Genre/Influences: Dark-soundscape, experimental.

Background/Info: Ukrainian female artist Sasha Cats is a real prolific artist who unleashed her third full length album since 2015 while she also released some more productions in collaboration with other artists. The picture from the front cover revealing a futuristic image of an unknown city stands for ProtoU’s interest into the future of the modern age.

Content: The work sounds pretty soundscape-like. Sasha Cats takes her listeners by the hand to visit an imaginary universe of dark reverie. The dark sound waves and multiple field recordings don’t exactly reflect a vision of terror rather than a paranoiac sensation. It all feels relaxing and yet you can feel an invisible presence. So in the end you can’t really relax, but you remain on your guard. Low, resonating sound treatments are quite progressively reaching their ultimate point symbolized by the track “Hidden City”.

+ + + : ProtoU isn’t the kind of artist who repeats itself. There still is this delicate flavor of reverie supporting the tracks, but this album is more into a soundscape approach. The composition is slowly built up like a dream and progressively reaching a climax on a few cuts. The field recordings accentuate the visual side of the work. It’s hard to say if this project has something more sensitive because it’s been composed by a female artist, but ProtoU always has had a more refined and subtle approach in sound.

– – – : When ambient music moves towards the edge of soundscape experience it also sounds more similar. I’m missing some diversity between the tracks.

Conclusion: Sasha Cats constantly explores new ideas each time again revealing a different side of her creative brain. I can’t say this is my favorite ProtoU album although it’s a captivating creation deserving your attention!

Best songs: “Hidden City”, “Falling Home”, “Fracture”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/protoudrone

Label: www.cryochamberlabel.com /  www.facebook.com/CryoChamber