Vidna Obmana

Artist:  Vidna Obamana, Ron Boots
Alpha Wave Movement, Jeff Pearce, u.a.
P: 1998
This double CD features 142 minutes of previously unreleased material by musicians exploring the non-physical realm. This 2-CD set released on the Hypnos label is a must for devotees of drifting space synth music.

Artist: Vidna Obamana, Steve Roach,u.a.
P: 1994
Just look at the names in the tracklist above - if you are into this type of ambient music you know without a doubt that this is a winning formula. And this fine collection of artists totally fail to let us down. Weird but fascinating ethnic rhythm with electronic enhancements-a-plenty, O YUKI CONJUGATE's track with it's breathy human voice punctuation serves us well as a starting off point, and establishes the high quality of the album. VIDNA OBMANA follows perfectly with a whispy dream vision accompanied by minimal percussion which could have been taken directly from the previous track. Relaxing and just that little bit mysterious. STEVE ROACH takes a similar ethnic percussion and accompanies it with electronic drift and the sound of a thunder storm. JORGE REYES takes us on a journey through the past, making a music evocative of ancient civilizations and the sounds of nature which accompanied those who lived in such ancient times and places. HYBRYDS take us somewhere else, away from more 'primitive' cultures. Although I have never heard their music for aquariums, this strikes me as being along similar lines, with water gurgling and whale-like sounds wailing away in the background. TEMPS PERDU? forgot to nip to the loo before recording this, so had to go during it's creation. Besides the last few drops shaken out, we drift through a place not dissimilar to VANGELIS's take on the "Blade Runner" future, with pattering ethnic drums and a variety of wind instruments all combining into a passive, calming atmosphere. DINO OON & KONRAD KRAFT head more towards a growling Isolationism without losing the overall string of effect this album seems to create. The tune is more forward, more obvious, less atmospheric. VOICE OF EYE's piece, although drifting and calm, has dark and disturbing edges which remind me of NIN's theme to "SE7EN". JEFF GREINKE attempts to calm our nerves back down with a gentle tube of shifting sustains. Simple as it is, there's a whole lot going on here, although it sounds like one moment frozen in time. ALIO DIE, those purveyors of unimaginable beauty, bring us a dark and disturbing revisit to the land JORGE REYES took us to, now infected by VOICE OF EYE's darkness. Dark, mysterious ethnic world in which a thing - dragon or malign beast - dwells in the shadows, waiting for night. PAUL SCHÜTZE brings us up to date with a Jazz which seems to combine the elements of all those mentioned above, keeping a slightly disquiet, unnerving feeling to the music. His is a world not of peace and calm, but of hidden dangers, of eyes watching your every move. Easy listening doesn't guarantee ease-of-listening. HUMAN FLESH are something else again, with an orchestrated mirror-vision of calm. Very different from anything previously. Lighter, brighter, a balm for the ears and the nerves. And finally, of course, TUU take us for one more visit to the ethnic realms. Almost as calming as the previous track, TUU make a beautiful music which, with it's Asian-sounding drums, makes for a fascinating listening experience.
An album which was probably darker than anticipated (which is no bad thing). Combining beauty and ugliness in equal shares.And of course well worth investing in.

Artist: Various Artists
P: 1998
This is no. 4 in the ongoing, very successful series of electronic music inspired by the X-Files. Same as for the former parts, several teams of e-musicians teamed up in the studio, bringing adventurous music to life that wouldn't have happened otherwise. On "Four, The Truth" you this time can hear the stunning results from e.g. Ian Boddy, Vidna Obmana, Mario Schönwälder, Detlef Keller, Kees Aerts, Harold van der Heijden,Volker Rapp, Eric van der Heijden and of course Ron Boots. Those who already have the former three CD's, don't miss this one. If you're not yet familiar with it, do buy this one and become an addict of this unique concept music too!
"Four The Truth" was voted "Compilation Album of the Year" for 1998 by the listeners of the Canadian Radio show "The Nightflight" hosted by Scott Brodie and Matt Gilbo.

Artist: Hybrids, Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana... 
P: 1993
An excellent multi-artist collection compiled by Alio Die from 1993, this organic soundscape project includes many of the top artists in this dark-ambient genre.

Artist: Vidna Obmana & Alio Die
P: 2006
Vidna Obmana and Italian soundsculptor Alio Die unite their vision and realized this introspective work of sixty minutes. At times droning and abstract, sometimes ritualistic and ethnic. "ECHO PASSAGE clearly lives up to the reputations of Obmana and Musso while offering both ample opportunity to work outside of their ordinary parameters"
Echo Passage contains all the audio awe-inspiration you would expect from a musical meeting between Vidna Obmana and Alio Die. The extended length and expertly rendered atmospheres are perfectly suited for long, deep immersions into abstract time and place.
A long, long stretch of rich multi-layered drones with no interruptions or percussive effects is eventually visited upon by sparse instances of faraway birdlike hoots and chatter as the soundwaves become more subdued and darker. More organics emerge as a fizzy/bubbly current flows through these parts, and a powerful surging entity begins to periodically pulse in long, low tones. Everything returns to an airier, calmer state... for the time being at least.

