Kobi - Projecto
(Silber)
A virtual who's who of the Norwegian underground have gathered together for an album of ambient, wyrdfolk atmospherics that was so similar to If Thousands' Lullabye disk (which I also reviewed this issue), that I was already on the second track before I relealized the disks had changed! Feelings of "Waiting for Godot" or the other shoe to drop are invoked throughout, rattling this Western-trained mind of mine that expects a linear progression of sound as a "song" moves from beginning to end. The compositions here have no such structure.
In "Watching the Wheels," John Lennon said, "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." To paraphrase the master somewhat, Projecto is what happens when you take the music that doesn't get you from point A to point B and release it. A truly awe-inspiring, all-encompassing ambient work that, for once, actually captures the ambience, i.e., the peripheral sound in the room, the bits between the bits, and further evidence that the best, most exciting and intriguing independent music today is emanating from our friends in the Northern circle.
Fans of found sounds, field recordings, and spooky atmospherics will find much to enjoy. In fact, "However, This Feeling Can Be Cultivated" (all of the titles read like sentences from a novel) is the perfect track to scare the neighborhood brats off the front porch on Halloween and would have fit perfectly on the "Blair Witch Project" soundtrack. Not an album that you will listen to often, but perfect for when the mood strikes you to listen to horror movie soundtracks.
One codicil, however, patience will wear thin and tempers may flare by the time you reach "He Turnes [sic] To Welcome Me, Stretches Out His Hand" and "Marked Time With His Feet Or Moved His Fingers," particularly the latter, which is simply a loop of noises and found sounds that can best be described as the aural equivalent of Chinese water torture. "We Were Surprised At The Quantity and Quality" consists of a recording of a rainstorm combined with what sounds like someone peeing in a toilet (and you, too, will be surprised at the quantity!), and water also plays a prominent part in "Riding Her Trainer Bike In Obsessive Circles," which sounds like it could have been recorded on the shore of the North Sea.
In sum, like a wet dream that turns into a nightmare, Projecto begins like a bath in meringue and ends like a loop-de-loop roller coaster ride through your local sewer treatment plant. Harsh, challenging, and for the strong of stomach, ultimately rewarding.
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