There’s that much to say about Simon Heath. The Swedish artist and label-owner (Cryo Chamber) has been involved with numerous music projects and has collaborated with multiple other artists. Atrium Carceri probably remains his most famous and renowned project which he set up in 2003. Twenty years later, by the end of 2023, he released the new album “Forgotten Gods”. I consider the work as one of the best Atrium Carceri-albums in history; mixing Dark-Ambient and Cinematic influences together with a Ritual input. I asked a few questions to Simon about this absolute masterpiece. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: “Forgotten Gods” was released by the end of 2023 which means twenty years after Atrium Carceri’s official debut-album “Cellblock”. Can you draw up the balance sheet of this incredible sonic voyage?

Simon: It’s been a while since I produced “Cellblock”; that album serves as a good introduction into the project and was conceptually a bit more to-the-point with its framing. “Forgotten Gods” is so far down the Atrium Carceri rabbit hole that I purposely needed to anchor it to my very first albums both in the themes and in the production style. Hopefully that will be recognizable to a few fans

Q: How much of the ‘young’ Simon Heath do you still recognize in “Forgotten Gods” and how did you see the evolution of the project when it comes to concepts, writing, sound production, recording techniques etc?

Simon: I think conceptually things have drifted a bit away from traditional physical horror and more into cosmic- and philosophical terror, which is to be expected as we move beyond our world and into the real one, truth is terrifying.

Q: “Forgotten Gods” took me by surprise. I got the impression you ‘reinvented’ Atrium Carceri although the sound remains familiar to ‘earlier’ productions and influences. How do you perceive this album and how did it saw the daylight?

Simon: I very much wanted a different more distorted and more cult-like atmosphere on this one to represent the heavy feeling of exploring deep underneath the cities. To feel the weight of the earth and hear the reverberations of ancient stone temples and abandoned sewage halls.

Q: What inspired you in the concept of the album which takes the listener away in a mysterious and ritual exploration of the underworld beneath our cities?

Simon: It’s very much a continuation of previous albums but ties in a bit more conceptual with “Metropolis” and “Cellblock” than to “Codex”.

Q: How did you transpose the ideas of the concept into sounds and songs? What have been the different stages you’d to go through to achieve “Forgotten Gods”? 

Simon: Those that know me know that I produce a lot, but also delete a lot. I sometimes have a subtractive approach to production. On this album I deleted at least half of the tracks that were meant for it, and then started working my way up to the finishing point again. Some of those tracks weren’t bad necessarily, but they didn’t fit into the sound or concepts I was exploring and some of them interrupted the flow from track to track.

Generally this is an approach I like to use, to not emotionally get attached to my own material because it can cloud my judgment of what works or does not. It’s an easy trap to fall into if you put 50 hours into a track, to delete it and feel like you sat there 50 hours in the studio for nothing, but at the end of the day it wasn’t for nothing because deleting that track made for a better album. 

Q: You clearly like working and composing together with other artists -which in a way also became a trademark of Cryo Chamber. Why are these collaborations that precious and important to you? And is there any specific artist you would like to work with?

Simon: I do love collaborating with people, it’s a good time to geek out with like-minded people and also a good learning experience to be able to share techniques and learn from other artists. Well I always love to work with Pär Boström of Kammarheit/Cities Last Broadcast/Aindulmedir/Trollslottet as we have a very good balance where my more sterile- and technical- and his chaotic- and artistic production styles work to bring us out of our comfort zone and create something  neither of us would be able to pull off solo.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Cinematic, Dark-Ambient.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After the successful album “The Night And Other Sunken Dreams” Pär Boström (Cities Last Broadcast, Kammarheit, Bonini Bulga ao) and Bruce Moallem (God Body Disconnect) renewed their collaborative work. “Insomnolance” is meant for ‘the drifters between sleep and wake. Music calling from blurry forests of the mind.’

Content: The work sounds more Cinematic and less into explicit Electronics than the previous work. It however remains a Cinematic exploration of dark sonic realms and imaginary, abyssal, depths. When you get the feeling it all becomes relaxing you immediately get aware of an ominous, invisible, danger. Dark and misty atmospheres have been accomplished with subtle sound treatments.

+ + + : Underwater Sleep Orchestra strikes back with a different kind of album although holding on the Cinematic style. This one sounds a little darker and the ghost-like atmosphere they injected has a strong visual appeal. It has something menacing and this uncomfortable sensation only accentuates the fantasy of the listener. That’s what I should call great Cinematic/Ambient music. Both debut tracks are the most noticeable cuts; darkness created by low, resonating sounds mixed with field recordings and human growls.

– – – : When you’ve heard both debut cuts you’ve already heart the best of this album. So no real climax after a brilliant, dark, beginning.

Conclusion: Underwater Sleep Orchestra has never sounded like an occasional collaboration but it feels as a true, talented, project.

Best songs: “Into The Woods (Far, Far Away)”, “Counting Poisoned Sheep”, “Mirage”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/underwatersleeporchestra

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

About Underwater Sleep Orchestra

Underwater Sleep Orchestra is an international dark ambient collaboration between Swedish musician Pär Boström, also known for Cities Last Broadcast, Kammarheit and Bonini Bulga, and Bruce Moallem, who records as God Body Disconnect. The pair released the album “The Night And Other Sunken Dreams” on Cryo Chamber before reuniting for “Insomnolance”, again issued on Cryo Chamber, moving toward a more cinematic and less overtly electronic sound.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Cinematic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Dimitris Valasopoulos is an Athens (Greece) based artist who after self-released productions joined the Cryo Chamber roster to unleash his official debut album.

