SVARTSINN
"Of darkness and re-creation" CD Reviews
From The Sekuencias De Culto webzine ( Spain)
If you look for one of the best artistic expressions under the general
banner of Dark Ambient nowadays, you are loosing too much if you haven't
managed to listen to Svartsinn yet. This Norwegian project releases
a second album after the debut on Eibon Records ("Devouring Consciousness"
CD) and its brilliant participation on the "Nord Ambient Alliance"
compilation with two tracks. Jan Roger Pettersen keeps on feeding the
paths and landscapes of his own imagination with an infinite process
of constant renovation, which means a dynamic variety of sounding shapes
over a static general vein. There is not a single space for distraction;
he always obliges the listener to be immersed without a single pause
within the great scope of its own music.
Generally speaking, the composer gets masterly a big range of emotions
through each composed piece; always encountering varied moods of producing
sensations. Every sound has its effect and its aim inside a big whole
that can be defined as a permanent-darkening scenario, an unbounded
place drowned in blurred sadness that captures rapidly. You have the
idea of being in a mammoth land where all is concocted with the deepest
concentration as if all feelings had an incalculable burden. At the
same time, that strain is well delivered among the duration of every
composition, as in little or big pieces depending of the proposed circumstances.
Crude or soft melodies, a variety of droning tones, as well as an array
of different sound elements compose the music of this opus "Of
Darkness And Re-Creation", a title that perfectly summarizes the
content.
I would say this new album is more varied and even more elaborated than
the first. The sinister tension settings of the Eibon release are here
in some way diluted, or better, differently focused, in favour of a
more refined style, of a more melodic obscurity, though it maintains
an important grade of rawness and a capability for that perfect equilibrium
of the opposite sensations of crude and beauty. All this means that
the composer does not limit his intentions, but instead is trying to
offer new dimensions to his own creature based on inner labyrinths.
There are also certain lines of melancholia that started with "Devouring
Consciousness" and now continue with "Of Darkness And Re-Creation",
thin lines of weak lights that propagates from one to another.
"As a Black Stone Monument" starts seemingly calmed presenting
shaded figures corroded by the passing of time. Large predominant drones
hide an almost imperceptible scraped sound among a windy milieu, sporadic
percussion as adornment, and the softness of a melody that makes its
own presence great, despite its brief intervals of action. But there
is more to discover inside this opening if you listen carefully. "Entrance
To Emptiness" turns out to be cruder than the previous. It starts
placidly, but soon tension augments and performs almost a noisy content
during the initial part. But to soften and to make it even stranger,
a piano sound plays its notes drowned progressively by the perennial
force of the buzzing environment. But not all is immovable and invariable;
the structures are rather rich and modify their content constantly,
producing different states of mind, varied stages of emotions and of
intensity. A sound appears that could be interpreted like a pathetic
pallid lament, and then, drones seem to be accompanied inseparably by
an extensive pensive melody full of attraction that returns towards
the end in another form to offer itself with more plenitude. This is
a release to hear preferably with headphones to be able to catch its
details, as occurs in some parts of this second track where something
seems to throb in both ears, something I could not define but that gives
a rare distraction among the massive obscurity. Then comes "Mind
Dust", which is a clear example of the different conformations
that every piece obtains. Superimposed atmospheres and a variety of
effects gaining different roles in one of the most rare and experimental
tracks. Once the almost chaotic and unordered has passed with its indescribable
shapes, dreadful sounds appear like painful expressions while all changes
again: drones and feeding-back effect for a while, like if it all were
an experiment changing scenes frequently... All varying continually
and contrasting with the early part, as this is quiet more obscure.
However, "Towards The Dark And Cold" has a continued line
to follow, it is long and that may be logic having ten minutes to perform.
When sounds are added the elemental ones intensify, low tones prolong
and change their vehemence, or bring another melody or another occult
little noise. It can be defined also as a journey where the composer
has enough amplitude to provide the ever variety of visions, frames
and landscapes. A very filmic piece that embellishes itself with the
final placid dark melody as a last memory once the worst part of the
travelling has passed away. Great!
