Adlib - s/t EP
(K-RAA-K)
Someone forgot to tell Kristian Peters that ambient music is supposed to be unassuming,
perhaps even non-engaging, background sound. As Novisad, he simulated the passageways and
perils of a simple D&D-style maze game, creating an amazing ambient album that serves as a
self-contained aural adventure. His first fruits as Adlib are just as engrossing. Compare
this near-perfect EP with Vladislav Delay's indulgent Anima or Mike Ink's somewhat
bombastic Gas recordings. Peters maintains both direction and mystery while working with
the vaguest of loops. "Weich" is no more than a chord phased in and out by imperceptible
degrees, yet the subtle syncopation wrought by echo and repetition is fascinating. Peters
unfurls the horizontal melody of "Feld" as though he has all the time in the world,
mindless of the clockwork ticking off measured moments. "Deconstruction" and the
especially Eno-esque "Winter" lay out patterns of sculpted sound-dunes and softly sloping
valleys that compel deep listening. And you could lose yourself forever in "Einöde
(Wilderness)," a snow-globe hallucination as haunting and acute in its impressionistic
detail as Disco Inferno's "Footprints in Snow."
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