Content: The work takes off a Dark-Ambient way. Low, vibrating and buzzing soundwaves come out the speakers. Overwhelming dark atmospheres and haunting passages have been reinforced by field recordings. One of these cuts is featuring Cities Last Broadcast. The last part of the work moves into a more explicit cinematic style.

+ + + : The debut part of the work is a tremendous composition. The obscure atmosphere together with field recordings create an imaginary horrorscape, the album featuring a strong visual appeal. The opening piece “What Was Once Called Home” and “Opaline Apparitions” both are masterpieces. The tracks have been meticulously composed while the magic of modular synths come through.

– – – : I was less convinced by the second part of the work -which sounds cool, but definitely below the impressive debut.

Conclusion: Fractalyst is more than a promising newcomer to Cryo Chamber but simply one of the best productions from the label this year.

Best songs: “What Was Once Called Home”, “Opaline Apparitions”, “In The Dead Of Night – Cities Last Broadcast”.

Rate: 8½. 

Artist: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100023966089287

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

About Fractalyst

Fractalyst is the recording name of Dimitris Valasopoulos, a dark-ambient artist based in Athens, Greece. After a series of self-released productions, he signed to Cryo Chamber for his official debut album, “Watchtower”, released on October 4, 2022. The album was written, produced, and performed by Valasopoulos, with one track co-written and performed together with Pär Boström of Cities Last Broadcast. Artwork and mastering were handled by Simon Heath, the Cryo Chamber label founder also known for his Atrium Carceri project.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Cinematographic, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This new project is a collaboration between Swedish renowned artist  Pär Boström (Cities Last Broadcast, Kammarheit, Bonini Bulga ao) and American artist Bruce Moallem (God Body Disconnect). ‘The album is presented as two different dreams from the same night. One a nightmarish trip within blurry worlds and one a nostalgic journey about things real and unreal’.

Content: If you might expect a symbiosis between both artist’s respective projects, you’re definitely wrong. This music however remains driven by Dark-Ambient elements, but globally speaking it sounds more Electronic and especially into minimalism. There’s a perfect harmony between field recordings and Electronic sound treatments. It’s an easy going dark sonic sensation, which is moving from dreamy passages to darker parts. The very last cut features a few spoken-like, whispering vocals.

+ + + : We all know Cryo Chamber for the collaborative efforts between the artists, but this one sounds different. It sounds like something totally new and with a very own focus. It’s definitely more electronic than most of the Cryo chamber productions, but it remains devoted to the Cinematographic taste of the label. It’s just a more visionary approach achieved with refined and subtle sound treatments and bleeps.

– – – : The work features 16 cuts, which is cool, but a little bit predictable after a while.

Conclusion: I can only encourage both artists to move on with this promising project, which has something apart from the ‘classical’ Cinematographic productions.

Best songs: “Sing It Like Fire”, “A Sullen Slumber”, “Wing Upon Wing”, “Dressed As A Memory”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/underwatersleeporchestra

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

About Underwater Sleep Orchestra

Underwater Sleep Orchestra is the duo of Swedish musician Pär Boström and American musician Bruce Moallem, formed for the Cryo Chamber label. Boström also runs Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcast and Bonini Bulga; Moallem records as God Body Disconnect, and discussed that project in the Side-Line interview Click Interview with God Body Disconnect: ‘The Project Can Be Viewed As A Blueprint To My Life’.

“The Night And Other Sunken Dreams” was released on 29 June 2021 as catalogue CRYO 164, on CD and digital. The CD came as a quadfold eight-panel textured digipak with a sixteen-page booklet. The sixteen tracks were written by both members, with VHS audio treatment by Bruce Moallem, booklet photographs by Pär Boström, and mastering and album artwork by Simon Heath.

The duo continued on the same label with “Insomnolence” in 2023 and “Other Sides Of Nowhere” in 2025.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After having released three collaborative albums with Atrium Carceri,  Pär Boström (still involved with other projects like Kammarheit, Teahouse Radio, Bonini Bulga ao) he strikes back with a new solo-album.

Content: “The Umbra Report” is totally devoted to the sound of Cryo Chamber; a dark Cinematographic journey mixed with some Dark-Ambient passages. Low, buzzing sound waves create a dark vision. The darkness has been accentuated by ghost-like vocal effects, and also by repetitive tones and loops.

+ + + : Cities Last Broadcast is switching from frightening, Dark-Ambient constructions towards impressions of sadness. You feel lost in an imaginary labyrinth of sonic horror, which is reaching a total climax on, “Stares Back”. This track has a strong visual appeal, which is mainly created by some vocal effects, which have been mixed at the front of the composition. There’s also something to say about the sorrow emerging on, “Antumbra”; the track serving as a perfect final to the work.

– – – : I sometimes would like to hear a bit more diversity in the composition.

Conclusion: Pär Boström is a talented and experienced musician, who exactly knows how to compose poignant Dark-Ambient sounds.

Best songs: “Stares Back”, “Antumbra”, “A Message”, “Conduct”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/citieslastbroadcast

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

About Cities Last Broadcast

Cities Last Broadcast is the dark ambient project of Swedish musician Pär Boström, who is based in Umeå. Boström also records as Kammarheit, Bonini Bulga, Teahouse Radio and Aindulmedir.

The project started with “The Cancelled Earth” in 2009. “The Humming Tapes” followed in 2016 and “Black Corner Den” in 2017, both on Cryo Chamber. Boström then worked with Simon Heath of Atrium Carceri on “Miles To Midnight” in 2018 and “Black Stage Of Night” in 2019.

