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Artist: Daniel Byerly (recording under a variety of pseudonyms) Reviews:
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Representing a collaborative effort between Brannan Lane and Daniel Byerly - recording here as Lane Formschlag - (two artists whose collective body of work covers everything from progressive rock/fusion to world-flavored adult contemporary to light and dark ambient soundscapes), Two Halves of the Same Side is a "semi-long-form" (two tracks of slightly over twenty-minutes each) ambient recording that, for the most part, is a trip into a shimmering and vast soundscape that carefully balances out warmth and moderate accessibility with darker shadings and glimpses of melancholy and menace. It surprised me to no end when the one album I flashed on during the CD's first track (and a little bit on the second) was Jon Mark's highly-regarded classic, The Standing Stones of Callanish. A mellow layer of keyboards (Daniel or Brannan? It's anyone's guess!) hovers and subtly quavers in the thin air before the (now almost patented) Byerly "chatter" (my description of a heavily-vibrating electronic effect) enters the song. I've gotten used to Daniel's predilection for this sonic shuddering sound and I'll admit that on this album, it fits pretty well. At times, the vibrating sensation is slowed down dramatically, sounding a bit like a sound wave interrupted by a slowly rotating fan. The effect is less jarring or dissonant than you might expect it would be. Since this is "long-form" ambient music, by nature it is evolutionary and is in constant flux. Musical motifs hang around for a while, dissipate, re-emerge from the shadows, and then vanish altogether. Some of these elements are the vibrating synth textures, underlying drones (which on the second track get quite loud at times), and echoed-bells. Because of the fluid nature of the various elements, the album is best enjoyed (in my opinion) at low volumes and played purposely in the background. I listened to it (relatively speaking) during work one day (I work in a small office at a St. Paul, Minnesota university) and enjoyed the casual way the music seeped into the walls of the room, lending the small and cramped atmosphere a bright shiny quality. The music on Two Halves of the Same Side is seldom, if ever, oppressive or dominating. I'll admit to preferring when the drones or warmer synths take center-stage, but the entirety of the album goes down easy enough, and the overall impact of the album is pleasant if not downright enjoyable. The second track may strike some as darker. It starts out with a mid-to-high pitched drone/whine, somewhat like a "musical version" of hearing a subway's brakes as they bring an inbound train to a very slow stop, but when a liquidy series of synths come into play it instantly veers the cut into friendlier territory before surrendering the impetus to the Byerly "chatter." The above-mentioned "louder" moments in this cut act as further inducement (to my way of thinking) for playing this album at a lower volume setting. While the actual "music" on the recording is almost nothing like that of James Johnson, Stephen Philips or Darshan Ambient, Two Halves of the Same Side mines the same vein, i.e. trying to work its magic on the listener completely unconsciously. If my experiment at school was an indication, it succeeds in that regard. While ostensibly this CD is mostly a series of drones and textures, there is more than enough variety here to avoid it sounding too much like white noise. And, don't forget, there's always those wonderful Jon Mark-like chords to look forward to as well! Hats off to both Brannan and Daniel for a solid addition to the ever-growing number of successful ambient collaborations recently released.
