NORTHAUNT " Istid III "

Mit den beiden Frühwerken haben Northaunt im Dark Ambient Bereich Geschichte geschrieben, gerade was den atmosphärischen Aspekt betrifft. Längere Zeit habe ich mich mit jenem Sektor nicht mehr beschäftigt und um so begieriger warf sich mir die Frage auf, wie Northaunt wohl 2018 klingen? Ganz ehrlich? "Istid III" ist eine fantastische Publikation, eine Reise in eine Zeit vor der Menschheit, wo Eis und schneidende Winde die Landschaften formten, deren damalige Unberührtheit heute kaum vorstellbar ist. Die unbarmherzige Rohheit der Natur kennt keine Gnade, wo Temperaturen weit unter dem Gefrierpunkt liegen und die Sonne ihre wärmenden Strahlen nicht einmal ansatzweise zur Geltung bringen kann. Eis und Schnee bedecken die Landschaft und aus der Ferne hallt eine ruhige Stimme und die atmosphärische Untermalung ist dabei überaus gefühlvoll umgesetzt wurden. Jene verleiht "Istid III" dann doch immer wieder mal ein paar warm anmutende Momente, um dem sicheren Gefriertod zu entkommen. Die gegebene Schönheit wirkt lockend, ist aber trügerisch, denn "Istid III" ist und bleibt in eisigen Gefilden, dessen Fundament stetig von kalten Winden begleitet wird und in einem stilistischen Rahmen gemauert ist, der ein in sich geschlossenes Thema birgt. Wer ein Freund von Northaunt ist, der muss sich "Istid III" unbedingt zulegen, ein Werk, welches meine Erwartungen sogar übertreffen konnte. Was mit "Istid I-II" seinen Anfang fand, wird nun vollendet, und was am Ende bleibt, sind keine Spuren, sondern lediglich die Erinnerung an das längst Vergangene.RABEN REPORT

Terza parte di una trilogia che Northaunt ha dedicato a un ambient dalle forti tinte dark, caratterizzato dagli orizzonti di una remota Era Glaciale. Dalla cartella stampa: «La composizione di ISTID è arrivata come una reazione alle nostre vite contemporanee, al nostro mondo e a come a volte sembri confuso, stressante e rumoroso». Istid III esce il 28 febbraio per Glacial Movements.SENTIREASCOLTARE

Northaunt tiene listo el tercer áldum de su serie 'Istid'

Northaunt es el proyecto de ambient del noruego Hærleif Langås con el que comenzó en los 90 y que desde entonces ha publicado un total de cuatro álbumes en los que mezcla grabaciones de campo y ambient inspirados por los paisajes naturales y nuestro papel como parte de la naturaleza.Su nuevo disco lleva por título Istid III y verá la luz el próximo 28 de febrero a través del sello Glacial Movements. Es la tercera parte de una obra de dark ambient que comenzó con las dos primeras partes publicadas en 2015 a través del sello Cyclic Law.CLUBBING SPAIN

Premiere: Listen to Northaunt’s ‘Part I’ From Forthcoming IIstid III Album on Glacial Movements

Northaunt is the ambient project of Norwegian Hærleif Langås, and has since the late nineties released 4 albums where the signature sound is a mix of field recording from nature, soundscapes and ambient, inspired by norse nature and landscapes and our role as a part of nature. The composing of Istid III (available for purchase here) came as a reaction to our modern lives, our world and how it sometimes seem confusing, stressful and noisy. Put of by all this and inspired by books about earths history, ice ages and the forces that formed the landscapes we have today, Hærleif started making Istid, “Ice Age” in Norwegian, to imagine a world of silence before man. This is the 3rd album in the series and we can now imagine man is about to start his lonely quest for meaning in the desolation.The frozen winds of the north lash and temper the soul. Their constant breath drags the listener towards the more organic part of “Istid III”. Dark ambient made in Norway, third chapter of the Northaunt trilogy, hinged between the horizons of a remote Ice Age. Imperceptible the continuum between Part I and Part II. Some will-o’-the-wisps indicate the way to go. Mystic tolls, indecipherable background noises. Strategic field recordings. A female voice in the distance seals the apex of the loss even inside the body. The dull shades fade.Part III is the watershed track of the album, full of nostalgia. A slow flowing in a placid forest of sounds. Section of a moment. The hypnosis induced by Part IV breaks on a handful of words pronounced this time by a man. A net change of pace during the ten minutes of Part V. The atmosphere of meditation is favored by shy keyboard notes. The subterranean tensions lose their vigor. Glows radiate the darkness of the night. Deep and desolate. The embers that burns the last farewell to our day. Once it was fire on Earth.6AM GROUP

