Near the Flogging Landscape
December 1989 - March 1990
01. Dwells into the heart
02. Floes on miracles
03. For ancient crossed
04. Between changing gloom
05. Uncertain flow
06. To the primary land
07. All glanced in mind
08. Concealed
09. In winter calm
10. From within the cold
11. Floes on miracles 2
12. Forged in innocence
13. In wired dreaming
14. Above the mellow earth
CD 2
Refined on Gentle Clouds
December 1989 - January 1991
01. Glance (opening)
02. Related between
03. In hollow embraced
04. Glance 2
05. Float through nights
06. Unfold gradient 2
07. Nearly constant
08. Glance 3
09. Found silence
10. Glance 4
11. Over clouds
12. By abundant rain (early version)
13. Glance 5
14. Glance 6
15. Onto a broken path
16. Glance (ending)
Remastered archival recordings from 1988 - 1991, resequenced by the artist, with an additional 30 minutes of unreleased music from that era added per disc. Lovers of ambient music will find two hours of solid delight in this two-disc collection of early material (1988-89) from Belgium's Dirk Serries (a.k.a. Vidna Obmana). The first disc, Monument of Empty Colours, done in collaboration with Puerto Rican experimental artist PBK, is the grittier of the two, with a distinctly postindustrial rumbling making up the low end of most of the otherwise relaxing, synth-loop-driven compositions. Gathering in Frozen Beauty, the other disc in this lavishly packaged set, is brighter and a bit more serene. It's Obmana on his own this time, and it's the kind of work that would presage the smooth, calming ambiance so skillfully executed on his early-'90s material (captured superbly on the Trilogy box set). According to Obmana, this music was meant to be played at low volume, presumably in the background. Not to deny the artist's intent, but you might find that headphone listening really captures the stark beauty of these introspective soundscapes.
