by Janne, www.Metal-Only.com
February 2004
The album SPIRIT DOME is the latest in the line of co-operations between two great artists, Steve Roach and Vidna Obmana. The last album, INNERZONE, was released in 2002 and was like a gateway to what we get to hear on SPIRIT DOME. The album was recorded during one night in Philadelphia, the 24th of May 2002 in room 314 and no postproduction has been done, so what we can hear on the album is the original recordings that night.
Steve Roach and Vidna Obmana show once again that they are masters when it comes to creating atmospheric music. SPIRIT DOME is in fact one long song, but on the album it's divided into eight parts. These parts go however so much into each other so it's almost impossible to hear when one part ends and when another begins. SPIRIT DOME becomes in other words a 73:31 minute long song and a truly great music experience for all dark ambient fans. The sound is quite minimalistic, but has a creepy atmosphere over it. The music would therefore be perfect for background music in a horror movie and it captures the listener in a really good way and lets your own fantasy and imagination flow free. One moment you are in a dark gothic cathedral and a moment later you find yourself in a warm and damp cave somewhere in tropical wastelands.
The album is completely instrumental, with fujara, guitar and loads of electronic devices. The drumming that is included on the album is simple, almost chanting in a way, and that greatly increases the feeling of mysticism in the music. As a listener you are left all alone with your thoughts when the last tone dies out, and it's not until then that you start realizing how much influence the music has had on your mind.
Steve Roach and Vidna Obmana have once again succeeded in creating a musical masterpiece with their album SPIRIT DOME, and I just can't stop being amazed by these two artists. This album is simply a must have for all who can fully appreciate dark ambient and atmospheric music in general.
 |
Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana 2004 Projekt PRO152 (CD) Reviewed by All Music Guide, Ambient Musings, Ambient Visions, CD Services (UK), Hypnagogue, MusicTAP, Sonic Curiosity, Synth Music Direct, Wind and Wire, www.Metal-Only.com Steve Roach / Vidna Obmana's 2002 CD INNERZONE served as the doorway to the surreal environment explored on SPIRIT DOME. Recorded in one continuous 74-minute session, this is a dark sanctuary of pure texture and beautiful, if not at times foreboding, dissonance pulled along with pulsing beats, subtle loops and dense soundworlds. The single piece, "Spirit Dome," captures a chilling gothic ambience that offers the exploration of remote psychological states of awareness. This is achieved by way of extensive live processing of instruments including fujara (overtone flute), guitar, and the seemingly bottomless wellspring of electro-acoustic sounds found only in the duo's soundscapes. SPIRIT DOME was created live on the spot in room 314, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 24th 2002, around 1 AM. Steve Roach and Vidna Obmana were in town preparing for their performance at the 2002 Gathering / Projekt Festival. With only a brief window of time in which to work together before returning to their homes on opposite sides of the Atlantic, their reaction to the claustrophobic urban environment reveals a new dimension to their sound. When listening to the recording unfold, one has to keep remembering that this unscripted spontaneous creation was a live session recorded directly to the stereo master, just as you will hear. No post-production edits or overdubs were performed. Past discs from the duo include 1995's WELL OF SOULS, 1997's CAVERN OF SIRENS and 2002's INNERZONE; add their live concerts together in Europe and the U.S. and we are brought to the enveloping world of SPIRIT DOME.
Tracks flow together as a continuous performance, but are indexed for convenience. |