Dark Review – Call of the North
Written By Casey Douglass
Well it’s almost Xmas
again, and with that realisation comes the battle against the
consumerist soul and the frigid cold. Ugasanie’s Call of the
North is set somewhere even colder but with thankfully fewer
people around. Could this be just the dark ambient album to listen to
after being out with the masses staring at fake snow and shiny
baubles? Read on to find out.
Ugasanie known for his freezing desolate soundscapes is back with a new album taking us even further north to explore the concept of the unusual and mysterious phenomenon known as Arctic hysteria (also known as menerik and the call of the North Star). It manifests itself only in the polar night, and only when the northern lights shine. Man, as if under hypnosis journeys north. In this state of trance he is almost impossible to stop, he becomes aggressive, sings a song, mumbles, experiences hallucinations and persistently continues towards the polar star. It is not uncommon that these people end up freezing or starving to death.
In track 5 the voice belongs to an old yakutish man. The recording was made during an attack of polar hysteria. This field recording was recorded in a Yakutia group of researchers led by Eduard Alekseev in the 60s.
I
think the above has to be one of the most intriguing album blurbs
I’ve ever read. Arctic hysteria sounds brutal and rings true with
so much of H.P Lovecraft's Arctic based fiction, even if in those,
the madness seems to be caused by horror or elder gods rather than
the North Star. Let’s take a look at the tracks.
The Tracks:
Without the Sun
A low drone builds into
a blustery rumbling soundscape with the tinkling of chimes mingling
with an eerie horn calling or signalling some event or warning.
Pulsation
This track seeps into
motion, its low drone punctuated by strange distant noises and
movements that linger on the edge of your awareness as the main tone
emerges and the background deepens. Haunting. Some strange undulating
sounds towards the end sound human.
Aurora
Light and dancing, this
track meanders and undulates bringing to mind the shifting hues of
the Aurora Borealis very nicely. Stray piano notes give the rumbling
that then ensues a great contrast. This sounds sci-fi and majestic.
Call of the North
This is another seeming
“sci-fi” track, it conjured images to me of a large spacecraft
coming in to land or hover directly over my head, the lone siren/alarm
noise hinting at danger and energy manipulations rending the air and
blasting snow hundreds of feet up and away in a maelstrom of noise
and vibration. The rest of the track made me feel like I was watching
the landed craft and waiting for something to emerge.
Arctic Hysteria
This track is the one
mentioned in the album description above, featuring the intonation of
a Yakutish man. It is certainly a strange sound, even more so when
the sound of dogs barking mingles with it. Is the man summoning
something that the dogs do not like or fear? Or do they just sense
his lapse into polar hysteria? The rest of the track feels like a
response to his calls, movements and shiftings in the aether.
In the Waves of Light
Melancholy and sad, the
stray notes fall into rushing movements that tinge everything with
their own chiming seeking. Calls and vocals seem to sound from the
midpoint of this track, answered by who knows what at the edge of
consciousness.
Freezing
A gentle clattering
starts this track, like an old generator on its last legs heard
through the muffling wall of a log cabin, the last flickering
sputters plunging everything into darkness save for the dancing
flames of the fireplace that seem to die inches from the hearth. An
otherworldly horn sounds as the atmosphere thickens with ice
particles and stasis. Even though not the last track, it feels like
an ending has happened.
Cold Wasteland
With the last
impressions in mind, this track feels like a landscape without a
viewer, or a conversation without people. Nature, forces and chaos in
balance with eerie and light melodies that paint a picture of
indifference to the listener.
Thoughts
Call
of the North is another “smooth” dark ambient album, in so
far as it’s not jarring as others can often be. This makes it ideal
to chill-out to or to switch on when the snow is falling outside.
I
enjoyed listening to it and felt that every track conjured up the
feeling of cold and madness that was so ably described by its
description. I particularly enjoyed the tracks that featured distant
horns, and Arctic Hysteria which featured the man suffering from
polar hysteria.
This
album has come at an opportune time and meets the time of year with
an icy handshake and a threat in its eye. If Xmas leaves you feeling
bleak and exhausted, lower the lights and put Call of the North
on as the wind molests the leaves outside.
I
give Call of the North 4/5. Much like my Tomb of Empires review, I very much enjoyed it but my perfect dark
ambient albums are less smooth and more sinister. Great none the less
though.
Check
out Cryo Chamber here to view more information and purchasing
options.
I was given a free
copy of the album to review.
Album Title: Call of
the North
Artist: Ugasanie
Written, produced and
performed: Pavel Malyshkin
Artwork and Mastering :
Simon Heath
Label : Cryo Chamber
Released : 9th December
2014