“The Umbra Report” was released by Cryo Chamber in 2021 on CD and digital, with a vinyl edition following. Boström returned to the project with “Phantasmora” in 2024.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Robert C. Kozletsky has been – and still is, involved with different projects (Shock Frontier, Psychomanteum ao) his most renowned project remains Apocryphos. “Against Civilization” is the first ‘new’ solo-album since “Stone Speak” (2016). 

Content: “Against Civilization” is much different, like revealing an artist who explores the cinematic style deeper. The atmosphere recovering the work remains dark, sometimes a bit tormented, but still intimate. The tracks are pretty comparable to each other, creating a dense sonic puzzle with a few highlights. Notice by the way Pär Bostrom (Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcast, Hymnambulae) contributed to 2 cuts.

+ + + : I can’t say this is the best work I’ve heard from Apocryphos, but it definitely appears to be the most intimate and personal work to date. There’s a deeper concept behind, but it all feels like an artist who shares his deepest frights together with his audience. So the work has a real visual strength, which is reinforced by the use of field recordings. I like the most obscure side from the album appearing with “Dysphagia”, but especially on “Sunken Eyed Theopanies”. Some sound effects and field recordings have a very subtle touch, like little details accentuating the truly spirit and darkness of the work.

– – – : The album has something monotonous; there’s not that much difference between the tracks so you can get the sensation listening to a single, long during track without that much diversity.

Conclusion: This album totally fits the cinematic concept of Cryo Chamber, but it’s definitely not my favorite Apocryphos work in history.

Best songs: “Sunken Eyed Theopanies”, “Dysphagia”, “Altschmerz”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/apocryphosdrone

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

About Apocryphos

Apocryphos is the solo dark ambient project of American musician Robert C. Kozletsky, also known for Shock Frontier and Psychomanteum. Kozletsky first appeared on Cryo Chamber with the 2015 collaboration “Onyx” alongside Kammarheit and Atrium Carceri, before the solo album “Stone Speak” in 2016 and a further Kammarheit/Atrium Carceri reunion, “Echo”, in 2017. The project has continued on Cryo Chamber since “Against Civilization” with further albums including “Phantoms Received”, “Atrementia” and “Ultimim Saeculum”.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Oestergaards is the solo-project from Swedish artist Tomas Östergårds. The dark-ambient sound of Oesteraagrds evokes the golden years of Cold Meat Industry. There’s a similar taste for dark- and obscure atmospheres. I got the opportunity to discover this artist by his debut album “Rötterna” (2018). There’s a new EP out now entitled “Moloken”, which has been released on Tomas’ own label Dovle. The title of this production can be translated as ‘depressed’, ‘distressed’, ‘sad’, ‘melancholy’… The themes have been transposed into an anguishing and sinister piece of music confirming the talent of this artist. If you like dark-ambient music you for sure gone like Oestergaards.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Can you briefly introduce us to the universe of Oestergaards and what’s your personal background related to music?

Tomas: Good question, what is Oestergaards’ universe? I’ve never thought about it. I would say a step into my deepest thoughts and my emotional world, my main form of expression. Oestergaards is simply the gloomier side of myself. A world where there are no boundaries, no right or wrong, unrestrained and free. A place that I enjoy.

When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, I got in touch with the electronic music scene. I was fascinated and became a big fan of the early industrial music scene. I discovered the Swedish record label Cold Meat Industry in the early 90s and fell in love with their obscure and uncompromising releases, I had never heard anything like it. A whole new world opened to me as a teenager from the northern countryside in Sweden. Some of my favorites were, and still are, Aghast, Brighter Death Now, Deutsch Nepal, Raison d’être and Desiderii Marginis.

During most of the 00s and 10s, I played guitar and sang in various bands, some kind of folk-rock and country-punk, believe it or not. None of the bands released anything. The electronic music fell a bit into oblivion during that time, but have fortunately found a way back into my life. You could say that the circle is finally closed.

Q: I found an interesting quote on your site claiming ‘A dystopian world of sound with essences of Hälsinglands rural society and the desire to get away from the traditional trodden musical paths’. Tell us a bit more about this goal and what don’t you like in ‘traditional musical paths’?

Tomas: After almost twenty years in different bands, I was totally tired of adapting to other band members, I guess we became adults and other things became more important than playing in bands. Like milking cows and raising children. At the same time, I also got tired of the traditional ways of creating and writing music. You know verse / chorus / verse / chorus / bridge / chorus and so on. It was totally uninspiring. I searched for something new, bought some synths and effects pedals and started improvising abstract soundscapes. At the same time I rediscovered artists I’ve listened to in my youth and I wanted to do something similar, but in my own way. I spent two years testing and learning the gear before I started recording what eventually became ‘Rötterna’.

Q: Your music is clearly inspired by the darkest side of ambient music. What inspires and drives you to ‘go dark’ and what do you want to express this way?

Tomas: I have always been drawn to dark expressions in music, art, film and literature. I have an almost morbid fascination for dystopia. It’s not hard to find inspiration today, just go out on random social media and you’ll find just about anything. There are dystopian and dark tendencies everywhere, politically, socially, religiously and culturally. It’s easy to get depressed. I try not to read on social media or see news on TV, because there is a huge risk that my brain will overheat. The idea with Oestergaards has always been to provide a soundtrack to our present and near future, seen from a rather pessimistic point of view. I don’t want to be pessimistic, but it’s hard not to be, when we’re surrounded by idiots. The only thing I can do is to ignore it as much as possible and to be creative. Express it in my way.

Q: Your latest work “Moloken” has been introduced as ‘a kind of psychic exorcism, a settlement with depression and anxiety’. It all looks like it must have been a very personal work. Can you give us some details and how did you transpose a state of being into sounds and songs?

