Opion Somnium - "Bound & Fettered By Muddie Feathers"
(Zenapolae 2003, zcdr1028, CDR)
Uploaded to Aural Innovations: April 2004
Zenapolae is an internet label of Abstract, Dark Ambient, Glitch and Other Experimental Electronic Music. Having just found out about them, I think I will be checking out some of their other offerings. Since it’s not the traditional type of label, getting any music trivia info on the bands from the website is a bit of work. This one was especially hard to get any real info on, even when I checked out their/his/hers website.
Being a big listener of Jeff Greinke and Robert Rich, I tend to like ambient that fits in with that style of playing. My discovery of Zenapolae is bringing me to a new group of ambient artists playing in a little different style.
Opion Somnium apparently started out in hip-hop and gradually made the jump to ambient and soundscapes. The tracks start out soft, ethereal and dreamy. They slowly build in intensity and then simply fade out in the last few minutes. It’s very well done and never rushed. Two 5 minute tracks, two 8 minute tracks, and one 9 minute track. With Opion Somnium the types of sounds (electronic) aren’t as important as the swell and release.
With further listening, I discovered that each track has a variety of background white noise, almost like a type of industrial noise. This gives Opion Somnium a kind of distinct aura in all of their tracks. Very well done ambient.
For more information you can visit the Zenapolae web site at: http://www.zenapolae.com.
Email at: info@zenapolae.com.
Contact via snail mail c/o Zenapolae LTD; PO Box 8863; Collingswood, NJ 08108.
Reviewed by Louis Hesselt-van-Dinter