Ascending Divers – Watery Domain (Album – Cyclic Law)
Genre/Influences: Cinematic, Dark-Ambient.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Ascending Divers is one of the latest signings to Cyclic Law. It’s a French project driven by Hugo Champion -who’s still involved with other projects. After multiple self-released productions “Watery Domain” clearly serves as a recognition. The album is meant as an ode to oceanic myths.
Content: The concept of the work is transposed into a poignant abyssal atmosphere recovered with ghost-like voices and obscure sonic moods. I also noticed a passage with explicit electronic bleeps. Another track evokes the mysterious sound atmosphere of Dead Can Dance while another cut has something psychedelic.
+ + + : Ascending Divers creates a dark reverie. It’s an album with a true visual strength which is totally fitting to the theme about oceanic myths. The tracks have been meticulously worked out with care for diversity.
– – – : This is a great opus which however took me several listenings before I really got into it.
Conclusion: “Watery Domain” is a mesmerizing work for all lovers of poignant Cinematic music.
Best songs: “Spinning Lantern Dance”, “Mother-Of-Pearl Nest”, “Ear The Shell Speech”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100024269810333
Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw
About Ascending Divers
Ascending Divers is the dark ambient, neoclassical and drone project of French musician Hugo Champion, based in Toulouse. Working under the alias since self-releasing a string of early recordings, including “Blizzards”, “Above Tartarus”, “Rêverie Sur Le Seuil”, “A Falling Rocket”, the two-part “Alleviation”, “Métamorphes”, “The Tide” and “My Garden”, Champion built the project’s catalog largely outside label structures. “Watery Domain” marks the project’s signing to Cyclic Law, following those self-released productions.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
