|
|
|
|
9 out of 10: The outer limits of experimental sonicscapes: Heath Yonaites' explorative sonicscapes reside in a realm of mystery, tilted at an oblique angle and viewed through the haze of an imaginary journey to the far reaches of the cosmos. The combination of Yonaites' keen fascination of 'found sounds' within the shortwave radio, microphone and geophone field recordings he manipulates, along with various pseudo instruments (empty bottle, metal bowl), is on exquisite display on the subtle, intense sound sculptures of Rim Of The Sun. Electricity twitches like the undefined bustle of insects in a space bound hive during "Lacus Somniorum Sinus Aestuum (Lakes And Bays Of The Moon)." As the track shifts and flows, from Trepidation's bells ringing above the exhaled breath of space, to the deep rumbles of sunspots reverberating off of lunar craters, to swells of locomotive energy, pulsing machine blips, and so much more, one is captivated by the sheer ingenuity of construction. The orchestral flotsam of the title track is littered with the radiowave clutter of ghostlike voices. As the track unfolds, the static white wash of noise is compounded by a fluttering, twittering anomaly (Roc flying to the sun?!), and what sounds like a watery current flowing through the astral wasteland. A ringing hum within "The Oort Cloud" morphs into lightly sizzling electronics that simmer beneath the whispered radiance of clanging metal, finally overtaken by the turbulent barrage of a cosmic radiowave/windstorm. Muddled voices, like metal talons, cling and caustically scrape the hide of the rocket as its engines thrust during "Chandrasekhar Limit (Singularity)." After the engines die, the track builds to a chaos of voracious tides slapping the side of the rocket as it glides through the ether into the nothingness of deep space, faint voices reminding one of the distant Earth, the brittle scrap of memories, disintegrating. Rim Of The Sun is nothing less than a masterpiece! OUTBURN magazine #20, January 2003. JC Smith -------- 8 out of 10: The latest release from US label Triumvirate came as a very pleasant surprise, and is one of the best dark ambient/experimental releases I have heard in recent times. Consisting of various field recordings and found sounds digitally processed and meticulously constructed, the atmospheres are simply overwhelming and are a great example of true isolationist music. To fully appreciate the CD you should listen to it using a good set of headphones or with speakers at a very high volume. This CD contains some interesting aspects, such as found sounds, mysterious voices and occasional radio static which shimmer above the shifting surface of the sound. In addition, the music shifts in 'temperature' from warm to hot and back and is constantly shifting and moving. "Rim of the Sun" contains 4 long tracks which details "a drifting haze of otherworldly textures carefully pieced together to form an acoustic universe". This is a truly impressive release and a must-buy for those looking to explore the innermost reaches of the mind GOTH NATION Magazine #2 February-March-April 2003. D.0treb0r -------- If it announces itself as placed under the sign of the sun, Heath Yonaites' universe would evoke more an eclipse, or the frozen beams of a black sun, than a benevolent summer day. For Rim of the Sun, composed from a multitude of diverse instruments (glasses, bottles, plates and metal tubes...), field recordings and radio shortwaves, the whole strongly reworked thanks to the contribution of electronics, is probably the most accurate retransmission that could be done of sounds from the cosmos. Organized in 4 long cleverly textured titles, Rim of the Sun unfolds slowly a feeling of breathlessness, isolation and claustrophobia, through sound atmospheres where the few locatable references to the known world (ghost voices emerging from a fog aggregate of radio waves, glass hissings...)appear only as moorings casted off for good, as an aural security that we're not close to come across again. Excellent ! D-SIDE Magazine #14 January-February 2003. Jean-FranÁois Micard (translation generously provided by Mystery Sea label head Dan Crokaert) -------- Standing out from the masses of electro-ambient artists is Heath Yonaites. Where many are satisfied pushing mundane sounds through thickened effects into bland and droning backdrops, Yonaites instead carefully molds and sculpts a collection of short wave radios, environmental recordings and odd instruments to achieve shifting sonic textures with beautifully choreographed movement and unique character. Rim of the Sun never just sits, is never satisfied . . . it is always drawing the listener deeper into it's patient yet ever-changing story. Story is a key word here, as the work moves on a timeline and evokes the feeling of cinema. The sound elements develop their own personalities, speak lines, evolve, appear and disappear amongst mutating colors and atmosphere. Each sound within Rim of the Sun is meaningful and significant; electronic blips, chatter and rhythms crescendo into space-changing moments, distant voices and mumblings emerge in alien languages, staticky noise pulsates and hurtles the tempos forward only to evaporate suddenly and reveal a hidden layer and a new inner beauty. The gestures are poignant and shape the music convincingly. Engaging and mind-expanding; highly recommended. staticsignals.com -------- Expecting an album of drones and endless reverb, I was very pleasantly surprised by 'Rim Of The Sun'. A browse through the website of Heath Yonaites reveals an artist seemingly more orientated towards visual arts, and