Drawing from his oeuvre and experience in ambient and experimental music, projects like his acclaimed Microphonics project, ‘THE MIGHT OF STARS SUBLIME‘, Dirk Serries‘ debut for German label AUDIOPHOB, feels familiar, close to home, but simultaneously creates another dimension in his realm of ambient music. This album leads the listener through a trip of minimalism, a sense of grandeur, a specific harmonic quality and beautiful ambient music which becomes full circle in ‘The Stars Sublime’, probably his most iconic and striking piece of music he made so far while it resembles a feeling that’s mutual with another iconic and acclaimed piece ‘microphonics XXIII – there’s a light in vein’ from his 2013 album.
‘The Might Of Stars Sublime’ is slated for release on April 25th
Category: Dirk Serries
DIRK SERRIES’ ZONAL DISTURBANCES II
DIRK SERRIES – ZONAL DISTURBANCES II (cd, ZOHARUM 2025)
Following DIRK SERRIES’ recent albums the composer continues to explore different sonic terrain. Still on the electric guitar with a motherboard of analog pedals, the 4 tracks on ZONAL DISTURBANCES II start to give signs of a new signature style of ambience Dirk is constructing. Organic, brooding and eerie. All recorded live on the spot creating music that still showcases the artist’s fondness for minimalism and slow repetitive clusters of sound while tying connections with his roots in industrial and experimental music. Foremost he continues, after 4 decades in the scene, to etalate his artistry in creating provocative, unique and genre-bending ambient music. Dirk Serries is a musical force to reckon with and to be finally rewarded for his wilful and unique voice in an ever increasing superficial music industry.
In the meantime, while this one is ready to be released, the “Zonal Disturbances” project has developed into several volumes. So if you let yourself be carried away by this music, look out for the continuation soon…
Purchase your copy here through our personal bandcamp shop or directly from the label.
STREAMS REVIEWED
DIRK SERRIES’ compilation of music from his STREAMS OF CONSCIOUSNESS series on Projekt digital has gained a lot of attention and praise. Here’re a few reviews.
The album is still available through the PROJEKT bandcamp site. And mark February 25th in your agenda for ‘TREASURE OF STARS’, a new exclusive Streams Of Consciousness album, for PROJEKT.
AMN reviews :
“In 2007, Dirk Serries wrapped up his long-standing vidnaObmana project, which began two decades earlier as an ambient electronic endeavor influenced by synthesists of the Berlin School. But a few years later he began quietly putting out recordings of this ilk once again, under the moniker Streams of Consciousness. There are a total of 17 albums released so far, including eight in the last year. This compilation consists of about 3 hours of these pieces. The sounds here are gentle ambiance, with slow-moving chord patterns, airy textures, and a peaceful mood. Created spontaneously on guitar run through effects, the music fits the album title. Serries plays in a stream-of-consciousness style and his output can be absorbed in that manner as well. The eight tracks are in the 18-25 minute range and feature lilting tones and expansive – yet mysterious – atmospheres. Individual notes and reverberating guitar washes are immersive but not suffocating. Despite the apparent simplicity of the music, it resonates deeply on an emotional level, inviting the listener to engage in relaxed, thoughtful introspection. Through this prolific project, Serries constructs serene soundscapes that facilitate moments of solitary reflection. He engages with the notion that the notes you do not play can be just as important as the notes that are played, thus using space as an auxiliary instrument. The album comes highly recommended for fans of vidnaObmana, Steve Roach, and the like. Streams Of Consciousness Compiled also serves as an unassuming antidote to an increasingly crazy world.”
EXPOSE reviews :
“We all remember VidnaObmana from the last years of the 20th Century, a floating ambient project alias created by one Dirk Serries, Belgian composer and instrumentalist in 1984, who recorded nearly 100 albums, both solo and in collaboration with like-minded travelers like Steve Roach, Jeff Pearce, Brannan Lane, PBK, Sam Rosenthal, and many others. In 2007 Serries officially retired the VidnaObmana moniker and moved forward using his given name and some new aliases like Fear Falls Burning. One of those new aliases was Streams of Consciousness, which began in earnest in 2013 and continues to this day (2024), bearing an explorative deep ambient drone style created using electric guitar and guitar effects in his home studio, with slow flowing evolutionary washes of sonic color full of warmth and emotion, not at all unlike the works he produced as VidnaObmana. As of this writing, Serries has released 18 albums in the Streams of Consciousness series, all with cryptic numeric titles that seem to indicate the date on which they were recorded. Each of the albums contain two tracks, each roughly the length of an LP side, and those tracks do have English titles, so with 18 albums with two tracks each, to date there should be 36 tracks total, though you won’t find any of them on Serries’ Bandcamp page — instead one needs to search for Streams of Consciousness to find them. Streams of Consciousness Compiled contains eight tracks selected from the ongoing series (only a few were ever produced on physical media in the beginning, and have since been download only), it’s something of an introduction to his ongoing project, which as it turns out is more like a homage to VidnaObmana than most of the other projects that Serries has running currently, so for any listeners who were tuned into his work back in the VidnaObmana days, this eight track sampler (almost three hours of music) should go far to quench your thirst for his brand of dreamy, meditative sounds, and point you in the direction where more can be found.”
