Trance Forum | Stats | Register | Search | Parties | Advertise | Login

There are 0 trance users currently browsing this page
Trance Forum » » Forum  Music Reviews - Northaunt - Horizons (Cyclic law, 2006) CD
Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on StumbleUpon
Author

Northaunt - Horizons (Cyclic law, 2006) CD

Psychedelic_Mustache
IsraTrance Junior Member

Started Topics :  28
Posts :  30
Posted : Apr 29, 2006 18:10
Artist: Northaunt
Title: Horizons
Label: Cyclic Law
Catalog: 16th Cycle
Format: CD
Released: 2006
Coverart: http://tinyurl.com/g64rt

Tracklist:

01.Until Dawn Do us part
02. Night Came to us
03. Horizons
04. The Autumn Sky
05. Night Alone
06. With the Stars as witness
07. The wilderness

Norwegian electronic music is often ascosiated with Biosphere or perhaps Röyksopp for the mor comercially oriented crowd. Still, alot of other intersting things are happening, especially within the realms of darker ambient. Northaut has been producing music since 1996 and have several releases behind them...This time their out with a full album on Cyclic law, a label mainly concerned with icy cold ambient soundscapes.... lets have a listen to the tracks...

01: Until Dawn do us Part
Opening rather chaotic this track merges all kinds of sounds ino a metallic and sterile soup, before the deep, lulling drones hurl us into deep introspection. After a while this piece becomes rather melodic, and the long and slowly sweeping horns together with the piano creates a rather majestic atmosphere. Thiss is beatless ambient all the way, and a very nice way to open the album!

02: Night Came to us
As you can see from the tracks title there's no hope of moving closer to the light side of things here. The track opens in a rather industrial feeling with some highly mechanical sounds alongside the howling of the wind. The track slowly moves around, and all though it evolves slowly it does not become dull or boring. Clocking in at near 15 minutes this is an ambient work of proportions, but as with the album, this stuff requiers a ceirtan mood to be enjoyed.

03: Horizons
With the albums third installment everything becomes a tad more warm and fuzzy than what we've so far come to excpect. Samples of something sounding like burning fire, together with rather harmonious backdrops of sound actually causes a rather euphoric atmosphere at times... Even so, this is still completely beatless ambient so take that into consideration before you run off to the shops. Good track!

04: The Autumn Sky
With the autums sky we're intoduced to something that vaguely resembles a beat and a rythm, which is nice for a change. Essential to this piece are the various samples of typical autumn weather phenomena such as rain, thunder and wind. Works well as a collage of sound, and the drone-like background ambience is nice as well. Solid!

05: Night alone
This is an interesting track. It begins very dark, very deep, but gradually over the course of it's nearly 10 minute journey turns lighter and lighter. In this track the long, sweeping atmospheric syths gets to play the main role almost alone, and as a floating experience this is a good piece of music.

06: With the stars as witness
This is perhaps the piece of music on this disc that will have the greatest appeal among the more psy-oriented listeners out there. I for one cant help but think that this piece would fit perfectly on the more ambient of Solar Fields works from last year "extended". This is very spaced out free-floating ambient in the purest beatless form there is. Not particularly dark either, but very, very nice...

07: The wilderness
The wilderness finishes the album, and I must say it does so in style. Exploring several different atmospheres and feelings, froom the deepest most depressing darkness to the euphoric waterfall-sampeling together with optimistic melodies. Very nice use of samples here as well, and it all turns in to a very dynamic piece of music.

Final Remarks:
Cyclic law is one of those labels I really enjoy purchasing cd's from... They do everything themselves and are the definition of how to be independent and original. Here they deliver a quality release that should please more listeners than their average release does, as I find this stuff pretty accessible. As a bonus you also get a music-video with an alternative version of the final track "the wilderness".

Even so, you have to take into account that this is ambient with absolutely no beats involved and I know thats not something everyone is able to enjoy. If you're one of those people who are lucky enough to be able to enjoy a quiet meditative hour by your self I wouldn't hesitate to recomend you to bring this disc as company...

Tomas (Psychedelic Mustache)

Buy it here:
Wirikuta: http://tinyurl.com/f6ajw
Cyclic Law: http://tinyurl.com/d84sx           www.sonic-energy.net

www.psymus.blogspot.com
Acidhive
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  76
Posts :  2014
Posted : Apr 29, 2006 18:47
Yep, a great cd, just like their previous releases. If you're into this you should also check out the likes of Kammarheit, Oophoi, Liquid Ghosts, Svartsinn, Gustaf Hildebrand, Troum (Maeror Tri to some extent too) and Stephen Philips, to recommend but a few. Also, if you like these dark ambient soundscapes check out: www.darkwinter.com, which is a netlabel with a lot of dark ambient releases. Especially Samsa is a great artist. Anyway, back to this. Dark, atmospheric, droning at times and incredibly immersing if you can sink in to it. Good release!           "Subconscious unravels at the point of death, and all time it has known erupts into a moment. As death extinguishes us, so we become it."

[Esoteric: Subconscious Dissolution Into The Continuum]
crovo
IsraTrance Junior Member

Started Topics :  16
Posts :  339
Posted : Apr 30, 2006 22:23
good to see a review of this album, even of this kind of music, here!
the album is great, really deep and totally introspective.
some months ago i've the first contact with this kind of music and since then i'd never stop to looking for more and more!
who enjoy this album from Northaunt, will certainly enjoy the stuffs from Lustmord, very very atmospheric and dark sounds.
Beast of Prey - http://www.beastofprey.com - really good label too, have much of neo-classical stuff and a lot of other styles (sometimes more industrial than ambient).

nice review! take care!          Obiit - Industrial Ambient
www.dead-tree.net/obiit

Dead Tree Productions - Obscure Psychedelic Trance Label
www.dead-tree.net

Uroboros Productions - Psychedelic Progressive/TechTrance Label
http://uroboros.dead-tree.net
Trance Forum » » Forum  Music Reviews - Northaunt - Horizons (Cyclic law, 2006) CD
 
Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on StumbleUpon


Copyright © 1997-2024 IsraTrance