Tomas: Yes, “Moloken” is a very personal one. After struggling with mental illnesses such as exhaustion, depression, anxiety and social anxiety for many years came a turning point in my life where I began to feel much better. I started going to a very good psychologist, training Muai Thai and met a wonderful partner. I felt that I wanted to have a musical ending with that time in my life. A kind of ritual to leave that darkness behind me. Musically, it was a process of finding appropriate sounds, field recordings, samples and voices. You can hear me breathing and mumbling from real anxiety attacks, lonely sighs and wheezing out invoked spells to get rid of the torments. I have tried to recreate the feeling in the body during a depression through icy sounds, the shaking of the grumble, the heavy squeezing bass and panic-roaring noise. But also the calm and apathy that comes after a seizure. The sound of walking alone in the woods, trampling on stones and dried branches. The sound of a sizzling radio as if you were the last person on earth. Looking out over an abandoned world.

Q: I noticed Simon Heath did the mastering of “Moloken”. I can imagine “Moloken” could have been released on his label (Cryo Chamber) while you finally self-released it on Dovle Records. How comes and what are the plans and aims with Dovle Records?  

Tomas: I don’t know, I never asked Simon to release it. But I don’t think that “Moloken” fits into Cryo Chamber’s concept of themes and cinematic soundscapes, it lacks storytelling in that way. I wanted him to master the record and he said yes. I have great respect for Simon and love his various projects, the collaboration between him (Atrium Carceri) and Pär Boström (Cities Last Broadcast) is probably the finest in the whole dark-ambient community in my opinion. For me it was interesting to hear how the songs would end up sounding through Simon’s ears, he is a true professional and he did an excellent job.

I wanted “Moloken” to be the first release on my own label. The reason I started Dovle Records was because I want to have a label to release my music on, both as Oestergaards and upcoming side-projects. Where I have full control over the creative and artistic process, where I can set my own deadlines, be spontaneous and don’t have to rely on anyone else. I like to work fast, from recording to release. One example is my latest release “Borrowed Time (A Collection of Forgotten Obscurities)” which was released only digital via Bandcamp a couple of weeks ago. A compilation album with live tracks and old improvisations. It took three days to release, from idea, selection, cutting the tracks, to mastering, produce the artwork and finally release it.

I have never reached out to the bigger record companies to release my music. Sure, I’ve been thinking about, but it hasn’t come to me. Maybe I’ll do that for my first full length album. Of course, if anyone is interested, it would be interesting to release my records on a larger label. I’m always open to collaborations and new experiences.

Q: Your debut album “Rötterna” (2018) was released on digital platforms and cassette format. The contrast between streaming and cassette is quite interesting; something modern and trendy at one side and a pure underground format at the other side. I would like to get your opinion about it and especially about artists moving back to cassette and vinyl?

Tomas: For me, music has always been important in physical formats. I want a product to hold and smell. The reason “Rötterna” was released on cassette was mostly because it was fun. And a cost issue. I don’t even own a cassette player. In my world, vinyl is the ultimate format, both in terms of sound and cover. “Moloken” both sounds and looks better on vinyl, I think. I try to buy as much vinyl records I can afford from artists I like. The number of artists releasing vinyl just seems to increase, to my delight. Then I have to say that streaming is a fantastic complement, to always be able to bring good music, wherever you are.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, dark-cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Simon Heath (Atrium Carceri, Sabled Sun ao) and Pär Boström (Kammarheit, Hymnambulae, Bonini Bulga ao) have already worked together on a previous album (cf. “Black Corner Den”) and another one with God Body Disconnect as an extra artist. They also did a few more albums together as Atrium Carceri and Kammarheit so both Swedes know each other very well.

Content: You don’t really get the feeling this album sounds like a side-project between label mates. There’s a true cohesion in the songs, which are mixing the dark-ambient and –cinematographic styles together. The songs have been slowly built up, progressively creating a haunting atmosphere, which feels a bit like announcing a disaster. Field recordings have been added to the writing. Some passages are accentuated by sad tunes leading the listener into an imaginary sadness.

+ + + : The main strength and characteristic of this album is the intimate mood created by both artists. Even if the tracks sound dark and supported with desperate atmospheres, there also is something evasive running through the composition. “A New Constellation” is a brilliant exposure of this inner feeling. There’s a touch of grace running through the album, which finally gave birth to a few beautiful tracks.

– – – : This is probably the best album released between both musicians. It however misses a total climax to speak about a genius work, but there’s magic vibes between Atrium Carceri and Cities Last Broadcast.

Conclusion: There’s strong chemistry between both artists, which resulted in a passionate and very personal production.

Best songs: “A New Constellation”, “Mind Turns To Night”, “Attic And Wormwood”, “All Things Nocturnal”.

Rate: (8).

Artists: www.atriumcarceri.com / www.facebook.com/Atrium–Carceri-376509390774  / www.facebook.com/citieslastbroadcast

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

About Atrium Carceri and Cities Last Broadcast

Simon Heath records dark-ambient material as Atrium Carceri and Sabled Sun, while Pär Boström works under Kammarheit, Hymnambulae and Bonini Bulga, among other names. Both are based in Sweden and release primarily through Cryo Chamber. Heath and Boström have paired up as Atrium Carceri and Cities Last Broadcast before, including on “Black Corner Den” and a further collaboration joined by God Body Disconnect. “Black Stage Of Night” is their latest album together on Cryo Chamber.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Hymnambulae is one of the multiple projects Pär Boström (Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcast, Bonini Bulga ao) is involved with. Together with his sister, Åsa Boström, he set up this project to compose ritual music. The second full length album “Nausikaa”, released on their own label Hypnagoga Press, is a conceptual work meant as a ‘long-held vision to combine the electroacoustic ambience of Hymnambulae with voice recordings by the Swedish mystic, poet and translator Gunnar Ekelöf’. Even if there’re explicit ritualistic elements running through the work, it also sounds as a fascinating dark-ambient universe revealing a perfect balance between dreamy- and anguishing passages. My curiosity incited me to get in touch with the siblings to know a bit more about Hymnambulae and their latest creation.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Pär, first of all I would like to know what makes Hymnambulae different for you compared to your other projects you’ve been ever involved with?  