IYEZINE reviews :
La qualità del deep ambient e drone di Dirk è sempre molto alta, le composizioni arrivano da pubblicazioni diverse, ma fanno parte di un unico continuum e lo si percepisce benissimo. Dirk Serries è un artista belga, compositore e musicista, uno dei produttori ambient e drone fra i più influenti e capaci della scena europea. “Stream of consciousness compiled” è un progetto per Projekt Records che racchiude una selezione di otto lunghi brani per circa tre ore di deep ambient, drone e viaggi siderali. Gli otto brani sono stati scelti da Dirk facendo una selezione delle diciassette uscite pubblicate su https://streamsofconsciousness.bandcamp.com/ . Tutte le composizioni sono state composte e prodotte dal vivo da Dirk nel suo studio usando una chitarra e tantissimi effetti, e il risultato è davvero notevole. La serie è cominciata nel 2013, e delle prime tre uscite sono stati pubblicati dei vinili in quantità estremamente limitata, per poi continuare la sua vita nella forma digitale. Questa raccolta mostra cosa sia questa meravigliosa collana di uscite deep ambient e drone.
Seguendo da anni la collana ogni uscita prodotta da Dirk è notevole e questa selezione è sicuramente un ottimo punto di ingresso in un qualcosa che vi avvolgerà e si insinuerà dentro la vostra mente, cambiandola in meglio. Serries è uno sperimentatore sonoro da oltre quarant’anni, avendo iniziato nella scena do it yourself belga degli anni ottanta, cominciando nel 1984 il progetto Vidna Obmana con il quale ha cambiato la storia ambient e drone europea e non solo.
Come si può ascoltare qui, la frequenza musicale di Dirk eleva l’animo umano, è un sostrato di luce e di bellezza, e anche le tenebre illuminano. Seguendo linee di chitarra totalmente inusuali ed estranee alla comune nozione della sei corde, si entra in altra quota, fra le nuvole che attraggono e al contempo respingono la luce che arriva dal vuoto, in un vero e continuo flusso di coscienza che abbraccia il tutto partendo dalle parti che lo compongono, arrivando a rompere la divisione e la diversità delle parti. Questo disco non va ascoltato, ci si deve immergere ad occhi chiusi, è quasi una meditazione nel senso più altro della parola, un essere qui ed ora ma a diecimila metri da terra, distantissimi da dove ci troviamo ora. La qualità del deep ambient e drone di Dirk è sempre molto alta, le composizioni arrivano da pubblicazioni diverse, ma fanno parte di un unico continuum e lo si percepisce benissimo. Profondità, bellezza e anche magnificenza, per un’opera che lievita ad ogni ascolto, e che come le cellule germina in continuazione producendo nuove cellule, in un afflato che non è solo musica ma tendenza all’infinito e a risvegliare una parte di noi che è infinita e che fluttua, lontana dal nostro corpo. Non è un lavoro per chi cerca nicchie di genere o appartenenze a qualche genere o scena, qui c’è l’universo nella sua totalità che pulsa.
CHAIN D.L.K. REVIEW :
There are albums you listen to, and then there are albums that listen to you. Dirk Serries’ “Streams of Consciousness Compiled” belongs to the latter category – a collection of ambient driftworks that doesn’t demand attention but rewards surrender. These nearly three hours of shimmering, slow-motion soundscapes are less a “best of” and more a portal into Serries’ post-VidnaObmana meditations, a distilled essence of his decade-long “Streams of Consciousness” series, built entirely in real-time with just an electric guitar and a handful of effects. Serries has spent over 40 years sculpting sound, often navigating the liminal space between presence and absence, between what is played and what is left to dissolve in its own wake. His approach here is a masterclass in restraint. Notes don’t so much ring out as they breathe; they rise and hover, contemplating their own existence before fading into the ether. It’s music in which time itself slows to a near standstill, like sunlight refracting through water, catching brief, fleeting patterns before they are swallowed by the current. The track titles – “Meandering”, “Harmonious Flare”, “The Whispering Scale” – serve as vague coordinates, but they don’t prepare you for the immersive depth of each piece. “Remote Delight” is a lesson in how delay and reverb can bend perception, stretching a single note into something more resembling a memory than a sound. “Solstice of Murmur” unfolds in waves, each one softer than the last, as if it were erasing its own past. “Glow Horizon” feels like floating through the liminal zone between wakefulness and sleep, where recognition and abstraction blur. For those who miss Vidna Obmana, this release is a gentle assurance that the spirit never truly left. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to exist as a cloud for an afternoon, “Streams of Consciousness Compiled” is your answer. A weightless, introspective dream of an album, built for those willing to embrace slowness – not as a limitation, but as a form of transcendence.
