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Steve Roach and vidnaObmana: The Inner Zone 2002
The English language has not yet produced enough superlatives to describe
Inner Zone, by vidnaObmana, nee Dirk Serries, and
Steve Roach. "Fantastalacious
" has a nice ring to it. "Fantastalacious" it is!
This CD has many different influences and is a bit of a departure from Steve's
and Dirk's norm. There are certainly traces of the electro-tribal ambience
that their fans expect. And there is more! This disc has echoes of Steve's
work with Vir Unis, Dirk's recent solo efforts, pure space minimalism,
desert ambience and deep atmospheres. It is, quite simply, a diverse effort
with something for everybody. And it has traces of the electronic music
symphony that Steve has been constructing and developing for years. His
signature wash and swoosh synth timbres give it away.
Each note has its own depth and character. The synth riffs are smooth and
stunning. There are no holes, no missing parts. From, note one to note last,
this is pure electronic enjoyment. And it gets better with each listen!
(This CD coincides with the upcoming Projektfest/Gathering scheduled for
Memorial Day weekend in Philadelphia.) - Jim Brenholts
vidnaObmana , Tremor
Release Records, RR6509-2, October, 2001
www.vidnaobmana.org
www.releaseentertainment.com
info@vidnaobmana.org
release@relapse.com
vidnaObmana, nee Dirk Serries, is one of the most talented and prolific
electronicians in our e-music community. His newest CD, Tremor, is the
beginning of a new trilogy based on Dante's Inferno. Only the most confident
musicians would undertake such a challenge. And it also takes someone with
strong introspective capabilities.
"Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself
within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway
had been lost."
That passage is from the first Canto of Dante's Inferno.
Dante focused on our relationship with the devil. Dirk has chosen to
translate that focus into a metaphor for the constant ebb and flow in our
daily lives, like (topically and timely) the struggle between good and evil.
(Quite coincidentally, Belgium's national television and radio stations chose
an excerpt from The Surreal Sanctuary as the prelude to the European day of
mourning. That was on Friday, September 14. The continent was mourning the
tragic events of September 11.)
This CD is one of Dirk's best. His multi-instrumental talents are in top
form as he uses his flutes, percussion, synths and manipulations to create a
deep sense of balance for listeners. Listeners will have to translate that
sense into their own balance. Dirk is only a guide, not a director.
Musically, this has everything that fans have come to expect from a
vidnaObmana CD. Dirk's ethnic and tribal influences compliment his deep
minimalism. His trance-inducing percussion carries the project forward.
This is a worthwhile trip to the perpendicular universe. The irony is that
Dirk fashioned it with a trip to the Inferno. - Jim Brenholts
Soundtrack for the Aquarium
by Vidna Obmana
Hypnos Recordings, 2000
http://www.hypnos.com
“Vidna Obmana” (whose real name is Dirk Serries) evokes the sunless wet
gloom of his native Belgium in this two-CD set which, as its name says, is
music composed by Obmana as background sound for an aquarium installation.
The first disc has seven sections of his atmospheric (or rather, aquatic)
ambience, dating from ’92 and ’93. The second disc is also a recording from
1993, using some of the same material performed in Germany, according to
the notes, at the (peculiar) hour of 6 AM.
Obmana stays with his familiar repertoire of long, floating electronic
drone tones over percussion and sound effects. When he uses tonality, he favors
ninths, elevenths, and fifths, intervals which could be considered his "signature.”
Other sections use microtones. The watery ambience is constantly reinforced by the sound
of rainstick rattles, recorded water sounds, the occasional fish groan or human voice, and of
course the obligatory vast reverberation. This is quintessentially European electronic
music, harkening back to the ring modulator and oscillator work done by
Belgian and Dutch composers back in the ‘50s and ‘60s one could even call
it, at this 21st century date, “traditional.” It has an autumnal quality,
like a long, rainy day in November. It moves slowly, like waves of clouds,
filling the listening room with audible mist, peaceful but chilly and very
soggy.
