Elegi - Sistereis (Miasmah, 2007)

1 Despotiets Vesen (3:16)
2 Fyrtårnet Part 1 (6:21)
3 Dauingene (6:29)
4 Skumring (3:16)
5 Time Lapse (8:05)
6 Interbellum (5:13)
7 Fyrtårnet Part 2 (5:13)
8 Sistereis (5:48)
9 Fyrtårnet Part 3 (4:17)
10 Spill For Galleriet (6:17)

Qui dit Elegi dit élégiaque, tel ce piano esseulé ouvrant ce bal mortifère, dialoguant avec des cordes d’un cinéma Lynchien souillé de sang séché. Sans détour, cette ouverture nous plonge dans les abysses d’un océan obscur, dans les fonds marins que le norvégien Tommy Jansen explore et pour lesquels il se passionne, allant même jusqu’à sampler ce qu’il peut y entendre. Tirant inspiration de ces territoires que la lumière ignore, Tommy tisse des ambiances claustrophobes, hantées de fantômes, faites de nappes et drones flippants, de mâts et coques qui craquent, de métaux qui claquent, de bulles de piano dépressif et de notes caverneuses (violoncelle, corne et mélodica basse fréquence ?). En cours de plongée, une once de clarté perce Interbellum de son doux méli-mélo de notes flûtées et cristallines. Mais ce rai de lumière furtif, cette unique et menue bulle d’oxygène nous replonge rapidement et définitivement dans ces immensités angoissantes regorgeant de cadavres.
Parfait compagnon funèbre et ténébreux du Knive de Svarte Greiner, Sistereis n’a décidément rien d’accueillant ou de rassurant.
Onde Fixe

In the last year or so the Miasmah label (run and curated by Deaf Center's Erik Skodvin) has become one of the most respected, well loved and bestselling labels offering up the kind of home listening so popular with so many of you. The catalogue has been pristine - with releases from Greg Haines and Rafael Anton Irisarri in particular encapsulating that indefinable magic that happens when modern classical sensibilities are filtered through the hands and ears of producers with a wider experimental horizon. But it's this latest album from Norway's Tommy Jansen (aka Elegi) that stands out as the label's most startling, original and breathtaking release to date. Jansen spends his time wreck-diving - a pursuit which involves deep-sea diving into shipwrecks, exploring the forgotten graveyards of another time. The album's title 'Sistereis' even refers to this pursuit; it is the word for a ship's final voyage before it sinks and this haunted, waterlogged theme is transferred beautifully into the music itself. I'm sure you've all dunked your head under water when swimming before, and listened to the sounds of the surrounding area as they filter through litres and litres of chlorinated liquid; this muffled, bubbling mystery is apparent throughout 'Sistereis', the whole album coming across like a radio transmission from beneath the sea. In fact, the album could easily be the follow-up to Svarte Greiner's absolutely epic 'Knive', an album which set the bar for the steadily growing 'acoustic doom' movement, and where 'Knive' was akin to a murderous venture into the dark woods, 'Sistereis' is a similarly bloody sub-aquatic voyage. It could be almost puerile to mention the words 'cinematic' or name-drop Angelo Badalamenti yet again, but it's never been more appropriate; Tommy Jansen creates a damp and half-seen world of his own with tempered electronics, decaying accordion sounds, deep resonating cellos and layer upon layer of collected field recordings (many taken from his deep sea explorations). It's almost like listening to the ancient ghosts of Viking long-boats, lost Victorian cruise-liners or swarthy Pirate ships, replete with rattling chains and creaking bows, yet this isn't a purely dark and depressing experience, there are glimmers of light and hope between the scratches and scrapes, a sense that this is a record which reveres history rather than being frightened of it. 'Sistereis' is another crucial part of the steadily expanding Miasmah catalogue, and proof that the label is quickly becoming one of the most essential on the planet - prepare yourself for a foggy trip into mysterious climes, it's one you won't regret taking, even if you never return! Essential purchase.
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Jasper TX - Black Sleep (Miasmah, 2008)