DIRK SERRIES’ TREASURE OF STARS
DIRK SERRIES – TREASURE OF STARS
A Streams Of Consciousnes album
(Projekt Records)
ARC333 • 617026233321 • Digital • Projekt’s Bandcamp : Tuesday Feb 25 •
Release at all DSPS: Friday Feb 28
The Streams Of Consciousness series is home for Dirk Serries’ gleaming solo ambient work. With over 40 years of sonic experimentation — including his many albums as VidnaObmana — Dirk’s Treasure Of Stars is a return to his trademark melancholic ambient dwellings. Created in real-time on electric guitar and a handful of effects, it’s a shimmering slowflow exploration of textures and emotional states. Transcendent and esoteric soundscapes facilitate moments of solitary reflection.
Projekt’s 2024 release, Streams Of Consciousness Compiled, was such a success with the label’s fanbase that the decision was easily made to return with a new album exclusively recorded for Projekt. The serene tones and expansive – yet mysterious – atmospheres are constructed live, solely on the electric guitar. Individual notes and reverberating washes ebb and flow over the course of these longform pieces.
For those who wished VidnaObmana was still around releasing albums, the wait it over. This release invites repeated listenings as one is gently rocked by warm, starlit washes of sound.
Press excerpts from 2024: • A slowflow inner exploration of sonics and emotional states… Dirk Serries’ homage and return to pure harmonic sonic moments. This music is purely ‘in-the-moment’ ambient.
• The sounds here are gentle ambiance, with slow-moving chord patterns, airy textures, and a peaceful mood.
• Despite the apparent simplicity of the music, it resonates deeply on an emotional level, inviting the listener to engage in relaxed, thoughtful introspection.
• Serries constructs serene soundscapes that facilitate moments of solitary reflection. He engages with the notion that the notes you do not play can be just as important as the notes that are played, thus using space as an auxiliary instrument.
• At time while listening I feel like I’m floating in deep space, at others that I am a piece of driftwood being gently rocked by ocean waves, and at still others it’s as if I’m lying stretched out in the grass, the sun gently warming my face as I watch puffy white clouds slowly drifting by.
• Slow flowing evolutionary washes of sonic color full of warmth and emotion
Now temporarily available as a ‘name your price’ purchase over at Projekt Records’ bandcamp :
https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/treasure-of-stars-streams-of-consciousness
Watch and enjoy this youtube teaser, with photography of Shaun Cullen, featuring one of the songs from ‘Treasure Of Stars’…
https://youtu.be/S_3Ny_tI2OM
BANDCAMP REVIEW :
“Listening to this album offers one an opportunity to practice non-attachment; to attend carefully to each moment that passes, exploring its unique contours and textures with the wide-eyed wonder of beginner’s mind; but then to let it pass into the next, as it must, without grasping at it frantically. Listening here one simply floats, serene and complete; a part of it all, but shackled to none.” Dave Aftandilian
AMBIENT LANDSCAPE REVIEW :
Dirk Serries has once again figured out a way to pull our [ambient] strings!
His latest offering, ‘Treasure of Stars’ (releasing February 28th), creates a sonic mosaic of intricate ambient sound. Serries at once presents dreamy, melancholy waves of ethereal isolation; wielding his ambient “axe” to build an intangible wall of delicious quietude and dividing intentional spareness from the larger elemental body of enveloping ambience. “Other Transformations” is the standout track for me personally; with the entire album embodying a sublime reflection of Dirk’s ability to transport the listener’s attention into a personal space of solace.
