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review by Ben Fleury-Steiner Fans of both the organic, darker and mysterious aesthetics of Alio Die and the thunderous, multi-instrumental tribal ambience of Steve Roach's more recent works, should find considerable enjoyment in the sounds of this young, Bosnian and Herzegovinan artist known mysteriously as Na-Koja-Abad. A term deriving from Persian mysticism, Na-Koja-Abad means literally "land of nowhere." The moniker is quite apropos for the mystical and surprisingly organic statement that suffuses Fleeting Glimpses. Indeed, these sounds are purposeful and feel as though they emanate from a deep clarity within the artist. This is all the more surprising when we consider Na-Koja-Abad's youthful twenty-four years. Clearly, there is something going on in these sounds that is deeply personal - if this was intended, Fleeting Glimpses succeeds admirably in its artistic honesty. The beautiful mix of soft-synth textures and a various array of percussion instruments effortlessly permeates the entire mix. Combined with often thundering tribal percussion, the work succeeds in holding the listener's attention. With titles like "Invocations in the Bowels of the Wind" and "Barzakh [Memories of Memories]," these mysterious and often tribal-ceremonial feeling sounds demonstrates that Na-Koja-Abad has absorbed his persona as kind of new "sonic shaman." I suspect his following should only blossom with time. In terms of standout tracks, my favorite is the wonderfully visual "Liquid Silhouettes." This track and others evoke glowing images of the painted walls of prehistoric caves, cliffs, and rock formations. "Liquid Silhouette" stands out especially for its lingering, almost carbonated hiss that climbs from the distant smoke of a purposeful, almost ritualistic fire - the voices of spirits, perhaps? In short, these sounds really induce a deeply organic connection in the listener. A connection that leads to everywhere and nowhere much in the way Oophoi's work often does, but Na-Koja-Abad prefers a simpler often more focused approach. Taken as a whole, the rhythmic focus of Fleeting Glimpses does sometimes lead to a bit of redundancy in sound, but Na-Koja-Abad's aesthetic vision succeeds overall in transcending the familiarity that often comes from an over reliance on tribal ambient clichés. |
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