The fifth is "The Oblivion Faces", another suggestive track
name, as it is each of the eight included in the disc. On this occasion,
layers and/or sounds represent wide hollow voids spiralling with an
own echoing effect. This panorama is modified with the low tones that
this man handles like almost no other, making now the piece more consistent
and rather different as the early atmosphere described; Dark Ambient
Industrial at its best, and one of my favourite cuts of the album. As
if this were not enough, the title track hurls in the opaque tones of
whirring effects. The piece propagates its blackest images and in some
way follows the line of large passages previously proposed by the fourth
track, but in this case I think they are even more obscure and austere.
Low and large soundscapes that penetrate your mind without remission
but having the virtue of containing, as always, an assortment of forms
accompanying. "Wasteland Corridors" follows the tradition;
spreading lost objects as viewing ruins extended all over a place of
no human presence. Again, the inconstancy of a followed method is exposed,
demonstrating the ability of the composer to offer experimentation with
a never boring and dark spirit creating beauty from apparently inanimate
objects. There are shadowy layers here as well and reiterative sounds
in a part while later light feedback makes its presence. A rather strange
track, and for that reason one of the best of the album in my opinion.
The rawest form of the precedent is clearly displayed on the closing
called "Tremors Within The Void". That relentless severity
of a shape noise, similarly in some way to the one in "Draped In
Shadows" of the first album, is a fundamental reference surrounded
by ghastly shadows floating like mourning beings. The scenery changes
in favour of pulsating low frequencies after the high-pitched sound
reached its highest possibility and faded later away. All acquires an
uneasy calm, specially while strange sounds looks like if they needed
a contact with each other to be evident, and then give a final space
to the last abyssal darkness of the oeuvre.
Every time I listen to this album, I feel the rare sensation of being
appreciating different and new moments, and others, which I used to
value even more previously, are left in a second grade of importance
now, and then the process repeats itself. What I mean with this, is
that this is an album with hundreds of possibilities, never passive
but always active and malleable, offering moods for the listener. The
way the composer works is very obsessive, in the sense of taking care
of every detail and that is fully transmitted to the listener in a handful
of ways. What more can be said about "Of Darkness And Re-Creation"?
Well, you guess I am going to say, this is a must have and an essential
album among my Dark Industrial Ambient collection.
But there is even more here. As always, Cyclic Law presents their discs
with very nice designed digipaks, cardboard textured sleeve and picture
artwork very close to the music spirit. Moreover, the disc contains
a video file, a clip precisely of the aforementioned track, "Draped
In Shadows" from the debut album. This is a very nice bonus and
at the same time not very common in the Industrial scene. The images
capture the essence of the music, and it is by far well made having
into account the great effort a thing like this surely has. This is
a present and a gesture that can be interpreted as the full dedication
that the composer is employing in every single thing he creates.
F. Paco González
From the Funprox webzine (Holland)
If you want to hasten the coming of winter, put
the new cd by Svartsinn in your stereo. Today I found it chilly inside
my house and I considered for the first day after the summer to turn
the heat on. But that may also have something to do with listening to
"Of darkness and re-creation"... This is the second cd of
the Norwegian dark ambient act Svartinn. Released by Cyclic Law, housed
in a sober black & white digipack, which not completely lives up
the usual design standards of the Candian label. A nice bonus is the
very bleak and misty video of the monumental track 'Draped in Shadows'
from Svartsinn's debut album. The music of Svartsinn is mostly a solitary,
introspective experience. Listening to 'As a black stone momunent' or
'Entrance to emptiness' takes you to solitary plains or endless corridors,
where you wander through mist and darkness, with no chance of cathing
a glimpse of light. The soundscapes that Svartsinn creates are minimal,
but atmospheric. Just thick stretched layers of sound, moody textures
with dark and low rumblings. At times it gets really chilly, like the
howling of the wind (or are it wolves?) in 'Tremors within the void'.