Beautiful and . . . evocative
ROCKERILLA REVIEW (translated from Italian) :
A mantra that accompanies the mind in the most intimate hours of the night. A game of mirrors between sleepy reverberations and chords that melt in the moonlight like incandescent lava. The latest chapter of the Streams Of Consciousness series, Treasure Of Stars, is yet another journey into the dreamlike and evanescent universe of dark-ambient, built over many years of career during the era in which Dirk Serries called himself Vidna Obmana. Today, when the Belgian musician is focused on finding the exit from the labyrinths of free-jazz, it is nice to find him still absorbed in contemplating the stars.
KRAUTNICK REVIEW :
Im Rahmen seiner Reihe „Streams Of Consciousness“ entführt der Antwerpener Ambient-Gitarrist Dirk Serries mit „Treasure Of Stars“ dieses Mal an den Strand, ins All, unter Wasser und auf hohe See, alles allein mit der Gitarre und einigen Effektgeräten generiert, alles unendlich langsam und alles unendlich schön. Serries nahm dieses Album solo und am Stück für das Label Projekt Records auf. Eine wärmende Flucht aus dem Alltag.Die Anwesenheit am Strand allein betäubt bereits. Die Sonne geht unter, blutrot, ewig, unendlich lang andauernd. Die Wellen bewegen sich im gleichen Tempo, wie eine massive Masse, die draußen, jenseits des Strandes, in eine endlose Bewegung gerät, eine Masse, deren Absicht es gar nicht ist, an den Strand auszurollen, sondern die schlichtweg hin und her wogt, extremst verlangsamt. Einige Surfer sind bereit, sich dieser Bewegung auszusetzen, sie verharren auf ihren Boards auf diesen Wogen und zelebrieren die Langsamkeit. Möwen und Pelikane stehen in der Abendluft, deren Hitze nur allmählich abnimmt, gesättigt, allein zur inneren Freude zu so etwas wie einer Levitation aufgebrochen. Der eigene Atem passt sich der Langsamkeit an, man ist komplett heruntergefahren, blickt aufs Meer, blickt in die Sonne, lässt ihre Wärme auf seiner Haut, in seiner Lunge wirken, man fühlt sich völlig befreit. Irgendwo nah genug, um nicht verloren zu gehen, schlägt ein Musiker karibische Akkorde an, alle halbe Minute mal einen, schickt sie durch ein weichzeichnendes Effektgerät und zaubert den am besten passenden Soundtrack zu dieser komplett entschleunigten Lebenssituation.
„Soft Rain“ nennt Dirk Serries seinen viertelstündigen Opener, dessen Gitarre indes mit sonnigem, karibischem Surf-Twang eine strahlendere Entspannung vor die inneren Augen führt als ein weicher Regen. In „Other Transformations“ leitet Serries anschließend für 14 Minuten über, seine Gitarre klingt jetzt zweigeteilt, in eine höhere, beinahe orgelartige, sowie eine dronige, in mittleren Lagen angesetzte Variante. Das Tempo bleibt gleich langsam, ein Metronom hätte hier Schwierigkeiten, überhaupt anzuschlagen, ganz abgesehen davon, dass es auf dem gesamten Album gar keine Takte gibt. Mit Hall und Leichtigkeit wähnt man sich in der Schwerelosigkeit, indes nicht im stockdunklen All, sondern im gleißenden Licht, umgeben von einer wohlwollenden, seelenwärmenden spirituellen transzendentalen Entität.
Mit „Weathering The Gale“ verführt Serries die Hörenden dazu, die nächsten 20 Minuten unter Wasser zu verbringen. Die Töne sind gedämpft, die Sonne schickt ihre Strahlen sanft durch die salzige Flüssigkeit, aus der unbedrohlichen Tiefe schlängeln sich Algenbäume empor und konkurrieren in Zeitlupe mit dem Glanz des Lichts. Es dauert eine Weile, bis man begreift, dass man ja unter Wasser atmen kann, dass diese Situation, in der man gerade schwebt, ein Geschenk ist, eine Gabe, dargebracht allein dadurch, dass diese Musik erklingt. Abermals meint man, anstelle einer Gitarre eine Orgel wahrzunehmen, als spielte sie jemand in einer versunkenen Kathedrale, deren Hallraum vom Meer verstärkt, verwischt, verteilt wird. Sind es zunächst noch Schulen kleinerer Fische, die in minimalster Geschwindigkeit durch diese abgedunkelte Kathedrale ziehen, werden diese alsbald durchkreuzt vom Leviathan; aus den unterschiedlichen Strömungsverhältnissen ergeben sich Dissonanzen, das Licht nimmt weiter ab, doch keine Angst, der Leviathan zieht vorbei, von ihm geht keine Bedrohung aus.
