Foehn - Hidden Cinema Soundtrack
(Fat Cat)
Hidden Cinema Soundtrack is Foehn's third album.
It's composed of 28 otherworldly tracks ranging in
length from 45 seconds to over four minutes and takes
you on a dark, disjointed journey. This journey could
be through a disturbing dream, to another world, or
through a dark, confusing film. The music and sounds
are almost as visually stimulating as they are audibly
intriguing, and it is easy to imagine the sort of
scene each "soundtrack" would accompany.
Titles such as "Carousel Beneath the Sea," "Chase in
an Empty Space," and "Collapsing" describe what the
music illustrates. In "Carousel Beneath the Sea," an
echo-y, repetitious organ mimics carousel music. You
can picture wooden horses moving up and down, but
everything sounds slow and dark, like underwater. The
first track on the album is called "To the Forgotten
Forest Deep in Space." Mysterious flutes hover over an
undulating, heavy base, and you feel like you are
walking into a dark forest. The flutes are like wind,
and the sound explodes in the middle of the song,
creating an eerie, haunted feeling. Many of the tracks
do seem slightly haunted, with sad, old-sounding
violins and distant voices. However, a couple of songs
are happier, like "Pour Vous Timide Voyou," which is
based on a samba-like loop, with an almost peppy
rhythm.
Foehn uses instruments such as pianos, guitars,
drums, chimes, strings, and winds to create
atmospheres. Samples of people talking are common.
Often distant and hidden in surrounding sounds, the
people talk about random, creepy things. Other samples
of music or sound effects like clanking and creaking
are abundant and add to the feeling that you are
watching a film. Rhythms can be complex and layered or
sparse and simple.
I wouldn't recommend Hidden Cinema Soundtrack if you
tire easily of repetition and strange and sometimes
discordant sounds, or if you are not in the mood for
something unstructured or a little dreary. This album
is complex and surreal. It is truly like going on a
voyage and coming to a place where you are engulfed in
swirling, pulsating, living sound. It requires
attention and imagination but is well worth the effort.
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