1 Nemeton (The Celestial Clearing) (0:25)
2 Llyr (The Dark Stream) (17:40)
3 Taran (The Thunder) (9:03)
4 Llia'g (The Wizard) (6:51)
5 Dheeog Bhair (Hallucinations) (7:17)
6 Guth Ather (Invocation) (18:39)
7 Cruith Ire (The Primordial Harp) (13:40)
Collaboration entre Gianluigi Gasparetti (Oöphoi) et Klaus Wiese qui créent une ambient profonde, subtile et sombre...
Let us begin with something drawn from the inside of the special cover booklet wrapped around the plastic protection sleeve containing the disc. "Stormy winds will fight against each other, and their Sound will reach God's ear" - Merlin. "In Celtic mythology Wouivres the Divine Spirit: like a snake crawling along the ground, the Wouivre runs deep beneath the earth, bringing Life and Fertility. There are places where this hidden and sacred Stream reaches the surface, creating a link between Sky and Earth: on such a place the Templar Knights built the Cathedral of Chartres." A positively enthralling, heady, concept for sacred reverie through headphone listening beckoned at my first reading of these lines. This is where the visions take their shape and the journey begins.
"Nemeton - The Celestial Clearing" is a 0:25 second embarkation piece that opens an inner window to a dimension of startling depth and an immense, all encompassing, voluminous soundscape. The size of the soundstage presented by this piece is alarmingly large and unsettlingly real. This first glimpse of the stage set by the minds eye is incredibly adroit in presenting the spatial concept for what is to follow and hopefully what will come to pass from within the depths of Wouivre.
"Llyr - The Dark Stream" is Oöphoi's solo homage to, and naming of the Wouivre, employing water, Tibetan singing bowls, stones, gongs, and birds. "Llyr" is a definitive study of the world of spacious reverb tails and the endlessly expanding notion of liquidity in sound. Employing dark suggestion "Llyr" is nevertheless a relaxing piece in the purest sense. Readily inducing the contemplation of the myths and mystery that the Earth's elements employ to surround and entertain the inquisitive soul.
Klaus Wiese enters the mix with an upright cello, a bowchime and the monochord as his chosen voice for "Taran - The Thunder". A third voice, that of Rick Rummler, engages the periphery of the soundscape on the bowchime while Oöphoi weaves a spell on electronics, a flute, looping and processing. An extremely organic sounding track that had me casting sidelong glances about the room searching for cues to the impending release of the anticipated peal of thunder. The anticipation was much akin to that which accompanies the sensory overload of a soundtrack that underpins the moment when you as the listener would rather not have anyone open that door or walk in to the open expanse of the waiting glen.
And thus enters the clangorous realm of "Llia'g - The Wizard". A shorter piece in the context of the other tracks but one which is packed with potent visions of being in the presence of one that commands you maintain an unerring eye and keep a watchful vigil lest you be swept away following your bewitched grasp of reality. Track four attempts to focus light on the face of darkness but only magnifies the mysteries cloaked in the unknown by revealing deeper recesses of blackness. "Llia'g" employs the same instrumentation and artists as the previous track minus the monochord yet morphs their sonic identity enough to present a dynamic realm of unearthly voicing.
"Dheoog Bhair - Hallucinations" retains the undercurrent of tension introduced through "Llia'g" with an added dimension of what can only be described as an altered state. Reminiscent of the metallic yet gauze swathed manipulations of sound created by the fever induced hallucinations from the Hong Kong Flu, which I contracted in my youth during an East Coast vacation. The surreal quality created adds another level of tension that is at the same time relaxing and meditative, opening and closing alternative paths to understanding, and also engages ones thoughts in a confusing yet appealing interruption and re-direction of the stream of conscious thought.
"Guth Ather - Invocation" is exactly as the title states. An 18:39 epic wherein I was presented with the possibility of direct contact with, and the inner peace attainable through, the entity of the Divine Spirit.
The closing concept of "Wouivre" is "Guth Ire - The Primordial Harp", also a dedication to Oöphoi's father who is now floating in the "Wouivre". Pastoral and ethereal in its nature "Guth Ire" conjured a corporeal understanding of that which lies within the dimensional planes one usually only postulate's the existence thereof. A voyage beyond yet deep within oneself that was as engaging as it was entertaining. "Wouivre" was an outstanding ride that I plan on returning to again and again. Look not over one's shoulder nor listen to what you cannot hear unless you are ready to reconcile that it quite possibly may be yourself that you encounter within the "Wouivre".
Ambient Visions
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