HMGS rating: 7 out of 10
EER-MUSIC.com
8/2/01
The Contemporary Nocturne
by Vidna Obmana (Dirk Serries)
Hypnos Recordings, 2000
http://www.hypnos.com
The Belgian surrealist Vidna Obmana returns with another album of eerie
sounds which could be the background for paintings by Dali, Tanguy, or
Vidna's countryman Rene Magritte. Here he presents eight very slow,
deep-reverbed, drifting pieces using both electric and ethnic instruments.
In many of the tracks he plays an Oriental flute, or a South Asian panpipe
called a “fujara” which produces microtonal and untuned (to Western ears)
tones. On other tracks, the more familiar sound of an electric guitar is
stretched and draped out like one of Dali’s limp watches. Supporting all of
these are his synthesizer chords, called “harmonics” on this album. (I
believe that the description for Track 4, which reads “four harmonicas,” is
really “four harmonics.”)
In my opinion Obmana’s music has improved greatly since his association
with Steve Roach (who plays an “E-bow guitar” on one track here). Obmana has
learned not only the art of placing “floating chords” against more transient
sounds, but has also learned to use more varied harmonies. He has also
learned from Roach how to pace a piece, not too long or short. But Obmana
has never been a “Roach clone” and this album is very definitely his own,
especially in his use of dissonant, chromatic melodic lines. This last
tendency is especially audible in track 5, “Mute Grief,” where minor seconds
played on the Oriental flute are used to create intense emotional power, as
if the piece accompanied visions of massacres and terrifying destruction.
And yet Obmana is also capable of brightness and beauty, as in the track
following “Grief,” called “Revelation.” This is the only piece on the album
that has a human voice, ecstatic wordless overtone-singing over warm, major
chords. But even in this relatively happy piece, there are still many
moments of dissonance as other sounds, including more flute-playing, shift
in and out.
Though the first six tracks have a compelling power, the album in my
opinion loses some of its momentum in the two last tracks, which are the
longest, the 19-minute “The path downwards” (track 7) and the 15-minute
track 8, “Infinity.” This last piece is borrowed from another Obmana album,
The Surreal Sanctuary. If I had been the arranger on this album, I would
have put the shorter and more comforting “Revelation” at the end, and kept
the longer pieces for the middle of the set.
HMGS rating: 7 out of 10
Hannah M.G. Shapero, EER-MUSIC.com
2/18/01
A renewed version of this review
also featured in 1999 issue of:
Crossing the Trail
~ vidnaObmana
(CD review for fAZE 3 magazine May 7, 1998)
release date: April 1998
http://www.vidnaobmana.org
contact info:
Projekt
PO Box 166155
Chicago, IL
60616 USA
Belgian composer, Dirk Serries, aka vidnaObmana has crafted a well polished, smooth
stone that glistens in the river of Sound. His minimalist, trancewalk, dreamtime whispers on
Crossing the Trail rates right up there with Steve Roach, Robert Rich, and Nik Tyndall, to
mention just a few. In fact, Roach guests on this release having collaborated with vidnaObmana
in past creations.
Seamless, drifting, boundless, lilting, waves and rivulets of sound wash over you in the
69 plus minutes, that pass by in a timeless void. Seven journeys await you, each pouring into the
next, "Encountering terrain" to "Trail dwelling" and into "Forest arrow", I hear a percussive,
gently driven, trilogy, flowing from the headwaters of imagination to the broad expanses of
vision.
"Mission ground" glides you out onto a still lake of mists and ominous foreboding. That
which pursued you in the first three pieces slowly draws near again, creeping out of the shrouded
silence. Very tribal, very cryptic, very close but you elude them. They pass by unseen. Only
insects in the edge of your mind can see you now.
"The esoteric source" is, to me, passage inside a great Temple, the Hall of Records,
spanning this tributary of Time we know as Life. Borges said, "Time is a river . . ." and
vidnaObmana opens the ineffable gates of lucid dreaming with this piece. Cascades of memory
echo as you pass through the dark-light portals.
