AMONGST MYSELVES: Auburn Silhouette (CD & DVD on Amongst Projects)

This release from 2006 contains a CD with 62 minutes of stimulating ambient music, while the DVD offers 34 minutes of videos.

Amongst Myselves is Steve Roberts, with Garry Roberts (on doumbek) on one track.

Heralded by sampled birds, regal tonalities approach. The texture rises in strength, swelling until the hints of a heavenly choir appear. The mix slides into an ascension as these elements conspire to achieve a soothing resonance tinged with psychic vitality. Electronic drones unfurl with sweetened edges while muffled impacts resound in the distance. Clarification creeps in as auxiliary sounds lend depth and scope to the expanding space. This is how the shadow is born.

The subsequent tracks embellish on this portentous mood, delivering excursions into a variety of pensive corners of the mind. Electronics trickle forth, sparkling softly and gathering force. Footsteps guide the way to more adventurous passages.

A variety of sounds augment the thickening textures, blooping diodes and mechanical hums join forces to achieve a captivating series of elevations. Shuddering chimes bestow a glistening presence of imminent expectation. Beneath the music's haunting disposition lies a promise of deliverance from mundanity.

These compositions are designed with more than sedation in mind. A certain zest lurks in these airy soundscapes, a seething energy that is excellently infused in the audience, revitalizing and invigorating. Whether the tunes are sprightly or somber, their effect is contagious, uplifting. The listening mind becomes cocooned in these temperate harmonics. Power is derived from their influence. What you do with that power is a matter for you to decide amongst yourselves.

© 2007 Matt Howarth - Sonic Curiosity