Incanus - Chant To Life, Ode To Death
Last year we had the pleasure of reviewing the first album by the solo project Incanus. The second album is out now, called Chant To Life, Ode To Death. The last album was released as a cassette, and this one has come out as a limited advanced CD-R on a Japanese label called VLZ Produkt. The cover artwork is amazingly beautiful and simple! Lovely cardboard box with a sticker on it and the graphical inner sleeve has been glued to the box itself (inside), with a circular foam that secures the CD-R attached.
It was made between 2020 and 2023, with binaural effects using the digital plugin Ambeo Orbit (Sounds technical right?). Some of the field recordings within have been sampled/used from the BBC Sound Bank, maybe it has been recorded by Chris Watson? (Cabaret Voltaire). It´s a single-track album, 40:20 in total.
The first thing that pops into my mind is a cold and misty morning, with the warm rays of the sub slowly rising over the natural landscape. With the warmth comes the buzzing of insects, and then the chirping of various birds getting ready for another day. Getting a sort of Erik Satie vibe here with the distant piano sounds.
Almost as we are moving through the picturesque soundscape, there is also the sound of a nearby stream... and something rustling in shrubs and bushes. An old mysterious and mechanical banging machine is also in the background, giving the overall mood a kind of shamanic element. Incredible stuff here, sounds amazing!. At this point, I am halfway through the album.
At 26:20, it gets a little bit weirder. The working machinery has a certain kind of ethereal sound to it, it actually slowly begins to sound... alien. Other sounds of spirits moving through my stereo at this point, or could it be faeries?... messing up with my mind. The machinery stops, and we´re closer to the stream. Also, the sound of a horse in there as well, making those snorting noise sounds.
The album then ends with some dreamy vintage-sounding Boards of Canada ambient synths. Actually, I wouldn´t mind if I pressed the repeat button on my CD player, actually, I´m gonna press the play button just one more time!
Chant To Life, Ode To Death is a modern ambient masterpiece from the underground. It deserves a re-issue on a real CD (not a CD-R), hell... vinyl? It´s incredibly beautiful, simple, and highly effective in getting your pulse down. Dynamic, and gives the listener the authentic feel of actually being there! Hell, I can almost smell the sounds. Everything is perfect here, I only have one minor complaint. Be sure to take 100% care of the physical media itself, a minor scruff on the CD-R will make the CD jump and skip. So if u intend on buying it, keep the CD-R safe (maybe even hidden!).
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