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review by Dene Bebbington Formaria is the collaboration of ambient artist Pete Kelly (who records under the name Igneous Flame), singer Mary Whitaker, and composer/spoken word artist Nick Kemp. In some respects 8 Shades of Sound is an extension of the style that Pete developed on Tolmon and Oxana. He's now pushed the envelope to include processed vocals and the use of a more explicit guitar in some pieces. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the album is based around the treated vocals as they occur on all tracks. Though the title suggests eight tracks, there are in fact nine - ranging somewhere between three and nine minutes. The opening piece "Easter Morning," is arguably the best (and also most accessible) of the album. It sometimes has a churchly feel as though a choir and church organ are heard playing at a distance, or perhaps through the fog of sleepiness. Wordless vocals move between the foreground and the ethereal distance, strands of smooth and warm processed guitar drones pass by, and plucked guitar adds a nicely uplifting proto melody. A variety of moods and atmospheres are encountered throughout the album, but a common aspect is the wraith like quality. It's because of this and the use of highly processed and sometimes plucked guitar that the album deserves a comparison to Diatonis's Ambient Life. The occasional piece also stirred memories of John Foxx's Cathedral Oceans, though that comparison is only tenuous. Things even get a tad ethnic on "Tarra Warra" where intense organ like drones and washes coupled with slightly wailing vocals make one imagine a sacred ritual of some kind. I've not heard Mary's voice untreated, but at the start of "Cornsilk" I couldn't help thinking she sounded like the singer Sinnead O'Connor. 8 Shades of Sound is a thoroughly enjoyable ambient experience, magical and ghostly in places it has a singular atmosphere imparted especially by the highly processed voice effects. It should go without saying that it's recommended. |
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