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VARIOUS ARTISTS: Nord Ambient Alliance Release year: 2002 Format: CD Tracklist: 1: NORTHAUNT: Barren Land 07:10 Total Length: 64:42 min General Facts: Nord Ambient Alliance is a compilation-CD consisting of 10 tracks from 5 bands that originate from the northern hemisphere of our planet. The initiative behind it was taken by Frédéric Arbour, a Canadian guy who are responsible for both Instincts and Cyclic Law, the latter being the label which released this CD. Besides two tracks by Frédéric’s own project Instincts, two tracks each have also been contributed by Sweden’s Kammarheit, Germany’s Predominance as well as Svartsinn and Northaunt from Norway. The CD is limited to 1000 copies and it comes in an oversized textured cardboard sleeve along with 5 cards with artwork, one for each band. Review: The opening track by Northaunt has a very appropriate title. Imagine a frostbitten landscape under the cold, shimmering light of a pale full moon as blistering snow sweep over a desolate field. Musically, this view is suggested by a hollow drone siding with a low, serene flow of ambience. My impression may of course be individual but it arrived before I had actually checked the title of the track. A Shadow Among Shadows is a less easy piece of equally atmospheric Dark ambient with a more subterranean touch. Creaking sounds, drips, and abrasive sounds play over a hollow drone giving Northaunt’s music a very sublime touch. The Predominance tracks aren’t as sublime as those of Northaunt. As soon as the first track begins, a low voice starts to speak over a slow pulsing rhythm and Noise made by ethnic instruments(?) and synthesizer bank sounds. If you remember the Sephiroth track R’lyeh from The Absolute Supper collection on CMI, then you know what to expect here. These two tracks share a certain relation in sound, the only real difference in style being Predominance use of spoken vocals. The other track follows in a similar direction, though vocals are now omitted. They are a bit more crude than the Northaunt tracks, not as serene and soft but still atmospheric. Instinct presents the most depressive pieces on this compilation. Ultra melancholic and simple music in a melodic Dark Ambient fashion that emanate nothing but coldness and grief. The music finds its appropriate place over the sampled howlings of cold northwinds that Instincts has used as backdrop in the track Arise. The melancholic serenity of the melodies are beautiful, yet I feel that the general atmosphere is ruined by the samples, otherwise the tracks are nice. Swedish Kammarheit walks in similar Dark Ambient footsteps as Northaunt, though they have chosen to omit the use of serene sounds in favour of a more hollow ones. The sound is constituted by a low murmuring drone that seems to be coming from some dark recess of our world - a visual idea that is further provoked by Kammarheit’s use of crackling sounds, wraith howls and other quite eerie sounds, flirting with the aesthetics of the dark. Both tracks are quite homogenous and I cannot honestly tell them apart except for some minor details. They are atmospheric pieces that works nice when one wants to establish a dark and gloomy, yet harsh atmosphere. For example when reading horror novels. When it comes to Svartsinn’s contribution to this classy sampler, it definitely bestows this compilation with its two most characteristic tracks. The first one being Yearning, a Dark Ambient track that first seems to be ominously soaring down the sky until the music suddenly transforms into some flangered sound alchemy of isolated alien sounds, only to then again mutate into a ominously piece, now with a menacing string sound approach. Definitely computer made, Yearning is the sonic shape shifter of the otherwise rather individually homogeneous material of this CD. Eventually it ends in an unmelodic turmoil of low crackling noise with creaking metal sounds on top of it all. The Ashen Dream, Svartsinn’s terminus to this ten track journey presents yet another piece of hollow Dark Ambient music that just like Yearning evolves in several different directions until it finally ends. This is a nice compilation that presents some of the younger Dark Ambient projects that have sprung out of the North hemisphere during the last year (with the exception of Predominance which - as far as I know - is older than the others). Along with the very exclusive booklet, Nord Ambient Alliance is a nice compilation that maybe not contain the stuff of the ages, nor the most original material but definitely present above average Dark ambient music. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related links: Instincts Contact: |
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