
The Netherlands are very good at that. There, everything can be a music venue. That is why that country has such a strong and growing experimental music scene. The Dutch gave us groundbreaking noise acts like De Fabriek, Machinefabriek, Kristus Kut and so on and I guess I can easily add Owlbites to that list. This act, formed by Thanos Fotiadis, fishes in the same pool as the aforementioned acts. He as played in the same surprising venues as his colleagues and his music is just as uncompromising too.
The two lengthy compositions on this album have been recorded in January 2018. They are live improvisations, another one of those huge advantages of being an experimental noise act. Frankly, Thanos does whatever he likes, inspired by the surroundings, the reactions of the audience and the array of equipment he brought. The result is an intense and immersive blend of drone, noise and ambient soundscapes, opening with a spoken word introduction on how to fully appreciate the weird and unusual sounds you are about to experience.
While track one, 'The Meditative State', is an hypnotic and often harsh composition, 'Nature Is Satan's Church' seems to take on a more gentle approach, driving on droning strings. The first track feels synthetic, industrial while the other delves into distorted guitars after a while. I can surely imagine this concert as an intense and well-varied musical trip, one that I will definitely enjoy. So yeah, I think it's only natural that I recommend this album to all fans of gritty and creepy ambient music, especially those who often dive deep into the waters of noise.
Serge