This  CD reissue from July of this year brings together two out-of-print CDR releases from The Tapeworm Vessel. A two-piece project who brew up a darkly heady ambient/ drone sound, which from time-to-time dips in post-industrial and light electronica territory. It’s an eleven-track affair, and I must say the duo manage to offer up a fairly distinctive, at times wonkily unsettling sound- which is quite difficult in the sometimes cliched world of dark ambient.

The Tapeworm Vessel stared out in/ around 2008- and it brings together Dave Janssen- one half of dada (off) world music duo  Renaldo & The Loaf, and Sylvie Walder- a Paris based sound maker who has been putting out solo work since 2008, as well as one release with another two-piece project Kakitsubata.  As of writing  The Tapeworm Vessel have put out three full-lengths- 2008’s Twelve Atmospheres( which reissued on Klanggalerie a few years back), 2009’s Songs From The Tree Of Life Vol one, and 2012’s Oxherding- this CD compiles together the last two releases, though the version of Oxherding material is edited down somewhat.
 
So the CD’s first ten tracks are from Songs From The Tree Of Life Vol one- and it’s a fairly varied selection of darkened ambient/ drone fare. We go from wavering harmonics meets shadowy tone simmer of the wonderful titled “Sleeping Near Belgium”. Onto the washed-out electro vibe sadness and lulling 80’s ambient synth darts of “Gentian Rooftops” which later adds in distant/ on-off slugging beats. There’s the crashing sea tones meets warbling ‘n’ melting tone drifts of “She Shall Tell A Sea Shell Tell”, which later on features some chilling music box vibes. Or the distant children playing sounds blend with creepy and slightly pitch-shifting keyboard harmonics of “L'Education Sentimentale”,  which towards it middle adds in sad piano key runs, wondering clean guitar work, and warbled foreign toughed female speaking.
 
The final track of the release takes in an edited version of one track release of Oxherding- with the original forty-one-minute track being cut down to thirty-two minutes. On this track I’m getting a feeling of a looser and more nocturnal take on very early synth-based Tangerine Dream, meets shadowy industrial texturing. With along the way some nice sudden jarringly loud tone flourishes, uneasy horror harmonics, and even some quirky if creepy ethno electro beats appearing at one point appearing
 
It’s nice to see Klaggalerie reissue these recordings from The Tapeworm Vessel, as the project does have a fairly distinctive and rewarding take on the darkened ambient/ drone form. This CD is ltd to a hand-numbered edition of 100 copies, so if this sounds like something you could enjoy, I’d act sooner than later, and head here to score a copy.