La condizione umana, la natura norrena e l’era glaciale. Temi ricorrente tra le pieghe della discografia di Hærleif Langås, meglio noto come Northaunt, il cui “Istid III” (2018) su Glacial Movements, rappresenta non solo l’ultimo capitolo in ordine temporale, ma la conclusione di un progetto più ampio, avviato con “Istid I-II” (2015). La release su Cyclic Law una reazione in otto lunghi brani alla vita moderna, al rumore, alla confusione che domina il mondo. Nel nome del silenzio. Il concept del musicista norvegese, attivo da oltre vent’anni e ispirato dalle vicende che hanno trasformato i nostri paesaggi, fa leva sull’immaginare l’avvento di una nuova glaciazione che, in maniera inevitabile, imponga all’essere umano una condizione di vita differente, inducendolo a ricercare il significato ultimo della desolazione. A fronte di una natura non più benigna, non c’è via di scampo. I gelidi venti del nord sferzano e temprano l’animo.Il loro costante soffio draga l’ascoltatore verso la parte più organica di “Istid III”, incardinata tra gli orizzonti di una remota era glaciale. Impercettibile il continuum tra Part I e Part II. Fuochi fatui indicano la via da percorrere. Rintocchi mistici, indecifrabili rumori di fondo. Field recording strategici. Una voce femminile in lontananza suggella l’apice dello smarrimento finanche interiore. Le tinte fosche scoloriscono. Part III è il brano spartiacque dell’album, colmo di nostalgia. Un lento fluire in una placida foresta di suoni. Sezione di un attimo. L’ipnosi indotta da Part IV s’infrange su una manciata di parole scandite stavolta da un uomo. Netto il cambio di passo durante i dieci minuti di Part V. L’atmosfera da raccoglimento è favorita da timide note di tastiera. Le tensioni sotterrane perdono vigore. Bagliori irradiano il buio della notte. Fonda e desolata. La brace che arde l’ultimo saluto al nostro giorno. Un tempo era fuoco sulla Terra.SOUTERRAINE