Pär: One big difference is how concrete the inner world becomes. To be shared, for us to be able to collaborate, it needs to be more verbalised. Hymnambulae is very specific in its setting and theme. Some things remain on an abstract and intuitive level when I work alone, because I don’t need to articulate all of it, but here even the abstraction becomes tangible. If I look at the project as a map with specific locations, I know that Åsa is familiar with both the locations and their hidden meaning. It enables us to dig deep while also working more efficiently. There is also a slight difference regarding the instruments used.

Q: I can imagine as siblings you know each other very well, but how do you see each other as brother/sister and as ‘artists’?

Åsa: We know each other well, both as artists and siblings: each other’s background, universes and capacities. There is a built-in permanency in our collaboration, based on us being siblings and having similar creative backgrounds. Both Hypnagoga Press and Hymnambulae, are intended as lifelong projects.

Q: What incited you to set up Hymnambulae and was there a kind of initial purpose when it comes to music, influences, composition ao?

Åsa: Hymnambulae was founded in 2008. The first recordings and ceremonies took place at the Summer and Winter solstices. The initial purpose was to make ritualistic music. A ceremonial project combining music, writing, art. We have the same musical background, growing up listening to early dark-ambient, industrial- and classical music. We never intended for it to be a purely dark-ambient project.

Pär: The atmosphere of Armenian flutes, Gurdjieff’s dreamy harmonium, Arvo Pärt’s minimalism, the mystical poetry of Rilke and Ekelöf, were some influences. We wanted lo-fi, ritualistic improvisations, repetitive monotonous soundscapes, analogue tape. We aimed for something timeless. It has evolved, but the original intention is still there.

Q: Your debut album “Orgelhuset” released in 2016 sound a bit different compared to the new opus “Nausikaa”. How do you look back at the debut work and how did you finally evolve towards “Nausikaa”? What’s the input of each other?

Åsa: If “Orgelhuset” represents the present, our ceremonially combined mythologies, a personal mysticism; then “Nausikaa” is more retrospective. The invitation of an important source. Ekelöf introduced us to Western- and Eastern mysticism at an early age. We are both involved in all aspects of Hymnambulae – the music, writing, artwork. Pär has a more well-equipped music studio, so the albums tend to be finalised there.

Q: That brings me to speak about the poetry of Gunnar Ekelöf, which in a way is the concept of the new album. I found out he was rather anarchistic, that he loved the music of Strawinsky and the work of Nietzsche while his work was inspired by multiple influences. Tell us a bit more about the man, your fascination for his work and how you composed the music around his poetry?

Pär: His poetry, travels and concepts have influenced us a lot. The name Hypnagoga Press is a reference to Ekelöf. He introduced us to the term ‘the hypnagogic’. Ekelöf brought us to such specific locations early on. The desert, Parisian attics, Greek countryside chapels. He became a guide to mysticism, French poetry, religious iconography and architecture. To choose other paths.

Åsa: Nomadic paths. Being awake and alone at night, the turning towards in-betweens, the liminal, revelation. The inward journey and liminal spaces are central in our creative practices and our publications. Everything we return with is rooted somewhere else.

Q: How did the writing of this album happened? What have been the different stages and difficulties you’d to go through and what is the biggest satisfaction about “Nausikaa”?

Pär: “Nausikaa” has been growing in the background for many years. “Orgelhuset” probably had to be released first for this to fully emerge. The biggest satisfaction is that the album is published, realised. Having honoured Ekelöf! The album includes voice recordings with Ekelöf reading his poetry, licensed from The Swedish Radio. The main problem we encountered was the limited selection we had to choose from, that some of the poems we wanted to include has never been recorded.

Åsa: This publication has received a much-appreciated support from Ekelöf’s daughter, The Gunnar Ekelöf Society, as well as The Swedish Arts Council. The album doesn’t just impact our musical genre, but also Ekelöf’s heritage as a whole. Previous musical interpretations of his poetry have been through jazz or classical music. Our album introduces Ekelöf to more people.

Q: The album has been released on your own label Hypnagoga Press on different formats; CD, vinyl, cassette and of course digital. What do you like in each of these formats? Do you’ve a favorite one and what’s the point releasing a cassette in 2019?

Pär: I think the cassette format is perfect for our sound, as is vinyl. We reach different people with different formats and it enables us to experiment with packaging which is one of the things we enjoy the most.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, experimental, ritual.

Background/Info: Hymnambulae is a Swedish project set up and driven by the siblings Pär Boström and Åsa Boström. We of course know Pär Boström for his involvement with projects such as Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcast, Bonini Bulga and co. “Nausikaa” is the second album by the duo (again released on their own label), which is a ‘long-held vision to combine the electroacoustic ambience of Hymnambulae with voice recordings by the Swedish mystic, poet and translator Gunnar Ekelöf’. The album is available on vinyl, cassette and CD.

Content: The sonic universe of the Boström duo is a mix of dark-ambient passages and something more mysterious and a bit ritual like. We feel like diving into an abyssal universe joined by spoken, ghost-like vocals of an old man. It creates a scary feeling, which is accentuated by the dark tones of the music, but also with some passages featuring piano.

