Circumstances have led to three different writers covering the separate parts of this triptych of albums. That’s not a bad way to do things as it means different sources are likely to be noted and it gives a broad outlook of the work. As far as I am concerned it also gave me the chance to have a chill out Sunday session listening to all three parts back to back over their combined two hour running time. On first noting that Steve Von Till was embarking on this journey and the referencing on it being a vision of UK and European “megaliths, ruins and ancient sites” and one not without possible alien visitations, I first thought it sounded like something that favourite loon Julian Cope might have done had he thought of it first. A plethora of interesting artists were all mentioned and hints of them do certainly crop up. Released on the Hunter’s Moon of the 17th October it is naturally this concluding album my focus is upon so without further ado it’s time for a ramble through the ruins.
A small cosmos away from Neurosian heft it is ambient, instrumental, electronica that is the core base here. ‘Clouds Are Relatives’ takes us off on a dream-laden trip which has an arid desert twang to it, immediately putting one in a state of relaxation as it meanders across the sky. Heavy bass tones stop from dozing off and the strength of the repetitive melody shines through like the sun emerging through from Cumulus strata. ‘Snow Spirits’ ups the ante with pulsating flurries of synthesized sound and what appears to be the crunch of footsteps wading through the white canvas. Plenty of elements of trance about this and after listening to the entire trilogy I found I wanted more putting on a Banco de Gaia CD where it resides along with music from clubs and labels such as Feed Your Head and Planet Dog. On a bed of sitar and chanting apparently the voice of poet Ezra Pound, we take a transcendental magical mystery tour. The result is akin of finding oneself at an ancient temple sitting next to various Beatles and Ravi Shankar for a midnight screening of Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain.
The clouds are revisited via a remix by The Bug with a thick dub sound, something I am a sucker for, whether it is courtesy of source material from the likes of King Tubby or via artists such as Youth manipulating controls or The Orb. It’s called the Amtrak mix and all of a sudden we get the parp of a freight train which drops me into the benchmark album of all things Chill Out from the KLF. Needless to say this is my favourite track from all three albums. Illumination is at hand with ‘The Absolute Nature Of Light.’ Beamed down from the outer limits it is very much a Close Encounter of the experimental Krautrock kind. A folkloric meeting with ‘Herne’s Oak’ takes down ancient pathways and deep into the woods as a bass drum hits and distorts with forestry sounds and mysticism inhabiting the playground of Cernunnos. The musical atmosphere translates well pictures are painted in the mind. A shimmering short closure is on hand to fade us out and I guess the subtitled ‘Lament For Hugh’ of ‘Cumha Uisdein’ makes it a personal one.
I enjoyed this and it took me places which is exactly what you should be looking for in music of its kind. It’s a trip(tych) I fully intend to be embarking on again in the future.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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