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░ ██ ██ Artist: Buried in the North ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Buried in the North █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2012 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2013-07-01 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Darkwave ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Dying Art records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Those of you who have been pining for the likes of █
█ Stoa and Dargaard to get on with it and up their █
█ output should consider turning further East. █
█ Buried in the North, a more or less unknown █
█ project from China, is the sole enterprise of Li █
█ Qi whose debut was released on the excellent █
█ Beijing label Dying Art last year. Music in the █
█ neoclassical and ethereal vein which invokes the █
█ same kind of dark, introspective reveries made by █
█ the likes of those projects mentioned has been █
█ seriously lacking in recent years, and it would be █
█ unfair to say that Buried in the North doesnÆt █
█ seem to borrow extensively from their ethos. Where █
█ BITN differs is through existing as a purely █
█ instrumental project being mostly piano-based with █
█ some samplings of guitars strewn about █
█ occasionally. There is something particularly █
█ lonely about the sound to this album: its cause █
█ doesnÆt seem to be to conjure a positive dream or █
█ fairylike wonderland that weÆre used to hearing █
█ from labels like Prikosnovenie: Dying Art has █
█ always carried a more sinister feel to its albums, █
█ and BITN is no different. There is certainly █
█ something beautiful to the music contained herein, █
█ but itÆs enshrouded with a feeling of loss and █
█ solitude beyond hope or intent. █
█ And this feeling of bleakness is nicely captured █
█ in the albumÆs artwork. A plain white sleeve with █
█ the band logo is all that the front of the case █
█ includes whereas inside, an Eastern-style castle █
█ atop a mountain is painted in monochrome █
█ watercolours. A minute figure stands on the shore █
█ looking at the mountain ahead as if in █
█ contemplation of a journey begun or ended, one █
█ which we as listeners can very well join or █
█ indulge in through experiencing the 36 minutes of █
█ this album. The idea of featuring a lone figure in █
█ the art, dauntingly overshadowed by this creation █
█ of man and nature links nicely with the feel of █
█ solitude that the album creates, as if there █
█ exists a mountain of loneliness which is similarly █
█ unscalable and unconquerable, this debut being the █
█ soundtrack to one manÆs experiences of it. Of █
█ course, such romantic associations could easily be █
█ dismissed as fantasy, but on listening to the █
█ record, thereÆs no doubt of the feelings contained █
█ within, though their cause could forever be open █
█ to interpretation. █
█ In spite of the fact that BITN comes from China, █
█ thereÆs not too much of an traditional Eastern █
█ feel to the music, certainly not as much as befits █
█ the likes of Gol Dolan or Zuriaake. BITN has more █
█ of a neutral Westernised feel to it with songs █
█ such as the excellent DruidsÆ Warning being the █
█ best on the album and The Old Tales Bards Sang █
█ conveying a slightly dark medieval essence █
█ particularly well. By far the greatest surprise on █
█ the album is Abyss which starts off as an ethereal █
█ piece before breaking out the guitar distortion █
█ and transforming into an instrumental metal █
█ number, and one which is quite fitting to the █
█ albumÆs feel, not out of place at all amongst the █
█ rest of the tracks. Things do tend to lighten up █
█ towards the end with Pureland and especially Peace █
█ Is The End being the least dark tracks, the latter █
█ being particularly bright and uplifting in █
█ comparison to what has preceded it. █
█ Things certainly do feel a little amateurish at █
█ times though: BITN occasionally slips on the █
█ polish and sheen that veneers most of the album █
█ such as in And Farewell where a slightly out of █
█ tune violin could have easily been rectified or █
█ removed, as well as the choice of one or two █
█ improvable organ effects at times. But such █
█ complaints are generally fleeting since the rest █
█ of the album deserves high praise for its content █
█ and is successful at transmitting an atmosphere of █
█ tragic solitude, at times invoking similar █
█ feelings to ArtemisÆ Asphodel album released ten █
█ years ago. Buried in the North is an admirable █
█ debut from the Far East and a worthy edition to █
█ this darker style of ethereal neoclassical which █
█ should be followed by all fanatics treading and █
█ monitoring this terribly underproduced genre. At █
█ this time of year, with Imbolc setting in and with █
█ blanched whiteness all around, it could hardly █
█ feel more fitting. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Galatia 1:04 ░
░ 2. Air of Homeland 4:21 ░
░ 3. Druids' Warning 4:59 ░
░ 4. Abyss 4:34 ░
░ 5. àAnd Farewell 3:39 ░
░ 6. The Old Tales Bards Tell 4:11 ░
░ 7. Pureland 5:44 ░
░ 8. Otherworld 5:00 ░
░ 9. Peace is the End 2:48 ░
░ 36:20 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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