+ + + : Hymnambulae is touched by the hand of a demon. This duo creates a visual world where you get the impression of facing evil forces. But even if the music is dark, it also has something relaxing. There even is a kind of inhibited and very intimate sphere hanging over the tracks. The spooky, spoken words only empower the mystery of the production and are essential in the global production. Pär Boström never stops to take his audience by surprise.

– – – : The songs are maybe a little bit repetitive in their global approach, but you don’t hear me complaining.

Conclusion: “Nausikaa” is a world of isolation creating fear and yet leading the listener into some prosperity. It’s a remarkable dark-ambient production, which I highly recommend.

Best songs: “Dykaren I Drömmen”, “Den Hypnagoga”, “Totemdjur”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.hymnambulae.com / www.facebook.com/hymnambulae

Label: https://hypnagogapress.com / www.facebook.com/hypnagogapress

About Hymnambulae

Hymnambulae was founded in 2008 by Swedish siblings Hymnambulae pair Pär Boström and Åsa Boström as a ceremonial project combining music, writing and art, drawing on early dark-ambient, industrial and classical music. Pär Boström also records as Kammarheit, among other projects. The siblings released Hymnambulae’s debut album “Orgelhuset” in 2016 before “Nausikaa”, issued on their own label Hypnagoga Press, a name taken from a term used by the poet Gunnar Ekelöf. Pär and Åsa Boström discussed the album and the Ekelöf connection in a Side-Line interview.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-cinematographic, dark-ambient.

Background/Info: Simon Heath (Atrium Carceri), Pär Boström (Cities Last Broadcast) and Bruce Moallem (God Body Disconnect) joined forces to compose what has been introduced as a jazz drums and cinematic wall-of-sound inspired by a mysterious ‘Lynchian’ hotel.

Content: “Miles To Midnight” totally fits to Cryo Chamber’s owner Simon Heath and sounds a bit like the ultimate dark-cinematographic work. There’s an unexpected jazzy atmosphere running through the work and, which becomes more explicit at “A Thousand Empty Rooms”. But the main passages are dark and even remind me of a requiem on the title track. You’ll also notice mysterious choirs in the distance. Dark sounds and field recordings have been mixed while the last cut, driven by a slow rhythm is bringing the work to a real climax.

+ + + : Cryo Chamber is without a shadow of a doubt ‘the’ label specialized in dark-cinematographic music and has many talented artists flying under its wings, but this work might be considered as the new reference in the genre. This work has something different and even a bit unique, but still featuring this ‘noir’ flavor. It’s a delicate- and even dreamy-like composition, which has something anguishing but also feeling like a sweet caress. You dive into an abyssal voyage created by the visual strength of the tracks. 

– – – : The atypical character of the work is maybe what will be a little less confusing for some die-hard fans of the label. You don’t exactly expect a Cryo Chamber release with a jazzy touch on top.

Conclusion: Cryo Chamber has stimulated its artists to work together and numerous productions that have already seen the light of day, but “Miles To Midnight” definitely sounds as the most successful one in the genre. I can only encourage those artists to work on a new experience.

Best songs: “Quiet Days On Earth”, “Miles To Midnight”, “Scene Of The Crime”.

Rate: (8).

Artists: www.atriumcarceri.com / www.facebook.com/Atrium–Carceri-376509390774 / www.facebook.com/citieslastbroadcast / www.facebook.com/godbodydisconnect

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

About Atrium Carceri, Cities Last Broadcast and God Body Disconnect

“Miles To Midnight” pairs three solo dark ambient projects on the Cryo Chamber label. Atrium Carceri is the project of Swedish musician Simon Heath, who debuted in 2003 with “Cellblock” on Cold Meat Industry and went on to found Cryo Chamber in 2012; his “Codex” album appeared in late 2018. Cities Last Broadcast is a side project of Swedish musician Pär Boström, also known for his project Kammarheit, based in Umeå, Sweden; Cities Last Broadcast debuted with “The Cancelled Earth” in 2009 and followed with “The Humming Tapes” in 2016. God Body Disconnect is the solo project of New Jersey, USA musician Bruce Moallem, a former drummer and lyricist for the experimental metal act Dripping; Moallem debuted God Body Disconnect with “Dredge Portals” on Cryo Chamber in 2016, followed by “Sleeper’s Fate” in 2017.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-cinematographic, dark-ambient.

Background/Info: Teahouse Radio is a new project driven by Pär Boström. We all know his involvement with Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast, but Teahouse Radio is somewhat different. It’s meant as ‘an intimate, hidden therapeutic world between worlds, a place of nostalgia mixed with melancholia, and a way to fight mental illness with music’. The tracks of this debut work were composed in between 2004 and 2017.

Content: Forget Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast; Teahouse Radio indeed sounds more intimate. Less sounds and arrangements have been used. The main focus seems to create a very personal sonic inner world characterized by the impact of atmospheres. Kristal-like sounds have been used next to piano- and guitar playing/effects accentuating a state of loneliness and abandonment.

+ + + : The sphere hanging over this work reminds me of Tor Lundvall. It feels like an intimate voyage throughout the mind and fears of the author. Less sound layers have been used and yet you can feel such an overwhelming sensation. Each note has its importance to create a real impact. The album also feels a bit like a paradox; there’s a kind of serenity at one side and yet it feels mysterious and a bit obscure.

– – – : Teahouse Radio for sure appears to be the most experimental- and intimate project set up by Pär Boström so in the end it will maybe not become the most recognized.

Conclusion: I like the idea -or concept behind Teahouse Radio and “Her Quiet Garden’ is an intriguing sonic voyage illustrating the refinement of the artist.

