Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Vidna Obmana: Landscape in Obscurity

233

Vidna Obmana: Landscape in Obscurity

By

View read count
Vidna Obmana: Landscape in Obscurity
Listening to this long ambient album by Obmana is like gazing into a shimmering pool of water in a secluded shadowy garden. It is restful and quiet and it makes no demands on your tired mind. Usually I associate the Belgian Vidna Obmana with dreary hours of melancholy electronic droning but this piece by him has a much lighter, sweeter sound to it. Some of this is due to his use of flute and saxophone riffs, most of them electronically loop-repeated, by a pair of Italian avant-garde jazzmen, Capriolo Trifoglio and Diego Borotti. Another factor in this nicer sound is that Obmana has chosen to use a more "major" harmonic atmosphere rather than the "minor" or microtonal harmonies of his other works.

Though there are a few accents of acoustic percussion, mostly delicate rattles, the greatest part of this long single piece (68 ½ minutes) is composed of long floating notes, which extend off into endless waves of echoes. As a big reverb fan, this is pleasing to me. Flute and sax notes percolate through the echoing mix in a kind of slow kaleidoscopic revolution. There is hardly any variation in volume, complexity, or harmonies; the piece retains the same character throughout its length.

As with all "true" ambient music, this is not meant to be listened to with undivided attention. It is the analogy of incense or fragrance, meant to add quality, enjoyment, and mood to an environment rather than demanding a full commitment. As such, Landscape In Obscurity does its job of filling the air with its peaceful, comforting vibrations, a welcome sound in the leafless frozen months of winter.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Landscape in Obscurity | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Hypnos Recordings

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Hold On
Mark Winkler
The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle
Ben Thomas Tango Project
Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.