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review by Bill Binkelman Here is a single twenty-one plus minute deep ambient piece, drawn from sound sources both natural (nocturnal noises, such as crickets and other night critters) as well as electronic (swirling drones and evocative reverberating electric guitars). Even when the "music" carries a hint of the sinister or the mysterious, the overall effect is still inviting, if not downright seductive. The CD's soundfield on headphones is most impressive - it sounds like you are standing in the middle of a rural field late on a summer's eve, surrounded by the "music of the night," as well as being immersed in a subtle series of faintly musical tones that come and go, sometimes having a bell-like quality, other times being closer to washes of minor key notes. Now and then (and this has to be heard to be believed) from a great distance, comes what can only be described as a pleasant 1920s- tune played on a solo muted trumpet. For some reason, I was reminded of coming upon a deserted cabin in the woods and hearing what I took to be an old 78 RPM jazz record playing from inside. It's a very surrealistic experience when you first detect this on headphones, because you're likely to think (as I did) "What the fuck IS that?" Somehow, Paradigm9 makes it work. The blanket of sound that forms the actual basis of The Halo Effect is ultra-cool too, as later in the EP resonating strummed guitar chords echo and fade into the mix, amidst the chirping of the crickets and the other creatures calling to each other. These guitar textures impart a feeling of sadness (you might say that this EP is really a very s l o w l y played delta blues number, recorded live in the bayou, I suppose! But then how to account for that jazzy trumpet? Well, no matter. The Halo Effect is a fascinating and atmospheric recording, albeit since it's an EP, it's over shorter than you might like. I'd slot this one alongside of other electro-acoustic/organic soundscapes like Lost at Dunn's Lake (James Johnson and Stephen Philips) and Silence Speaks in Shadow (Paul Vnuk). It's not as impressive as either of those (of course, those two are classics of the genre), but for twenty-minutes, it's pretty damn cool! For someone like me who is immersed in the drudgery of a cold Minnesota winter for five months of a year, this short trip to a warm summer's evening is a delightful escape from bitter reality! |
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