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NILSEN, BJ [BJ NILSEN] - Irreal

Format: CD Label & Cat.Number: EDITIONS Mego 305 Release Year: 2021 Note: awesome new work by the always interesting Swedish composer who collected highly spatial and three-dimensional evironmental source sounds from various places for three long compositions...- "masterfully blends field recordings with experimental electronics to create passages that are almost hallucinogenic in form, they create an ambience that is thoroughly helpful towards our own trip into the depth of the sound. The inner landscape of self-inquiry and desolation." - incl. 16 page booklet with great images Price (incl. 19% VAT): €15.00 More Info Newest album by BJ Nilsen is a elusive exploration of what is sonically accessible by us. the listeners and the boundary set by the composer through what he presents. Three long pieces on this album invite to dig deeper and look how much of what we omit as we listen to it is actually helping us to stay on the track of our own individual experience. BJ Nilsen masterfully blends field recordings with experimental electronics to create passages that are almost hallucinogenic in form, they create an ambience that is thoroughly helpful towards our own trip into the depth of the sound. The inner landscape of self-inquiry and desolation. bjnilsenemego.bandcamp.com/album/irreal editionsmego.com/release/EMEGO-305 "This came out some time ago, but via via landed on my desk. I have known BJ Nilsen's work for a long time now, from his earlier monikers to the significant bulk under his given name and his many collaborations with Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson. Perhaps it has to do with a discussion with a former reviewer for Vital Weekly about reviewing work from people you know well. Easier is certainly not a word that comes up; instead, more complicated. But then, I may know so many people whose work I review. I am sure much of what Nilsen does appears out of sight for me, in the form of concerts and installation pieces, so only a tiny portion ends up as a release. For 'Irreal', not real, Nilsen uses field recordings from Austria, Russia, South Korea and the Benelux; this man is going places! The door opens in 'Short Circuit Of The Conscious Thought', and the music starts. Maybe a door in the conscious thought? Much of that piece deals with drones, a recurring theme in all three but with some exciting variations. In the most extended piece, 'Beyond Pebbels, Rubble And Dust', there might be some kind of long string instrument, an aeolian harp, to stay within the area of field recordings. It slowly morphs into a more majestic drone, which one could remind of big washes of synthesizer sounds, but right at the edge of distortion. In 'Motif Mekanik', maybe the title gives it away; this is, for the most part, mechanized drones, right in the middle of industrial decay. The already mentioned 'Short Circuit Of The Conscious Thought' holds the middle ground there. While drones may be an important feature in all three pieces, they are not exclusively about them. Small sound events, also picked up in situ, play the role of the solo instrument, coming and going as they please. Sometimes buried with the depth of the drone, sometimes demanding all your attention. None of this material is very easy or quiet, but rather outspoken and loud, verging on the edge of noise (at times!), which is a great thing. From what I know from BJ Nilsen, he now works with analogue techniques reel-to-reel machines, among others, so maybe that accounts for the harsher approach? Either way, this is a delicate variation of a territory already well explored by Nilsen." [FdW/Vital Weekly]