Despite its ominous artwork, eerie liner notes, and overall appearance of something palpably evil, the music on Experiment 13 by Cacophony (one of Daniel Byerly's many aliases) is actually strangely beautiful at times, even warm and inviting. I was, to say the least, surprised to hear it as such. Which is not say that this is new agey or even warm-ish ambient music. This is still Daniel Byerly we're talkin' about here, after all. Things start off with "The Pale Glow," which weaves a synth string refrain (right out of Ennio Morricone's soundtrack for John Carpenter's The Thing) into a haunting soundscape filled with drones, the patented Byerly chattering sound effect, and undulating minor washes. Man, I do love that snippet of refrain from The Thing, though. It's achingly sad and beautiful at the same time. "Fifth Floor" takes a turn into a more experimental (no pun of the album title intended) soundfield, with a spiraling electronic effect starting things off, but this cacophony (again, no pun intended) of noise abruptly folds into a positively serene synth wash, even while what sounds like slowed down helicopter blades emerge from the background. This musical dichotomy is what, in my opinion, makes this one of Byerly's most ambitious and interesting works to date. Juxtaposing the bizarre and the foreboding with elements of accessibility, friendliness, and even beauty is a courageous feat to attempt. In lesser hands, it probably wouldn't work as well as it does here. Byerly has shown that he is fearless when it comes to taking chances and walking paths that few have trod before. Experiment 13 continues his quest to chart unknown sonic landscapes. "A Matter of Conscience" opens with slowly undulating fluid synths, some sounding semi-flute-like and some being synth strings. A few of the keyboards Daniel is using here put me in mind (as incredible as it may seem) of Jon Mark's The Standing Stones of Callanish. And that similarity shocked the shit out of me, frankly. I certainly never expected to hear echoes of Jon Mark's somber peaceful synth tones poems interwoven with Byerly's chattering effects and surreal swirling soundscapes. "11:55PM" erupts with strange percussive effects - decidedly experimental, non-musical, and disorienting, yet not so much so as to be faux avant garde. Rumbling synths and rhythms are folded into the track gradually, submerging the percussives under a blanket of minor key drones, insectoid chattering, and disturbing noises. "The Corridor" starts off as the creepiest cut on the CD - it's very visual. One can imagine walking down the deserted Institute's hallway (sorry, you'll have to read the cool liner notes to "get this"), lit only by half-burned out "EXIT" signs, and feeling the hairs on the back of your neck leap to attention at every shadow you see or every creak you hear. This is one scary piece of music - Daniel didn't lighten the mood of this track at any juncture. I'll leave the rest of this fine album to your imagination (until you wise up and buy it, that is). There are three more tracks ("In The Laboratory," "N101BL" and "Experiment 13") and each one offers plenty of deliciously eerie ear candy to digest over a long period of time. I strongly recommend headphones in a darkened room for this album. If you can handle the disturbing images that the music may conjure up, that is! After all, Daniel intimated to me that part of the inspiration for the album was the (in my opinion) excellent recent remake of House on Haunted Hill (starring Geoffrey Rush and Chris Kattan, among others). That film had a truly exciting and imaginative visual sense - the house oozed menace and horror (some of the scenes are startlingly intense and terrifying). In the same way, Experiment 13 displays Daniel Byerly's amazing creativity as he wanders down corridors, peaks around corners, explores rooms, and witnesses visions better left undescribed. That the CD remains relatively accessible and contains some passages that are damn beautiful is further testament to this artist's unique talent. Experiment 13 earns one of my highest recommendations so far this year. But, do yourself a favor - leave at least one light on in the house....just in case!
When Children Sleep is a disturbing yet starkly beautiful piece of recorded music. It is creative in ways that most dark ambient doesn't even come close to. Shifting and swirling dust storms of despair converge on your mind as you listen to the opening title cut. Drones are counterpointed by strange high notes that resemble cries in the dark. Found sounds and sonic manipulations (which reminded me of such masterful albums such as Robert Rich's and B. Lustmord's Stalker and Rich's own A Troubled Resting Place) weave in and out of the song, mesmerizing in their effect yet also so laced with a profound sadness that listening to this album is sometimes overwhelmingly difficult. It is brimming with buried memories of depression, loss, grief and futility. Yet the music itself is not garden variety noir. It has what I can only describe as a life of its own. Despite the album having "cuts" (with titles like "At the Edge of Dream," "Into the Netherworlds" and "Alone") this is a work that begs, pleads, and finally cajoles the listener to put it on, sit quietly, and play it through. But, on the other hand, this is wonderfully evolving music, swinging in a lot of different directions, but with so little