I’m happy to be reviewing the second Northaunt release in recent months. The last one, Night Paths (which can be read about & heard here), was a compilation of previously unreleased Northaunt material from the last decade. He decided to polish and release those tracks while waiting on the release of this third part of the Istid series, a proper full album of new material. Northaunt, as many of you may know at this point, has been one of my favorite dark ambient artists since I first discovered the genre. I have a profound love for northern landscapes and, for me, this music most closely defines that in a dark ambient format. Through the various albums we’ve heard a variety of different themes which all fall under the banner of this northern climate and landscape. Though recently, it has been in a more defined form than in the past. With Istid now moving into its third chapter, Hærleif Langås is giving us an extended look at this particular theme.In the liner notes for Istid I-II, Northaunt tells us of previous ice ages and how quickly they may have came and went, swallowing continents in their wake. This theory has been played out in great detail recently by various scientists and researchers. Particularly to my knowledge, Graham Hancock & Randall Carlson speak of the evidence of previous Ice Age progressions and recessions that were devastating to life on all parts of Earth. The Istid series gives us snapshots of various points in time during these cyclical events. Especially in the beginning, Northaunt had a style of polar ambient which seemed closer to human emotion. However, as Horizons and Istid I-II came along, humanity was less involved in the vision. But with Istid III, we are starting to hear the return of humanity through various samples of people speaking, mostly in a language I don’t speak, so I can’t comment on that part. But whether it is the woman in “Part II” or the old man in “Part IV” it adds a hazy look at human emotion in a way reminiscent of early Northaunt and also Langås’ newer album Silent Heart by The Human Voice.Going into the final track there is a thick frigid wind billowing prominently in the background behind some of the best guitar work present in Langås’ repertoire. It sets us in these dark frozen landscapes, gazing across a glaciated horizon with flecks of ice burning our cheeks in a way that many of us rarely or never will experience. This has always been the beauty of Northaunt, the music transports us to these places and shows us their best and their worst aspects. As I said earlier about Alchymeia by raison d’être (in a recent review here), this is a tour-de-force by Northaunt. Langås has been working these various aspects of his Northaunt sound since the late 90s. Istid III brings the old together with the new in a unique way giving us the best of both worlds. This release is also a step outside the ordinary, as it’s been released through Glacial Movements, a label out of Italy that specializes in various types of polar ambient soundscapes. This should hopefully bring a new group of listeners to the Northaunt sound, as all the die-hard listeners will certainly find their way to his work regardless. My only regret is that I would love to have the Istid III vinyl sitting on my shelf beside the Istid I-II set. But, maybe the release could still find its way to Cyclic Law in the future for a vinyl release, or maybe Glacial Movements will start to head in that direction too, as many labels have opted to in recent years. Of course, this should be highly recommended to any lovers of dark ambient. Northaunt has had a pretty broad and consistent following since the debut years ago and Istid III is only going to reinforce listeners’ feelings about his music.THIS IS DARKNESS

Glacial Movements is a perfect new home for Northaunt (Norway’s Hærleif Langås), whose Istid I-II was released on Cyclic Law back in 2015. Each label specializes in ambience, but Glacial Movements concentrates on the cold. Trondheim isn’t the coldest spot in Norway, but it’s cold enough to inspire a tribute to the time before civilization, when winter was not something to be endured, but to be survived. While listening, one thinks of wide open spaces, saber-toothed tigers, the danger of falling into a crevasse. Decorating his stretched tones with field recordings of water, ice and the struggle to stay warm, Langås brings the Ice Age to life. In one sense, this period of history holds a primal appeal: space, silence, solitude. In another, one yearns for each human voice to be joined by another. These inhabitants long for connection, but don’t know the other is there.A CLOSER LISTEN

Non poteva esserci artista più in sintonia con l’estetica della romana Glacial Movements di Alessandro Tedeschi (aka Netherworld) di Hærleif Langås, musicista norvegese da più di venti anni attivo nel mondo dei soundscapes e dell’ambient più glaciale. La sua è una musica che si pone l’obiettivo di indagare il rapporto tra la condizione umana e la natura del territorio nordico. Nella serie Istid (“era glaciale” in norvegese) cominciata nel 2015, Langås applica la sua perizia di manipolatore di field recordings e manipolatore di droni e suoni per immaginare un mondo incontaminato e non toccato dall’uomo durante, appunto, l’era glaciale. A differenza delle ultime aggiunte al catalogo, come per esempio Artika dei Council Estate Electronics (nella Iceberg Series) o di Epilogues for the End of the Sky di BvDub, non c’è quasi spazio per l’elettronica o strumentazione classica che si adagi nell’innevato paesaggio a dialogare con il soundscape. Tutto il lavoro di stratificazione sonora del norvegese è basato su piccole, piccolissime variazioni e progressioni, con una tastiera che fa più che da collante, da guida nello spazio sonoro. Lo sforzo di Langås, pur nella sua notevole perizia, sembra paradossalmente più quello di un costruttore di mondi, che quello di un musicista o di un sound artist, e non è un difetto. La sua è musica da abitare, immersiva, che ti costringe a entrare in relazione con il suono e il portato di quel suono: mood, emozione, epos. Per questo assume ogni volta un senso diverso, dato dalla relazione in cui noi siamo con l’impianto sonoro. La bravura dell’autore sta nell’essere riuscito a dare ai cinque lunghi brani che costituiscono questo unico corpus sonoro una gravità, intesa proprio come forza attrattiva, che piega verso il suo mondo ghiacciato l’orecchio, i sentimenti, la mente di chi ascolta.SENTIRE ASCOLTARE