Der Leviathan ist nicht nur nicht bedrohlich, sondern sogar ein Freund – er nimmt die Hörenden mit zurück an die Oberfläche, zur letzten Viertelstunde, die dem Titelstück gehört. Auf der offenen See wogt das gigantische Urtier, man wogt mit ihm. Die Sonne dringt hell durch sich gemächlich verflüchtigenden Nebel, man wähnt sich in Breitengraden, auf denen der Frühling naht. Die Luft wird frischer, heller, womöglich befindet sich festes Land irgendwo in der Nähe, sieht man da am Horizont nicht behäbig mit den Flügeln schlagende Schmetterlinge im Dunst des Morgens? Serries‘ Gitarre erklingt einmal mehr mehrstimmig, aufmunternd dieses Mal, aber immer noch nicht wachrüttelnd, sondern positiv stimulierend.
Nach einem solch umfangend schönen Album mag man sich gar nicht an Fakten wenden. Aber muss ja: „Treasure Of Stars“ ist eine Sonderausgabe der Reihe „Streams Of Consciousness“, die Serries seit 2013 in unregelmäßigen Abständen mit solchen One-Offs füttert, in der Regel betitelt lediglich mit dem Aufnahmedatum, einzig die Tracks tragen greifbare Namen. Der letzte Teil „240112“ erschien nachträglich am 1. Januar 2025, der vorliegende entstand ja außer der Reihe. Zudem spielt diese Veröffentlichung auf Serries‘ Ambient-Alter-Ego VidnaObmana an, das er 1985 aus der Taufe hob und offiziell 2007 dorthin wieder zurückbrachte. Ein Blick auf jene Discographie lässt Sammler die Hände über dem Kopf zusammenschlagen: Der hat unter vielem anderem mit Klinik und Asmus Tietchens zusammengearbeitet! Bevor man sich nervös daranmacht, sein Kleingeld zusammenzukratzen, sollte man besser zur Ruhe kommen und nochmal „Treasure Of Stars“ auflegen.
EXPOSE REVIEW :
A while back I wrote a few words about Dirk Serries release Streams of Consciousness Compiled on Projekt Archive, a double-length download of eight recordings he made in this ongoing series. Now, one year later, he has released another installment, Treasure of Stars, an introspective, meditative collection of four new pieces of deep listening magnificence. For those who tuned into Serries’ work back in the 90s, when he went by the moniker VidnaObmana, the music in the Streams of Consciousness series approaches the work he did at that time, a very dreamy sound that floats freely in spaces unknown, with some textures held within, one might find these works comparable to Steve Roach’s floating ambient material, at least in a general stylistic sense — Serries’ work is mostly created using guitar, though one may not know unless you listen closely. All four tracks clock in between fourteen and twenty minutes, leaving the listener with plenty of space for the imagination to wander deep inside the inner spiral or out among the farthest stars. “Soft Rain” opens the program, a warm, beautiful drifting piece that splashes colorful walls of sound on all sides of the listening experience as it proceeds forward; it doesn’t change a lot during its fifteen-plus minute existence, but that’s exactly what soft rain should be — and it’s a perfect title. Next in line is “Other Transformations,” a somewhat darker, knurled piece with strong textural elements that float by in passing; there is a must-see video of this track on Projekt’s Bandcamp page (link below), it’s certainly not what one might expect. In the near-twenty minute “Weathering the Gale,” the feeling is expansive and mysterious, a powerful fountain of night music that flows over the spirit, while the closing title track certainly lives up to its title — one can visualize the stars in the night sky while very subtle insect sounds fill the imagination. The four pieces fit together perfectly, guiding the listener through a sound world that one might find surreal, something suitable for meditation or slumber.
MOORS MAGAZINE REVIEW :
Een elektrische gitaar en wat effectpedalen, meer heeft de Belgische gitarist Dirk Serries niet nodig voor zijn in één keer opgenomen “streams of consciousness”-albums, waarvan Treasure of Stars de laatste is. Het is bijna ongelofelijk hoe weinig er lijkt te gebeuren en hoe onvoorstelbaar spannend deze muziek tegelijkertijd is. Ambient, melancholiek, zacht verschuivend en meeslepend, het is allemaal waar, maar het mysterie is vooral hoe het kan dat deze op het eerste gezicht “saaie” muziek toch zo boeiend kan blijken te zijn. Want als je ook maar een beetje aandachtige luisteraar bent hoef je je hier geen minuut te vervelen en word je al snel volledig meegesleept in de ambient wereld van Serries en zijn magische gitaar. Luister maar eens naar de fragmenten die ik hier laat horen en beluister ze dan vooral nog een paar keer. Dan hoor je wel wat ik bedoe
PURR24
DIRK SERRIES contributed a fine ambient piece (which incorporates the purr sounds of his house cat Kuro) to the beautiful compilation – all profits go to the aid of older shelter cats.
