[review] AGLAIA – Nights In Nubiland
Posted: July 24, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
When I checked out Alio Die for the first time I also got to know about his own label Hic Sunt Leones. Alio Die mostly releases his own work on this label but also makes room for projects that are related to him in some way or another. Since he doesn’t do this too often there are only a few other artists to be found in his currently large catalogue. I came across Aglaia and decided to check out some of their albums. They’ve now become one of my favourite Ambient artists ever. Their style and sound is definitely something else and I can totally feel why HSL would support an artist like that. Aglaia are known for their organic, hypnotizing and soothing soundscapes and long drawn out songs. It’s hard to describe them at all since they do vary a lot between albums and collaborations.
Nights In Nubiland is, according to the description found on the HSL website, fully electronic and no acoustic sounds or instruments have been used. It has a huge impact on their sound, but this is not to be seen as a limitation. They created a new path for themselves with this album and once again they show what they’re capable of. This album must be, in my eyes, the most complete work I’ve heard yet from Aglaia. On their previous outputs it seemed to me that they were looking for a specific sound or direction but were still not really able to find it. On Nights In Nubiland they managed to channel all those directions and ideas into one defining creation.
Compared to the rest of their work this album has a darker aura. It reminded me most of Mondi Sensibili, but more tranquil and less ‘full’. Of course, the title says it all. Not dark in the negative sense, but nightly. Daylight has faded and darkness has taken it’s place. While albums like Three Organic Experiences and Reveberant Skies were quite ‘present’, so to speak, Nights In Nubiland remains in the background, slowly drifting along. More minimal in nature and with shorter songs, this album manages to keep the listener intrigued and immerged into the sound. This development in their sound is something I can only be happy about. They’re great at creating long soundscapes, but even better at creating shorter pieces. They’ve already proven that with Reveberant Skies and Naked Movements.
In short, Nights In Nubiland is in my opinion miles above their other work and I can’t wait what they will bring us next. I wouldn’t go as far as calling this a milestone in Ambient music but it comes damn close. This album really defines the term ‘organic Ambient’. Highly recommended.
Please support this artist and buy the album here: http://www.discogs.com/seller/HicSuntLeones
