1. V [ara]
2. II [eos]
3. IV [taurobolium]
organic/acoustic materials by nebris march-october 2005
mastered by timothy stollenwerk at stereophonic, november 2006
released 23 april 2007
:: reviews ::
"the label was apparently active for some length of time in the 90s before shutting down for unspecified reasons, but has now returned with its first release in seven years, and that release kind of makes me wish I'd been hep to the label during its earlier incarnation (especially after seeing the long list of obscure releases on the label's website; there's no telling what kind of whole-grain goodness I missed out on here). the release in question is cryptic -- one disc in a beautiful three-fold digipak with a minimum of information that doesn't include any mention of the band members -- and consists of three long tracks of gradually building noise from the amplified sound of organic material and rocks, kora, and tibetian thighbone trumpet. If that sounds exotic, well, you're catching on... this is some eerie-sounding stuff, a series of dark, gritty soundscapes for the damned rising from the rubble of some vast apocalypse. the first track, "V," presents shifting layers of noise strata that subtly grow in intensity until ceasing abruptly near the thirteen-minute mark; after a few seconds of silence, an unearthly wind begins to rise, spiraling into oblivon before seguing into track two, "II," which opens with a continuation of the wind sound as it takes on a thicker and deeper tone, then stretches into a different dimension as noise begins to build in the background. as the track rolls on, the sound builds in density and intensity, as the sound of wind is gradually overtaken by a growing cacaphony of scraping, breaking, shrieking noises that continue to grow more insistent. the final track, "IV," is a growing maelstrom of wind, noise, and clatter that gradually evolves in density and texture, reaching near-catastrophic levels before finally dying out in a stuttering bed of hiss. recommended, and not just for the stunning artwork, either."
- the one true dead angel
"A project (I think) associated with Niellerade Fallibilisthorstar which is simpler in execution but just as haunting in delivery. Three long tracks of organic materials being subtly effected and lashed to gusts of almost melodic wind howl, all situated in the middle of the nearest night-time desert devoid of water, shelter or life. Another staggering CD."
- cipher productions
"In between kindergarten esoterism and slimy packages of luxurious voids, every once in a while a record that makes me think "maybe everything is not lost" appears. I'm referring of course to releases where obscurity is a dogma - call it ritual, dark, post industrial - but the excess of references to the arcane aspects of the being quite often become a laughing matter, all the more when coming from people whose only reason to release an album is the nourishment of the self. James Hamilton, a Canadian artist who's been dealing with "abstract sound/noise/whatever" for two decades, starts with the right foot when he writes "I prefer not to comment on the conceptual element - I would prefer that the sounds speak for themselves". Unbelievable, isn't it, how many records that could be nice enough to be considered worthy of a good try are instead ruined by pathetic liners and improbable thanks to some kind of "inspiration" - a guru, a wife, a god, you name it. On the contrary, this CD - which is a masterful example of static soundscape with a solid backbone - counts simply on an almost black cover photo that looks like taken from the eye of a tornado in a desolated area, and on the sonic content itself, which Hamilton carved from "acoustic instruments made from organic materials (Tibetan thighbones, kora) and mineral elements (stones, fossils, meteorite fragments)". Three movements mostly based on hissing acridness and distant lamentations which, although similar to ghost voices, are maybe achieved via processed exotic flutes; in the final segment, ill-disposed frequencies near territories where buzz, crackle and scratch decided long ago that smooth-tempered ambient music must die. A very rewarding listen without pauses or weak points, "Bleak angels" is vaguely associable to Lilith and Tarab (with some Asher-ish digital background disturbances in several sections) in terms of sonority yet owns a well distinct, personal trait that seams technical prowess and visionary talent into a satisfying outing."
- massimo ricci, touching extremes
"the mystery surrounding the identity and background of nebris is mirrored by the dark, mysterious sounds coming from 'bleak angels'. The feeling emanating from the binary surface of this cd is pleasantly slow yet discomforably vague. the man behind Nebris is surprisingly unfindable by the modern machinations of google and such, but it appears to be someone by the name of james hamilton.
with buildingblocks like amplified organic and geologic materials, but also more 'conventional' musical instruments (like a Tibetan thighbone trumpet and kora), hamilton produces less conventional sounds, carefully layered into a hazy drone. technically there's 50 minutes of hisses and hush atmospherics, with a few crackles to disturb the hallucinatory but steady drone. "noise for lovers", if it weren't for the oppressive desolation that this soundscape manages to create in the mind of the listener.
not as subtle as say francisco lópez, but it's also far from being noise. nebris creates a subdued ambience but on the other hand it slowly builds into a more noisy finale of the third track (named IV). yet nowhere it gets as dense to take away the sense of emptiness and well, silence. and that's where the real paradox of this music lies: it suggests silence by means of sound. you tend to feel like watching a movie with the sound turned off and that's what makes this an interesting listen."