conscious effort and so seamlessly - well, by now you can tell I think this is a brilliant piece of work. Ambient music is never easy to "describe" per se. And music this imaginative is even more of a task. There are shimmering keyboards, deep dark drones, chattering samples, distorted synth choruses, and about a million other effects on When Children Sleep. The album itself is remarkably well-recorded for an independent release and engineering and mix is, in a word, staggering. An appreciation of When Children Sleep requires immersion into the music as much as possible. The first few times I listened to it, played in the background, I knew it was good. But when I started to actively listen to it, I was shocked. A landmark recording in its complexity, while still retaining an almost organic life-force, When Children Sleep could take literally tens of listenings before even the adroit fan will appreciate everything that Bertrom Cabot Jr. has put into this album. For example, there is the coming and going of what can best be described as a "twinkling" bell-like tone, starting during the third song, "Thoughts of Noise" which serves as an emotional counter-point of sorts to the dark drones and oppressive musique concrete of the previous song, "Beyond the Light." Throughout the recording, heavily electronic and synthesized sounds, with only a bare trace of melody at times (and sometimes none at all), combine with found sounds, sonic manipulations, and drone synth effects. The result from all this musical alchemy, if you will, is so well-blended that it's not far-fetched to call When Children Sleep the first ambient alloy album. I have never been a big fan of experimental music, mostly because I found it devoid of passion and overly intellectualized masturbation. How Cabot found a way to infuse such emotion into "music" that is, in reality, barely music at all (which is not to say it's not frequently strangely beautiful), is a mystery. I could spend several thousand words trying to accurately describe the cyber-circuitry melodies of a song like "At the Edge of Dream" (is that a distorted Hammond B3?) or the somewhat frenetic "Memory" (which brings the highly experimental soundtrack to Robert Wise's The Andromeda Strain to mind at times), but it would be an exercise fraught with failure. This music is simply impossible to put into words. This is cutting edge stuff, folks. I don't know as you will enjoy this on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but for those late nights when your soul is shrouded in despair or clouded with the memories of past pain, listening to When Children Sleep could be the ultimate cathartic ass-kicking. Note: this is not quiet music. This is quite loud at times. And it sure isn't "calm" ambient noir most of the time. But mostly, this CD will reward the attentive listener with layers upon layers upon layers of nuance, all building toward moments of incredible release, like melancholic orgasms. In a few words, this CD is a trip into the depths of your soul - and whatever lies beyond that.
Let me start out by saying I am not going to even try to describe the music on this CD except in most general terms. The reason? It's so fluid (as in ever-changing) that I could spend 500 words on one song! SyNtHuSeR (as I discovered when I reviewed October Fool's Day and Eleven One) is an artist unique in the entire field for throwing curve balls on top of sliders on top of fast, low and inside heat. This guy is a genius at making abrupt changes in rhythm and melody seem as natural as do-re-mi. With that out of the way, then, let me begin by saying that not only is Ascension his best work by far (not a mild statement coming from me) but it is a helluva fun ride and one kick ass blast-and-a-half. The CD opens with the title cut, a grin-inducing series of clipped guitar notes and synth notes, arpeggios, guitar power chords, thundering drums, culminating in a series of prog keyboards and propulsive rhythms. The song heads for the open road at about 190 MPH. It is hands down one of the most dynamic and grab-you-by-the-short-hairs opening cuts I've ever heard. And DAMN but it's fun. Unlike the more downer October Fool's Day (which I also loved) there is a lightness to this song (and, in fact, most of the album) that can't help but make you smile, dammit! Especially when SyNtHuSeR (at the 2:45 mark) brings in a series of bell-like synths. Brilliant - just fuckin' brilliant! Spacy synths laser zap while seriously thundering drums and thumpa-thumpa bass anchor it all. And the song is nowhere near done yet. "Golgotha" begins with swirling and spacy synths, sounding almost Jonn Serrie-like! Soon, a lower register drone takes over and the drama begins to kick in. Compared to previous releases from SyNtHuSeR, this is a very electronic/EM sounding cut. The great drums are still there, but his use of synths has grown by leaps and bounds in complexity, proficiency, and layering. A funkified pulsing synth beat begins to dominate the song later on and the energy just keeps pouring on. Those drones wash over you and the drums pound your subconscious into submission and the synths tickle your brain with delight. I'm listening on headphones as I write this and the mix on this album is breathless. What a ride! "The Great Wall" has a cool "Asian" sounding synth opening before blasting off into prog/rock blue skies courtesy of propulsive