★ NAME-YOUR-PRICE DOWNLOAD ★
For Charity!
This collection stars our beloved cats whose purrs fill the heart of each track. Fourteen artists in the electronic, ambient, space music, and drone genres weave their kitty’s purrs into the mix highlighting the warmth and unique presence our feline companions add to our lives. Though some of these magnificent beings have passed on, their essence runs throughout. With all royalties and profits going to an elder-cat charity, PURR24 is nearly 100 minutes following sonic tangents and red dots of light created with our furbabies in our thoughts.
Projekt-founder Sam Rosenthal’s 18-year-old collaborator Nova Cat passed away in April. “When Nova died,” he reflects, “I lifted my spirits thinking of the five years she spent with me, enjoying our friendship in her final forever home. I emailed Michael Stearns as we previously chatted about a kitten he found in Los Angeles in the 80s who lived to 23 (108 in human years!) I knew he could empathize with my attachment to older cats who need more care yet offer a wealth of wisdom and love. With ideas of a benefit album and royalties donated to an elder-cat charity, I asked Michael if he’d create a song incorporating his kitty’s purrs. I’d already released two collaborative albums with my Nova (as ‘Nova Cat Purring Sounds’). I was interested in what other artists would create within the purr + music concept.”
Rosenthal continues, “Collectively, we’ve been in the music business for more than 400 years; over those centuries many felines have shared our lives. They hang out in the studio, run around like madmen in the other room while we’re trying to create, and sometimes lie at the feet of our cellists curled up and purring to the deep tones. There’s a lot of ASMR of cat purrs available, but not much where the purrs are incorporated into music. The results here are loving, lovely and warm. My new kitties like listening to everyone’s purrs.”
In 1999, Rosenthal compiled (and released on Projekt) the darkwave collection A CAT-SHAPED HOLE IN MY HEART, raising over $10,000 for charity. With some help from feline-loving fans on social media and today’s streaming economy, there’s no telling what this album might raise! All artists royalties and profits are contributed to charity, starting with Senior Cat Action Network seniorcatnetwork.org/donate (and changing over time).
ZONAL DISTURBANCES
Out for a little bit over a week is this digital-only solo album of DIRK SERRIES. Following his recent albums AT FUTURE DAWN (Cloudchamber Recordings) and DEFIANCE OF SELF(Silentes) the composer continues to explore different sonic terrain. Still on the electric guitar with a motherboard of analog pedal, the 4 tracks on ZONAL DISTURBANCES start to give signs of a new signature style of ambience Dirk is constructing. Organic, brooding and eerie.
You can purchase the album here :
AMBIENT LANDSCAPE REVIEW:
“This is an amazing, semi-ambient excursion from Mr. Serries. At once caustic & experimental, Dirk deviates into a sonic world of sublimely drone-scaped melancholy contained within an ambient substructure that resonates not so subtle undertones of deliberate aural chaos. The sounds that Serries pries from his guitar are astounding; if you dig your #ambient with an edge, you owe it to yourself to give Zonal Disturbances an intentional listen!”
MOORS MAGAZINE REVIEW: “Dirk Serries is een buitengewoon veelzijdige Belgische gitarist die meestal op een archtop gitaar met anderen geïmproviseerde jazz maakt, maar hij heeft ook een zwak voor ambient, en dan haalt hij zijn elektrische gitaar tevoorschijn, en zijn effectenpedalen, en dan gaat hij los op een onnavolgbare manier. Denk dan niet aan kalme drones en rustgevende ambient, want wat je hier te horen krijgt is ambient met een ruw randje, regelmatig aanschurend tegen wat wij hier wel genietend “heerlijke pokkeherrie” noemen. Zonal Disturbances heeft Serries in één keer in zijn eigen homestudio opgenomen in oktober 2024, gemixed en gemastered en meteen uitgebracht. Bij een eerste beluistering mag het wellicht wat weerbarstige muziek lijken, maar als je vaker luistert (de drie fragmenten die ik je hier laat horen zou ik zeker drie keer beluisteren) hoor je de details en de kleine finesses die er in verstopt zitten, en kom je er achter hoe spannend en tegelijk melancholiek deze muziek is. Het is overigens bijna ongelofelijk dat Serries alles wat we hier horen aan zijn gitaar weet te ontlokken. Verbazingwekkend.”