the imagery employed within the cd appears bound within the overall theme of the album (described as 'detailing an impossible journey through space; from the Moon to the rim of the Sun, into the Oort cloud and finally consumed within a singularity.') Concept albums usually do little to excite me, often feeling like some ad hoc attempt to bolt on meaning onto a lacklustre recording. In the case of 'Rim Of The Sun' however, lacklustre is a highly inappropriate description. Irrespective as to the relevance of the overall theme, this is a very detailed and engaging album. Epic in scale, but without employing grandiose gestures to carry itself, this is an album that grows stronger with each listen, always revealing something new each time. Sweeping, but with a large level of immediacy, there really is something very special about 'Rim Of The Sun'. The album was originally recorded in the Autumn of 2000, and has been remixed and remastered for this Triumvirate release. This is the first of Heath's recordings that I've heard, although he has recorded several other albums, again often based around a particular concept (such as the album 'The Seed Project' for example). Instrumentation on 'Rim Of The Sun' was apparently constructed via many organic sources, including bowls, glasses, shortwave radio samples etc, and this is utilised in a highly effective and musical manner throughout. As I said earlier, I was expecting an album of drones, and although there are occasional drone-like qualities to the material, things are generally much busier compositionally than you might expect. 'The Rim Of The Sun' is also not without its moments of calm serenity, tranquil sections that fit well within the overall scheme of things and accentuating the darker, and noisier, passages. Gradually shifting, yet retaining its coherence, Heath Yonaites has produced a recording of great depth and scope, never becoming bland or lacking character. Dave Dando-Moore (6th January 2003) Immanence.co.uk -------- Take an empty bottle, a metal bowl, metal wands, a music box, wine glasses, burning logs, church bells, evening rain on metal bowls, lake waves, a 'thameslink train', water in hot frying pan, a 'blueline machine', iron fence on the beach, a lakefront pier, a machine shop floor, shortwave radio frequencies and combine it all well together with your favourite Mac mixer. And what do we have here? MacGiver turned a Dark Ambient musician? Hell, no! The case's rather the one of a romantic alchemist or Leonardo than the new adventures of Mr 'Botched Jobs' in his shabby leather coat, since Heath is actually also an impressive painter, a writer and finally a discovery in the realms of SDC; a kind of Renaissance man in the XXI Century! (check for yourself: http://www.yonaites.com/heath/ to learn this and that he's indeed a very funny guy too, he!) This doesn't seem to be the first attempt of our artist in this field, who has been dealing for some time with CDRs until Triumvirate put its eyes on him. I haven't had the pleasure to listen to his previous efforts, but due to the descriptions I've read in his own web, I can assume that he has been going deeper into the sound that 'Rim of the sun' presents: long environmental passages drawing enigmatically indefinable landscapes of textures with a highly evocative result. In fact so long that, even with a total running time of 64 minutes and 10 seconds, it features only four cuts that fit like a real large construction developing through four different moments, what is remarkable as every single piece is made of several changing moods. So many of them that's almost impossible to achieve a success in the task of describing what goes on. The layers are never too much continuous, it's more like a succession of several modified sounds flowing smoothly, especially since there's not even a single harsh moment in the album. Sometimes the frequencies turn slightly raw due to the own nature of its sound wave, but there are not wounding moments, nor spectacular saturations of volume and resonances. But all in all, the guy does well differentiating between the four tracks, that follow a common approach that confers a great unity to the whole disc, while is easily noticeable when one of them ends and the next begins, even in spite of the absence of silence between them (well, to be precise there's in the transition from the third cut to the fourth one, but it's a pretty appropriate moment for it to appear that doesn't break the mood at all). The general atmosphere persists in a calmed way, maybe excessively calmed, as the release misses a strong dynamic development or strategic high increases of tension; only the end of the last piece shows an evident 'in crescendo', fitting perfectly to conclude the oeuvre. Anyway, this overall harmony seems to be the desired goal of the author, because beware, I'm not talking of an absolute lack of a structure that actually exists! I'm just pointing the non-appearance of an evident, standard or rigid organization of the sounds. Everything's quite subtle and obviously organic; and maybe this is a personal statement, but the impression it makes on me is that Heath chases after a sensation really closed to Nature: the used sources, the absence of false dramatization, the artwork everything makes me think of a parallelism with natural landscapes, natural processes, natural resonances and natural inspiration, all reinterpreted following Heath's peculiar imagination. Not always sinister, although mysterious and suggestive all the time, proving that 'Rim of the sun' is a fairly special edition that works in its own way. A shining piece in