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Runtime: 25'14''
«Erik Svensson has many names and faces for all his musical personalities. This time, he slips into Vägskäl, an outfit previously used to release 'Last Summer' on our favorite portuguese netlabel, Enough Records.
Erik is using Vägskäl to make 'Dark Ambient' - or so I've been told - but honestly, I don't believe he has completely succeeded into it. Not with this 'As Summer Comes Creeping', he hasn't. Vägskäl is beyond dark
ambient on this one. This is clearer and wider. This is big and sunny open spaces as opposed to small and dark crawlspaces. This is light, in the true sense of the word. Look to the artwork. Let's see if this works.
'Outside My Window' couldn't be better named. You open this window and float outside to a tropical beach. It's raining and you can hear the ocean bathing the sand and the docked boats, and the wood crackles, as if they were trying to sing a song. You hear the sweet melancholy pouring out of the sky, and down on you. You feel happy, and you are in love with someone who isn't there.
'The Fading Star' is the drone masterpiece of this EP. You can almost taste the liquified metal, as it reverbs in and out of the spectrum. A bit more dark, but the light still shines there, somewhere, and it lifts you up high. Six and
a half minutes have passed, but it felt like much less.
'A Song for a Girl' is the keeper. It's still ambient in a way, but it incorporates a steady mechanical beat, like some sort of steam engine, pounding, fully synchronized. Drones fill up the space left, adding
dense layers into the song, some lighter, some darker. And love clicks.
We say 'Goodbye' with the most dark of the lot. Sparser, lower and lonelier drones build up slowly into the track, keeping it steadily growing, adding new elements to itself as it intensifies in weight and strength. It ends in an amalgamation of clicks and crackles, and consumes itself into silence.
Repeat.» - Pedro Leitão |
Downloads:
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• Outside My Window ................................................................. |
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[5'09'' • 9,48Mb • VBR 256Kbps] |
| 02 |
• The Fading Star ...................................................................... |
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[6'31'' • 11,9Mb • VBR 256Kbps] |
| 03 |
• A Song For a Girl ..................................................................... |
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[4'29'' • 8,41Mb • VBR 256Kbps] |
| 04 |
• Goodbye ................................................................................... |
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[9'05''' • 17,1Mb • VBR 256Kbps] |
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• artwork ................................................................................... |
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[PDF-Zip • 1,42Mb] |
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• all tracks + artwork ................................................................ |
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[Zip • 46,5Mb] |
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Reviews:
«Vägskäl is a project of Erik Svensson, who also works under the name The Figurehead, also reviewed here. This is another netrelease, actually from before the self-titled The Figurehead album, and I like it a bit better too.
As Summer Comes Creeping could be considered a dark ambient album, but it is very different from The Figurehead or most other dark ambient. While the album definitely has some dark touches here and there, the overall atmosphere is more laid back and relaxing. The front cover artwork is very suitable, as these tracks remind me of hazy summer nights by the seaside, your mind drifting to obscure realms. Perhaps it would be best to say that this music is warm dark ambient, where most of it is cold.
The tracks themselves are well made, with dreamy synth layers, drones, and some elements of rhythm, especially on "A Song for a Girl", which has a subtle beat. The album ends with "Goodbye", a very good track with nice effects, in which you slowly sink into the warm night.
An excellent netrelease, recommended to all ambient lovers.»
- Evening of Light / January 12, 2007
«Beautifull EP. This is not industrial noise. It has dark elements though. Really good atmosphere. Brings many images.»
- Matt [EARLabs] / October 22, 2005
«Nicely done, wonderful vast virtual landscapes, creeping drones and gravity sweeping tones! Excelent all around!! 5+.»
- Phoenelai [EARLabs] / August 22, 2005
«Test Tube n'en finit pas d'opérer en découvreur, ou plutôt relayeur, de talents électroniques. Cette fois, les oreilles averties peuvent se laissent bercer par les ambiances subtiles et envoûtantes d'Eric Svensson et de son projet Vägskäl. As summer comes creeping ne porte peut-être que trop bien son nom. Oui à l'été et ses couchers de soleil qui rappellent que le temps nous mène inexorablement vers la fin d'une saison, d'une époque, d'une vie. Ce sont les entrailles qui s'entrechoquent que l'on entend, des boyaux mécaniques qui courent, qui chutent ou qui suintent. La chaleur nous enveloppe au ralenti, poisseuse, dégoulinante, étouffante. Somptueuse vision, purement réaliste selon moi. Magnifique.»
- LaFresto / August 14, 2005
«Sehr düster geht es zu beim neuen release vom portugiesischen netlabel testube. Der macher dieses mal erik svensson, der wohl viele namen zu haben scheint. Für das aktuelle release nennt er sich Vägskäl. Schöne schauer laufen einem bei seinem sounds den rücken runter und man wähnt sich in dunklen leidenschaftlichen landschaften. Trotzdem scheint aber immer von irgendwoher ein kleines lichtlein zu brennen und die reise wird fortgesetzt.
Eeiner der interessantesten ambient-releases bis jetzt für dieses jahr.»
- Mogwai's Blog / August 08, 2005
«Totally up to date in aesthetic terms as well as soundwise, 'The Fading Star' also reminds me a bit on dark sides of the moon (do they know electric ladylands over there?) as well as 'solar eclipses', just as canadian electro -acoustic composer Barry Truax loved to program them in the 80ies. Taking this music in conjunction with the summer - artwork gives an astonishing mood.
A Beautiful netaudio release.»
- Jo Jena
[EARLabs] / August 05, 2005
«Ein extrem ambientes release zum aufwachen…»
- DE:BUG Pod / July 31, 2005 |
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Copyleft:
cover:
©2005 aeriola::behaviour
music:
©2005 Erik Svensson
©2005 test tube
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Commons License.
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