"The giant traveller" speaks to me of secrets now learned, we walk now in wisdom,
unafraid of the darkness and the pace is our own. We have stepped beyond shaman, beyond fear
and into the determination of Light. We are lucent beings and the serpents withdraw into
shadows.
We look down to see the jungles vanish beneath our feet. Gravity is behind us.
"This splendid place" is the dimension of all our aspirations, now complete. Pain is past.
Sorrow is unknown. Quicksilver, ebony dark seas caress the shores of the Overworld. Here is the
land of the undiscovered way, the paths few trod, the pass through the snow-covered mountains
on the edge of Being.
vidnaObmana guides the soul in Crossing the Trail.
vidnaObmana has learned his lessons well and offers a gift of thanks.
-John W. Patterson, EER-MUSIC.com
This review featured in 1999 issue of:
Vidna Obmana: Memories Compiled2 (2CD, 143:31); Projekt: Archive 8
This European ambient synths composer is easily one of the best out there. I have heard many
a so-called “ambient” work that just left me flat-eared and ennui-laden, reaching for the remote to
switch discs. Not so for Obmana’s creations. They lightshimmer, wavesparkle, synthsing,
heartecho, and braindrone just exactly the right mix of off-world and terrestrial brilliance. I must
mention folks like Steve Roach, Jeff Johnson, Jeff Greinke, Richard Bone, Harold Budd, and
Brain Eno. Obmana is influenced by or mirrors the best of these artists.
This release is freshly sequenced and remastered earlier works of Obmana. Disc one is dubbed
Near the Flogging Landscape and disc two is tagged Refined on Gentle Clouds.
They cover an original recording period of 1989 to 1991. Experience a very cohesive feel and
flow from disc to disc and hear a wide range of soundcolor and subdued sonic texturing.
Put this collection on, be relaxed, and travel inner dimensions of wonder and vision. Many
“soul-travel/stress-reduction” moments within, an inspired offering.
~ John W. Patterson, EER-MUSIC.com
Landscape In Obscurity
by Vidna Obmana
Hypnos Records, 1998
http://www.hypnos.com
Listening to this long ambient album by Obmana is like gazing into a
shimmering pool of water in a secluded shadowy garden. It is restful and
quiet and it makes no demands on your tired mind. Usually I associate the
Belgian Vidna Obmana with dreary hours of melancholy electronic droning but
this piece by him has a much lighter, sweeter sound to it. Some of this is
due to his use of flute and saxophone riffs, most of them electronically
loop-repeated, by a pair of Italian avant-garde jazzmen, Capriolo Trifoglio
and Diego Borotti. Another factor in this nicer sound is that Obmana has
chosen to use a more “major” harmonic atmosphere rather than the “minor” or
microtonal harmonies of his other works.
Though there are a few accents of acoustic percussion, mostly delicate
rattles, the greatest part of this long single piece (68 ˝ minutes) is
composed of long floating notes, which extend off into endless waves of
echoes. As a big reverb fan, this is pleasing to me. Flute and sax notes
percolate through the echoing mix in a kind of slow kaleidoscopic
revolution. There is hardly any variation in volume, complexity, or
harmonies; the piece retains the same character throughout its length.
As with all “true” ambient music, this is not meant to be listened to with
undivided attention. It is the analogy of incense or fragrance, meant to add
quality, enjoyment, and mood to an environment rather than demanding a full
commitment. As such, Landscape In Obscurity does its job of filling
the air with its peaceful, comforting vibrations, a welcome sound in the
leafless frozen months of winter.
HMGS rating: 7
Hannah M.G.Shapero, EER-MUSIC.com
1/22/00
True Stories
by Vidna Obmana and Jeff Pearce
Mirage Records, 1999
http://www.oasisproductions.com
Vidna Obmana (the Belgian ambient electronic composer, whose real name is
Dirk Serries) has been prolific in the last half of the ‘90s and into this
new decade. I am happy to report that I like his new music more and more.
