no Xivic — Uneksija
The man behind no Xivic is Henkka Kyllönen, a pharmacist who studied music theory and piano for 14 years and has been making his own music since 1996. Uneksija is released via Onyxia, the promising Finnish label who gave us the fabulous album by And then you die (see our archive for the review). Once again, the artwork is top-notch stuff: great paintings by Samuli Kontio.
No Xivic means minimal dark ambient soundscapes that at times get on the noisier side. And there’s no doubt that dark it is: you understand it as soon as the first track starts, with piano, voices far away and various noises and eerie sounds. On Gloom, things get more ominous, almost threatening, with a deep bass and the sounds of metal scraping on the walls. Kyllönen’s work is very subtle. He did a great job on the sounds he uses and the layers and layers of them you sometimes get is very refined and distinctive. One problem I have with this CD is that it really is monotonous. Shouldn’t come as a surprise since it’s an ambient album, but the uniformity of it all can be quite boring. However, a track such as Kosteus is a tad different: a constant humming sound, and a little bit of white noise that make for a mood of questioning rather than of unease. The same can be said about Ovi, with its frog sounds and the closest thing to a straightforward melody you will get on Uneksija.
There is nothing sensational about this CD. Nevertheless, it’s some quality ambient, with quality artwork on a quality label. Enough reasons for you to give it a chance.