Marznąca woda. Jeśli Norweg bierze się za muzykę ambientową to nie można się spodziewać zbyt wiele ciepła z niej płynącej. Szczególnie jeśli tym Norwegiem jest Hærleif Langås kryjący się pod pseudonimem Northaunt. Dodajmy do tego, że ten działający od 1996 roku twórca, zdecydował się wydać swój najnowszy album w wydawnictwie, które specjalizuje się w mrocznej i mroźnej odmianie ambientu. Ostatnio mogliśmy się o tym przekonać słuchając płyty Havenaire „Rabot”. Pobieżny rzut okiem na okładkę „Istid III” nie pozostawi złudzeń co do jej natury. Poza oczywistością, która się z tego wyłania, dostajemy jednak coś ekstra, a mianowicie izolację. Kompletną.Mogę się jedynie domyślać, że Langås musi lubić samotność od pewnego czasu, gdyż wychwycenie dźwięków natury i wkomponowanie ich w strukturę muzyczną, musiało wymagać pewnego doświadczenia. Od samego początku jesteśmy blisko natury. Już w „Part I” słychać przelewającą się wodę i powiew mroźnego wiatru. Naturalne instrumenty są tu równie istotne co syntetyczne. W „Part III” udaje się uzyskać coś na kształt melancholii na biegunie. Dwie pierwsze części to swoista drętwota w obliczu epoki lodowcowej. Twórcy udało się oddać pustkę otaczającą go ze wszystkich stron. Dobrze, że ostatnie dwa utwory jakoś rozgrzewają. „Part IV” daje okazję do kojącej medytacji. Na koniec natrafiamy nawet na coś w rodzaju zagubionej transmisji w postaci męskiego głosu. Najciekawiej robi się na sam koniec w części piątej. Nastrój zmienia swój charakter na podniosły. Muzyczne plany ewidentnie rozszerzają swój obszar działania. Pojawiają się nawet partie keyboardu. Nie zmienia się tylko poczucie wyobcowania. Powolny, przygaszony, ciemny ambient idealny przy temperaturach poniżej zera.NOWAMUZYKA

Soms komen bepaalde zaken toch mooi samen. Neem nu het Glacial Movements label, dat vooral muziek uitbrengt waarbij je beelden krijgt van ijzige landschappen. Hierop brengt Northaunt nu het derde deel Istid III van zijn ijstijd-serie. Deel I+II zijn in 2015 al uitgebracht op Cyclic Law. Northaunt is sinds 1996 het dark ambient project van de Noorse muzikant Hærleif Langås, die daarnaast ook als The Human Voice en Therradaemon muziek maakt en tevens terug te vinden is in de groepen Mulm en A Cryo Chamber Collaboration. Op zijn nieuwe cd brengt hij in een kleine drie kwartier 5 langgerekte composities, die vol met ijzige dark ambient staan; overigens een tandje lichter van karakter dan de vorige twee edities. Naast subtiele pianoklanken en ambientgeluiden hoort je het klotsen van ijswater, gure wind, het bonken van ijsschotsen en andere veldopnames. Dit maakt, zeker met je ogen dicht, alsof je daadwerkelijk in een besneeuwd landschap, zoals op het plaatje van de hoes, bent aanbeland. Hoewel ik best uitkijk naar de lente, is deze intense, wonderschone ijsplaat meer dan welkom.Subjectivisten

