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Reviews

SanRenSei — Ceremony
(Burning Shirt Music ASH 4310, 2003, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2004-04-01

Ceremony Cover art Three players (keyboard synths + voices, guitar synths and hardware sequencer) contribute to the six pieces herein, which fall squarely into the low key floating ambient electro-acoustic zone. The ever-present low frequency bassy drones are a good workout for the subwoofer (but only if you crank the volume), and whatever sounds occur in the higher registers (faint voices, intermittent synth blasts, percussive sounds and other low voltage sonic events) are particularly understated, almost subliminal. To make matters even more understated, the entire disc seems to be recorded at a very low volume level. At times it gets so quiet that the listener may not even be aware that the disc is playing – ambient sound from other sources may conceal it. The whole mood is dark, foreboding and intentionally obscured. Like all good floating ambient music Ceremony drifts effortlessly and floats in a sort of dreamlike space between conscious states over its 40 minutes, trance-like and hypnotic as it drifts deeper and deeper into a dark sonic void. While there are many other examples of this style that I’ve found to be far more engaging and imaginative, SanRenSei has nonetheless produced a solid debut.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 29, 2003 releases

Related artist(s): SanRenSei

 

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