[reviews] afe030lcd
a.a.v.v.: no abiding places

There are compilations. Then there ARE compilations. Finally there are THE compilations that no self respecting music collector should be without. "No Abiding Places" is one such compilation. Featuring no less than 23 tracks and just under 77 minutes of music it will go down as the bargain of the year.

Probably the compilation of the year for many people. More so if those said people are into the whole dark ambient / experimental electronic genres. Wait though… for every silver lining there is a cloud. And the black cloud that hangs over "No Abiding Places" is the numbers of this CDR that are available. 200 copies. I’ll type that out in capital letters more further emphasis. TWO HUNDRED copies. I foresee some mightily pissed off punters who will never get a chance to hear this. Happy Hectors they shall not be. The haves and the have nots. Fact of life. Get over it.

Those lucky, very lucky, few will find a compilation bursting to the seams with the cream of dark ambient / experimental electronic talent. Featuring: Moan, Amon, Canaan, Bad Sector, Subinterior, aal, Bestia Centauri, Etere-o, Non Ethos, Subterranean Source, True Colour of Blood and Ornament, each act were asked to contribute a finished track, some exclusive to this release, and an unfinished one to act as a bridge between the tracks.

Andrea Marutti (Amon) took on the task of compiling and mixing the music to ensure the perfect combination of sounds were achieved. The fact that the recording works on more than one level, dip in as and when you wish or listen to all 23 pieces in one go, is testament to this (difficult) labour of love. With such a quality of artists on display it seems ridiculous to have to go into a description of what you’ll find musically on "No Abiding Places". You would need to be like Terry Waite, stuck to a radiator in Beirut for 1,763 days, to have no such knowledge. But for all you newly released captives here’s a quick low down.

Dark and highly enveloping sound sculptures. Extraordinary electronic effects that probe into the deepest recesses of the mind. Innovative sonics with a penetrating edge. Cold as ice effects that chill to the bone. Journeys into the unknown tinged with fear and loathing. Universes opened up and laid bare for exploration. Not of human origin. A nightmare. A fright mare. A shroud is slowly unravelled, readied to fully encase you in its embrace. The end of time. Of existence. Or the dawning of a new age. Hearing and perceiving only what you will through the music that throws up so many different scenarios for you alone to decipher. To each their own. Thoughts and expressions about the atmospheres created differing from individual to individual.

With such a pedigree of artists producing the most compelling of music you will be transfixed by the majestic sounds that they have conjured up throughout "No Abiding Places". The dark ambient and experimental electronic maestros have excelled themselves with their contributions making "No Abiding Places" a recording that can only be called one thing… magnificent. Miss out on this incredible piece of work at your peril.

[ANM]