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GRIMBERGEN: Shame and Regret Release year: 2002 Format: CD-R Tracklist: 1: Curses! 05:56 Total Length: 45:55 min General Facts: This is the musical project of Nathan Clemence, an English guy who is also one of the people who run the club Finsternis in Edinburgh. He has been composing music since the year 2000 and Shame and Regret is his first official release. Nathan loosely refers to his music as Dark Ambient. Review: Grimbergen is a new project which presents quite sombre atmospheric music, mainly composed of depressive string arrangements, discrete melodies and relaxed rhythms. The structure of Grimbergen's music is rather simple and along with a quite synthetic ensemble of sounds, Shame and Regret sounds quite "homemade". This simplicity in structure and sound reminds me somewhat of the early works of Mortiis and non-metal Burzum though the styles of these bands definitely differ from each other. Shame and Regret has its moments even though I didn't like all tracks, for example the first track and outro left me quite unaffected. I think the strength in this CD lies in the middle tracks and maybe this is because Nathan has added percussion to these tracks. Especially in the second track, it takes the music higher and gives it more substance and movement. I actually find the percussion to be the strongest element on this CD even though it is relatively plain and simple. It has a certain originality and charm that I find hard to describe and it works ok, especially in the above mentioned tracks where it creates a quite relaxed atmosphere along with the calm background tune. I'm not sure wheter I agree to call this Dark Ambient though, it feels more like some kind of synthetic Neo-classical and slightly Industrial influenced music. There are a couple of flaws in the recording and mastering that could have been better but nevertheless; it is ok for being a debut CD-R with some nice material. I think Grimbergen still has a long way to go if he wants to compete with the bigger names in this scene, however I hope this project will have the chance to evolve since the initial musical style is nice. Better quality of the sounds and a more professional mastering could also be needed. Should you be interested in obtaining this CD, contact Nathan himself at: grimbergen@finsternis.org.uk Or visit website: www.finsternis.org.uk/grimbergen Price: £5 (including post and package) Ectonaut ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Five questions to Grimbergen: ECTONAUT: Please introduce Grimbergen to the Ortus Obscurum readers. What is Grimbergen all about? For how long have you been doing this and for what reason? NATHAN: To be honest, I think it's maybe a bit soon to be interviewing me, having only just brought out my first demo, but you're a decent bloke so I'll do it for you. Grimbergen isn't really about anything; it's just me creating the type of dark, atmospheric music I enjoy. I've been doing this for over two years, since I acquired my first synthesiser. Before that I was playing guitar for ten years, which never really went anywhere, as I couldn't find enough reliable people into the same sort of thing as I wanted to do. With the synth I also have a sort of darkwave/EBM project, totally instrumental, orchestral sounds with electronic beats, but I've been too lazy to record that yet. So, like many music fans, you just want to make your own sounds. I haven't done any new tunes for ages! ECTONAUT: Tell us something about the tracks on Shame and Regret. 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 Shame and Regret? NATHAN: There's no concept, I don't write lyrics so there are no stories to accompany the music. I suppose it's the classic ambient story about it being a soundtrack for an imaginary film, you can think up your own scenarios to go with the sounds. I find it quite hard to name the tracks, and the titles often aren't very serious.The EP title Shame and Regret came from how I felt when I'd finished the recording process. I was too overly critical from hearing every small improvement my friend Luis made when producing it that when it came out the computer on CD I was somewhat disappointed. I felt very strange, but after I while I grew to like it again. ECTONAUT: How would you describe the music of Grimbergen to completely new listeners? Do you feel that Grimbergen belongs to a certain genre? Are there any bands that you think you can relate to soundwise and conceptwise? NATHAN: I usually describe it as Dark Ambient, but I put so much rhythm and sometimes melody on each track that it becomes something else. I'm quite pleased with the result as it doesn't sound like any other band in particular, and doesn't quite fit into the Dark Ambient genre. I like to mix dark atmospherics with neo-classical string sections and a bit of rhythm and noise, which is my industrial influence. I don't know if I relate to any other bands, but I can name bands who have inspired me, such as Lustmord, Endura, raison d'être and Mondblut. ECTONAUT: What is most important in music according to you? How do you define quality music and what are your musical sources of inspiration? NATHAN: That's a bit heavy isn't it?! I don't want to get into any debates about "good" and "bad" music. ECTONAUT: What plans do you have for the future? Are there any new Grimbergen releases planned? Anything else you would like to add? NATHAN: I'm going to become a doctor, that's very industrial! I have all the songs ready for a second demo, which sees the addition of a new sequencer; the sound is quite varied. I'll probably do that in the autumn, once there has been some time for Shame and Regret to get about a bit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Click here to visit the Grimbergen homepage - Click here to contact Grimbergen |
Released by: Self-financed - Grim001