NEW SOLO AMBIENT ALBUM
Following his recent albums AT FUTURE DAWN (Cloudchamber Recordings) and DEFIANCE OF SELF(Silentes) DIRK SERRIES continues to explore different sonic terrain. Still on the electric guitar with a motherboard of analog pedal, the 4 tracks on ZONAL DISTURBANCES start to give signs of a new signature style of ambience Dirk is constructing. Organic, brooding and eerie.
You can purchase the album here :
https://dirkserries.bandcamp.com/album/zonal-disturbances
MAGNETAR
After a succesful ‘name your price’ campaign on Projekt’s bandcamp, DIRK SERRIES & TRÖSTA’s MAGNETAR remains available at a small price for such expansive collection.
EXPOSE REVIEW :
“A magnetar is a neutron star with an incredibly powerful magnetic field, such that as it decays it powers the emission of high energy electromagnetic radiation, and in particular x-rays and gamma rays. No need to worry about that here, this magnetar is completely safe and won’t harm your hearing, vision, or internal cell structure — no danger at all. In fact, being in the vicinity of this Magnetar is a relatively gentle and calming experience, though it is warm, a combination of ambient and melodic elements that cover the listener like a warm blanket on a cold autumn night under the stars. Dirk Serries should be well known to Exposé readers — we interviewed him years ago when he was using the moniker VidnaObmana to release his own work, as well as many collaborations with the likes of Steve Roach, Stratosphere, Asmus Tietchens, PBK and numerous others over a 40-plus year career. Trösta is Belgian saxophonist Nicolas Lefèvre, an outstanding player but relatively unknown, though we did review his 2021 collaboration with Serries titled Island on the Moon. On the ten improvised tracks at hand, Serries provides a heavily effected ambient guitar backdrop to the proceedings, while Trösta provides the melodies on alto sax with a mild amount of studio reverb. The sax is always clearly audible as such, while the same can’t be said for the expansive guitar sweeps, which often sound more like a wall of synthesizers, but the combination that they present together is always graceful, forceful, and melodically striking, though never harsh or abrasive in any way. For those who need categorizations, one might say it’s a mix of floating ambient and melodic jazz working together seamlessly, weaving in and out of a cosmic atmospheric fabric, each track around ten minutes in length, give or take a few minutes, and all together the album comes to well over 100 minutes. While there is definitely too much going on here to make it suitable for slumber, it’s a perfect soundtrack for relaxation and meditation.”
FREEJAZZ BLOG REVIEW :
“Magnetar takes Serries to his formative ambient era, then working under VidnaObmana and Fear Falls Burning pseudonyms, in a second duo album with fellow Belgian alto sax and electronics player-sound engineer-producer Trösta (aka Nicolas Lefèvre), following Island on the Moon (Consouling Sounds, 2022). The album was recorded live between 2021 and 2023 at Serries’ favorite Sunny Side Studios in Brussels, operated by Lefèvre. This 102-minute album offers atmospheric and peaceful yet quite melancholic, free improvised dreamscapes and drones of Serries’ expansive, effects-laden guitar lines, resonating with great reverb the subtle melodic phrases of Trösta. A highly immersive listening experience that highlights the close and powerful magnetic fields Serries and Trösta share.”
LAST CALL : DIRK SERRIES & TRÖSTA
Last call ★ NAME-YOUR-PRICE DOWNLOAD ★
Dirk Serries & Trösta: Magnetar
projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/magnetar
A subtle beauty is created by the graceful brushstrokes of saxophone and the ever-transforming textural surfaces of electric guitar. Trösta’s alto sax sets MAGNETAR apart from others in the ambient genre. Warmly phrased, his serene and graceful melodies are washed in reverb, flowing in long, engulfing passages. Across 102 minutes, Belgians Serries & Trösta (the nom de plume of Nicolas Lefèvre) reveal a solace drenched in the soft timbre of melancholy and light.
GENRES: Ambient, New Age, Drone
DIRK SERRIES’ DEFIANCE OF SELF
After “THE DISINTEGRATION OF SILENCE“, marked as a continuation of the work between visual artist Stefano Gentile and Belgian ambient musician Dirk Serries, Dirk returns to Stefano’s Silentes/13 label with a new album, entitled “DEFIANCE OF SELF“. In the wake of its predecessor, Dirk worked on this album in January 2024 using his motherboard of pedals and an electric guitar to create this slightly darker and experimental album. Once again performed and recorded entirely in real-time, and embracing the willful character of some of his outboard pedal effects, Dirk allows them to lead direction of each piece. “DEFIANCE OF SELF” is alienating, expansive, utterly eerie and inventive, as the author continues to consolidate a new creative path that’s clearly his own. Let yourself be absorbed in this dark realm of thematic soundscapes, accentuated by the somber and melancholic ’80s style of Stefano Gentile’s photography.
