Rapoon - The Fires Of The Borderlands

Robin Story of the renouned "Zoviet France" has created material that has traces of Zoviet's experiments in tribal, ethnic soundscapes, but lacks the rough edges. Whereas a release such as Zoviet's "Lohland" was broken concrete in a burlap sack, Rapoon's "Fires of the Borderland" is a smooth, finely woven tapestry under a layer of fog. Alternating the mood between soothing and mildly disturbing, Story is able to achieve that elusive goal of creating ambient soundscapes that are consistent enough to make a cohesive statement, yet diverse enough to hold the listener's attention beyond the first track.

This CD is in its essence deep, industrial drone music - perhaps with a slight ethnic edge. The name of the CD is well suited to the powerful and mysterious atmosphere created by the mutilayered drones. And unlike a lot of Rapoons other work, no real beats are to be found here, aside from Talking To A Stick and A Softer Light - the latter useing a few simple notes to a beautiful effect, possibly being the best track here. But still no track lets down the album, it all holds together givng a wonderful flowing feel, and the tracks seem to be laid out as if to draw you into the darker, more dessolate theme before the ending. Wonderful to get lost in