Artist: Vidna Obmana + Asmus Tietchens
P: 1999
Linea [1+3] was originally released as a cassette in 1988. Recorded at Audiplex Studios, Hamburg, Germany. Eight-track recycling by Vidna Obmana using processors, speed variations, volume changes, loops, FM noise and feedback. Produced, recorded and mixed at the Serenity Studio, Belgium, in December 1996.

Nachtstücke was released in 1980. Contains pieces recorded between 1975 and 1978 on 2-track Revox and 4-track Teac tape recorders. All sounds were created on the Moog Sonic Six synthesizer, using a Philips reverb and an Echolette tape delay for effects. Composed, arranged and recorded at Audiplex Studios, Hamburg, Germany. Eight-track recycling by Vidna Obmana using processors, speed variations, volume changes, loops and harmonizers. Produced, recorded and mixed at the Serenity Studio, Belgium, in January 1998.
Comes with 4-page booklet.

Here the last copy!

Artist: Vidna Obmana + Asmus Tietchens
P: 2002
Source material for this project was recorded in Den Haag and Nijmegen, The Netherlands, from 1995 to 2000 using PT device, electric and acoustic guitars and 4 and 8 track recording machines. Identical recordings were given to Asmus Tietchens and vidnaObmana, which they "recycled" into the recordings contained on these two CDs.

Artist: Vidna Obmana & David Lee Myers
P: 2003
LTD 500
Though he has an extensive body of solo recordings, vidnaObmana seems to thrive when using others' musical ideas as a springboard for his own. David Lee Myers recorded his parts in New York City, vidnaObmana at his studio in Belgium. The end result is a raw, edgy work that is mostly devoid of beats and melody. Buzzes and bleeps blend with dark murkiness on these eight tracks. The first is remarkably similar to the main synthesizer sounds in Laurie Anderson's 'Langue D'amour' from her Mister Heartbreak CD in the eighties, except for one buzzing sound that is a bit distracting in the mix. 'Sector 02' is better, as the static-like buzz drops out instantly, leaving only drones and very sci-fi sounds behind. The disc is comparable to similar abstract pieces from The Circular Ruins or Vir Unis (like his Symbology CD).The music sounds very synthetic, but there is also an organic quality to it. I suspect that Myers makes the more buzzy and glitchy sounds, and that vidnaObmana contributes the dark textures and atmospheres that give the cold electronics life. 'Sector 03' has distorted voices in the mix, a melting pot of sounds that works if you don't mind delving into the experimental side of things. 'Sector 04' has a metallic ringing sound that loops through some watery samples and other synth textures. In 'Sector 05' the drones are deeper and fuller, eerie choir-like sounds fill the air, and in general this one is just louder, darker, and more intense. The final two tracks have vidnaObmana playing one of his trademark instruments, the small fujara if I'm not mistaken. The music comes full circle in the final two minutes as a sort of reprise of 'Sector 01' is blended in at the finish

Many Ambient Soundscapes with natural sources, recycling, and transformation at Pulsewidth NYC and the Serenity Studio, Begium.

Artist: Vidna Obmana & Jan Marmenout
P: 1999
When it comes to creating those luxurious soundwaves, few are as consistently transportive as Belgium's Vidna Obmana. Here, with help from Jan Marmenout, VO stirs the Spirits of tribal sound explorations with a host of traditional ethnic/primitive musicmakers and, of course, modern synthsounds as well. The flutey tendrils which drift through the Ceremonial air of the opening track are accompanied by various clattering, drumming and whispering. More percussion surfaces during Traveling Moon Part 1 & 2, setting a rhythmic pace for the hovering electrodrones and fluttering Ney flute, and accelerating in the second movement, while wispy sheets of sound waft alongside a buzzing Jew's harp and hypnotically serpentine wind instrumentation.Slower, lower and beatless, Majestic guidance resonates with the rippling prescence of processed fujara sounds, backed by a moodily thrumming veil of electrons. As the track progresses, pressures rise, then fade so slowly away. Various drums, ceramics, woodwinds and more converge at The meeting ground for a peaceful-yet-animated gathering, uniting their musical voices in rather cinematic expressiveness. A particularly lush ebb-and-flow langorously spreads beneath The sacred balance, its softness occasionally stippled by distant random clatter. Simply gorgeous! Closing on the trio of pieces which make up the Temple of dawn, things shift back into the rhythmic... a swirling flurry of drumbeats, pattering ceramics and chiming metals dominate Part 1; this primal thunder is joined by an animatedly growling digeridoo, animalistic wails and skywardly climbing flutage. As everything else vanishes, the didge carries on, pulsing like a live electric current into Part 2 (3:28), where it meets with a sparkling fujara counterpart. The two entitities entwine and dance through various contortions, often sounding like grungy guitar feedback. These tones subside into the much smoother, velvety expanse of Part 3 (16:41). Trickling sands, tweedling tones and ghostly whispers accent the drift-and-shimmer of VO's synthesizer magic.

Here the last copy!

Artist: Vidna Obmana
P: 1999
Subtitled "Suite for Electric Guitar, Atmospheres and Recycling".
Real-time guitar and processing performances at the Serenity Studio, Belgium, January - December 1998.
Produced and mixed at the Serenity Studio, Belgium.