Closing with ‘The Cypress Watcher’ this is still excellent, superbly subtle ambient but a little less compelling than its CD counterpart. There is still a strong, finely woven veil of atmosphere here that drifts overt the whole. ‘Cove Of The Seven Winged’ and ‘Geometry Of Emptiness’ are delicate in their features, which brings those variations within into sharper relief. On ‘Black Leaf Gaze’ once more the pace is slow, the atmosphere sombre and the style nicely judged string based minimalism. That feeling of plenitude and emptiness, sensuality and tristesse, is crucial the expression of ecstasy becomes an existential cry for release, rapture turns into the very image of mourning, and the mylars are revealed as funereal rites for a vanishing world of possibility and delight. There is a curious arboreal theme too this album which reminds me of the classic Algernon Blackwood story ‘The Willows’. The vinyl only part of this brace of releases is not so dark (though that is relative you understand) and bears a little in common with something like Earth around Hex, but without any overt guitar or Amber Asylum twisted toward the ambient.
There is a definite tribal quality to some of this, piety too and as exquisitely subtle mood music it is exemplary and rather special. ‘Sunken Luminaries’ and ‘Unbinding Kaamos’ with some chanting voices continue this slow, undertow of darkness worth a sure hand. It moves sedately but with a beautifully disturbing air. Sounds which could be something monstrous breaking trees slowly, far in the distance or the slowed heart of a crackling fire. By the time we reach ‘Otherstone Refraction’ we are deep into dark, sinister ambient that Lustmord might indulge in.
‘Noxfaros’ followed a similar path, drum beats the focus with keyboard second a little higher in the mix and building to a harsher climax. It is a simple but beautifully effective piece ominous, occult and perfectly focused by the gentle summoning cymbal.
This is minimalist, slow and quiet ritual music gently struck cymbal sounds summon the dark voices and subtle keyboard sounds that gradually fill out the sounds and atmosphere. Arktau Ross are a Finnish duo and this pair of odd releases are split between a CD only release and a vinyl release and definitely are my introduction to their world.įirst up is Ioh-Maera, which begins with the title piece. A little break from the Ave Noctum norm this time around.
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