Best songs: “The Elsewhere Sleep”, “Dreaming Splendid Places”, “Unable”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.teahouseradio.com / www.facebook.com/teahouseradio

Label: http://hypnagogapress.com / www.facebook.com/hypnagogapres

About Teahouse Radio

Teahouse Radio is an ambient and dark-ambient side-project of Swedish composer Pär Boström, born in 1982 and based in Umeå, Sweden, best known for the dark-ambient projects Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast. Active since 2004, Teahouse Radio is framed by Boström as an intimate, hidden therapeutic world between worlds.

“Her Quiet Garden,” reviewed here, collects tracks composed between 2004 and 2017 and was released on Hypnagoga Press in 2018. Boström returned to the Teahouse Radio name in 2024 with the album “Night Moss.”

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

In 2003 I heard the debut album “Cellblock” from the Swedish solo-project Atrium Carceri. This dark-ambient opus was one more great production released on the legendary Cold Meat Industry. Simon Heath should rapidly became a recognized artist in his music genre. He went on unleashing noticeable albums, started with side-projects such as Sabled Sun, Krusseldorf… and set up his own label Cryo Chamber in 2012. Simon Heath is a busy and prolific artist who by the end of 2018 released the newest Atrium Carceri opus “Codex”.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: 2018 has been a prolific year for Atrium Carceri. How do you look back at your different releases?

Simon: It’s been a creative year. I got the opportunity to work with a lot of talented artists and finally managed to finish up “Codex”, my solo album I have been working on for quite some time. All in all I tried pushing my boundaries, but my memory is getting blurry now that the year is drawing to a close.

Q: Your newest album “Codex” took you three years to get accomplished. What have been the different stadia you had to gone through to achieve “Codex” and what have been the main challenges and difficulties you encountered?

Simon: Since I created art, text, sounds, mastering, design, I could go back and forth between it all instead of finalizing stages and moving on. Both a curse and a blessing since it is a lot more time consuming, but being able to move freely within each step creates a lot of opportunity to tweak the coherency. If I had to name something to be happy about regarding this album it is how everything fits together.

Q: I experienced “Codex” as one of your most intimate releases in history. What is it really all about and how do you perceive this album in the Atrium Carceri discography?

Simon: I try not to explain too deeply how to interpret my works since it will ruin some of the personal interpretations out there and no interpretation is wrong. But for me the overarching theme is how we move between different states of mind and our relation to the reality of the majority. A pretend relationship based on lingual guesswork too primitive to fully cross reference our own reality.

Q: You like to work around ‘concepts’ so what is it all about for “Codex” and how do you transpose a concept into sounds, which become tracks and finally an entire album?

Simon: For me it comes down to justifications of sound within the concept. Each sound should represent something within the concept of the track; ‘cool sounds’ just aren’t enough justification for me. And then the tracks themselves have to be justified in relation to each other, and of course we can’t stop there, the artwork has to be justified in relation to the tracks. The reverse is also true, and going back and forth between everything to re-align/re-edit and adjust until it all fits together takes time. You tweak a sound, and it can mess with the flow of the album, mess with the artwork and the feel of the tracks change and so on.

Q: The music –properly speaking, is important, but the CD-version of “Codex” also features a digibook. What did you try to express by this artwork/digibook?

Simon: I made a decision on this album to not include any vocals in the audio itself, instead the DigiBook shoulders the responsibility with the narrative this time around. A big challenge is to find a balance with the narrative; don’t want too much exposition, but do not want to be overly ambiguous either and me working with art and text at the same time makes this process easier, if a bit more time consuming.

Q: Especially during the past few years you’ve collaborated with an impressive number of artists. What fascinates you in the work with other artists and does it have an impact/influence on your own way of working/composing/producing?

Simon: I thoroughly enjoy to dive into the workflow of other artists and am often blown away by different approaches to creating sound. While I am a very technically inclined producer, I often find myself the most creatively stimulated working with artists on the other side of the coin, true artists like the toy maker Pär of Cities Last Broadcast who has his weird tape-loop laboratory with self-made instruments, or musicians like Bruce of God Body Disconnect, a microphone connoisseur that jazz it out on his drums like it’s no big deal. They blow me away with their skill sets since they are so very different from my own.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-soundscape, dark-ambient.

Background/Info: Behind this new dark sonic project is hiding Swedish artist Pär Boström. He got some recognition for his work as Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcast and Altarmang. Bonini Bulga is a new and more minimal-like project. The album “Sealed” was originally released in 2017 on Hypnagoga Press on cassette. Cyclic Law has now released the album on CD format.

Content: “Sealed” clearly sounds more minimal-minded than other projects Boström is involved with. It comes close to soundtrack compositions and mainly reflect the effect and impact of a few single sound. Both last pieces are a little bit more elaborated.

+ + + : Bonini Bulga is not exactly the kind of project I’ll become totally fascinated with. “Sealed” is an album you have to discover in the right circumstances. It also has a strong visual appeal so I can imagine a better impact listening to “Sealed” with some visual content on top. Both last tracks are definitely more exciting revealing mysterious sound atmospheres.

– – – : There’s less happening when listening to this album. It’s more the kind of work you have to discover when taking the time for it, sitting in a sofa, dimming the lights and only focusing on the music. I get the impression I was waiting for an apotheosis, which unfortunately never came.

Conclusion: I like most projects Pär Boström is involved with and I even share a great fascination for the Kammarheit stuff. Unfortunately I wasn’t convinced at all by this debut of Bonini Bulga.

Best songs: “Becoming”, “Sealed As One”.

