Circulum Musicum : phases

Circulum musicum is one of the most promising names in contemporary ambient/electronic music. With the use of classic-orchestral elements in combination with a variety of electronica, Circulum Musicum creates a atmospheric, deep, lush, spacious and beautifully put together sound. There's a lovely balance between the dark, atmospheric and the ethnic, thematic side and although it's contemporary electronic music, there's a old-school tribal ambient feel to it all. Combined with the excellent sound quality, makes this album an absolute winner.

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REVIEW
This mysterious band has opened an interesting chapter into Ambient music, an extremely mature and elaborated work that really surprises as debut on the also debutant label Thar Records. The work shows diverse preambles within ambient music to generate a very vast aural journey of great versatility and crystal clear production. While watching the cover artwork detailing what apparently is some kind of ubiquitous vista on an unfathomable fractal structure the listener may get a close anticipation on what this music may lead into, in a way, the infinite, the fabric of eternity, but above all a very evocative experience of sonic beauty and smart elaboration.The work presents a conjunction of various musical fusions, first of all, Ambient music is used here to step in quite different directions and dynamics, first taking a ride into Space Ambient with subtle influence from Dark ambient to generate the basic atmospheric mood, then strengthening the rhythmic side of the work with a marked influx from Tribal Ambient and rounding everything up with some Industrial mechanizations and Electro Acoustic adornments. The result is a monumental sound of ambient music with soul and spiritual aim. "Phases" shows a sound demarked mainly by an organic atmosphere complementing some orchestral instrumentation and curious natural sounds to sum its core. Samplers of real instruments gets arranged to create interesting structural puzzles and when joined to the core of Space like atmospherics juxtaposing cold and warm sound dynamics the whole thing slowly grows in intensity and vastness. In between the atmospheric a subtle beat infiltrates progressing with the music and catapulting everything from space into some kind of shamanistic voyage of tribal rhythm intensity. In general the music is contemplative and mind altering, at times utterly mystic, alternating from moments of universal profundity and space divagation to intense ritualistic thematic. "Respect" and "Meta" respectively comes as the Space oriented tracks, volatile and expanded, presenting ominous atmospheres of cosmic grandiloquence but "Meta" presents a divergence and that is the introduction of some beats and mechanized rhythmic sequences that contrasts the rest of the work, generally organic by definition. First track is a display of finest ambient filled with passages of vibrant magnetism in a veil of spacey atmospherics with glitch details and electro acoustics. "Quest" retakes the Space Ambient induction and transforms it in a sequence of obscured layers and then introducing a catchy bass line where some metallic tribal rhythms will commence their progression. Cellos alternate in several different layers creating a vast orchestral background progressing in a crescendo of pure ecstasy. And then its the ace of the album: "Oracle" an amalgam of shamanistic mantras sung by a mysterious female vocal surrounded by the power grid of a succulent tribal progression, this track is really mesmerizing. Divergence comes with "Way to the Light" that presents more industrialized rhythm logic contrasted with organic atmospherics and then "Broken Bonds" that plays with highly progressive electro acoustics that finalize in a cascade of ever crescent tribal sequences. Circulum Musicum marks a high note with his debut, something really hard to acquire in just the first delievery and it clearly manifests a defined character that displays experimental clarity and musical method. Must say this is an extraordinary album, already in the same league with renowned bands from the European Ambient from all nature. Recommended for all the lovers of Space ambient with touches of drone, orchestral grandiloquence and virulent tribalism. (Jack - Heathen Harvest)