The Master of dark ambient, Atrium Carceri aka Simon Heath is back, but not with another horror excursion. This time we get wonderful downtempo electronica.
It was in 2007, when I stumbled upon Smokers Lounge, his debut, that Simon (Krusseldorf) caught my attention. It was a fresh breeze, from an artist unknown to me. New and different ideas, not sticking to the regular formula. A little bit to the darker side but with a couple of astonishingly beautiful tracks. A very good album and one of the best released during all of 2007. So, what has happened since then? Well, Simon released another dark ambient album, Souyuan, under his alias Atrium Carceri, and now this EP.
So how does this EP sound? And how does it compare to Smokers Lounge? The production is a lot less frantic and more laid back than previous efforts, the darker tracks (f.e. Thermo Nuclear & Bottomless Pit) seem to be more profoundly elaborate than before. They are less hectic and chaotic but the increase in afterthought and slower tempo makes it so much more enjoyable to listen to. But this doesn't mean that non of the essence from Smokers' Lounge is here. Embellished (T5) contains some of the crazy, theme park, sensations from the last album. There is also a beautifully, modestly melancholic track opening the EP- Insidious Doctor Mouse.
Not all of the tracks are new ones, Death Notes (T4) and Glugg (T7) are tracks taken from the full length album Smokers' Lounge. So for those of you already familiar with these tracks, there are no surprises. But even so it's a great addition, because I am sure, many of you will be hearing Krusseldorf for the very first time. And for you lucky ones, these are two amazingly, wonderfully produced tracks that will make the most logic mind explode in multicolored butterflies and utter sincere joy. A great addition and a very smart move. Simon was always known for his extremely crisp production, when making dark ambient. There is no difference here. Production, mastering and mixing are top notch. |
