SiJ & Textere Oris - Reflections Under The Sky

SiJ & Textere Oris "Reflections Under The Sky" CD

In Sevastopol, Crimea based applauded dronesculptor Vladislav "Vlad" Sikach, who is acting as SiJ has joined his forces with Textere Oris, a project of Ilya Fursov with domicile in Moscow. To be honest, I don't know too much about Textere Oris' previous releases except the fact Ilya Fursov has already teamed with Vlad Sikach on one of the tracks on his digital album "Plæntágose", which was released during 2015 on relaxedMachinery gang. However, when "Reflections Under The Sky" CD was announced during February 2016 on US dark ambient eminence Cryo Chamber, my eyebrows were immediately raised!!! Sure, it took longer time before I was able to explore one of Vlad's personal copies, but the more I am enjoying it now, it was well worth the wait!!!

Immersing visuals on 6-panel digipak (I didn't find any artwork credit on it) are quickly equalized by the opening motifs of 4-minute "Near The Dam", when cavernously glimpsing granulars are carefully bridged with traversing stringed poignancy, introspectively colored hissy organics, longing serpentine choir-like drones and spiraling deep bass solitudes. Massively embracing intro, well-done, gentlemen!!! Then follows 9 and a half minute long "Behind The Window", which keeps the trace of lower end desolations, while incredibly exquisite weeping chants are masterfully counterpointed by squeaking perplexes, balmy rainy quietudes, ephemeral rumbles, rawer subtleties and warmly cinematic layers. Splendidly transporting magic is fully unfolded, more please!!! "Lost" dives into slightly sharper, industrial-spiced terrains, although persistently softened by chirping symphonies and guarded by sacral choirs. Arising and permeating beats try to steal the center stage, but they remain ambiguously intangible, while additional voice samples, machinery wheezes and phantasmal helixes are riding atop. You simply can't go wrong with such peculiarly carved sonic endeavour! Yearning curtains, tiny vinyl crackles and transient mild grumbles announce the next track, "In The Rain", which slowly shifts into poignantly evocative realms, soothingly resurrecting long buried memories. Gently fizzling outbursts and sneaking eerie flickers color these contemplatively embracing sceneries. Hushing blankets of "First Snow", the longest piece on the album clocking to 9:38 mark, are soon joined by mysterious gongs and ghostly sinuous choirs and spiraling moans, meticulously painting vistas of encircling snow storm loneliness, occasionally imbued by pensive minimal piano glimpses, whistling trinkets and titillating gossamer clinks. Another enormously engrossing beauty!!! "Ortuo", at 3:22 the shortest track, is rather calmer blend of twisted obscure drones, diaphanous glitches, nocturnal harmonies, warmer expansions and odd ephemerons. Only slightly longer "The End" closes this journey with immense scenic drones amalgamated with insistently expressive radio transmission voice samples in Russian, bleeping, nearly Morse code-like fragments and brief meditative chimes.

44 and a half minutes long "Reflections Under The Sky" album quite effectively merges authentic sonic signatures of both participating protagonists, who more or less utilize same instrumentation (synths, field recordings, percussions), with few extras on Vlad Sikach's side (noises, guitar, voice, toy piano), while Ilya Fursov gets further credit for mixing and mastering duties. The listener experiences several truly outstanding compositions, each track is carefully detailed and the album safely hangs in profoundly intriguing fissures between ambient and dark ambient soundcarving. SiJ has already confirmed many times his reputation among renowned drone ambient aficionados and for Textere Oris this is a very gratifying introduction on a glass mastered format. Kudos to Simon Heath/Cryo Chamber as well!!! And by the way, don't miss on Cryo Chamber also SiJ's newest solo album "The Time Machine", released during February 2017, which features among guests also Textere Oris on one track!!! And that's still not enough, since the end of March 2017 is out SiJ & Item Caligo "Queer Reminiscence" collaboration on Swedish Reverse Alignment label, who have previously released other two albums by SiJ, "Vale Of Forgotten Sounds" and "The Lost World".

Richard Gürtler (Apr 29, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)