Testing Vault - Amnesia Milk
Testing Vault from Italy has been around for some time since 2003 to be exact. Over 15 albums released and a handfull of mini-albums. Most of the material has been released via the act´s own label called Looney-Tick Productions, a label which also has released the likes of Premature Ejaculation and Le Cose Bianche (see link below). This album called Amnesia Milk was released on Looney Tick Productions on the 5th of March this year (2019), if you would purchase the physical (and limited digipack) copy u even get an extra CD with it!. Amnesia Milk? ... What the hell is it?!. Here is a clue from the cover/inner-sleeve.
"Amnesia Milk" is a sound installation for a recurring dream that Daniele Santagiuliana (the person behind the moniker Testing Vault) has been experimenting with since the end of 2018. An intangible but so lucid place that he can go back every time he wants to see it, where instead of the street lamps, the only source of illumination are milk bottles with a lighted bulb inside each of them.
That´s pretty.... abstract but, interesting. It makes it more interesting when you look at the cover as well, even more, interesting when u are listening to the album while looking at the cover (at the same time)... it makes sense. So what kind of stuff is it?. Think melancholic icy drone-ambient like Biosphere and the surreal pitch-black eerieness from Coil. The kind of experimental ambient-music one might isolate with while it´s raining outside on a dark night. I will only review the main-album, and let the recordings in the extra CD be a surprise for the listener!.
The first track is a prelude, being a tribute/homage to Alan Lamb (Check him out if you don´t know him!). He did this one album where he recorded 20 hours of sound material using microphones on telephone wires! Interesting metallic scraping ambient intro to the album. The second track Amnesia Milk jumps straight into an eerie and surreal modern horror-story, and yes it does that have... dreamy feel attached to it. That kind of dream where you are quite convinced about it, yet not fully understanding it. Eerie windy sounds composing haunting tones while a moody illbient-like rhythm pounds endlessly, the ending sounds like something from Twin Peaks. Third track Digest adds more eerieness to the album, interesting organic sounds... real ear-candy believe me. Fourth track A Friendly Light being one of my favorites. Beautiful haunting Eno´ish ambient-melodies with lots of interesting sounds and creakiness, a perfect soundtrack for a modern victorian ghost story/movie if you ask me.
Fifth track Pale Pink is a ritualistic piece with a jazzy feel to it. Humming and looped human-like voice-sounds, reversed sound of plastic bags being handled, free-jazz saxophones. Second, last track Blackout further expands on that David Lynch´ish meets Nurse With Wound/C93 atmosphere. I would highly recommend listening to this with some decent speakers standing, the stereo-recording here is VERY good!. Voices slowly crawl in and out from one speaker and then further on to the other, and I fxxxxxx love shit like that! Last track called Contempt, also serves as a homage to Alan Lamb, being the longest track on the album (11 minutes). Serves as a perfect weird ending for a great album. Church-like bells, warped human voices, thick electronic glitchiness. All wonderful!.
Excellent surreal treat from Italy, more if that if you please! At the time I was listening to this album (Often), I was walking the (rather late) mysterious dunes of west Jutland alongside the beach. All while the sun was sinking slowly over the mysterious and empty landscape. While having this on my Discman, I took these photos. The sight, the mood, the music... a perfect match!
Bandcamp (band):
Facebook (band):
Looney Tick Productions (label):