Norwegian musician Hærleif Langås has been making frigid ambient soundscapes since the 1990s, utilizing field recordings and bright, clear drones that match the vast, bitterly cold emptiness of the Arctic tundra. He's usually categorized as dark ambient, but much of his work is more arid and brittle than dark. The Istid (Ice Age) series attempts to imagine the world before the dawn of mankind, and III is where traces of humanity start to enter the picture. It's a bit gloomy, but not oppressively heavy, and there's a strange sort of comfort to be found in the sounds of rushing wind and crackling ice. Some distant, distraught voices seep into the picture during the end of the second movement, and chilling melodies slowly surface. The final part sounds downright cinematic, with suspenseful pads and gusts of howling wind, making an already captivating album sound all the more powerful.ALL MUSIC

Predstavljamo projekat „Istid” norveškog eksperimentalnog muzičara Herlifa Langasa koji je poznatiji po svom pseudonimu Northaunt. Treći deo ovog projekta objavila je italijanska kuća posvećena ambijentalnoj muzici Glacial Movements u februaru ove godine. Prvi i drugi deo trilogije „Istid” izdala je 2015. godine kanadska kuća Cyclic Law.Herlif Langas stvara svoje dark ambijent kompozicije od 1996. godine, kombinujući dron, terenske zvuke prirode i elektronske saundskejpove. On je pre svega inspirisan prirodom Norveške i mestom čoveka kao dela prirodnog okruženja. Projekat Istid je osmišljen kao akustička refleksija na moderni ljudski život i ono što on nosi - konfuziju, stres i buku. U tom pogledu, Langas je istraživao istoriju planete zemlje, sa posebnim fokusom na Ledeno doba i snagu leda da modeluje izgled zemlje kakvom je danas poznajemo. Sama reč Istid na norveškom označava Ledeno doba, a umetnik je pokušao da imaginira svet sastavljen od prirodnih zvuka, odnosno 'tišine' pre dolaska ljudi i njihove buke. Kako je Herlif Langas istovremeno i fotograf, na albumu koji ćete čuti moguće je osetiti nešto od njegovog viđenja prirode oko nas - kao igre svetla i tame, odbljesaka lepote unutar za čoveka još uvek tajanstvenog i surovog prostora koji ga okružuje. U tom smislu Langas ne pokušava da iskaže utopijsko stapanje čoveka i prirode, već zadržava dozu skepse prema prožimanju, pitajući se da li je harmonija kojoj težimo ipak proizvod ljudske mašte i potrebe?RTS RADIO BEOGRAD 3

Glacial Movements offer down tempo bliss like no other label, and Northaunt, their latest new artist, once again offers a beautifully unhurried antidote to the pace of modern life. A pseudonym for Norwegian producer Harleif Langas, Northaunt has been documenting a series based around the Norwegian Iceage (‘Istid’ is the Norwegian word for the period), imagining a world of almost complete silence before man. On this, the third instalment, the music drifts around the listener very slowly, sometimes coming into focus with cold clarity and other times staying fuzzy at the edges, especially when Langas evokes the freezing cold northern winds. Part III begins with a lovely, remote feel, another instance where Langas conjures up an image for the listener of being the only observer in this cold but bright climate. ‘Istid III’ does have its darker moments, but overall it is a brightly lit and strangely affirming piece of ambience, looking out at the cold with a great sense of wonder.DMC WORLD MAG

This release is presented in the liner notes as a reaction to modern lives imaging a place without any stress or noise in an uncontaminated icy place. Hærleif Langås, the artist behind this project, is from Norway and shares with other projects this sort of nostalgia for a silent nature before man; more importantly, it's a reflection on the role of man as a member of its environment and not a sort of his deus-ex-machina. This opus is a single track in five parts: "Part I" is based upon a quiet loop while the underlying soundscape ebb and flow in audial field creating an immersive introduction for the listener. "Part II" is more focused on the development of an environment using a sort of field recording, or foley sounds, with a continuous tone to focus the listening attention. "Part III" tries an hint of melody with gentle notes of the piano and "Part IV" doubles this framework using instead a drone creating an atmosphere of surreal peace. "Part V" closes this release with a solemn and solar drone surrounding the listener as a sort of sonic depiction of the cover image. It couldn't be anything ground-breaking but the quality of sonic construction is sometimes mesmerizing and this is a sure pick for fans of quiet and canonical ambient. It's really worth a careful listen.CHAIN DLK

