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

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

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

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: Experimental, dark-ambient.

Background/Info: Hymnambulae is a Swedish project created by Pär Boström (Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcastand) and Åsa Boström. This is their debut-album, which was meant as ‘a mythological house between worlds, a ceremony taking place; combining the siblings’ symbolism.’ Hypnagoga Press is their record label and also the publishing house for their personal work.

Content: “Orgelhuset” invites the listener to join a world of sonic experimentalism made of numerous field recordings and accomplished by elements of dark-ambient music. We’re walking throughout dark sound corridors empowered by humming blasts. A few spoken words emerge from an unknown space. This kind of ghost-like effect is only reinforcing the obscure character of the work.

Quite progressively “Orgelhuset” reveals a few Eastern sound colors creating a cool mystic effect. The work however quickly gets back to its experimental approach featuring new field recordings of some classical instruments and voices as well. The voices are now spooky again and then more into a freaky, theatrical way.

+ + + : Hymnambulae has perfectly mixed pure experimentalism and dark-ambient elements. I like the progression running through this work, which even finds a climax at “Ett Ord Från Öknen”. Nevertheless the experimental approach, the work remains pretty accessible because of the ambient input. There are also is a noticeable fascination for voices’ samplings adding a real bonus to the sound.

– – – : The experimental approach is not always the most accessible element of the work. It creates an abstract feeling, which is not easy to seize while it also makes the particularity of the work.

Conclusion: “Orgelhuset” is an album that needs a few listening to really get into it. It also feels like a work featuring a deeper ‘message’ within, which will possibly appeal for some secret images of our inner world.

Best songs: “Ett Ord Från Öknen”, “Bära Fram Solen”, “Bära Fram Månen”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/hymnambulae

Label: http://hypnagogapress.com

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