- martijn busink, musique machine
"it seems like a lot of folk [band folk, artist folk, etc] have it in them to play their own improvised soundtrack to pre-existing movies, in a live setting or what have you. I like to switch it around from a listener's standpoint and play records in sync with movies I happen to find on tv [or baseball games, you know, whatever's on]. recently I had nebris' "bleak angels" on headphones while I tuned into a supremely shitty horror movie called the guardian and I can't even begin to tell you how much better the movie sounded with "bleak angels" as the soundtrack, no dialogue necessary. of course, if "bleak angels" can turn a lousy movie into a watchable one, imagine what it could do in the company of a good one! well I'm not much for imagining, so instead I'll tell you what it is I liked so much about the record, just as soon as I provide you with a little background information. dystonia ek is a montreal-based label that was founded in 1989 and released clutches of tapes and cd-rs for the following decade until ceasing operations around the turn of the millenium. no real reason is given for the layoff, but nebris is their first new release in a good seven years, and "the beginning of a new phase" for dystonia. I tried looking up some of the label's old releases but all I could hit on was a cd-r from annihilist, who also seems to be in league with an artist called automata aka james hamilton, who also plays in column, which is what nebris used to go by, and the name of the guy who runs dystonia ek is james, so I'm led to believe that if this lineage is correct, then dystonia = james and james = column [now nebris], ergo dystonia = nebris. all that to say that I think the guy who put this out also runs the label. sheesh. I should've just skipped over the graduate-level thesis and gotten right to the music in the first place. this "bleak angels" thing, first of all, comes packaged in a very swank three-panel digipak case featuring variations of the same apocalyptic cover art all over. noise records just sound better when they're not packaged inside grandma's tube sock, you know? as the story goes, nebris rely on amplified organic materials such as bone and gut strings and minerals [fossils, meteorite fragments, stones] to generate their [his?] sound sources, often pushed and stretched to the point of breaking by an array of effects and processing. I can't say I spent a lot of time picking up on the exact moment a rock was "played", which is good. there's three tracks here all three falling in between the 15-20 minute marks, and although they're very seperate tracks, they work together to create slow-building and eventually devastating work of industrial-bred noise and ambience. opening piece "V" makes me think almost immediately of maurizio bianchi-type industrial bluster mixed with daniel menche's heavy metal noise thunder - and of course I'll have to draw parallels to the organic heartbeats found in the tones of aube's singularly-sourced records. what all that amounts to is a feverish blizzard of wholly unplaceable, sinewy sounds chopped up and coughed back up like a woodchipper regurgitating its metal innards. I wouldn't say it's overtly aggressive or anything but it sure as heck ain't very subtle either - think of it like a dense, frost-riddled wind strong enough to permanently alter your facial features if you stand too long in its path. "II" initially isn't worlds removed from tim hecker's grainy ambience, but it slowly takes a sinister dip back into shadier territory, akin to a late night back alley shortcut through the desolate [indeed] industrial sectors showcased on the album cover. throughout the track, nebris layers semi-frequent groans of white noise static over top of the spooky gloss already being served up, crossing the conet project's shortwave paranoia with cold meat industries' trademark tundra tones. nothing, however, hits quite as hard as "IV", and I think I needed one after it was over. it appears to be the culmination of all the cold-blooded aggression coursing through the previous thirty minutes of the disc, because it explodes in a mess of acid rainfall and never looks back once. it's hard to hear any of the bones n' stones sourcing that supposedly gave birth to what plays out on "IV" - the chaos that rips through the speakers at a torrential rate is borderline impossible to keep up with, nebris keeps the howling winter wind drones in effect but accompanies them with horrific death rattles, mind-wiping static shrieks, and a palatable sense of danger and urgency. think francisco lopez's earthly soundscapes paired with the shock and damage induced by mid-90's merzbow and, well, it's a head start. all these comparisons I've dropped don't really amount to a hill of beans in the end - nebris has created an album unique and interesting enough that in years time we'll be talking about what artists sound like nebris, not vice versa. highly recommended and a great way to start off the rebirth of dystonia ek. upcoming projects for the label include a cd from sweden's niellerade fallibilisthorstar and a new nebris lp."
