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Sielwolf & Nam-khar - Atavist Craft

8/3/2015

 
Sombre Soniks
Foto
Sielwolf? Thé Sielwolf that was founded in 1989 and sounded like a mix between Einsturzende Neubauten and Godflesh?  Yes, my friend, that Sielwolf.  I'm not sure if many people remember them, so let me explain.  I first got into contact with their music when I bought a Gonzo Circus magazine with the famous 'Mind The Gap' compilation.  I loved Sielwolf's harsh combination between industrial metal and noise.  The music didn't need any human interference, or so it seemed.  It just went on and on, pounding on our consiousness and I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, I lost track of them but it seems that Sielwolf is still very active.

Nam-khar is a ritual drone and ambient project from Germany, influenced by Eastern - especially Tibetan - instruments and philosophy. He has been working on this project since 2008 or 2009 and has released some albums and tracks for compilations.  This cooperation with Sielwolf has been released by the highly acclaimed Sombre Soniks label on CD and as a digital download.  They're appearantly still looking for a way to release a vinyl edition and frankly, some label should make the gamble.  Atavist Craft is an awesome ritual drone album that deserves some attention.

There's five tracks on Atavist Craft, ranging from seven to fifteen minutes.  All of them follow a similar pattern where drones, noises, sound manipulations seem to float freely, supported by some minimalist percussion and electronics.  The result is simply stunning, a 45 minute trip through a dark, mysterious but wonderful world.  The longest track, 'Clost Indukt', starts of with some Tibetan singing bowls and gradually evolves into a creepy, industrial dark ambient piece where all kinds of noises appear and disappear.  

The industrial, stomping percussion of Sielwolf (at least of the songs I know) is not really present on this album.  Often these percussive elements are pushed a bit towards the background where they serve as a solid foundation for the rest of the sounds. This aspect also serves as a grasp, a hold-on for the listener while he explores these gritty and spooky worlds. It's perferctly suited for a bizarre and macabre shortfilm, preferably made with stop-motion (but maybe that's just my imagination).

This enourmous blend of analog instruments, soundscapes and electronics makes Atavist Craft an even-changing album that somehow resembles Sephiroth, Hybryds or Job Karma. But it's the unpredictability of this album that makes me like it even more. You really never know what's going to happen and I'm sure that will be exactly the same after several listens.  It sounds like the result of one or more live improvisations, making it more organic and spontaneous than some other dark ambient albums I've heard lately.  


Serge


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