Přejděme ale k Norovi Hærleifovi Langåsovi. Ten jako Northaunt tvoří hudbu také více než dvě dekády. Z jeho předešlé tvorby je jasné, že na rozdíl od Scannera půjde o výrazně statičtější nahrávku. A je tomu tak. Na rozdíl od Velkého kráteru, který byl jako detektivka s mnoha vedlejšími zápletkami a odbočkami, album Northaunt je thriller, který začíná možná až příliš tuctově a nenápadně, postupně ale kumuluje atmosféru, aby na konci disponoval takřka epickým závěrem. A Hærleifovi k tomu stačí jen minimum prostředků. Statické atmosférické klávesy, které s časem tlačí na pilu a dostávají se do popředí a pak jednotlivé tóny kláves, které jako kapky čeří atmosféru, aby nenápadně vyvolaly pěkný přívalový liják. Začínáme v opravdu meditativní rovině, kdy táhlé plochy jak od Michaela Stearnse nebo Vindy Obmany doplňují tématické samply temného praskotu ledových mas či zurčící vody.Od selanky, kterou by mohl z fleku užít Brian Eno pro nejvíce prosvětlená místa své tvorby v 80. a první polovině 90. let (ten extrémní dozvuk klávesových ploch v prostoru!), přejdeme plynule k více zachmuřené druhé polovině alba, vrcholící nečekaně melodickou pátou, poslední částí kompozice. Nor Hærleif Langås má stejně jako starší a slavnější kolega Geir Jenssen alias Biosphere školu osamění v genech. I z toho důvodu má takto jednoduchá, nikam nepospíchající deska podobně silné celkové vyznění. Northaunt neplýtvá gesty a za léta fungování svého projektu má ověřeno, že to, co chce říct, vždy nakonec stihne vylíčit. Tak tomu je i u Istid III.HIS VOICE (CZ)

Opět na nás ledově zafičí, jak už to bývá zvykem na Glacial Movements, tentokrát se ovšem ocitneme v Norsku, kde Northaunt (= Hærleif Langås) z field recordings , prozvučení a ambientního rozpoložení vytvořil album Istid III přesně v těch rozměrech, jak to labelu (pří)sluší. Jestliže je CD označeno III, znamená to, že existují I + II, ale na tom zas tolik nezáleží, to vzdálenostní vstupování, roztříštěné nasouvání a záhromné či rozšumňované zprekérňování , které nás tu čeká, existuje samo o sobě – v jakési místní i časové vývěvě, potemněle znostalgizované, odemykavě rozléhavé, bořivě rozlamované do zvukových ker a zaplňované tušením katastrofy. Těch pět hudebních zálomků je naplněno ledotvornou mýtivostí, rozpohybovávanou s plynoucí nehybností, která je děsivá a vystupňovávaná i ve své neměnnosti. Vše se tu děje v jednom náhalném toku, rozlamivě proškeřovaném a šinoucím se vstříc – čemu? Kalamitě? Tento tok (bez)nadějnosti je ustavičně (roz)vratný, jde o nával rozpínavé stejnosti, bezvýbušného zaždímávání, stojatého ve své krouživosti – s oznamovacím hlasem, který jako by podával diagnózu neřešení. Rozvíravost, rozhalivost nebo rozjasnivost je tu výtočně zesilovaná, prozvonivě naléhající, pozahaleně doviřovaná, většinou setrvávající někde ve vzdalovaném ztracenu, matným obalem mystické stratégie se rozsvětlení prodírá pouze mrákotně a vzdalovaně. Protiklad nesrážlivého proklubávání a pajánového rozvolňování může a nemusí mít východisko, dokonce se obávám, že přes závěrečnou kvazi-nadějnost je výslednicí spíše skázonostní temno a poslední sbohem. Zdánlivá nápovědnost je tudíž neřešivá, celek vyznívá rmutně. Záleží na nás, co z těchto nápovědí přijmeme, v jakém pořadí a zda s iluzí či desiluzí. Co přejdeme, co odemkneme. Ale to už při poslechu repertoáru italských Glacial Movements tak bývá a musíme si sami rozhodnout, co převažuje: zda varování s možností východisek nebo zamknutí jakékoli perspektivy. Každopádně je dobře, že desky tohoto druhu vyvolávají emoce.UNI MAG(CZ)