Pure cold and sombre ambient to take dark wandering spirits into the
abyss. Reviewer: HD
From the Twilight Zone webzine (Italy)
Svartsinn's music is characterized by deep and
breathtaking darkambient sonorities; the Norwegian artist sows delirious
hallucinations on unconscious icy deserts. In fact we find ourselves
in the most cryptic and impenetrable zones of this music style, always
on the frontline to describe surreal feelings united to timeless grey
landscapes. "Of Darkness And Re-Creation" has a much incisive
soundtrack-ish spirit with charming reflections, encases distant noise
splinters, uproarious fumes, motionless escapes, insane introspections,
creeping analog corrosions. These eight album tracks reconvert every
emotion, throwing senses in darkest desolations. The album creates a
dense and cyclopean shroud that well represents the author's inspiration
and reflections, focused on delirious mental abstractionisms. Don't
miss the melting "Towards The Dark And Cold" and its fuming
micro-noise lesions. Elegant apocalyptic railroads can be also found
in the first works of raison d'être. Lacerating pessimism imprisoned
in the foggy peaks of this existence, also confirmed by the video included
in this CD. The last sacred columns yield...
From the Ortus Obscurum webzine (Sweden)
SVARTSINN is a Norwegian project which arose in the end of
the last millenium. In the end of 1999, the project put 6 track on a
CD-r and named it Devouring Consciousness - demo. Copies were sent
out to labels and songs were uploaded on MP3.com until eventually, SVARTSINN
received an offer for an album-release from Mauro of Eibon Records.
The result was the debut CD of the same name as the demo. Of Darkness
and Re-Creation is the second SVARTSINN album and it comes in a
nice, very bleak digipack with photographies of dark landscapes
and sharpened wooden stakes pointing towards the air. SVARTSINN
also appeared on the Nord Ambient Alliance compilation from last year
with two tracks.
Review:
What we have here is a Dark Ambient project from Norway, a country which
hasn't been as active in this dark music as their Swedish neighbours.
Still in no way do the Norwegian underground lack the ability to
create dark music, something which was proved in the early nineties
by Black Metal bands such as Burzum, Mayhem, Emperor and Immortal. When
it comes to Dark Ambient the situation is way different however. Yet
with bands such as SVARTSINN, ILDFROST, NORTHAUNT, DENSE VISION
SHRINE and NACHT, things seem to be changing to
the better with more Norwegian Dark Ambient music on the market.
As a black stone monument is the opening track of this album and the
name does speak for itself. A delicate hollow drone inaugurates the
track by gently dragging down the listener into tunnels of
lustreless darkness. The atmosphere becomes more dense and weary as
distant strings starts to loom in the background, giving the music
an elegant touch before the track eventually dissolves. Entrance
to Emptiness displays a more minimalist formula with the same density
in the music. Soon the musical picture however reveals a vista in the
oozing unlight as darkly serene drones starts ascending. Slowly the
music moves away like evening clouds striving towards a distant horizon.
The album continues with Mind Dust, yet another very dark track with
a very obscure feel. Here some very low, raw drones constitute
the backdrop while whispering, raspy sounds lick the foreground. It
may not exactly be dungeon ambience but it could be the soundtrack a
catacomb nightmare. The atmosphere is perfectly maintained throughout
Towards the Dark and Cold which follows a similar pattern.
In general, it seems like SVARTSINN prefer working with hollow drones
and unorganic sounds to create atmospheres. There are few elements of
serenity in the music and when they are, the serene parts always have
a mournful or cold feel and mostly they are placed in the outskirts
of the soundpicture, unreachable for the listener but always close enough
to be heard and able to affect you.
When all hollow drones of Towards the Dark and Cold have been stemmed,
slow subterranean cracklings emerge in The Oblivious Faces, ensuring
us that sounds of Light is still a rarity within this musical craft
of auditory Darkness. Those who like very reverberating Dark Ambient
with a subterranean touch in the vein of KEROVNIAN or RAISON D'ÊTRE
will probably enjoy indulging in this piece. It has a quite alien sound
as it generates a claustrophobic feeling, while it is at the same time
quite ample in sound due to the reverberations. It is definitely a unique
combination which gives this music a very unreal feeling.
The titletrack is reminiscent of RAISON D'ÊTRE, being a slightly
serene Dark Ambient track of a very overwhelming nature. It is one of
the more soothing tracks on the album with a soaring drone in the mainpicture.
