Origami Galaktika "Live in Central Europe" CD
[Vendlus]
Four tracks of minimal ambience from this Norwegian artist, recorded live at the Bombura Club in Brezno, Slovakia in November 2003. The four pieces appear herein as one seamless track, which I assume is the complete set from the show, totaling around 37 minutes, which is a perfect length that doesn't get tiresome at all. It's almost impossible to figure out where one track ends and another begins, but I'm taking guesses based on the few significant shifts in character that appear throughout. Opener "The Power of Compassion I" consists mainly of melodic drones with a few chimes, keeping a rather quiet and consistent delivery throughout, with a wealth of rumbling low-end tones and an ominously ethereal aesthetic. "Wintergarden" is quieter and more consistent, with some lightly frazzled electronic sounds and what come off as scraped ceramics or something flowing a little higher up in the mix, but in large part it's nothing but very calm bass hums reverberating in the lower levels. These hums continue into "Along Rails HMG HBF", where some wispy sounds that seem like passing trains pan back and forth and can rise to more dominant volume levels. Chattering clicks also break in amongst the other layers, right at the surface, with some strangely distant sounds that are more sinister - churning electronic glitches, some of which could be actual screams, it's hard to be sure... Eventually the volume level increases and things become more rhythmic and looped, giving way to some muffled shufflings over very soft melodies. I assume that this is just prior to the start of "Sacred Lake, Holy Mountain", as shortly afterwards there's a quick silence and another set of minimal drones - this time a bit louder and more vibrant with motion, though still rather subdued. A percussive rhythm comes in later and makes things quite hypnotic, persisting for one of the most repetitious passages of the entire affair - but not one that loses its edge. In fact, the final minutes slide into a more musically structured loop, letting soft synths and dominant percussion take hold to round things out. Like the music, the layout is very minimal, with some decorative designs and patterns layered with fabric types of textures, and full color imagery with dirty textures layered over top along the inner spread. Everything is fairly abstract and minimal text is employed, but I think it looks pretty nice. And for a live recording of this nature everything sounds shockingly perfect. The drones are very full and resonant, with some of the more organic foreground sounds really coming off as completely natural and truly possessing the feel of a live set. I think things could have perhaps been mastered louder (Maybe?) to makes things translate better to CD (it can get awfully quiet), but that's of little concern. Since this is my first real exposure to Origami Galaktika I was somewhat unsure that a live record would be the best introduction, but it actually makes a great starting point in my opinion. I'd be quite interested to actually witness such a performance in person. (7/10)
Running time - 36:39, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: all four are very strong and flow together nicely]
Vendlus Records - http://www.vendlus.com

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