Troum — Syzygie

From 1988 - 1996, German trio Maeror Tri released some of the most complex, textured, almost living ambient around. The instruments and effects were thick, well placed, and evocative. When Helge Siehl left the group, Stephan Knappe and Martin Git continued to make their mark on the experimental and ambient worlds with Troum. Syzygie is a collection of rare/deleted tracks recorded between 1999-2002. Troum has a new studio album due out on Cold Spring to be released in 2014.

Syzygie is nine tracks from nine different albums recorded over a period of four years. Some of the songs, though, were recorded in the same month, possibly even the same session. While interconnectivity between songs isn't apparent, Troum's general sonic output and consistency work in its favor here. "Ater" is the first and oldest song on the compilation (they're arranged chronologically). The full, long cathedral like echoes instantly transport the listener back to the late middle ages and the rise of grand, open architectural marvels. The low and high organ sounds ripple with subtle oscillations while the volume swells and fades. It's quite an engaging piece and definitely shows Troum's skill at evoking moods. Any airiness that "Ater" showed is taken and run with on "Makaria." The delayed, chorused strings help to elevate the soft, middling drone that makes up the backbone of this track. The low, lumbering drone of "Ganymed" takes the compilation in a different direction. Made up of a slowly oscillating, long decaying drone, this track feels like the awakening of a space goliath. Is this what the inside of Lovecraft's head sounded like? The vocal drones at the end either hearken the arrival of a new overlord or the end of a long space flight. Either way, the vibe this song gives off is excellent. Another interesting track is "Uegh (Cunabula)." The deep, reverbed drone gives way to a simple but crunched beat that rises slowly to the surface. Adventure video game like synths in the background have a long attack and long decay and it really adds to their mysterious quality. Whispered, backwards voices set the creepy mood in "Khan-Arachnid." Low rumblings and higher twisting drones rear their heads over what sounds like waves slapping against a dock. One can almost feel the boat, their only escape, slowly bouncing up and down with the waves. The voices continue, and if you don't flee soon, you know you never will. I'm getting equal parts Myst and Dagon/The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

By nature, ambient and drone features less changes than most genres out there. This leads to zoning out and apparent missing of the music you're trying to listen to. However, this hypnotic quality isn't accidental, and you understand more of the music while zoned out than you realize. Sometimes it takes a couple of Germans to make you take a break from over thinking and just be. Syzygie is a compliation, but works as well as most albums. I'm definitely looking forward to 2014's upcoming release on Cold Spring.