Rate: (6).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Bonini–Bulga-1805438956437951

Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Sweden’s highly productive Pär Boström of Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcast and Altarmang presents yet another project, this time under the name Bonini Bulga. The debut for Bonini Bulga, “Sealed”, is available via Cyclic Law records.

The album itself was originally recorded and released in 2017 as a limited edition cassette on Boström’s own label Hypnagoga Press (a label he founded together with with his sister Åsa Boström). The version released via Cyclic Law comes in a remastered and extended version. You can expect 3 new tracks next to the 5 original ones in this edition (which is limited to 500 copies in a special 10 panel, cross fold out digipak).

Fans will notice that Boström’s Bonini Bulga project has a more lo-fi loop minimalistic based approach compared to his other musical creations. You can order this album right here via the label itself on CD (available here) or as a download via Bandcamp (available here).

Check out the album preview:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, experimental.

Background/Info: Altarmang is a music project set up by Pär Boström (Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcast ao) and Kenneth Hansson. This debut work was originally released on cassette format in 2016 and on Hypnagoga Records. “Void” has been next released in 2017 as a vinyl on Autarkeia and CD on Cyclic Law. The CD version features both original cuts plus 2 extras.

Content: “Void” is a dark-ambient exposure with some extra experimental treatments on top. It’s a new experience in darkness and isolation revealing spooky sound waves and frightening tones getting the listener into fear. The music sounds pretty stormy, this way accentuating the tormenting atmosphere hanging over this album.

Both extra cuts are a bit shorter, but especially “Salamander” is a poignant piece carried by an oppressive sound atmosphere.

+ + + : “Void” features all requested ingredients to create a successful and terrific dark-ambient opus. It’s sometimes monotonous, but frightening. It especially creates this desperate feeling reminding me of great records from the Cold Meat Industry era. Both original songs of the album are cool, but especially the ‘new’ cut “Salamander” is great piece of music with a divine climax. So this extra cut is really worthy of examination and a bonus for the CD version.

– – – : “Salamander” reaches a great climax, but the next (new) cut is totally different and not exactly a track I would recommend to discover this band.

Conclusion: Altarmang reflects this desperate feeling of solitude, accentuated by the impression of an endless Winter season. This is a cool release although I prefer other projects from Pär Boström.

Best songs: “Salamander”, “Aether”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/altarmang

Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘Red Moon’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Cryo Chamber has released a special Christmas gift to all of those who support the label. Continuing their yearly tradition, the label picked some interesting releases released this year and made an hour track out of it. Some of the tracks fall well within the dark ambient borders, while some other tracks scratch at the surface extending it’s inky tendrils all over neighbouring genres.

On this 1+ hour album you get to explore God Body Disconnect, Apocryphos, Sabled Sun and many other bands:

Here’s the tracklist:

• God Body Disconnect – Rise of the Dormant Host
• Hoshin – Souvenir from the Sacred
• Keosz – Low Down
• Sabled Sun – Overgrown
• Metatron Omega – Transductio
• Apocryphos – Consanguineous Spirit
• ProtoU – Unreal Symbols
• Cities Last Broadcast – Glossolalia
• Enmarta – Apokatástasis II

Here’s a video that accompanies this free download:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, experimental.

Background/Info: Pär Boström who’s mainly active with his Kammarheit project now gets back to his Cities Last broadcast side-project. A debut album “The Cancelled Earth” was released in 2009 on Cyclic Law. Boström now joined this other familiar ambient label Cryo Chamber.

Content: “The Humming Tapes” resulted from the mix of multiple field recordings and dark-ambient music. You quickly get the impression walking throughout a ghost town. This scary trip all takes place in your imagination and is stimulated by the dark sonic universe of Cities Last Broadcast.

The dark sounds and noise treatments rapidly get you in their grip while a few monstrous sound manipulations will scare you. “Glossalalia” reaches the ultimate point of horror, which also reveals a great sound production.

The visual strength emerging from this work is a fascinating experience although the last cuts are more intimate yet still very tortured. Pär Boström experiments with delicate noise treatments injecting a rather unexpected subtle element to his work. It doesn’t take a way that it feels like you are visiting the bowels of the earth featuring some unspoken truth, with some real frightening moments. The boiling sound manipulations accentuate this vision of horror.

+ + + : This work is made of an interesting twist between pure experimental field recordings on one side and an intriguing dark-ambient composition on the other. I discovered impressive sound manipulations and heavy noises. The main strength of the work however appears to be its visual appeal created by tormented sonic atmospheres.

– – – : The debut part sounds more hesitant so it takes a few cuts before you really can experience the dark impact of this work.

Conclusion: The ultimate strength of dark-ambient music is when the listener starts to get confused; this is the point where he no longer can tell the difference between reality and fantasy! “The Humming Tapes” has this magic power giving you the impression to walk throughout an unknown and dangerous black whole belonging to a dark-sonic space.

Best songs: “Glossolalia”, “Electricity”, “Fourth Floor”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/citieslastbroadcast

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

In 2009 Cities Last Broadcast released the album “The Cancelled Earth” which was mostly produced with urban field recordings. For those unaware, Cities Last Broadcast is a side project of the Swedish musician Pär Boström based in Umeå, Sweden. Boström is also known for his other dark ambient project Kammarheit.

Up now for ordering via the Cryo Chamber label is the follow-up album “The Humming Tapes”, set to be released next week the 14th of June. On this album Pär Boström explores his fascination with old seances and the early 20th century. You can expect reel-to-reel tape recorders and de-tuned instrumentation combined with modern mixing techniques. The whole results in an album that – and we quote the artist – “sounds haunted, but also careful and nurturing”.

You can order the album right here on CD but also as an HQ download. Here are 2 tracks for preview:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com