Artist: Amn
Title: The Known Spheres
Type: Album
Label: Digital
I was recently sent some Bandcamp codes by Amn, an electronic duo of an assassin and an electric alchemist which was very kind and came with a definite ‘no strings attached, just liked the blog’ reason. I have to admit I’m very happy that my approach to only reviewing things I actually can praise, and that no insult is meant if I don’t review something (it may be brilliant but just not my thing) is apparently understood. It was something I worried about initially I confess. I’m one person, I can only review a fraction of the music out there. A subatomic fraction.
Anyway as I should, I decided to give a peek at the latest album from this project and… it wasn’t long before I was gently smiling. The name of the project comes from a merchant state in the Forgotten Realms of AD&D but, even more intriguing was that this revived something I hadn’t thought on is decades; the Spelljammer rules and worlds, the ships traversing space, the magical currents, the exploration…
‘The Crystal Sphere’ then is the world we enter. This is slow and that rich cosmic sound with the glittering synth backwash and a melody whose slow but mysterious tones can only evoke the void.
We sail onwards into a cloud of ‘Phlogiston’ with its rapid pulsing background and the delicate glass like sounds scattered through the electronica. It is frankly mesmeric. We are in the worlds of the Berlin School, and produced with the deftness such style requires. The pattering of expansive beats of notes, the perfect placement of deeper notes that swell your heart and your emotions when they blossom like brief plumes of flame. It has a curious power to it and yet seems so delicate. ‘Adamantite Horror’ as you might suppose comes with darker soul and builds up a sharp edge that slices out at the listener. The layering here is superb; the tiny notes far beneath the main sound skittering away to hide just one strata of light to pick up as the horror advances.
Then my main horror. With a stealthy sound, but one that should be amusing or intriguing but is called ‘Advance Of The Autognomes’. I mean gnomes are freaky enough but robotic ones I draw the line at! My own PTSD based gnomophobia aside, it is a lovely passage; there’s a sense of inquisitiveness with a knocking sound at one point and a curiosity to the encounter.
‘The Unfathomable Flows Of Wildspace’ thrusts us into eerie, moaning currents, the edges causing a rustle and a crackle between the sound of static and frozen leaves. It’s an empty, truly chilling place. It feels empty, lifeless and stretches out far beyond our senses. Yet as we press on there are sudden, fluttering echoes of something here. A sound that seems almost golden against the harsh cold backdrop. Perhaps our journey is no in vain?
‘The Broken Sphere’ is sharp, bright edges against a background which feel sad somehow. Beauty broken? But still with more than an echo of what it once was as the music fills out to offer a surprise, and a sense of pride still remaining.
‘Skyansdanya’s Wish’ seems a simple thing at first, a sedate calm passage of thought only allowed a little flight of fantasy as it feels secure. I have know knowledge of the character or history, so I just like to think that a pilot of a ship sailing these realms must see so many things that are treasures just as memories that a wish might be something so strange that I cannot grasp it. Something in the mithril light we see scattered across the darkness
‘Fall Of The Lost Ones’ enters with care and something builds in the folding layers of sound. A sound that once pushed through leaves a shifted soundscape. I am not certain where I am but I am not sure return is possible. ‘Krynn’ is minimalist. Note and echo, repetition and yet it finds a beauty in unfurling waves of golden synth sounds and wavering melody.
The journey ends, for now, in the company of ‘Blackjammer’s Cutlass’. This closing passage has a curious expansive nature, but one that feels tied to a place or indeed the object in question and not a region or realm. It has a tale to tell, a song to sing and so we wait….
This is a genuinely lovely album. Electronic music of depth and deftness and most importantly it seems to have a genuine soul and such worlds to lead us through. An assassin and an alchemist; not on the face of it a trustworthy pairing to be sure but they see with eyes that know where secrets lie and we should simply feel blessed that this time at least the price asked is simply company to share their wonders with.
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 