ryhthms, blistering guitar leads, and serious muscle. SyNtHuSeR allows the "eastern" refrain to come back into the song, albeit in a different context, and as the song cooks the tempo gets a lot faster. This is another song way WAY up on the grin scale. Dammit if SyNtHuSeR doesn't keep throwing so many cool things into these songs. How does he come up with all this stuff? Okay, okay...I said I wasn't going to try to describe the album and that's what I'm doing anyway, cut by cut. Well, before I stop, let me tell you about one more slice of heaven on this here album. The song is called "Restoration" and it so much damn fun I can't stand it it! It's light-hearted and brimming with good cheer, buoyed by pulsing synth lines, kinetic drumming, crickets (!), and some weird vocals that are a hoot. I love it! The guitar work, as it does whenever Synthy grabs his axe, positively soars. This guy rocks the house. If you have a CD player in your car, buy this damn thing, head for the backroads, and get ready to have yourself a helluva good time! You will crank this puppy up - guaranteed! Geez, but this man is talented. SyNtHuSeR, who is (as his fans know) actually one Daniel Byerly, also recorded one of the outstanding dark ambient releases of recent years under the alias Bertrom Cabot Jr. (When Children Sleep). With Ascension, his fourth album as SyNtHuSeR, Daniel has cemented his rep as possibly the most exciting, bold and adventurous musician working today. Certainly nobody I know of does so many things so well. While quiet ambient types need not apply, if prog rock, rock-jazz, jazz fusion, or any similar genres were ever fond to your heart, Ascension will be a delight and revelation. Seldom do I hear a CD that takes just a few minutes to overwhelm me. This was one of them. I do not expect to be this blown away again until..well, until the next release from Daniel, I suspect. This incredible CD easily earns my highest recommendation.
These two CDs are fun! This music is more imaginative, exciting and whacked (in a good way) than anything you'll hear from a major label. Musicians like Synthuser restore my faith that people out there can still crank up their brain cells and produce something original. Eleven One is a heady mixture of ambient and EM keyboards, progressive rock rhythms, lead guitar lines, and space music textures. Each song is like a miniature opus, dexterously weaving its way through these potential mine fields. Describing this music is difficult without going into great detail. As an example, the first cut has elements of space music, with soft twinkling synths, but it also has electric guitar lead lines and thundering rhythm-section work. Because the songs are all at least six minutes long, these transitions happen gradually over time, which makes each cut flow remarkably well. The album(s) may appeal more to prog rock or progressive EM fans than space or ambient music aficionados, only because the latter tend to like the music on the softer and quieter side, which this is frequently not! TD and German EM fans might be disappointed since little of the EM here is Berlin-school (read: sequencer heavy) in nature. Just the same, Synthuser's skill on the synths is considerable, and some sections of this are superb ambient or space music. However, the dynamism of some of his keyboard work, the churning rhythm section and the blistering and crunchy lead guitar could send, for example, Serrie fans heading for the hills. Personally, I can't get enough of this. I love it. Synthuser's earlier release, October Fool's Day, gets a thumbs up from me, if for no other reason, than the frequent use of dialogue samples from one of my favorite TV shows, The Outer Limits. There are also snippets from other SF and horror sources (such as a great dialogue loop sample from Poltergeist). Once again, the music is a mixture of prog rock rhythms and varied electronic keyboards, sometimes EM, sometimes spacy, sometimes ambient. The opener "Outer Limits" bounces fast tempo keyboard runs off blistering guitar leads in a frenetic explosion of sonic manna. Just like on Eleven One, each song refuses to stay put in regards to tempo, mood, or melodic approach. This music is fun, fascinating and addictive. The second song has sampled dialogue from a personal fave Outer Limits episode amidst futuristic synth and drum work. Kinetic rhythms and mysterious synth washes lead into laser beam synth leads, and of course, this is just the starting point for the song. "Drowning" also has dialogue from the same source and a chilling otherworldly beginning. Mondo mysterioso! I have barely described either of these two releases adequately because to do so would take several pages. Synthuser is a considerable talent across a varied tableau of musical formats. The recording quality for these one-offs (and each CD is made when it is ordered) is outstanding. The album graphics are, in each case, equally inventive and idiosyncratic (like the music). Be sure to read the "SPECIAL THANKS TO:" in the liner notes to October Fool's Day. These two recordings are the work of a singular and creative mind; as an artist he is more interested in blazing trails than following them. Hopefully, he will continue to strike out in new directions and leave us more musical "broken twigs" to follow. In conclusion, I merely add&emdash;bravo and encore! |
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