[reviews] afe008rcd
never known: dawn of an era [black edition]

Recorded sometime between 1992 and 1995, "Dawn of an Era" features Andrea Marutti's earliest recordings in micro tonal, primal drone music. It has been recently re-issued on Afe.

Despite that it represents the first step of Never Known's experimentations I consider "Dawn of an Era" among the finest works written by Marutti, whatever the project name he decides to use to record his personal materials.

This is an impressive musical translation of melancholia-nothingness representational form of creativity. It begins with the grandiose, trancey-like electronic soundscape called "Decay". This is really ritualistic but it also make me think about introduction pieces of classical symphonic poems with this kind of heroic-epic grandeur.

"Ritual of Life" and "Ruins" are aesthetically complex droning musical paintings including lugubrious moving electronic textures. The self title track is a contrasted, powerfully emotional soundscape admitting a lot of micro-variations, strange noises and synthesised floating waves that progress into a dramatic-plaintive elegy.

"Doors of Perception" is certainly an hommage to Aldous Huxley's famous book about liminal states of mind. This is a creepy-extatic soundscaping anthem with moody phrases and melodies in the distance. Absolutely beautiful and unearthy. This piece seems to be touched by a sort of divine entity.

"Path", "Exercice One" and "31 Songs" are electronic weirdness including a lot of noisy-druggy-like effects that surrond us. Stoned vibes for the brain.

"Dawn of an Era" provide "tears", "veil of sorrows", "lamentations" and "extreme mind states" in bleak electronic ambiences. Music to heaven and "artificial paradises".

[Philippe Blache]