"Strange Constellation" melds deep ambient electronics with field recordings to paint an audio soundscape of the night. It's the sound of insects, the trill of frogs, the pulse of firefies, the night time lighting up in a dazzling array of stars.

10 MP3 Songs
ELECTRONIC: Ambient, NEW AGE: Environmental



Details:
"Slowly the night blooms, unfurling flowers of darkness, covering the trellised sky, becoming a bouquet of blackness" - FRANK MARSHALL DAVIS

DESCRIPTION:

Back in 2002, Remanence's "Lamkhyer" was released as an advanced single in anticipation of the forthcoming album "A Strange Constellation of Events". The band thought at the time the new album was just around the corner but didn't foresee the various twists and turns which would occur before its completion. Not least of which was a studio break-in resulting in the loss of recording equipment, hard drives and 25 of their recorded material. Fast forward to late 2005 and the album has finally seen the light of day, with the lost material now reworked.

"A strange Constellation of Events" assembles a long series of musical experiments which began in 1997 soon after the release of "Apparitions." Searching for new musical ground, the duo (Brian McWilliams and John Phipps) began exploring alternate modes of composition, never settling on the same method twice. As a starting point, they wanted to explore the subtleties of communication, from the man-made to the terrestrial and back. But, what began to emerge seemed to paint a larger picture - an audio portrait describing the deep veil of night and the arc between dusk and dawn.

Here, on their fourth release, Remanence explores the tween time. It's the sound of insects, the trill of frogs, the pulse of fireflies, the night time lighting up in a dazzling array of stars. Its music about the nocturnal (and for the nocturnal), both peaceful and ominous. Beyond the buzzes and whirs, the songs paint a vast night-time landscape with its population of insects, creatues, and onlookers - all trying to communicate their message. The music unfolds then slowly drifts away in hushed, muted silence.

"Strange Constellation" is night music - deep, layered and textured - coaxed from a long line of soundscapes and musical experiments and blended with loads of night-time recordings. Like all Mpath releases, it ships with beautifully printed artwork in unique packaging and includes a velum insert, insect photos, and plenty of liner notes.

COMMENTS:

"I am still truly at a loss to imagine how you always come to produce such singularly admirable layout and assemble it with all the accessory items into an artistically captivating whole. In addition, the trade-mark use of the tracing paper for the inlay contents is as pleasing as ever. I am very well aware that there are special releases in many forms and guises on the music market nowadays, but you always manage to surprise one in the most agreeable manner possible."

"I was immediately stricken by its contemplative nature and its ability to induce in one the state of perfect detachment from all that is prone to corruption in this world: the philosophical term 'transcendent' might be one of the most apposite attributes one could resort to when referring to it. The music is quite sobre yet the more beautiful and evocative on that account... The titles themselves are intriguing and aptly chosen... I find it rather difficult to name any favourites at this stage: all the compositions are appealing in their own way, each bringing along a new angle of viewing the whole, without being predictable or dull for even a single moment."

"... My initial experience with the album does single out a couple of titles that already linger in the memory: 'Signal Hill' made an immediate impact; 'Lamkhyer', in its present incarnation, although very well known to me from the MCD, is still quite enthralling
and refreshing; 'Stress' struck me as a very elaborate piece in the manner of Aperus; and 'A Reply Beyond Oblivion' is an excellent Dark Ambient track indeed, the more enjoyable for its sinister, noisier Industrial qualities. The production itself is flawlessly executed, it being yet another aspect of your work one becomes almost too readily accustomed to, often forgetting how exacting and time-consuming the entire process must be. Let me once more congratulate both John and you for your impeccable work."

Daniel D. Stanisic, Spiritual Profit Radio Programme