhythm like a slow spiritual trance that is more than welcome at this point in this second album of Desensitized. Immortals and their Graves (Sacriligonus) rests on a few layers of flute, one of which has a more ethereal presence with its sharp airs as well as its serene harmonies. The other layers serve as a bed for ambiences that are enriched with the presence of drones, sparse percussion hits, dialogue samplings and those chirps among the droning shadows that add a dramatic dimension to this track that deviates towards sonic expressionist shores in the second half. A stridulation effect, including an organic language that flirts with the world of horror, opens Crevices in Dark Places (Anexplicora). The rustling of the night tattlers are the guides of this track with sound ambiences always finely detailed by flute textures, ochre synth shadows, ominous whirrs, and thunderous samplings. The second part is always more intense. Sleep of Innocence (Embulata) ends CHAOS IN PREMONITION with a concerto of chimes and other harmonic tinkles. A layer of synth extends its seraphic radiance above these chimes that glow with a celestial energy. Humming, more whispered than sung, mingles with the discreet presence of drones, in a track whose chimes of hope bring a very lyrical touch to the landscapes of this new album from Deborah Martin and Dean De Benedictis.
The subject matter of Desensitized transcends the psybient boundaries of Hemispherica Portalis (Portal of 1000 Years) with a perception that literally flirts with the many collections and stories of the afterlife. It is necessary to underline here the work of Howard Givens who gave all the nobility to this impressive sound canvas in an adequate mixing where all the sources of sounds flow with the effect desired by the two American musicians. This is one of the great strengths of this album, while its greatest is to believe in it, so much the 63 minutes of CHAOS IN PREMONITION brings us in unknown territories.
Sylvain Lupari (November 3rd, 2022) ****¼*
Available at Spotted Peccary Music
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