Penumbra "Skandinavien" Iris Light I-Light015CD 2001 (74:00)
Welcome to Skandinavien (5:28)
Deep
Listening (13:14)
Another
Rainy Day (11:23)
Input from Origin (12:07)
A Week in the Black Box (9:35)
Living
on the Borderlines (22:13)
Penumbra is Mark Warren, one half of UK ambient pioneers Zoviet France, and this album on Iris Light is the follow-up to last years solo debut "Anoraks" on Universal Egg. "Skandinavien" explores - for exactly 74 minutes - similar dark ambient terrain with the aid of repetitive beats and natural and not so natural field recordings from the region. "Welcome to Skandinavien" quietly drifts for awhile then adds in flight instructions from a flight to Copenhagen. "Deep Listening" churns with steady layers of electronic drone wave, reversed audio bits, rattles, bells and a deep percussive thud, a lovely female voice loop being introduced by the 10th minute. "Another Rainy Day" features a constant cascading beat pattern and, of course, trickling water by the end. "Input from Origin" builds upon a never ending beat with synth swirl and and mildly annoying sporadic notes. Ditto the never ending beat, only more frantic and heavy, on "A Week in the Black Box" as steam hisses and sine waves drone incessantly. "Living on the Borderlines" calms things down again ... static sea waves, bird calls, a simple hi-hat rhythm, native bellowing and the gentle hum of an engine (plus 6 minutes or so of hidden track - field recording of people conversing, traffic and construction). Relaxing. "Penumbra" is pleasant and sits in the upper middle of my quality scale for these type of albums ...
Where did I get this cd? - promo.