Cathars "<amorpheus>" Miau Miau International mm02 1999 (59:00)
Avian Maria (3:23)
Dust (5:49)
East North-east (4:26)
Onwards, Upwards (3:42)
Dfusion (5:51)
Tributaries (3:22)
Endmotion (5:14)
Eclipse (2:23)
Salt (4:00)
Amorpheus (6:21)
(14:29)
Cathars is Kurt Ralske.
Kurt Ralske is probably best known as the former creative head of pop rock band Ultra Vivid Scene from 1989 to 1993. Since the demise of UVS, Ralske has kept himself very busy by producing/engineering over two dozen albums as well as playing on several by Richard Davies, Ivy, Swell and Michael Gira (flugelhorn on The Body Lovers "Number One of Three" and The Angels of Light "New Mother"). Ralske's latest artistic outlet, Cathars (the Cathars were a Christian sect of the later Middle Ages who taught profession of faith in an angelic Christ who did not really undergo human birth or death) is a far cry from his pop days, it's more akin to Eno on a generous dosage of Prozac. "<amorpheus>" contains eleven pieces of mellow, electro-digital ambience. Layers of fuzzy, shimmering sound ... pads, washes, drones, bell-like tones, pops and clicks, percussive tappings and occasional slow, awkward beats ... all gently flow, melt and collide. These sounds are heavily manipulated, folded in on one another, processed, etc then carefully arranged. Most of the tracks do not have much in the way of a driving melody, they just tend to move/morph as the track progresses. Two tracks bug me: "East north-east" and the final, untitled 14+ minute track. The former has a meandering organ-like melody line that detracts from the overall sound rather than adds to it. The latter has a repetitive, muffled "thump thump thump" bass beat throughout as the waves of ambience float by. It's pleasant, but it fails to capture the aesthetic the Chain Reaction label invented years ago with the same sort of idea. Those quibbles aside, "<amorpheus>" creates a very relaxing and inviting atmosphere with it's beautiful, subtle minimalism. It's an especially strong electronic debut for a pop refugee. I'll definitely be keeping an ear out for Ralske's future electronic endeavors. A few mp3 snippets are available at the label url below ...
Where did I get this cd? - Miau-Miau International sent me a copy to review