It is very suitable for generating an atmosphere to meditate over, yet
the very cold feel makes this track far from suitable for those who
seek aural equivalents of sunny green fields or happy societies. Instead
imagine a desolate and deteriorated waste, a greyscale landscape where
a shivering winds blow over a dusty ground - perhaps revealing a cadaver
or two under the tarnished dead soils and corroded metals.
The Wasteland Corridor seems to be built upon a similar theme, yet the
atmosphere is completely different. Gone are the soothing drones and
the serenity, instead this track speak of an almost complete emptiness
which is even more cold and pale in emotion than the previous track.
The final track follows in the same direction with a more minimalist
approach with low samples over distant drones. I think it could have
been a better ending since this track doesn't really envelope this album,
that is the only complaints I have about the music on this album. One
could also argue that the soundquality could be better, yet something
tells me that SVARTSINN wanted to give this album a touch of claustrophobia.
It is homogeneously done with no stark contrasts, nor are there any
spoken or sung words, just an ambient flow of darkness. In conclusion a
nice album that may appeal to fans of very obscure Dark Ambient
music without too much electronica, drama or noise outburts.
Ectonaut
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Five questions to Svartsinn
ECTONAUT: Please introduce your project to the ORTUS OBSCURUM readers.
For how long have you been doing this and for what reason?
SVARTSINN: SVARTSINN is a one man project dealing with dark atmospheric
sounds. I have been working as an artists in this field since 98/99,
this is the only music making experience I have. The reason I do this
is simple, it's a way to make moods and states of mind for myself.
ECTONAUT: Tell us something about the tracks on the reviewed release.
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 this release?
SVARTSINN: I use a minidisc to record samples either outdoors (most
preferred) or indoors, with whatever source I can find. I process the
sounds on my computer using different software or I can just use the
raw sound sample as I recorded it. Sometimes I use a keyboard to add
melodic compositions, these tunes just pop up in my head as I play -
I have no skills from keyboard lessons and there are or real composing
going on there. I just try to make it simple and very moody and
dark. It also happens that I twist certain sounds into sounding like
keyboards, but it might be something totally different. Of Darkness
And Re-Creation has a certain concept, it is a collection of stories
based on heavy mind struggles, emotional complicity or elegies
which either leads to emptiness or dark places for a re-creation of
the self image. By the way, there's a video track on the cd. It is made
for a song on my debut album Devouring Consciousness released by Eibon
Records early last year.
ECTONAUT: How would you describe your music to completely new listeners?
Do you feel that your project belongs to a certain genre? Are
there any bands that you think you can relate to soundwise and conceptwise?
SVARTSINN: have always felt that my music could easily be recogniced
as Dark Ambient, still with some elements that might not be usual to
this genre. I have also stumbled across reviews that say that SVARTSINN
is a Black Ambient act. When it comes to relating to other bands around
the music world today I would say that I cannot directly relate to anyone,
although I think the concept of darkness is widely spread through many
bands and genres and in many forms. Soundwise I'm not so sure, I like
to think I have a unique sound as quite a few reviews has given
me the impression of so far. All I know is that I try to improve from
album to album so that I'm not stuck on something that is repetetive,
also when it comes to the sound. If I should mention other bands I would
say: KAMMARHEIT, AMON, NORTHAUNT, YEN POX, LUSTMORD and THOMAS
KÖNER perhaps.
ECTONAUT: What is most important in music according to you? How
do you define quality music and what are your musical influences?
SVARTSINN: To me it is the atmosphere, mood and feeling that is of most
importance. I'd rather love a simple made track with a good mood than
listening to a band that might be incredibly skilled but with no feeling
at all. Quality for me means that the band has touched the listener
in more that one way, and that they keep his/her attention during the
whole album. If you do that, you have made a quality album. I just
don't think that an album reaching a huge number of people must
be the biggest quality product...
ECTONAUT: What plans do you have for the future? Are there any new
releases planned? Anything else you would like to add?
SVARTSINN: Well, I'm currently making two songs for two future compilations
that I have been invited to join. I can't share any more information
with you on when and who yet so I just advice people who might be interested
to keep a lookout for new information on my homepage: http://svartsinn.cjb.net.
I guess that's all I can say right now, thanks to you for your support
and interest in SVARTSINN. Thanks for the review and keep up the good
work!