Northaunt (Hærleif Langås from Norway) is preparing us for the third Ice Age. Or his third Ice Age, since Istid III is the follow-up of his 2015 release Istid I-II. The new album found a proper home on the Glacial Movements label, the label specialising in music about ‘places that man has forgotten…icy landscapes…fields of flowers covered eternally with ice… Icebergs colliding amongst themselves…’ Northaunt started his Istid series to imagine a world of silence before man existed. The icy landscapes that Northaunts paints are built from isolationist minimalism. The landscape is cold and frosty but not as desolate and hostile as in Ugasanie’s Ice Breath (mentioned above). There is some nostalgic beauty in these soundscapes, as well as a ray of hope – as symbolized on the cover by the sunlight breaking through the clouds. Slowly the desolate infinity of the abstract soundscapes changes with the introduction of ‘shy keyboard notes’. “… we can now imagine man is about to start his lonely quest for meaning in the desolation.”AMBIENT BLOG

Background/Info: Hærleif Langås aka Northaunt is back on track unleashing the third chapter of the “Istid”-series, which ‘came as a reaction to our modern lives, our world and how it sometimes seem confusing, stressful and noisy’. The previous chapters of this series were released on Cyclic Law as a double album (2015). Content: “Istid III” features 6 untitled tracks (parts), which all together create a long-duration soundscape mixing field recordings and electronic treatments. This sound universe again feels prosper and even relaxing, but it still sounds a bit dark and definitely mysterious. You feel like you are entering a new dimension, which are miles away from the daily stress of life. The tracks have been progressively built out reaching their ultimate point at the last track on, which some delicate piano keys are leading the visitor to the exit.+ + + : Northaunt is a master project when it comes to create such a kind of soundscape concept. It feels extremely relaxing and I even dare to speak about a true audio therapy session to banish all kinds of pressure. The tracks have been delicately built up mixing wafting sensation together with strange sound atmospheres. You really feel the concept hiding behind the composition. You can imagine the endless and rough nature of the North where the silence is only interrupted by elements of nature like wind, water ao. – – – : This kind of release needs a visual support (like pictures, documentary…) although you can create the images in your inner self. Conclusion: The “Istid”-series is a captivating sonic travel through the immense landscape of the high North. It has been perfectly transposed into sound by Northaunt..SIDE LINE

We first rewind to January of 2018 [hence the name of this column, right?], when Norwegian Hærleif Langås appeared with a third instalment in his dark ambient Istid mini-series, “dealing with the world before man, the beauty and loneliness of ice age earth.” Norway may be up there, over the Arctic Circle, but after having visited this country, I was overwhelmed with its extended beauty, sprawling with the many mountains, waterfalls, and shimmering lakes. Ideal for the focus of Glacial Movements, Istid III is replete with field recordings, sounds of the crackling ice, images of the low-setting pale sun over the desolate landscape, and that deafening silence which is muffled with snow. As the light glimmers out in the early evening of an endless winter, the frozen water rings out like a singing glass, resonating in the high band of the frequency spectrum, and perhaps even further, beyond the perceivable levels of sound. Similarly, on the opposite end of the scale, deep cavernous rumbles resound in the twilight, moving at snail’s pace, like tectonic plates. And here you are, in the middle of this climate, cold and indifferent, distant and dismal, bleak and alone. Yet in the morning, the sun shines again… Highly recommended for fans of dark and isolationist minimalism. Don’t forget that you can start with the first two instalments, available as a single release on Cyclic Law. Loyal followers of Lustmord, Sleep Research Facility, and Thomas Köner will feel right at home. Sorry, folks, the physical release is long sold out, but you can always buy digital (especially FLAC).HEADPHONE COMMUTE