all senses for your Dark Ambient collection. Fantastic. Marcos Alcocer Sek¸encias De Culto [magazine & radio] -------- According to his nice website, Heath Yonaites is a multi-talented artist, also involved in painting and other visual arts, as well as writing short stories. This artist, with an exotic sounding name, has delivered a highly interesting album on the Triumvirate label. After a few cdr's, this is his first 'real' album. "Rim of the Sun" offers us four long experimental ambient tracks, created by using many organic sounds, original samples and field recordings, digitally combined. To quote Yonaites' website: "Using the term 'music' is misleading in my case, sound sculpting is far more appropriate". He also calls his compositions "aesthetically consistent sonic poems". In other words, these are not songs to dance or sing along to, but to enjoy while relaxing in your favourite chair. And when you give this album a little time and concentration, it is indeed a nice aural journey. The soundscapes are higly atmosperic, creating a spacy mood. My favourite track is probably the first one, 'Lacus somniorum Sinus Aestuum (lakes and bays of the moon)'. The sound on "Rim of the Sun" is very rich and detailed. To obtain this Yonaites uses numerous sound sources, like an empty V8 bottle, metal bowl, wine glasses, burning logs, rain on metal bowls, lake waves, thameslink train, frying pan, and shortwave radio. Further he added geophone recordings of: machine shop floor, iron fence on beach, lakefront pier, mac g4, and blueline machine. The music is not extremely dark, but rather mysterious, and a little melancholic at times. Some tranquil passages are rather meditative and trancelike, while other parts are a bit noisier and busier. An album with a lot of atmosphere and depth. Oscar Wilde once wrote: " We all lie at the gutter, but some of us look up at the stars". Instead of looking through a telescope you could also close your eyes and let yourself drift away in this sonic universe... www.funprox.com This cd was reviewed by HD. Posted on 13-1-2003. -------- I wasn't familiar with this artist prior to this one, but "Rim Of The Sun" features 4 lengthy tracks all over the 10 minutes mark, with a couple nearing the 20 minute mark. The instrumentation that went into this release includes such things as wine glasses, burning logs, rain on metal bowls, short-wave radio, and numerous other organic sources brought into harmony digitally. It's a vast listen, spacious and rather warm. Rich but distant synth tones provide quiet melody and often a plush foundation for the more organic atmospheres, and odd electronic insertions and blips. There is a lot of depth here, the stereo field is used excellently, the tracks swell and atrophy, they evolve and carry you. The mixture of natural and unnatural sounds generates an almost surreal listen that is both fluid and spontaneous. This is a well crafted piece of work with no detail left uncheck. Primal, vibrant ambient with a dark current and a dirt under it's fingernails. - Scott Candey WORM GEAR -------- Heady, empathic ambient with a occasional and intentional rough edges, brilliant settings and all sorts of unexpected little sound ornaments placed at odd intervals. Made for space, like Lustmord or the mystic drones of Voice of Eye. Debut release from Heath Yonaites, a full-length compact disc on the very picky Triumvirate label, So you know this has to be interesting. Possibly the "lightest" work to date on that label, Yonaites likes titanic spaces, billowing cloudlands and shimmering, beautiful noise mixed with the occasional snippet of sound. In a nutshell; rich, precise, heart-tugging ambient. MANIFOLD - Vince Harrigan -------- This is an excellent ambient / field recordings project released on Triumvirate. A series of very long, flowing atmospheric tracks that take the listener on a journey through deserted landscapes, distant mountains and strange atmospheres. Subtle, insidious yet powerful, this is a particularly good album, perfect for lonely nights and introspective broodings. Cranial Fracture Recordings www.fracture.ar.com.au -------- The closer star with its force and energy is brilliantly scrutinized by the sensors of "Rim Of The Sun". The album seems to be filled by harsh-ambient telescopes that study and describe the effects on other stars as well as their elusive shadows, their inviolable mysteries and their more esoteric pulsations. This album that we may define oneiric, is more than one hour long and it is composed by four extended tracks. The frequencies melt minerals which are then used to build living sensibilities, damned and inquisitory. Such frequencies slip along fossilized recorders, metallic suggestions, soporific aural ways, caustic alchemies, perverse waves, synthetic rains. The fluid of the creation slides in "Rim of the Sun", scattering reflections, swallowing every rule, smoothing down the eternal truth and chasing every possible interference. Solitary perceptions in the sea of the dissolution. Sonic poetries from the basements of the sun. Twilight Zone : Webzine -------- It took me awhile to actually sit down and listen to this album, primarily I think due to the cover art. I couldn't help but feel that it would be a hippy/new age/exotic type album, more than the atmospheric glitchy ambient I found when I finally pressed play. Now having had the opportunity to listen to it, I really enjoy it. But I still feel the cover is misleading. Mind you, I am predisposed to having covers that are dark, gothy and in many cases, somewhat minimal (not forgetting of course the plethora of war imagery rampant in "industrial" music circles). I've been exposed to a lot of dark experimental ambient lately, Triumvirate being a great source, and though I'm finding it overwhelming and a bit tiresome (as can also be said for the amount of uninspired rhythmic noise being released), I still enjoy sitting down and relaxing to mellow sounds. The artist, Heath Yonaites, seems to be more active in the field of painting and other visual arts than music, although he has previous releases to this. "Rim of the Sun" is a drone-y moody album with glitches and building soundscapes. The first track holds one of my favourite moments at about the 8:14 minute mark, where the building bell-like glitches just -- stop! -- leaving a few seconds of empty silence. [At first, I kept assuming the song had ended and therefore we were onto a new track, but I have since sat in front of my CD player and watched the time counter, only to find the song had not ended, which seems to make this surprising cut-off of sound all the more better.] Having only four tracks, each track is quite long (something not unusual in the ambient field), and each offers a different "trip" of sorts. With an atmospheric nature theme [it seems] and using "found" sounds -- church bells, burning logs, lake waves, etc. -- in combination with household instruments -- empty bottles, wine glasses, a metal bowl, etc -- Heath Yonaites creates an atmosphere of minimal soundscapes, hollow-like echo-y beats, and drones. The low frequencies give way to noisy distortion, even with drums on one track, creating a metallic yet natural sound that I have now realized does fit with the cover art, that being dark moody clouds surrounding a greyish purple sun/planet, with a base of yellow clouds building below. So perhaps the real problem simply lies with me and my preconceptions? RaZoRGrrl (January 2003) http://www.industrialkollective.org -------- 7/10: I'm not at all familiar with this project, but offered up on this CD are four experimental dark ambient tracks of epic lengths (all well over 10 minutes, two nearing 20). There's certainly an atmospheric quality to the pieces that references nature on some level, specifically that of an outer space sort of feel. "Lacus Somniorum Sinus Aestuum (Lakes and Bays of the Moon)" contains lots of changes, often abruptly, from soothing ethereal hums to moderately paced panning and slightly more jarring textures. Halfway through things start to hint at melody deep in the mix, just barely - and there's more melody towards the end mixed in with windy tones. It's very interesting and creates an incredibly authentic mood. The title track seems to be slower moving and quieter. Overall the approach is somewhat similar, but indecipherable vocal samples also come into play. Samples of fire become subtly evident around the 10-minute mark, and there are definitely a lot of ethereal ringing tones quietly spanning back and forth. The latter portion of the piece brings in even more manipulation of vocal samples, definitely helping this track stand apart from all of the other songs. "The Oort Cloud" is again very slow moving and quiet with a lot of panning movement. There'smore of a hypnotic quality through the constancy of ringing drones andvaporous textures, and there are also some percussive elements as well, butnot in a domineering fashion. As the composition comes to a close things become thicker and louder, but remain steady for the most part, againhinting at careful musical elements. This is probably my favorite track. It seems slightly more simplistic, and that works. "Chandrasekhar Limit (Singularity)" is also of a more minimal nature, providing lots of space for the sounds to move around. Again the elements are windy and rather bright on occasion, the atmosphere is decidedly darker though. The end brings in some crisp crackling sounds and heavily treated vocal samples, very similar to the title track. The recording is absolutely pristine. The mix is very clear and covers a great range of tones with surprising cleanliness. This style of music rarely gives me the feeling that I'm being surrounded by the sounds, but that is indeed the case here. The "instruments" used to create some of these sounds consist of an empty bottle, a metal bowl, metal wands, a music box, and wine glasses. There are also a lot of sampled field recordings, some taken with a microphone (burning logs, church bells, evening rain on metal bowls, lake waves, the Thameslink train, and water in a hot frying pan), others with a geophone, which is an instrument used for measuring ground motion (a blueline machine, an iron fence on a beach, a lakefront pier, a Macintosh G4, and a machine shop floor). The layout looks a lot different than all of the previous Triumvirate releases. There are a lot of bright colors, and the imagery is soft with some computer-generated stuff going on as well as photography and painting. All of the imagery has to do with the sun and the sky, so there are photographs of clouds and paintings of circular images and cloud-like textures, as well as some overlapping text that is some sort of statistical graph of information that has to do with the sun, but I'm not sure what types of measurements the numbers represent (aside from the fact that in one area of the chart you can see listings for SESC Sunspot Number, Solar Mean Field, etc.). When all is said and done this is a strong offering from an obviously competent artist. The congruity of the tracks coupled with their extreme lengths is slightly tiresome for my personal tastes, but the quality of the work can't be denied. http://www.aversionline.com February 2003 |
||
|
|
|
