post-rock / doom / krautrock
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Now here's something unexpected and well worth your attention. If you're into slow music, you certainly have to read on because you might have come across one of the most intriguing albums of 2015. I know, I often say that about an album but that's mainly because 2015 has been a good year for music. Yet, in this case, I'm certain that there are loads of people out there who will appreciate this weird mix.
Echoes Of Yul is a one-man project from Opole, Poland. Seemingly the act is fascinated by slow music, such as soundtracks, krautrock and ambient. He's definitely not the only one by the way. I'm a bit of a sloth-music fan myself. Sure, I can appreciate the heavy stuff but when it all comes together, I love a bit of soothing soundscapes, and that's exactly what you can expect from this album, soothing but mystifying sounds.
The album opens with 'Ester', which starts out as a minimal ambient soundscape and gains some minor post-rock influences. When I heard this music for the first time, I was thinking about a mix between Bohren Und Der Club of Gore, Tortoise and Godspeed! You Black Emperor. If you made an 'hmm, interesting mix' face while reading that previous sentence, buy the album now. It gets even better.
How about Ennio Morricone teaming up with Angelo Badalamenti to remix Kreidler? Yep, we get that too on this album, along with some strange, eerie samples. We even get some haunting electronics, something I thought died out in the eighties. In 'Diorama' there's also some modern classical pianos present. This is one odd piece of ambient music by the way. Yet, this is no mere collection of different sounding songs. This is a weird but amazing piece of work.
You though we were done there, didn't you? Up until now, this act has been quite smooth and gentle but that too is about to change. In 'Apathy Rule' you can suddenly encounter fragments of doom metal, accompanied with old school EBM and industrial synths. This is one of the heaviest tracks on 'The Healing'. I'm not sure if it's my favorite but it definitely adds some more variation, and yes, distorted guitars.
This album is an awe-inspiring musical adventure where anything seems possible. Drones, dark jazz, doom metal, post-rock, EBM, krautrock, psychedelic ambient,... everything seems to be allowed in order to create this music. Although all the tracks are slow, it never ceases to surprise the listener. New things pop-up everytime. At this moment, I'm already referring to 'Organloop' as 'doomstep'. Scorn meets Om, or something like that.
This review is getting pretty damn long, which usually is a good sign by the way. I think you'll get the picture by now and I'll leave the other songs to your imagination. They will probably sound way different than what you can imagine, even with all the references I already mentioned. So, slow music fans, it's time to grab one of the most fascinating albums of the year. Do it now...
​Serge
Echoes Of Yul is a one-man project from Opole, Poland. Seemingly the act is fascinated by slow music, such as soundtracks, krautrock and ambient. He's definitely not the only one by the way. I'm a bit of a sloth-music fan myself. Sure, I can appreciate the heavy stuff but when it all comes together, I love a bit of soothing soundscapes, and that's exactly what you can expect from this album, soothing but mystifying sounds.
The album opens with 'Ester', which starts out as a minimal ambient soundscape and gains some minor post-rock influences. When I heard this music for the first time, I was thinking about a mix between Bohren Und Der Club of Gore, Tortoise and Godspeed! You Black Emperor. If you made an 'hmm, interesting mix' face while reading that previous sentence, buy the album now. It gets even better.
How about Ennio Morricone teaming up with Angelo Badalamenti to remix Kreidler? Yep, we get that too on this album, along with some strange, eerie samples. We even get some haunting electronics, something I thought died out in the eighties. In 'Diorama' there's also some modern classical pianos present. This is one odd piece of ambient music by the way. Yet, this is no mere collection of different sounding songs. This is a weird but amazing piece of work.
You though we were done there, didn't you? Up until now, this act has been quite smooth and gentle but that too is about to change. In 'Apathy Rule' you can suddenly encounter fragments of doom metal, accompanied with old school EBM and industrial synths. This is one of the heaviest tracks on 'The Healing'. I'm not sure if it's my favorite but it definitely adds some more variation, and yes, distorted guitars.
This album is an awe-inspiring musical adventure where anything seems possible. Drones, dark jazz, doom metal, post-rock, EBM, krautrock, psychedelic ambient,... everything seems to be allowed in order to create this music. Although all the tracks are slow, it never ceases to surprise the listener. New things pop-up everytime. At this moment, I'm already referring to 'Organloop' as 'doomstep'. Scorn meets Om, or something like that.
This review is getting pretty damn long, which usually is a good sign by the way. I think you'll get the picture by now and I'll leave the other songs to your imagination. They will probably sound way different than what you can imagine, even with all the references I already mentioned. So, slow music fans, it's time to grab one of the most fascinating albums of the year. Do it now...
​Serge
