Sphyxion – 3 (Album – Zoharum)
Genre/Influences: Minimal-Electro, Cinematographic, Experimental.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: TheFrench brothers Frédéric and Olivier Charlot (also involved with the great Maninkari-project) are back on track, unleashing their third album of Sphyxion.
Content: Sphyxion is totally different to Maninkari. It remains a Minimal-Electro experience, which even moves a step further on “3”. The work becomes more Experimental, often driven by the simple power of cold, electronic sequences with a darker edge. There’re tracks with rhythms, which are more accessible and others without, which create a Cinematographic sensation.
+ + + : “3” sounds like Electronic music composed in a lab. The musicians became a kind of sonic scientists. I personally prefer the songs driven by some rhythm, but I also like the passages with strings on top. The track “29” appears to be the highlight; a song with a great, mysterious atmosphere, but still with subtle sound arrangements. Another attention grabber is “27” for its rhythmic mixed with cold sequences.
– – – : “3” is more Experimental than its predecessor so I’m missing the more explicit IDM-touch revealed at “2”. These cuts are more fragmented and unaccomplished.
Conclusion: Sphyxion remains an interesting project, but I would not recommend discovering the band with this latest opus, which is too Experimental for my taste.
Best songs: “29”, “27”.
Rate: 6½.
Artist: https://sphyxion.bandcamp.com
Label: www.zoharum.com / www.facebook.com/zoharum
About Sphyxion
Sphyxion is the electronic side project of the French brothers Frédéric and Olivier Charlot, who are also the duo behind Maninkari. Discogs describes Sphyxion as a psychic-wave and minimal-wave project inspired by that main formation.
Discogs lists a track on the Anywave compilation “Wavecore 5” in 2016, the self-titled album “Sphyxion” in 2016 and “2” in 2018, followed by the self-released single “Sphyx 23” in 2021. “3” was released on 14 October 2021 by the Polish label Zoharum as a digital download and on CD in a six-panel ecopack limited to 300 copies. It is the second Sphyxion album issued by Zoharum.
The album holds twelve tracks, numbered “sphyx 24” through “sphyx 35”. Zoharum states the brothers “develop their own minimal synthwave formula, introducing it into completely new sound areas”, and points to their academic training and their earlier work on theatre performances and film scores.
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