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VEILS
The Diaphanous Depressions
2002
CD
Nonnut Muzic NON001
Bxxxxxxs! The batteries have gone on my walkman and I'll have to read the blurb
before hearing the album. Nonnut Muzic tells us that "The Diaphanous
Depressions...is a necessary step on the path of 'absolute conquest' of
the means of expression." No false modesty here then, but will the music
live up to the claim? The intellectual apologia from which I quote - an artwork
in its own right - accompanies the fourth album from Romanian Daniel
Dorobantu, who, er, plays the PC. This Nonnut re-release of his fourth
album has 19 tracks and includes, for the first time, vocal elements by Daniel
and Ciprian Costache.
OK. Batteries recharged and here we go...and it's dark filmic music of the
highest quality. Some of the tracks are short but no less interesting interludes
between longer pieces. Darkly romantic atmospheric pads sweep us along. It's
somewhere between neoclassical and ambient with delicious Eastern inflections
coming in on ‘Night Desert’. The heavy scent of Arabian nights is
never far away and particularly wafts in on ‘Sword', at first softly and
then as a frenetic whirling dance. Well I really do like the 'Arabian-gothic'
fusion that you encounter with groups like The Changelings
so this is very much a winner with me.
Other tracks show equal mastery of sound sculpting and manipulation. ‘Ensamble
Theme’ is very Nymanesque. 'Thoughts' opens with a Blood Axis
type synth-string riff before building up into a majestic orchestra. 'Vacuous
Seas' is a spacey ambient piece. 'Fury' is another convincing orchestral composition
with a good melody. With 'Wind Anywhere', a grave funereal piece with a heavenly
chorus, we arrive at some sort of celestial conclusion.
Daniel Dorobantu is evidently a master at the musical as well as the
computer keyboard. More power to his elbow!
Rik - 16 January 2003
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