Ulesa — Ulesa

This self-titled six-track CD album is seemingly the first release from extremely mysterious project Ulesa- and what’s on offer is a selection of highly moody and darkly spiritual soundscaping, which blends together elements of ambient synth/ key tones, slowly moaning 'n' warbling female vocals, gloomily-to-smoky horn tones, and some martial percussion on a few tracks.  

The release appeared at the tail end of August this year on Poland’s Zoharum- the cd comes present in a very sparse monochrome four-panel digipak, which features just out of focus pictures and shapes- some of which may or may not be cobweb-covered portals & out of focus church picture. And of course, this nicely adds to the mystery of the project it’s self- as there’s no indication anywhere- who is behind the project, where they are from, or how long they have existed. 

We kick off the album with “I” this runs five minutes and nine seconds and opens with a blend of grimly tuning up ambience, and a muffled dialogue sample about a mirror of confusion. As we get into the track we find steady and simple ritual drums, glowing and looping ambient pad hits, and distant warbling and wailing female vocals which have a vague ethereal gothic quality to them. By “III” the more formal and steady marital drums come into play, and these are meet rusting and dry ambience, and slowly drifting moans of the female vocalising. On “IV” we find slow bounding and doomed piano keys, grimly smoky horn work, and faint traces of darkly drifting female vocalising.  We finish off with the more pronounced and set marching drums of “VI”- with its grimly glowing ambience wailing and dart, darkly sensual piping horn.

In finishing this self-titled debut album is an original blend of light gothic vocalizing, grimly forlorn horn work, lulling ambience, and stripped back ritual percussion. So, if you looking for something darkly mysteriously and gloomily calming this will fit the bill- to buy direct head here.