Svarte Greiner — Devolving Trust
Svarte Greiner is the alter ego of the Berlin-based, Norwegian drone/ambient musician Erik K. Skodvin. Devolving Trust is the project's latest release, and the next chapter in the “Zen Music For Disturbed Souls” series.
What we have here is a live recording made in the bunkers of Schneider Brewery in Berlin. It’s an artificially cavernous space where the physical reverberation qualities saturate any sound easily and automatically. With an electric cello was used in an electro-acoustic manner throughout the performance.
Object-oriented music, where passages are revolving around a main sonic theme (the “object”) and the whole procedure resides and unfolds into that structure. Even if the album formally consists of two pieces, mentally and conceptually, the two pieces can be “separated” into many smaller ones and this is the essence of its progression. Circular movement with an elegant chance in the sonic scenery!.
The sound is quite rich, full and bloomed, having a strong bass foundation that evolves gradually as in a frequent stroll; full-on. Slow-paced, even in slow motion at times and as dark and wet as where the performance took place. The improvisation was left intact and without post-processing, with all the possibilities of a live performance, small errors or faults included, giving the whole outcome a truly live and untouched sensation. With “Devolving Trust” Svarte Greiner deliver a 'main' shelf titled piece, and a supplementary track, “Devolve”; the latter is derived from fragments of the main performance and it is an add-on or a conclusion, probably both.
Two long, almost ritualistic drone excursions, jazzy and beautifully repetitive in a way that they both create some spectacular meditative mantras, by circulating the phantasmagoric- but with minimal electroacoustic elements. There is no fixed method or formula in order to comprehend the album, just heuristic methods yet to be unveiled by listening, all pointing to the true nature of this music. This is something that has to be translated first, in a very personal process. One must turn the attention from the objects of this experience, to their inner self, to the very nature of their mind. After that point of illumination, the mandala of “Devolving Trust” is completed as employed, for focusing attention, or as a spiritual guidance tool.
This album truly represents, as intended, a spiritual journey, starting from the outside to the inner core, through all its layers. Serenity and perfection! The object of desire can be previewed and acquired from here .