Swiss-Philippine Annie Aries is a true musician; one who is not afraid to play with diverse genres as she shifts effortlessly between dance, minimalist techno and just plain minimalist. Her approach to music is textural, enhanced by a focus on live performance and guided by her instrument of choice, a custom-made modular synth that underscores her construction of multi-layered soundscapes currently sitting at the core of her latest release, It’s Not Quiet in the Void.

Aries studied musicology in her native Bern, later specialising in the experimental, and has spent most of her career working with collaborators - her first notable output being 2015’s trip-hop inspired The End of the World with Dr. Mo. As part of her partnership with Marcel Zaes, Aries produced the minimalist techno Debris in 2020 using the classic Arp 2500 synth to create their own brand of warm, but intense dance music; recently followed up with last year’s Dust. Other musical phases have hinted at the more minimalist aesthetic that appears here. Her work with Florina Diemer as part of research unit, kollektiv, for example, experimented with new forms and structures that integrated field recordings with synthesizer.

It’s Not Quiet in the Void demands to be listened to in its entirety. It is a journey, or rather a descent. Into where is undetermined, but it’s a voyage filled with futuristic foreboding. This is instantly evident on the first track, aptly titled ‘Abyss’. It’s a subtle start, a cosmic drone that builds effortlessly with lurking metallic chimes and which just as effortlessly contracts down the other side.  It segues straight into next track ‘Solitaire’ – it’s no surprise that this is a lone voyage – and where its predecessor was slow to start, here there is no discernible sound for almost a minute. That is until a one-note electronic drone seeps in, and the music rises in transcendent glory - the solitary resonance persisting once again until eventually petering out to nothingness. This is as mellow as it gets as from hereon in the chaos of the void kicks in with ‘Commute’. True to its title, this is a sonic rush through the vacuum, hands over ears, inordinate screeching in the background. ‘JJG4260N’ picks up the baton with its aural assault of synthetic arthropods – a static cacophony into the heart of darkness.

The second half of the album is really one long continuous piece of music broken down into four tracks. Appropriately titled ‘Void’ renders high-pitched soaring notes, metallic noise still loitering, as the track builds into what can only be described as an ominous drone soundscape. It is aggressive and abrasive segueing into ‘AJE164’ which changes dynamic and drifts off elsewhere. This is a Kubrickian journey into infinity. ‘Springs’ continues with pseudo voices, before reaching the denouement, ‘Formation’ – a one-note, muted rumble interrupted halfway by a nightmarish uproar and then later some poltergeist static.

It’s Not Quiet in the Void is in equal parts fascinating and terrifying – but wholeheartedly recommended.  Available to buy here.