Black Sleep Part I (9:13)
Black Sleep Part II (3:58)
Black Sleep Part III (5:32)
Black Sleep Part IV (4:52)
Black Sleep Part V (8:56)
Black Sleep Part VI (19:10)

Ultra fécond, le suédois Dag Rosenqvist a fréquenté a peu près autant de labels qu'il a accouché d'albums et de maxis (Lampse, Kning disk, Lidar, Pumpkin seeds in the sand, Slaapwel). C'est désormais avec une certaine logique qu'on le retrouve chez l'obscur Miasmah, label développant une esthétique qui sied à merveille aux thèmes développés sur ce bien nommé Black sleep.
S'attachant à tisser des ambiances reflétant ces états de demi-sommeil où la conscience s'égare et se dissout, Jasper TX joue beaucoup sur les va-et-vient incessants de drones nocturnes, de souffles légers et nappes saturées, le tout ponctué de quelques pulsations sourdes et lointaines.
Là ou bien d'autres se seraient terrés dans un obscurantisme cérébral tourné vers le " tout drone ", Jasper TX modère son propos en explorant les différentes phases du sommeil. De ce fait, le climat s'allège à intervalles réguliers, les nappes se font mélodiques, une guitare en apesanteur égrène paisiblement quelques notes pensives, soulignées d'un trait d'orgue et quelques micro-parasites, nous ramenant alors aux plus belles heures de Labradford. Comme tout sommeil qui se respecte, celui-ci connaît ses moments d'agitation, se concrétisant trois minutes durant par un magma de cordes dissonantes et de carillons déréglés qui vient ouvrir le longuet sixième et dernier chapitre.
Une petite heure d'ambiant vespérale et somnolente, ponctuée de quelques moments de grâce.

Sébastien Radiguet, Ondefixe

NCREDIBLE ALBUM COMBINING THE EMOTIVE INSTRUMENTAL WORK OF THE COCTEAU TWINS WITH A DARK LINE IN DENSE REDUCTION REMINISCENT OF DEATHPROD WITH A DEEP, HARROWING CINEMATIC QUALITY* Returning to his solo work after assisting in the triumphant post-rock of De La Mancha's Atlas, multitalented Swede Dag Rosenqvist arrives at the Miasmah imprint with a sound that's been greatly honed and refined since it last graced our ears. 'Black Sleep' lives up to the dark, dreamscape suggestions of its title, sounding more concerned with beautifully crafted drones than previous entries into the Jasper TX discography, introducing itself with the resonant glare of soft feedback on 'Pt.I', a piece led by a kind of rhythmic pulse, beating quietly and impatiently in the background, only to eventually dissipate into a wash of noise frequencies and unassuming acoustic guitar arpeggiations. Next, 'Pt.II' explores Oren Ambarchi-like low frequency tones and engine room rumble, only for 'Pt.III' to switch things around, approximating the Twin Peaks theme via a guitar and organ arrangement, the end result of which provides one of the album's most sweetly melodic, yet implicitly unnerving moments. You can hear Rosenqvist's sound design expertise blossoming on the tactile electroacoustic textures of 'Pt. IV', a composition that introduces itself with two minutes of quiet, evocatively rendered creaking and muddied crackling sounds before opening up into a sea of sustain and drifting, distant harmonic signals. Finally, Black Sleep reaches its creative peak during the nineteen-minute climax of 'Pt.VI', which sees some of the most ambitious and fully realised music of Jasper TX's career to date, marrying processed instrumental passages (most notably some spiralling, dulcimer-like phrases towards the beginning) with carefully pieced together field recordings and the kind of intangible, completely immersive drones that only the very finest purveyors of the art can summon up. Absolutely first class - and another amazing release from the Miasmah label.

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