
BJ Nilsen & Z’ev - 22' 22 [iDEAL Recordings - 2007]This new collaboration between sinister ambient unsettler Bj Nilsen & often percuin based drone/ noise maker Z’ev, is as the cover artwork suggest a slow winding descent into darkness or black firey mouth of Hades. The work as a whole follows on from the themes of Z’ev's recent work with a very religious/ thrown into damnation feeling about it. Maybe this could be the soundtrack to an apocalyptic yet Christian based text by either Milton or Blake. The three long tracks are a mix of slow percussive, cymbal, or bell derived drones and damned percussive structures. With grim harmonic trails of bleak ambience or locked descending melodies drift by, like faces or vast grotesque ornate structures that you pass on your descent. Elements are often reversed, dragged or near death clang into each other causing a wonderful creepy trance inducing unfolds of sound. The only slight criticisms is that the last track for the most part is silent & doesn’t start doing anything until a few minutes towards the end- I suspect why this has been done is to get the album time to or close to the magic 66.60 running time. Two and a bit slices of dammed percussive soundwork & unsettling tone washers, which though enjoyble enough doesn't really add anything new to either parties work. One for those who already have more than a passing interest in either BJ Nilsen’s or Z'ev work.      Roger Batty
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