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Band: Phonothek
Album title: Red Moon
Release Date: 4 April 2017
Label: Cryo Chamber
Tracklist:
01. Yellow Forest (feat. Keosz)
02. Last Melody (feat. Cities Last Broadcast)
03. Come In The Whisper
04. Cry From The Abyss
05. Margo
06. In The Smell Of The Wolves
07. Mudra
08. Red Moon
In a maddening daze, you are lost in a forest, the blood red moon comes into your vision every so often through the clearing of dense bush in front of you. The crackling of the forest floor trampled beneath your feet sends echoes as everything gets louder. Ambient duo Phonothek’s newest album suitably titled Red Moon is the soundtrack to this experience.
Bubbling, disjointed jazz infused ambience scrapes and transforms into undecipherable talking, looped whispers, with the combination of the instruments and organic feel make this the freshest and most original album I’ve heard this year. Instruments and field recordings have been manipulated in such a way that they sound no longer organic. They have been adjusted in a way you would hear them if you were in a psychosis, this type of atmosphere happens shortly after the start of the album in songs like “Last Melody” featuring Par of Cities Last Broadcast and Kammarheit.
Marching rhythms and high quality field recordings remind you that Phonothek is a force to be reckoned. The unique quality of all this makes it almost impossible to give the music a proper description when it fires in every direction toying with your emotions. In the distance, you can hear a ritual dance and you get closer only to be surprised by a group of people in a sort of psychosis. With the white of their eyes showing, one of them forces drugs into your mouth and you are sent in a spiral of anxiety. Trumpets are playing all around you as you are half awake while “Cry From The Abyss” plays, chaos now becoming imminent.
You become accustom to these unusual indigenous people, all the while still stricken with paranoia, but it’s almost like this is where you belonged all along. The days fade into night seamlessly as you travel as a vagabond, staying up all night on long treks finding a place to stay. Ancient practices and psilocybin’s come together to expand your consciousness and bring a meaning to all the past unanswered questions about reality.
The second album from this up and coming duo, morphs from a calm and melancholic landscape, into a more chaotic one. It oozes with originality and interesting high-tier sound sculpting making it perfect for audiophiles. Red Moon is a very entertaining experience that grabs your attention seldom letting you down to rest. This duo has reached new heights in ambience and has left their mark on the scene in my eyes.
Review written by: Tom Necklen
Rating: 10/10
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