- outer space gamelan
"Nebris is the former Column, who have released cassettes under Dystonia since 1992, from what I can see in the label’s past catalogue. The label itself has been running since 1989, stopping activities in about 2000 and having just begun a new course with this Nebris release, in April 23rd 2007. “Bleak Angels” is the second release under the name Nebris, the first one was “Krone” in 1999. It comes in a handsome digipack sleeve, with the same desolate scenery you see on the cover here repeated over and over again, yet somehow giving the impression the eye wanders over some continuity of landscape - a deformed, barren, ominous one. Quoting from the press release: “Sounds are made from amplified organic materials (bones, gut strings) and minerals (fossils, meteorite fragments, stones)”.Interesting isn’t it? Another detail worthy of note: a “nebris” is a garment made of fawn skin said to be worn by Bacchus, and his followers.
“V” begins with a leveled static noise, and some scratching sound on the background, reminiscent of a steady, continuous wind, and after a while a whistling drone is added, gradually increasing in tension and adding to the acute sensation of dejection and dreariness. By the end the drone becomes sharper, and then comes to a complete halt. In “II” some slowly developing, primitive rhythm pattern is starting to appear, as the drones and whistling form some sort of slow-motion choir, much like voices whispering through the breeze. “IV” is more harsh than the previous two tracks, and the longest one as well – it begins with an aggressive, high pitched static and proceeds to droning thunderings and what must be the sounds of the aforementioned stones, meteorites and fossils, along with some glitches and scratching sounds – it all combines to form the impression of slight, deliberate movement, like creatures rousing in the previously presented vacuum, and elevates to a climax before fading away with the same clear scratching sound the first track had begun. The cycle is completed.
A casual stroll in hell, this is, and as astute, intelligent and meticulous as to make one think whoever made this has certainly been there before. Just close your eyes and let the wind of static carry you away, and when you venture to open them again you will find yourself in a panorama of black and red, of smoke and sulfur, fire and ice, glorious buildings carved in lava, and paths etched in stone as ancient as time itself, by the footsteps of unimaginable creatures. Dare to look upon them impartially, and you will see them peering out of their abodes, looking back at you, their residences extending as far as the eye can see, down into the immeasurable deep. You can hear their voices merging in a collective burst of wind, as if trying to convey a message in some old, unfamiliar language, perhaps the most important of all, the one you sometimes grasp when on the verge of sleep, or on the verge of wakefulness, but you forget what it was as soon as you set foot in the so-called “objective reality”. This release reminded me a lot of Barlowe’s “Inferno”, and it would indeed be a fitting soundtrack to browsing through his work. But what one sees in these predicaments is very much dependent on what one is willing to see, and moreover what they are personally inclined to. Don’t be scared, take these first few steps and the sounds will lead you further into the firestorm –who knows, this demonic conflagration might prove less intimidating than you had thought it would, and in its crystallized lava might be reflected a different kind of beauty. The beauty of fallen angels."
- heathen harvest
"I hear Nebris and I think desolation. Long cold Antarctic winters winds up to 100mph blowing the life out of you through three layers of North Face thermal lining. Listening to this in an isolation tank would be preferable such are the gentle nuances that grace each of its tracks which are (so I'm told in the press release) achieved by amplifying organic materials such as bones and gut strings. This is certainly one for the Archon Satani bleak death black ambient fan in your family. Long cold stretches of unrelenting bleakness unfolding unto a vast treeless plain in nowheresville Siberia. Oddly comforting and oddly cold. Which is I suppose their intention. Not something you'd put on to do the washing up to but for those who are looking for an alternative to whale music to calm their shredded nerves then this could be the one for you."
