CD Feature/ Simulacra: "Eidolon"
TobiasAll too often, the term “experimental” is used in an inflationary fashion and for all art appertaining to sound instead of tonality. Vice versa, many truly daring releases are quickly labelled with seemingly neutral titles such as “Dark Ambient”, which are really intended to be derogative. There is a certain danger that the latter will happen to “eidolon”. Which would mean that a daring and truly personal work would slip under the medial radar – for these terms encapsulate the exact meaning of what Miguel Boriau has achieved with his debut album under a new project name.
Of course, track titles such as “Wandering the spirit world” and “Disintegrate into nothingness” are close to the nomenclature of gothic and associated scenes. While most contemporary sound artists are obsessed by the task of capturing life through its audible emmissions down to the tinest of details, simulacra deals with death by looking at the greater picture. In his vision, the world of the living and the spheres of that which follows are permeable to a certain degree, allowing for the mind to slip through if the body becomes really flexible. Consequently, the music on “eidolon” can be understood as an exercise in attaining that flexibility. Boriau builds his pieces on a carefully selected array of timbres and musical development. “Wandering the spirit world” is nothing but a monotonal swelling and ebbing over a continued hum and “Disintegrate into Nothingness” repeats the same chord scheme for its entire 23 minutes. No breath is exactly the same and yet, the sense that things will essentially remain the way they are is pervasive. Like a dental drill, the pieces seek to penetrate the soft outer glaze, caressing the sensitive nerves inside with the hands of lovers. The longer this process, which neither has a chance of succedding nor of retreating after having come this far, continues, the less one perceives it as terrifying or threatening. The music is both its own premonition and sedative.
The will to keep these tracks running on so litle thematic material could be a madman’s if it weren’t so clear: Boriau knows exactly what he wants. This lucidity combined with the principally infinite dimensions of his works emphasises the proximity to a very different tradition than most “Dark Ambient” acts, namely to that of the electronic scene of the 70. It also put him in a line of select artists which were able to cover both worlds – tonality and sound – on truly experimental albums.
By Tobias Fischer
Homepage: Simulacra at MySpace
Homepage: Triple Bath Records
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