|
DENSE VISION SHRINE: Magic & Mystery Release year: 2002 Format: CD Tracklist: 1: Snowsand 06:46 + Bonus: Two Multi-Media clips for Windows Media Player Total length: 50:43 min General facts: Dense Vision Shrine is yet another project of Karsten Hamre, the Norwegian guy who once released albums under the banner of Penitent and still do so under the banners of Veiled Allusions and Arcane Art. While Penitent delivered poetic Neo-Classical music and Veiled Allusion perform minimal Industrial, Dense Vision Shrine performs Dark Ambient with a mystic touch. Magic & Mystery is Dense Vision Shrine's debut album. Review: Karsten Hamre has been around for some time now, releasing a couple of albums on different labels such as Memento Mori, Cold Meat Industry and now; Iris Light. Dense Vision Shrine is according to what I heard meant to replace the now defunct Penitent as Karsten's main project. Many probably prefer the older project before the newer but personally, I count myself to those who welcome this little change. Dense Vision Shrine performs music far more interesting than anything I've heard by Penitent. The music is much darker and mysterious than that of its predecessor. The title couldn't have been more suitable, this definitely sounds magical to me, I see wizardtowers, fire-lit caverns, forgotten graveyards etc. It is indeed a nice album to visualise to. The music is mostly a unity between dark low-frequency drones and a slowly twirling ensemble of eerie noises. It completely lacks vocals or rhythms, instead it's just a very viscous flow of concentrated ambience. There are still some Neo-Classical elements - strings for example - but the emphasis is now on Dark Ambient sections. It has a slightly surrealistic and weird touch, sometimes making me think of walking through an obscure garden at dusk, surrounded by several twisted marble statues with wicked grins on their faces. It is quite intriguing to hear the track The Stronghold though. I could swear that I recognise the opening part from the PC game Heroes of Might and Magic III. I also think I recognise some sounds and ambience at times from this game so I presume Karsten has been doing some sampling from it, though not credited the composer which is rather rude. Other than this, the only flaw I can find with this release is the sound. Magic & Mystery sometimes sound a bit too blurred, partly due to the mastering but also due to that there's sometimes too much going on at once. This is not apparent in all tracks though. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Five questions to Dense Vision Shrine: ECTONAUT: Please introduce your project to the Ortus Obscurum readers. For how long have you been doing this and for what reason? KARSTEN: I have been doing Dense Vision Shrine for about a year now. It first started off with me being asked to do some music and mixing for a multi-media and performance/fashion show. The tracks that were included in the final mix got so good feedback that I decided it was a good idea to share the music with the rest of the world. That is how Dense Vision Shrine was born. ECTONAUT: Tell us something about the tracks on the reviewed release. Did you work with specific methods when you composed them? Is there a concept behind this release or anything else interesting that you think we should know about this release? KARSTEN: For the Magic & Mystery album I solely composed/created the tracks by using samples and manipulated source and audio recordings. There's no specific concept behind the album itself. Only the wish to create something more soundtrack like, by mixing dark ambient with new age as well as elements of classical and world music. ECTONAUT: How would you describe your music to completely new listeners? Do you feel that your project belongs to a certain genre? Are there any bands that you think you can relate to soundwise and conceptwise? KARSTEN: I would say the music belong more in the soundtrack department as it would indeed fit very well for a film, then a film of a more darker nature. If there is some bands/projects that Dense Vision Shrine could be closely related to I guess that could be the likes of Lustmord, Biosphere (then maybe the collaboration between Biosphere and Deathprod on Nordheim Transformed). ECTONAUT: What is most important in music according to you? How do you define quality music and what are your musical influences? KARSTEN: For me it is important that the music has soul as well as it is able to express atmospheres in the way that the music is able to touch the listener. There are no specific answers to what quality music is, as it is a subjective matter. What I might see as quality music might be considered utterly boring to someone else. In general quality music should have soul and the ability to capture the listeners attention, not only for five minutes, but in a deeper sense. ECTONAUT: What plans do you have for the future? Are there any new releases planned? Anything else you would like to add? KARSTEN: Obviously there will be more full length albums, but there are also some talks about other releases, such as a split 10"/CD with Broken Hands for Brilliant Minds, as well as a participation on The Golden Age of Darkness 3. Other than that there's nothing specific lined up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Click here to contact Dense Vision Shrine - Click here to enter the Dense Vision Shrine website |
Released by: