"Deep_Frieze" [Si_COMM
review] --
The latest in a clutch of new offerings from purveyors
of all things dark and esoteric, Cold Spring, one of
the UK's most prominent and consistent dark labels,
and whose roster of artists is now as diverse as it
is extreme.Sleep Research Facility follow up their Cold
Spring debut, "Nostromo" introducing a wider pallette
of sound , based on polar co-ordinates, and dripping
in chilling atmospherics. In a genre constantly struggling
to define and re-invent itself, often tripping over
conceptual hurdles in an attempt at originality, many
"dark" ambient artists inhabit familiar territory, trawling
out rehashed sonic concepts based upon murderers, deep
space phenomena, the occult etc, etc, to the point of
becoming a tiresome cliche, and many have become almost
laughable caricatures of earlier and more successful
predecessors. Sleep Research Facility have neatly side-stepped
some of these conceptual pitfalls in both the theme,
and choice of sounds used on Deep Frieze. Drawing inspiration
from the bleak and remote Antarctic regions, Deep Frieze
slowly unfurls, moving from the sound of a sub-glacial
wind storm on 79o S 83oW, gradually evolving and building
on subsequent tracks, occasionally perforated by the
warm glow of harmonics, as tone clusters break through
the icy carapace, carried on rich resonant bass dronescapes.
Here and there the relief of hearing a barely audible
voice permeates the soundscape, albeit the faintest
whisper of humanity, a crackling radio weather report
maybe, or a message lost to the frozen tundra. To classify
this album as being entirely dark is something of a
misnomer, as much of what appears here is bathed in
light and dynamic range, utilising sound from across
the frequency spectrum, yet still achieving that sense
of sparseness and isolation prevalent in this sinister
and extreme polar environment. SRF use these dynamics
to great effect, particularly when anything remotely
tonal drops away, leaving the listener suspended in
an eerie half silence, with little or no notable audible
stimuli, there is a sense of feeling lost, the feeling
of utter desolation that must confront those brave few
who have ventured into this inhospitable territory,
a stark, inhuman region that has claimed many lives,
broken many men, and whose darkest secrets still remain
silent, encapsulated in its icy depths. This is deeply
immersive sonic escapism of the very highest order..absolutely
essential. BGN
"Nostromo" [Ambi-Entrance review] Yes,
that Nostromo... Fans of the Alien films will be already
familiar with the dead starship. Now, join Sleep Research
Facility in exploring her techno-ominous passageways,
devoid of human life but pulsing with unknowable circuitry...
and not just extended hums from machinery as big as
the local mall, mind you; these atmospheres are artfully
arranged with textural elements and almost-musical essences.
A certain dread looms as the craft's various levels
are traversed, deck by darkened deck... Beyond the mechanical
throbbing which fills the void of a-deck (14:01), turbulent
space rumbles and swells with fearful powers. Solar
winds seem to blow outside of b-deck's (hopefully!)
protective layers; these halls are permeated with coming-then-going
drones of some still-animate system. Mysterious (and
more-minimalistic) patterns seep across e-deck (11:21),
joined by deep metallic gongwaves which reverberate
in long, flat planes. Once you've walked the nightmare
hallways of Nostromo a few times (and are relatively
sure you're not going to be consumed by those unstoppable
aliens), you may even find a cold comfort within these
oh-so-isolated surroundings. I appreciate that Sleep
Research Facility kept this at a sedate-though-chilling
level of technological remoteness, with no chest-popping
monster sounds or dialogue from Ripley. An 8.9 for over
an hour of serious thematic immersion.
"Dead
Weather Machine" [Aural Pressure review]
"Dead Weather Machine" uses a simple premise
as a means to create vibrant music that is part experimental
and part ambient. The artist had a heating machine in
his home that was on its last legs just waiting to finally
expire and join the great scrap heap of electrical metal
appliances. Taking the sound sources coming from the
machine by microphone and processing them through a
computer he has turned that machine into a living breathing
entity fighting for its own survival. This in itself
isn&146;t anything new. I have a recording by Anna
Planeta which did the same sort of thing for a deserted
and disused Catholic School. What Sleep Research Facility
has done though here is to make the sounds more accessible
to the human ear therefore upping the enjoyment factor
tenfold. There are two ways to listen to "Dead
Weather Machine". Firstly&133;if you ignore where
the sound sources came from you are left with 7 tracks
of brooding dark machine like ambient music that produces
just the right amount of feelings of desolation and
dread that you would expect from this style of music.
Secondly&133;and the way you should approach this to
gain maximum pleasure&133;is to delve deeply into your
imagination and visualise the inner workings of a machine
neglected and clogged by decaying wires and rusting
metal chocking on years of debris and dust. The 7 pieces
then metamorphosis into something beautiful and tranquil
yet full of melancholy for better times in the past.
In its way "Dead Weather Machine" reminds
us of our own mortality and the failings yet to come
through our own slowly decaying shell. A deus ex machina
screaming for a survival that won&146;t happen. It
would be an understatement to state just how important
this recording is and shows how in the hands of a talented
artist a piece of machinery can stir the emotions given
the right treatment.
"DWM
Re:Heat" [Manifold press release] There's
a good story behind this disc. Why a simultaneous release
of two SRF discs so closely related? Originally conceptualized
as a 100 copy cdr to go with a special limited edition
of Dead Weather Machine, Manifold commisioned Sleep
Research Facility to create a single hour-long track
of total dark-ambient drift based on the original material.
We were going to make a ltd ed. release of 100 copies.
To put it plainly, when we got this master we were blown
away and realized this was too good to let slip into
obscurity. It would be a shame to keep this from being
available to all people who seek out the best in dark-ambient
and drift. This disc is the representation of what we
started a label like Manifold for; totally dark, experimental
ambient. Engaging, emotional and worthy of listening
to ten years down the road. Roughly an hour of slowly
changing, deep, meditative drift based on the Dead Weather
Machine source materials. (VH)
