We last heard from the combination of Joris De Backer and VidnaObmana on the double album set The Surreal Sanctuary and The Contemporary Nocturne. The two have decided to intensify their previous collaborative works by forming a new ensemble called Principle of Silence. Right from the start, it must be said that this is a group project--lest one think this another permutation of VidnaObmana's chameleon-like musical presence in the electronic ambient scene. Truly, from the opening moments of their first album release, Live, it is clear that the two are treading wholly new ground--an almost avant-jazz pathway, in fact, but still with the trappings of ambient we have come to expect from every VidnaObmana release.

Live begins with "Solstice" which combines bowed bass harmonies with a plaintive fujara. Eventually this opens up to a bleak harmonic landscape, picked through with plucked bass tones--De Backer is playing his upright bass alongside post-industrial ambience in a strange melody, akin to improvisation. This seems to be a distinct quality of Principle of Silence--it is ambient, melancholy improvisation. Eventually, after some soundscaping, sonorous percussion, shakers, and continued bowed bass propel the album into track two "The Underneath"; which resembles a funereal dirge. This is a welcome change from track one which meanders less purposefully than previous VidnaObmana efforts. Here on track two, we find the two musicians achieving a balance in style--what begins as a procession of decaying harmonic elements has now become a synchronous intuition between both artists who weave each of their styles together in a dance of complex and heady character. Bass melodies intertwine with recycled harmonies, tribal fujara, and low vocalizations. Slowly, the percussion bleeds away to leave a duet between VidnaObmana recycling and De Backer's powerful bass playing. What began as a rather flat soundscape in track one has metamorphosized into an intriguing blend of atmospherics and decidedly earthy bass virtuosity. Seamlessly the bass fades out, leaving only harmonics to herald in track three, "Choral." This is a gorgeous paean of vocalized call-to-prayer with the wall of sound harmonic presence (perhaps derived from electric guitar?) from track two. It is as if we have reached the summit of a journey evidenced from the previous portions of the album--trudge through post-industrial landscape to the mountaintop where absolute transcendence awaits. The overall feeling of the album is distinctly melancholy, but there are rays of hope throughout, urging one further.

"Choral" is over far too swiftly, and drifts directly into the uncertain darkness of "Netherworld." This track features a startling amped bass--bringing the otherworldly textures of "Choral" right back down to Earth. Eventually, De Backer begins soloing on top of this bass pulsation. It is limiting to call this jazz, though it is the closest parallel. De Backer's playing is very fine, making an excellent case for the place of distinct "playing" of instruments in a largely formless sonic genre. VidnaObmana and De Backer continue in this way throughout the "Netherworld" reaching sublime combinations of their two very distinct sounds. The deep bass tones are a terrific complement to the bleak soundscapes--the two have propelled us into a world that may make one shudder, but it is not without its intoxicating merits and strange, foreign pleasures. The final track, "The Fall," has breathy fujara, meandering bass, and a traditional VidnaObmana synth loop. If one can imagine a combination of portions of Terrace of Memories with De Backer's excellent bass, you come close to the tone of "The Fall." This is an entrancing, resonant, neo-classical ending to the album, which, alongside "Choral," is the highlight of the work. The spell is broken finally with the pleased applause of the night's audience, reminding us that we are not in some timeless land, but merely cast beneath the spell of two very talented musicians.

It is appropriate that De Backer and VidnaObmana have chosen a project name for this new venture. This is work that cannot be attributed to either musician more than the other, and makes for a distinctly different permutation of what we've heard from both in the past. The improvised quality of some the music (which was, after all, recorded live) causes some spots of aimless soundscaping, which lessen the impact of the album as a whole. However, often the very improvisation that lessens overall impact in one portion of the CD is the greatest attribute of the album in another portion. In this way, it can be said that Live is a tentative step in the right direction for Principle of Silence. Clearly Live is not the most focused work we can expect from the two, but unquestionably it is a sure sign that Principle of Silence's most crystallized and pure work is ahead of them. I look forward to hearing their assured sonic development.

Available directly from VidnaObmana.

since July 15, 2003