RAISON D'ETRE 
456558
CD
WITHIN DEPTHS (DARK & AMBIENT)

GOTHIC ELECTRONIC (INDUSTRIAL)

Fifty-two minutes of dark foreboding synthesizer sound collages, with deep and distant percussion, Gregorian chanting, heavenly choirs and all manner of samples & effects that add subtle intensity to the finished pieces.

Multi-textured male and female voices sing in a choral, wordless fashion over slowly advancing streams of strings and the thunderous distant bass rumbles that are embedded deep in the heart of each track. The music is all extremely gothic and atmospheric, and somehow becomes a ‘world’ in itself when the album is playing. The 8 tracks vary around four to ten minutes a piece playing time and each features that style of deep dark choral textures that evoke images of vast open spaces at one moment, then huge rooms in old, dark castles the next - all incredibly atmospheric and very spacey. This really is where the dark skies of Europe replace the blue desert skies of the States in the world of cosmic music.

‘Within Depths’ opens with a six minute track called ‘Sephiroth’, where synthesizers, echoed single drum beats, monk-like chanting choirs and a harpsichord styled melody tinkling away in the background - All atmospheric, extremely haunting and ‘other worldly’. It then moves into track 2: ‘Ascent Of The Blessed’ - a cosmic, multi-layered piece of textured female choral work that drifts over slowly advancing streams of string and bass synth layers. This seven minutes of eerie, haunting music conjures up images of vast open spaces at one moment, then huge rooms in old, dark castles the next - all incredibly atmospheric and very spacey. This mood continues into track 3, which has the rather ‘wordy’ title of ‘In Absence Of Subsequent Ambivalence‘. This piece is embellished with louder layers of synth textures, drifting effects and thundering distant bass rumbles that lie at the bottom of the mix, and becomes calmer as we enter a sea of string synths and slowly cascading electronics, but it’s still breathtakingly beautiful as the layers unfold and drift for ten glorious minutes. With very little rhythmic content, this album is packed full of sensuous synth textures and layers, wordless monk-like choirs and oozes atmosphere and beauty from every pore. But don't forget that this is darkwave and there is an eerie sense of foreboding that pervades the album. As we say above: as far as cosmic music goes, these are the dark skies of Europe instead of the American desert skies - This is no Steve Roach - This is grander and so much more interesting in every way, making it very much more than space or cosmic music. Following the line with the previous album, this is another stunner.

Weight: 150.00 g