Release Info:
Artist : Kammarheit
Album : The Nest
Genre : Ambient
Label : Cyclic Law
Catnum : 78th Cycle
Source : CDDA
URL : http://https://www.discogs.com/Kammarheit-The-Nest/release/7297914
Mode Info:
Tracks : 9
Time : 00:47:01
Size : 76.61 MB
Encode : LAME 32bits version 3.98.4 (http://www.mp3dev.org/) -V0
Quality : 216kbps 44100Hz Joint Stereo
Tracklist:
1. Borgafjall 2:35
2. Unsealed 6:24
3. Lower Halls 6:20
4. The Howl 2:50
5. Sphaerula 5:48
6. Hypogaeum 5:49
7. The Nest 5:50
8. Sung In Secret 5:31
9. Aeon 5:54
47:01 (min)
As a genre, dark ambient often deflates hype about ômasterpiecesö or a
ôlong-awaited returnö. ItÆs just not the sort of music to match common
linguistic bombast about a recordÆs position within its own genre or an
artistÆs own discography. Even avoiding those terms, it has to be said that the
new release from Kammarheit seems to carry with it more than the average sense
of cosmic stoicism or pyschogeographic spelunking (ie, par for the genre). ItÆs
been a full decade since PΣr Bostr÷mÆs last full release, The Starwheel. In the
interim itÆs emerged as one of the best dark ambient albums this side of 2000,
and still serves as an excellent primer in the moods and sounds the current
generation of dark ambient producers are pursuing.
Were I the sort to ascribe subjective moods to a record and not just their
creators, IÆd say that new album The Nest is aware of the anticipation which
has been built up around its arrival, and has opted to coyly deflect more
earnest lines of investigation. In terms of core elements it doesnÆt differ so
far from Bostr÷mÆs extant work û misty shades of resonant synth tones shifting
overtop of one another with the odd peaking sine wave û but its presentation
feels far more occluded than anything else. The record shifts and moves, is
never impassive, and yet forever seems to be turning away from the listener,
burrowing deeper into itself.
Metallic pads emerge, come into focus and slide away with no shift in attack or
movement, as on the eerily resonant ôLower Hallsö. While rhythmic elements in
this sort of work often gives the semblance of an objective frame, the near
total lack of percussion on The Nest makes trying to pin down structure a far
trickier proposition. Harmonically the album is somewhat more yielding, with
minor shifts in tones mixed up front providing immediate segues from one moment
to the next, even as larger structures hinted at, with refrains and passages
present but out of reach, the aural equivalent of phantom limb. Throughout The
Nest, KammarheitÆs pieces carry a presence and weight which seems to exist
wholly independent of the listener. Just as the stars couldnÆt care less
whether or not we watch them or seek to place them in constellations, one
almost gets the sense that The Nestæs compositions are still operating at some
metaphysical level even after the CDÆs stopped playing.
Paradoxically more lush and yet less inviting than The Starwheel, one begins to
understand why the wait for The Nest was so long (the notes indicate a six year
production cycle). ItÆs perfectly in keeping with Bostr÷mÆs aesthetic and is a
must-listen for anyone remotely interested in work of this style, and yet it
seems to be holding something within itself not intended for the fan, no matter
how devoted. Like an artifact from an Arthur C. Clarke novel, itÆs an
otherworldly object whose resolute existence beyond the scope of our knowledge
or experience only confounds us and draws us closer to it.