This collaboration with ambient guitarist Jeff Pearce is a good sample of
the newer Obmana style.
Obmana has chosen his collaborators wisely, especially his longtime musical
partnership with Steve Roach. I must admit that the reason I like Obmana’s
music a lot more now, is that there is a heavy Roach influence in it. Roach
has given Obmana a better sense of chord choice and pacing than he had
before they worked together. Similarly, here with Pearce, Obmana must work
within the sweet harmonies of the guitar, rather than depend on the gloomy
atonal or microtonal tone-clusters that used to dominate his sound.
True Stories advertises itself as a series of small-scale,
descriptive pieces designed to evoke an unspoken narrative. Each piece does
have a different mood, but in general this album epitomizes throughout its
length, the “relaxation” kind of ambient music – not too scary, very slow,
devoid of rhythm or annoying percussion, and made with “floating” tones that
drift in and out of hearing.
Though Pearce contributes to every track, the actual sound of his
guitar only appears in some of the pieces.. These are not necessarily my
favorites. I especially enjoyed the all-electronic #3, “Horizon of
thought” – though again, it is very much in the style of Steve Roach, almost
to the point of direct imitation. I also liked #9, “The open darkness.” Both
of these pieces use more dissonance, which gives the piece a “mysterious”
mood. The other pieces have a sweeter, more harmonious sound.
One thing which I noticed about this album is that between most of the
cuts there is about 25 seconds of silence; this is probably a deliberate
choice of the composers, but it can be misleading as I began to wonder at
some points whether my CD player was working correctly. I guess you must
factor the silence in as part of the listening experience. In general, it’s
a good experience. If you are anxious - try True Stories - it might
just be the drug-free tranquilizer you need.
HMGS rating: 8
Hannah M.G.Shapero, EER-MUSIC.com
5/25/00
AND NOW, TWO CDs REVIEWED TOGETHER . . .
The Surreal Sanctuary
by Vidna Obmana
Hypnos Records, 2000
http://www.hypnos.com
AND:
The Shape of Solitude
by Vidna Obmana and Serge Devadder
Multimood Records, 1999
http://www.multimood.com
The Belgian electronic composer “Vidna Obmana,” whose real name is Dirk
Serries, has been prolific in these last few years…perhaps TOO prolific. He’s
released albums both by himself and with his longtime collaborator Steve
Roach, as well as with guitarists Jeff Pearce and Serge Devadder. This
proliferation of Obmana music inevitably leads, I believe, to a lessening of
quality, or at least erratic quality. These two albums, in my opinion, show
this irregular output of Obmana’s clearly. In the first and most recent
album, The Surreal Sanctuary, he seems to be using not Steve Roach as
a model, but Robert Rich – who, as far as I know, has not worked with him.
The Surreal Sanctuary features many of the sound-motifs found in
Robert Rich’s work, as exemplified by Rich’s recent 3-CD set
Humidity: eccentric tonality (including the unconventional “just
intonation” which is Rich’s trademark), wailing exotic flutes and voices,
cavernous reverb drift, irregular, ultra-slow rhythms, and a general eerie
surrealistic bleakness. In his True Stories done with Jeff Pearce,
Obmana had to make his harmonies more conventionally tonal and “major key”
to go with Pearce’s guitar style, but Obmana’s preferences have always
seemed to be more toward the dissonant and atonal, and both these albums
show it.
Though there are some stirring passages in The Surreal Sanctuary,
such as in the first cut, “Infinity” and the second cut, “Lamentation,”
there are also long periods of toneless droning, or slow guitar twanging.
The Surreal Sanctuary, when it is good, is sustained by its
trance-inducing electronic intensity. When it is not so good, it is simply
sleep-inducing. At any rate, this long (over 70 minutes) album will appeal
only to hardcore fans of “dark ambient” or chill trance electronica.
