Exit In Grey - One Lumen In The Past FLAC download

Original: ConcreteWeb ( http://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/exit-grey )Even though this album was released two years ago, I still want to write down my thoughts on it. There are several reasons. First of all, the quality of the Aural Art. I will come back to this immediately. Also of importance is the fact that Frozen Light recently released the successor of this album. In preparation for my review on that new album, which is called моменты (‘momenty’, meaning ‘moments’), I prefer to come back on this former release first.Exit In Grey hail from the Russian Federation and were formed at the beginning of this century by Sergey Sukhovik aka [S] and Stanislav Wolkov aka (S). The latter left almost ten years ago. As from then on, [S] remained as sole composer. He is (or was), by the way, the same guy who composed under monikers like Sister Loolomie, Five Elements Music, радиосон, and some other short-lived, few productive but attractive projects, as well as he is the person who runs (ran) labels like Still*Sleep, Daphnia Records (created for his releases as Exit In Grey, now defunct), Semperflorens and the short-lived Teta-Morphosis.One Lumen In The Past was recorded entirely by [S] in 2011, but it took until 2016 before getting released properly, indeed via the great Frozen Light label from Moscow. FYI: the album was remastered for that release specifically in 2015, by Oleg Hurvatov (who ran the label InterioRepertoR, and the musician behind projects like Interior Disposition or Exploplasmatic Coagulation). It appears in digifile limited to 300 hand-numbered copies, including very original, somewhat unusual artwork, also designed by [S]. The album consists of three lengthy tracks, clocking forty minutes.One Lumen In The Past opens with the title song, which clocks 16:28 minutes. It starts in a very haunting way. An eerie monotone sound glooms in the dark, soon joined by different layers of spooky synths and guitar drones. Step by step, this opening track grows, climbing up by adding new elements, effects, sounds, field recordings and sonic manipulations. With an asphyxiating precision, all those different aspects fuse into ambient fields with a cinematic noire character. As from half of this composition, things turn even deeper and further into levels of discomfort and distortion. Noises from unknown dimensions, hidden secrets from beyond space and time, make this whole listening experience breath-taking yet, at the same time, so intriguing. Towards the end, everything builds up towards an ecstatic wall of ambient bombast and droning drama, like a harbinger of pyroclastic destruction.Old Letters And Visions (12:37) immediately continues within that breath-taking atmosphere. Like a post-life soundtrack, caused by Lovecraftian evil, this aural adventure takes us to the knowledge of our death to come. It focuses on our helplessness, impotence of leading our own life. Hypnotic melodies by (prepared) guitar and huge amounts of sounds and effects, create a sinister yet also enlightening vision of introspection and melancholia. As if a train passes by, untouchable and too nearby to decipher the details, this track deeply catches. At 2/3rd, with attention for detail, alien flutes and symphonic orchestration darken this experience, leaving the protagonist confused.The last creation on this album, Whispers Time, is the shortest (what’s in a word) with its 11:24 of length. Both uncanny and hypnotic, this piece is a beautiful representation of this story painted by Exit In Grey. Less frightening, yet as least as woeful and alleviating, this closing chapter takes us to the Inner Self, awakening and provoking. Fine-tuned guitar riffing and floating sounds get permanently injected by heavy-livid droned, sorrowful melody lines and lots of sometimes quite unexpected yet appropriate field recordings and sound samples.‘Time runs forward, inexorably carrying us into the darkness of the forthcoming Unknown. But sometimes our path is illuminated by short and bright flashes – flashes of light from our Past. Memory helps us not to get lost, and the Past itself gives us hope and support, because it is devoid of our death. But the Past is already dead and we’re not yet… Only flashes…’Ivan Tibos.85/100

Original: Vital Weekly ( http://www.vitalweekly.net/1031.html )Originally Exit In Grey was a duo of Stanislav Wolkow and Serge Suhovik, but these days it is just the latter, and you might know him from his other work as (S), [S], Five Elements Music, Radioson, Redhouse, Black Deal With Snow, Candyman And Evil Flowers and Sister Loolomie. There are actually differences between all of these projects (well, as far as I heard them, which is not all), but it's safe to say (I guess!) that it's all to be found in the world of drones and atmospheres. I only heard a few of his Exit In Grey releases (Vital Weekly 913 and 555) and with the last one I thought Suhovik was aiming for a bit more melody in the musical mind of this particular moniker, but listening to these three pieces on 'One Lumen In The Past', I must say I am not convinced by that melodic edge still being part of the new pieces. Exit In Grey uses prepared guitar, radio, violin, flute, field recordings, mini piano, harmonica, voice and effects, and I would think that the latter is the most important feature of the release, as you can feed as little or as much to effects as Exit In Grey does and none of the instruments will be easily recognized when served after the full effect treatment. Everything is spaced out, extended, sustaining, long form sound waves, and very occasionally, such as in 'Whispers Time' one recognizes the guitar. It is music that Suhovik also does as Five Elements Music, his other project that I heard some of. This is all quite dark and heavily drone based, and as such not something we haven't heard before, but the end result is quite good. Sturdy, serious drone music, just as we love them on a grey day.