Volhnn/Sihir — Split

Here we have a self-titled CDR split- which finds two of the more known, prolific & respected figures in the French walled noise. Each severs up a twenty-minute track of moody & drone-based walled matter, that has often subtle grey industrial edges to it. Featured here are Mathieu Wagner with his project Volhnn, and Julien Skrobek with his project Sihir. This release appeared only as a CDR, with no digital option- so if you fancy this you’ll have to go old fashioned & track down a copy of this.

The black pen written CDR comes in a single fold white paper sleeve- this features a Samara ( The Ring) like figure with its long-haired face full of static and basic black texts on black.

So first up we have the Volhnn tracks- Wagner will be most  known to most for his Chier project, which since 2015 has put out a 100 plus release of often quite creative-to-old school wall matter. With the Volhnn project, he focuses in on the more moody-to-atmospheric side of static texturing/ wall craft- the project started in 2016, putting out only around ten releases. The untitled track here slides in at the 18. 52-minute mark, and what we have here is more of dense drone affair- with a subtle churning industrial-like feel- though there are still elements of repetitive textured noise here too. The track is built around an encasing, though not terribly dense blend of constant purring bass pull & rotation building fan buzz- around these key tones we get growing maps of thinner jitter ‘n’ spinning textured noise. The addition of the other elements really add a feeling building brood & unease- as if you are slowly but surely getting more & more lost in the corridors of some vast, seemingly people-less high rise that's  full of identical doors.

Next we have a spot on twenty minute track from Sihir- Skrobek stands as one of the most proflic, respected & muitl project linked names in the wall noise/ wider French noise scene- been active for the last ten or so years with projects like Ghost, Ruine, The Killer Came From The Bronx,
Ecco, and Static Park. He started the Sihir project last year, so far it’s put out five or so releases, and once again the focus is more pared back & droned out take on textured/ static noise. The track here is built around a blend of galloping & feasting drone noise rush, under this we have this constantly tolling bell tone- these elements are fed out in a dense, yet washed-out & at times hollow- yet battering mass. The whole thing feels both overwhelming & engulfing, yet at the same time haunted & terminal glum- as you continual sucked into the rushing vortex of the track.

I’d say you’ll certainly need to enjoy the more droning based & experimental side of wall matter to really get the most from this split. And I’m not sure if the two tracks connect together as a flowing split, but there’s no doubt that both are very well crafted & defined. I'm unclear if there are any copies of this left, as I don't know how many copies were pressed- but I’d say it’s certainly worth tracking down- if your either a fan of Wagner or Skrobek work, or enjoy more moody/ creative wall work.