The Shape of Solitude, done by Obmana in collaboration with
avant-garde guitarist Serge Devadder, is an example of the “erratic” output
I’ve mentioned. Though it begins promisingly, with Devadder’s guitar tracing
plaintive melodic lines in “just intonation,” it soon degenerates into a
dreary mixture of aimless guitar noodling and electronic special effects.
Anyone who has ever been to a Grateful Dead show will recognize this style
as what the Dead produced during the psychedelic “space” interludes during
their second set…meant to accompany the altered mental states of the
audience. Imagine 56 minutes of this (rather than the 15 or so that the Dead
used to do) and you have this album. Not that there aren’t some interesting
mixes between modified or unmodified guitar, and Obmana’s icy electronic
sounds – it’s that unlike Roach, Rich, and the Dead, there is no sustaining
structure behind the music to make it travel along, and it just goes on way
too long. The notes, some of them clear and some of them messy, drip and
flow away in a great big virtual cave of digital reverb. After about the
fourth or fifth track, I kept hoping that they would segue into “Goin’ Down
the Road Feelin’ Bad” or some other Dead standard, but unfortunately, being
Serious – dare I say, Pretentious – Europeans, they didn’t.
HMGS rating:
For The Surreal Sanctuary : 6
For The Shape of Solitude : 4
Hannah M.G.Shapero, EER-MUSIC.com
5/27/00
THE AMBIENT EXPANSE
by Steve Roach, Patrick O'Hearn, Vidna Obmana, Stephen
Bacchus, Vir Unis
Mirage Records, 1999
Ambient music is above all a music of mood, an abstract
sound rather than the conventional musical indicators of rhythm,
harmonic progressions, and structure in time or tone. What makes
ambient music good or great is where it takes you in your
imagination, and how effectively it triggers inner states of mind.
There is also a subtle musicality to ambient, when it's done by
masters of the art. And Steve Roach, with his collaborators, shows
once again that he and his team are indeed ambient masters.
THE AMBIENT EXPANSE is intended to be a "five-
movement collaborative work" rather than just a compilation of
five different pieces by different artists. Therefore there is an
underlying unity to the set, as well as a similar slow, stately pace.
EXPANSE is well-named: it is an expansive, floating soundscape
buoyed on vast swells of synthesizer chords. It evokes, as does so
much work by Roach, the grand open spaces of deserts, oceans, or
outer space. Here, because most of the chords are within the tonal
system and either major key or modal, it is an almost always an
ambient of light, rather than a fearsome darkness.
Steve Roach and bassist Patrick O'Hearn collaborate on the
first piece, in which O'Hearn's unmistakable bass work underlies
Roach's familiar floating chords. If this is a preview of what Roach
and O'Hearn have been working on for their collaborative album, I
will be eagerly awaiting it.
Vidna Obmana's "The Space In-Between," the fourth
movement, is one of the best in the set. In my opinion, Vidna
Obmana's music continues to improve year by year, and this is
some of the best Obmana I've heard. He has learned to hitch his
Euro-Wagnerian harmonic choices to a smoothly flowing,
technical American sound, rather than aimlessly grinding about the
way he used to do. Of all the pieces on the album, Obmana's is the
most ambiguous, with hints of greyness and desolation among the
pale clouds.
The fifth and last movement, "The Eternal Expanse,"
belongs to Steve Roach, and is the longest in the set. It opens with
an echo of Roach's recent "Dust to Dust," but it also looks back to
other Roach ambient works such as "The Dream Circle." Unlike
the other pieces, "Eternal" has some dynamic range, moving from
soft to loud in big organ-like and almost romantic swells of sound.
THE AMBIENT EXPANSE is not for everyone. Its lack of
rhythm and trance-like quality are not good background music for
working or driving. This is music for listeners who cherish space
and silence; it is essentially a contemplative experience, designed
not to incite emotion or passion but to lead into an inner world of
serenity, to a state of what mystics might call "full emptiness."
This review was first published in WIND AND WIRE magazine.
HMGS rating: 8
Hannah M.G.Shapero, EER-MUSIC.com
10/03/98
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