Frank Inzan Owen (Hidden Mountain)
A lush, haunting soundscape. A portal of time-travel to places deep in the jungle. At times mysterious -- even bordering on echoes of darkness -- throughout the recording I feel as if I'm observing ancient places of torchlit ritual from the periphery but in multiple time-states overlapping. And yet, at times within the recording, I felt that I was being watched from within the interior.
To simply classify Loren Nerell as just an ambient composer is missing the point. I'd rather refer to Loren Nerell as a sound traveller. Either as a real traveller, armed with a microphone and tape-recorder, to Indonesia, taping sounds from traditional instruments, but also a traveller that takes you, the listener on a journey through the world. In that sense, Loren Nerell is more an ambient composer along the lines of Brian Eno or Jon Hassell and has less in common with Steve Roach or Robert Rich, for whom the pure instrument approach seems to be important. 'Taksu - an intervention from the gods, endowing a man, or perhaps a ritualobject, with divine direction. In a sense Taksu is the essence of a great performance or work of art' - it says on the cover. Can't really argue with the essense of a great performance or work of art, but this is a nice piece of music. Rainforest sounds, far away percussion (drum sounds, maybe anklung or gamelan), which are all embedded in a rich textured sound, but not that of a whole bunch of digital sounds, but it's rather, or so it seems, a treatment of those sounds by electronic means. This CD is maybe not just music, it's rather a bath: you take it, it surrounds you for a while and then you feel good. Taksu is like a hot bath, it fills the space, the environment, it's a surrounding that is nice to be in. And unlike a bath: you can put a CD on repeat and will still feel good and will never get cold. (FdW)
credits
released July 22, 2018
Liner Notes – Chuck Oken, Jr.
Music By [Created By] – Loren Nerell
Technician [Final Enhancements, Processing], Mastered By – Steve Roach
Created between September and December 2002 at Earthbound, Long Beach, California.
Final enhancements, processing and mastering at the Timeroom, February 2003.
Now THIS is the ultimate Christmas-gift..! Deep, soothing, comforting, and above all: classic Steve! This will be on repeat a lot.. Hopefully this will come as a CD/vinyl-release as well! Thanks Steve and best wishes from the heart. Berkdrums
Right from the first sound you hear, to the last note - this album will transport you to a natural place. I cannot put into words how this album has been such a huge help. It’s like a friend now - like someone who is always there. An amazing album that everyone should own. Thanks so much, Robert. darkstarr666
A lost 1992 field tape recorded by Mexican ethnomusicologist Raúl García Flores featuring a duo of Tamborileros playing a baptism ceremony. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 6, 2023
Disappear into the two shapeshifting epics on the latest from Obelisk Ruins, each twist & turn like feeling your way through a dark maze. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 5, 2023
Steve est un des derniers Shaman musicien, capable de faire vibrer notre ame, c'est un magicien celeste dont la musique est en resonnance avec le cosmos ! tchenrez