Dark Music Review – Reflections Under The Sky
Review Written By Casey Douglass
A collaboration between Moscow based Textere Oris and Ukrainian project SiJ comes this field recording focused release. A merger of warm tape noise fused recordings and analogue acoustics, it paints a larger than life picture of nature with a warm but at times brooding backdrop with and overlay of sacral vocals.
Reflections Under
The Sky is a gentle listen, the focus on field recordings of rain
and water lulling the mind while the echoes and beats wash over the
listener. I always tend to lean toward dark ambient albums that use
nature recordings and other “real world” sounds as accompaniment
to their darker tones, so from the start, I felt quite warmly towards
this album.
A striking example of
this can be found in the track “Lost”, a track that begins with a
blaring horn-type sound and then features the sounds of birdsong and
the empty interference patterns of a de-tuned radio. Sacral vocals
begin to ebb and flow around a deeper beat, painting the picture of
someone lost in nature, far from technology or other people. There
are other sounds too, snatches of voices, drums, footsteps and
thunder but all conspire to paint a lonely, possibly hallucinatory picture.
Another track that I
really enjoyed was “In The Rain”, a composition that starts with
gentle rain, what sounds like distant voices, and a low key electronic
humming. Then a light drone and a melody joins, along with the odd
metallic dripping and clattering. The track’s tone harshens a
little in the second half, the track ending with the sound of passing
cars splashing through heavy puddles. An atmospheric and enjoyable
track that lets the listener appreciate that they aren’t actually
walking home beside a busy flooded road.
The final track that I
wanted to mention was the static infused “First Snow”, a track
that uses a cascade of rain and chimes or bells tolling, with distant
flutes of some kind joining later. The track is relaxing, just as
most of them are, but it certainly has a dark undertone for all the
peaceful sounds it contains, which is quite remarkable.
Reflections Under
The Sky is a fantastic listen, especially when the weather
outside your own window might match what is going on inside the
soundscapes you are listening to. It’s harsh in places, but not in
a jarring way, and its use of field recordings as a firm basis for
the compositions to be constructed on or around is genuinely
enjoyable. If you enjoy more meditative and relaxing dark ambient
music, Reflections Under The Sky is probably a great choice
for you. Even if you don’t tend towards that kind of sound, it is
still well worth your time. I give it 4.5/5.
Check out Reflections
Under The Sky on bandcamp at this link.
You can listen to
“Lost” below:
I was given a free
copy of this album to review.
Album Title:
Reflections Under The Sky
Artists: SiJ &
Textere Oris
Label : Cryo Chamber