Houdini - The Rotation Of The Elements

Houdini the one man Drone machine from Australia has released a limited edition CD on the Black Lung Recording label. I have watch this guy's work developed over the last year or two and this is a brilliant piece of sonic Drone/Doom that should raise a smile amongst Ambient Noise lovers, that is a achievement in itself considering how dark and menacing this music is. First track on the disc is "Where Is The Sun" which begins with the musical equivalent of a thunderstorm, the sound is indeed thunderous and bleak and conjures up a feeling of isolation and dampness. One of the real improvements for Houdini on this recording is the way the passages flow with ease, there is no sense of awkwardness in the arrangements and everything seems to start and finish in a natural way. The haunting atmosphere that is created at around the 10 minute mark of the song is as creepy as its effective in pro-longing the feeling of hopelessness and solitude. "Where Is The Sun" flows effortlessly into the second track "Concealed Stone" which continues the haunting atmosphere, the ambient guitar seems to be crying out something. Music like this is like soundtrack music for your own thoughts and imagination and hence needs no lyrics, every-time I have listen to "Concealed Stone" I have thought of something different from desert landscapes to eagles circling snow covered mountains to walking through graveyards at night. Songs like this that are so descriptive just in musical tones and atmosphere would only lose a lot of emotive feeling if there was vocals. While this is pure ambient droning music, it has a 70's element to it much like classic Pink Floyd in the way they evoked a kind of mysticism in their Psychedelic sound-scapes. This is even more prevalent in "The Rotation Of The Elements" the final track on the disc, once again the haunting atmosphere continues but here the musical themes are expanded to past the 20 minute mark. Once again the beauty is in the way the piece flows, you never feel like 20 minutes of your life has past by while listening to this. This is dark, depressing, haunting ambient piece of work but its also stunning in its depth of musical vision. The feeling you get from this is of the movie soundtrack variety, this could fit in on so many movies especially ones with a dark, disturbing theme. Special kudos must go to the production on this disc which is clear but huge, the bottom end sounds are a like a monster tearing at your speakers while the subtle parts are just nicely placed in the mix. The packaging is also great for a D.I.Y effort but I wish this wasn't so limited in copies. I feel it will go largely un-noticed and that is a crime as this is better than most of the big name Ambient, Drone bands or musicians that get so much critical acclaim. The secret to Houdini's sound is the way it mixes Ambient Drone Sound-Scapes with a real sense of musical arrangement. Its not just a bass hum or a series of guitar noises for a hour, this is music with vision and style. One of the best releases in the genre this decade. 10/10

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