CD Feature/ Hypnosphere: "Within the Whirl"

Elevating, but just as addictive

Hypnosphere must be the musical equivalent of mad scientists: Cooking up hideous little secrets in their laboratories, hiding behind a veil of mysticism and ruthlessly performing their art in the face of a world that won’t listen. This is a “Trancelunar Drive”, this is a drug-like vision of cosmic apocalypse, this is a black hole sucking everything in a vortex of sounds and darkness.

Well, maybe we’re exagerating just a tiny bit. Alongside all those moments of intensity and brutality, after all, there’s a lucid calmness as if inside the eye of the storm. Still, fragile characters should take heed: These guys mention “Improvisations” on the back cover, but jazz it ain’t. And when it says “Within the Whirl” up front, this is no invitation to step into the Jacuzzi. Rather, Lambert Ringlage (head of Spheric Music) and Wolfgang Barkowski (of Alien Nature) have joined forces to play “Berlin School” electronics using the methods of Dark Ambient. The result are five long pieces (ranging from ten to almost twenty minutes) full of bleeping and cheeping sequencers, seeping through thick textures of choral voices and otherwordly noises. “Isolation Process” kicks off with hades-like pads and the sounds of the Nostromo trying to lift off some Alien-colony, before piling up layers of rhythmical sweetness and trancy leads, while “Anguish” drifts off into the outer rim of your worst nightmare on wings of whisper and an irresistible groove.

All compositions are strong enough to stand on their own feet, but you’ll only get the real meaning when subjecting yourself to this maelstrom for the complete trip. The experience is elevating, but just as addictive: Once inside the whirl, it’s hard to get out.

Homepage: Hypnosphere at Spheric Music