idwal fisher #8
"dystonia ek is a label from montreal and already exists since 1989. for ten years they released cassettes and a few cdrs, but with the release of the nebris cd they start up their activities again. before being nebris, they [he? she?] were called column, with various releases as dystonia ek and 'bleak angels' is the second release as nebris, following 'krone' from 1999. They use 'amplified organic materials (bones, gut strings) and minerals (fossils, meteorite fragments, stones)' and produce three lengthy tracks. first I thought they were spinning empty grooves of a record, extremely amplified, alongside long wave recordings, but knowing what they do make it all sound even more fascinating. there is a backdrop in all three pieces of rotating sounds, crackles, highly processed and multi-layered voices, especially in 'V' this latter feature, and it sounded very much like tibetan red. probably they throw in lots of electronics to get this swirling mass of sound. bleak indeed. there is a great sense of desolation around this music, the usual ambient industrial post nuclear emptiness. the empty industrial lot at night. for those who love tibetan red, old zoviet*france, or the more softer edges of releases on old europa café and cold meat industry will surely find this quite interesting. executed with great care and skill, with a keen eye for details and variation, this is an excellent work in the genre."
- frans de waard, vital weekly #575
"I was interested when receiving this in the mail because it's a nice looking digipak with dark oily-green artwork with sparse text and an overall bleak atmosphere. not surprisingly the album is entitled “bleak angels” by nebris, an act that is entirely new to me. I figured this might be a dark ambient album based on the looks of it so I decided to put on my headphones and zone out a bit. “V” begins the disc with a crackle and spark and then quickly fades into some soft textured noise. unfortunately it doesn't do much more then that for it's 16 minute duration. yes, there are some vinyl-like glitchy clicks, which almost take away from the sound more then it adds to it, and some plain whirling drones that lurk on the fringes for most of the piece and eventually come to the forefront near the end but this track put me to sleep quite quickly and it was more out of boredom then anything else. I guess I can kind of see the whole aesthetic here, a kind of nihilistic organic droning noise with ambient touches but even when the instruments used are labeled on the disc “organic/acoustic materials by nebris” what's the point if the output is little more then some one dimensional subdued glitchy static? after sitting through all of “V” I was hoping that the next track would vary a bit more but the drones in “II” have a very similar characteristic to “V” kind of a floating, choir, wind kind of thing going on. the drones just seem very run-of-the-mill to me though, like something I've heard in almost every dark ambient album. there are some more subtle touches in “II” that make it a bit more bearable, unearthly rumbles that pan nicely, bubbling static that rises and falls, and there seems to be a little more going on with the harmony. despite this “II” really pegs pretty low on the scale because of the quality of the sounds, sounding much like plastic laptop distortion and the duration given the not only the lack of interesting elements but also the fact that it followed an almost equally long and barren track. finally nebris comes in with “IV” a track that saves the album from total oblivion. I finally begin to get a bit of the organic/acoustic feel here even though it still sounds like digital filters or distortion, or something was used here to thin things up a bit. either way I actually enjoy this track because it walks the fine line of just being enough things going on to keep my interest. the editing is well thought out here with different elements placed particularly in the stereo field, certain sound characters making appearances at different times, and sounds changing in a way that shows the material was put together with a purpose and a vision. the main thing that holds this track back is just the sounds themselves, nothing really special here. crunchy lo-fi distorted sonorities that leave a fair amount to be desired. to me this sounds like either the first efforts put to tape, or someone perhaps a noise head, who doesn't have much experience in dark ambient because it doesn't strike me as anything new or too interesting. the material mostly reminds me of the style of heath yonaites but I prefer his work to this as it is more varied and deals with a few more deeper concepts."
- egan budd, blood ties
"this is one of those releases that could be termed "ambient music" at a cursory listen. that's normally a polite way of saying that something functions as background noise, but lacks the personality to stand by itself. and what a sad mistake it would be to leave it at that.
the fact is that the album's three lengthy tracks show chthonic depths and an alternate world's worth of organic, expansive sound churning beneath the seemingly placid surface. this is music to listen to when you're ready to examine the inner landscape of your mind.
the album's first two tracks in particular are models of restraint, forcing the listener to focus or be left behind, compressing an atmosphere's worth of pressure into just over thirty minutes. the final, and longest, track raises the ante. the textures become more shrill, more abrasive, more unsettling, which, after the sensory-deprivation-chamber-hallucination ambiance of the first two tracks, can be heart-stopping.
as aggressive, unsettling and natural as the shifting of tectonic plates."
- flora mundi, morelikespace
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