Tavshed — Ramt

This cdr arrives with the visually striking artwork we’ve come to expect from labels run by Julien Skrobek (Slow Death, Ink Runs Recordings…): simple and effective, yet formal, too. The release has one long track, near twenty-one minutes, of adventurous harsh noise wall making. The artist (if I’m not mistaken) is the same person behind the Velfaerd project - one part of a small group of people who’ve notably been taking chances and risks with the traditional hnw “form”. “Ramt” fits into this fringe tradition beautifully, certainly presenting a risk of sorts, but one which pays off wonderfully.

Put most simply, “Ramt” is nearly twenty-one minutes of white noise. Those in the business of wall-making could imagine it as a wall with all the distortion removed, or without the chain’s distortion pedals engaged. For those of you involved in other activities, “Ramt” is… well, its white noise. Plain and simple. I can’t lie about my prejudices in HNW: I like crunchy textures, over the top crunchy textures - I’m not a fan of washy sounds one bit. Tavshed, though, goes past “washy sounds” with “Ramt” and comes out the other side.

There’s every danger this review could turn into a confused monologue from my brain, rather than a review of the cdr in front of me. However, “Ramt” really has made me rethink so many things about HNW. What, on first listening, was: “well, that was unusual…”, has become supremely interesting with each further listen. Its almost as if someone has taken on a ridiculous dare (“make a wall using white noise alone”) and then accomplished that dare so effectively that its governing terms are redefined: what was ever ridiculous about that dare? Once you are inside the wall, it is incredibly strong and scathing; with differing layers of activity and turbulence. Yet, the whole venture is undeniably subtle: its a lesson in listening and demands concentration and engagement.

I realise I have said precious little about the sounds of “Ramt” themselves, but I think the album is something that needs to be experienced and reflected upon by the individual. All that I can do here, is tell you that you really should experience it and reflect upon it. It takes me back to what I initially loved so much about HNW - the deep, concentrated listening; the deliberate “loss of self”. Its very much a “back to basics” call, to my mind. (As an aside, this contrasts very nicely with the artist name and album title. Although “Tavshed” is Danish for “silence” (“Ramt” I am unclear about), the fact remains that, to my anglo-centric ears, the two words remind me of the modernism of e.g. Autechre track titles. So you have this nice tension of experimentation via stripped back convention.) This really is a great, visionary album and one that should be heard by all those involved in HNW, full stop.