Chihei Hatakeyama / Dirk Serries – The Storm Of Silence

Chihei Hatakeyama / Dirk Serries "The Storm Of Silence" CD

Japanese dronescaper Chihei Hatakeyama, who is based in suburbs of Tokyo, is not only an acclaimed and productive artist with many collaborative projects on his credit, but also the man behind White Paddy Mountain label, which has released during September 2015 "Obscured By Beams Of Sorrow" CD album featuring Dirk Serries and another renowned drone forger from the Land of the Rising Sun, Hakobune. And this Japanese-Belgian coalition definitely keeps on blossoming, because January 2016 sees "The Storm Of Silence" CD on respected Italian label Glacial Movements. Dirk Serries, the giant behind unforgettable vidnaObmana, is another highly prolific artist, who constantly keeps on exploring the fascination of challenging collaborative projects. "The Storm Of Silence" CD comes in elegantly minimal 4-panel digipak, exhibiting visual mastery of Norwegian photographer Bjarne Riesto and layout skills by Dirk's kindred Dutch drone soul, Machinefabriek's Rutger Zuydervelt. Wow, what a beauty, the magic of desolate Nordic winter sceneries fully unfolds, even before hitting the play button...

"Kulde", a 7-plus minutes long track, reveals this strikingly intense journey with slowly invading cyclical drones continuously concealed by hissy curtains. Persistently pinnacling reverberating subtleties clandestinely coalesce with warmer elegiac tides of long-burried memories. The listener is enwrapped by the silent awe of the rolling untamed landscapes. Immerse yourself and feel the "Cold"!!! "Uvaer", which clocks to a 10 and a half minutes mark, delves deeply into magnificently monochromatic terrains, meticulously reinforced by euphorically meandering evocativeness. Exquisitely mindscaping sonic reflections constantly commingle with jaw-droppingly emotional sonorousness. "Uvaer" as "Storm" showcases a gloriously monumental, yet sublimely tranquilizing soundforging of both protagonists, who fully utilize and amalgamate their creative insignias into an epic soundscape unlocking the gates of the Drone Eden!!! Bravo, gentlemen!!! "Fryst", with 12:41 the longest piece on album, unfolds with peaceful nuances, which calmly evolve into more monolithic scenario highlighted by flatlined, yet utterly scenic desolate "Frozen" panoramas. Masterfully spiced by inconspicuously emerging climaxes, no matter if intriguingly ear-tickling or splendiferously mind-blowing. 11-minute "Hvit" closes this deeply profound journey with rawer, nearly transcendental helixes, which are soon imbued by eternal tides of majestically intensified magnitudes and warmly embracing cinematic vistas. "White" is a breathtakingly prodigious and consonantly resonant masterpiece, a truly rewarding epic finale!!! Kudos to you, Dirk & Chihei!!!

I could easily journey for another 20-30 minutes, however, "The Storm Of Silence" is a masterful collaborative long distance effort, displaying staggeringly ingenious drone manipulations of two sound explorers par excellence!!! Mixed by Dirk and mastered by Chihei, "The Storm Of Silence" is another deeply focused gem on Glacial Movements, a must-have CD for all drone connoisseurs and aficionados of the overwhelming grace of treacherous icy landscapes. When spotlighting on the most recent projects of both protagonists, Dirk Serries has in the pipeline his collaborative CD album with Celer entitled "Background Curtain". This one should be out during the coming weeks on Polish label Zoharum. And Chihei Hatakeyama has just released together with his drone companion Hakobune "The Fall Rises" CD on his White Paddy Mountain label.

Richard Gürtler (Sep 07, 2016, Bratislava, Slovakia)