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Encomiast is the dark ambient project of Ross Hagen, from Colorado in the USA. Transit Bed is already the sixth full length by the project, and it is released on Ben Fleury-Steiner's Gears of Sand label. Experience often shows in quality when it comes to ambient, and this album is certianly no exception. Hagen expertly combines acoustic instruments and samples with electronic music. While Transit Bed is not an accessible album by any means, it holds enough treasures to satisfy the patient ambient listener.
"rains pass by" is perhaps the least remarkable of the five tracks, and the album starts out modestly. The first few minutes are passed with a slowly developing drone, which is nevertheless very rich in sound, with many subtle effects. Halfway through, things get a bit more varied, with many chages of sound texture, very faint manipulated voice, and similar things. The second, shorter, track is more pronounced, with a clear rhythm and jingling bells. Everything sounds far from dry, though; Encomiast may use a lot of 'real' sounds and instruments, it's all presented in such a way that it is quite otherworldly, and that is a very strong point of this album.
On to the middle track, which is also the longest. Obscure drones slowly merge with deep bells, glitchy effects, fire samples(?), string instruments, and a host of other sounds. Very rich and dark! At the end of the track, we hear the ghostly voice of a woman singing a folk song. This continues seamlessly into the start of "homespun dress", where a very detailed deep rhythm is introduced. Tracks like this would certainly not disappoint fans of projects like Halo Manash. The final track is another great one, recorded live with a whole band, using electronics, flute, gangsa (balinese metallophone) and piano strings. A dark track that's unlike anything I've heard before and a great way to end a strong album like this one.
This is not an album that gripped me on the first listen, but as time passed, it has grown on me immensely. I haven't heard previous work by Hagen, but if it's anything like this, it's well worth searching for. In any case, Transit Bed is an album that has a very rich sound and varied compositions, and even manages to sound original among the plethora of ambient projects out there. In short, anyone with an attention span longer than the latest bubblegum hit and an interest in dark electro-acoustics should get this.
O.S.
"rains pass by" is perhaps the least remarkable of the five tracks, and the album starts out modestly. The first few minutes are passed with a slowly developing drone, which is nevertheless very rich in sound, with many subtle effects. Halfway through, things get a bit more varied, with many chages of sound texture, very faint manipulated voice, and similar things. The second, shorter, track is more pronounced, with a clear rhythm and jingling bells. Everything sounds far from dry, though; Encomiast may use a lot of 'real' sounds and instruments, it's all presented in such a way that it is quite otherworldly, and that is a very strong point of this album.
On to the middle track, which is also the longest. Obscure drones slowly merge with deep bells, glitchy effects, fire samples(?), string instruments, and a host of other sounds. Very rich and dark! At the end of the track, we hear the ghostly voice of a woman singing a folk song. This continues seamlessly into the start of "homespun dress", where a very detailed deep rhythm is introduced. Tracks like this would certainly not disappoint fans of projects like Halo Manash. The final track is another great one, recorded live with a whole band, using electronics, flute, gangsa (balinese metallophone) and piano strings. A dark track that's unlike anything I've heard before and a great way to end a strong album like this one.
This is not an album that gripped me on the first listen, but as time passed, it has grown on me immensely. I haven't heard previous work by Hagen, but if it's anything like this, it's well worth searching for. In any case, Transit Bed is an album that has a very rich sound and varied compositions, and even manages to sound original among the plethora of ambient projects out there. In short, anyone with an attention span longer than the latest bubblegum hit and an interest in dark electro-acoustics should get this.
O.S.