Copies are now available from our bandcamp shop :
https://dirkserries.bandcamp.com/album/defiance-of-self
ONDAROCK REVIEW :
“La parabola artistica di Dirk Serries, iniziata alla fine degli anni 80 sotto lo pseudonimo Vidna Obmana, non smette di rivelarsi estremamente prolifica arricchendosi con invidiabile costanza di album solisti e collaborazioni a vario titolo. Tra queste ultime si è rinnovata lo scorso anno quella con Stefano Gentile – iniziata nel 1995 con l’uscita di “The Transcending Quest” per la sua Amplexus – attraverso la pubblicazione di un lavoro audiovisivo che vedeva affiancati i collage dell’artista veneto alle frequenze ambient del musicista belga. Ed è nuovamente l’attuale etichetta di Gentile a curare l’uscita di questo nuovo tassello. I cinque dilatati piano sequenza di “Defiance Of Self” si ricollegano direttamente alla matrice atmosferica intrisa di un chiaroscuro malinconico e desolante che tanta parte ha avuto nei capitoli migliori a nome Vidna Obmana. La chitarra è elemento unico, supportata dagli effetti, registrata e manipolata analogicamente in presa diretta. Le atmosfere perseguite sono crepuscolari, contraddistinte da un’evoluzione lenta e costante di modulazioni sature, la cui grana – soprattutto quando le screziature si fanno evidenti – conferisce un portato hauntologico preminente, veicolato anche dall’immagine sfocata e consunta della copertina. Quello plasmato è suono che si innalza tendendo a sfaldarsi (“Crumbling Sense”), ad inasprirsi fino a sfiorare la dissonanza (“Reckoning”), rendersi flessuoso ritrovando sentori enoiani (“Vigil”) per divenire riverbero di una memoria distante, che giunge da territori oscuri. Indulge fino ad essere ossessivo, disegna scenari di inquietudine in cui si rimane inevitabilmente impigliati ricordandoci quanto sia incisiva la capacità di Serries di costruire labirinti interiori profondamente elegiaci.”
VERSACRUM REVIEW :
“Defiance of Self di Dirk Serries è un album che sfida le convenzioni dell’ambient, portando l’ascoltatore in un viaggio sonoro cupo e sperimentale. Il musicista belga ha sempre avuto la capacità di reinventarsi come già si poteva notare con il suo leggendario progetto Vidna Obmana. Pubblicato per l’etichetta Silentes/13 di Stefano Gentile, il disco rappresenta un’evoluzione del sodalizio artistico tra il musicista belga e il fotografo italiano. L’album, concepito nel gennaio 2024, emerge come un’opera che non solo estende la sensibilità acustica di Serries, ma ne esplora anche i confini più oscuri e inesplorati. Dirk Serries utilizza qui una combinazione di pedali e una chitarra elettrica. Defiance of Self è stato registrato interamente in tempo reale. Questo approccio conferisce all’album una qualità organica e imprevedibile, dove ogni traccia si sviluppa come una conversazione in continua evoluzione tra l’artista e i suoi strumenti. Le manipolazioni sonore si fondono e si sovrappongono, creando un arazzo acustico stratificato e complesso che è allo stesso tempo straniante e avvolgente.
Serries evoca qui paesaggi sonori che sono tanto affascinanti quanto disturbanti. Le atmosfere create sono brumose e malinconiche, avvolgendo l’ascoltatore in un piacevole stato ipnotico che riesce a sospendere il tempo e lo spazio. Fin dall’iniziale “Mantle” veniamo proiettati in un’atmosfera nebbiosa e lattiginosa che evoca una natura solitaria e desolata. “Crumbling” inizia in maniera sperimentale e noise per poi sfociare con effetto siderale nel finale. “Perception” è più pacata e meditativa anche se pervasa da una tensione sotterranea mentre “Reckoning” vira verso ambientazioni che mi hanno ricordato il primissimo Klaus Schulze almeno come effetto. La conclusiva “Vigil” mi ha invece ricordato molto certe momenti cupi e gotici del primo Vidna Obmana.
Le fotografie malinconiche e cupe degli anni ’80 di Gentile completano perfettamente i paesaggi sonori di Serries, creando un’esperienza immersiva che è tanto visiva quanto uditiva. Le immagini evocano un senso di nostalgia e perdita, che risuona con i temi esplorati nelle composizioni sonore. Questa sinergia tra suono e immagine amplifica l’impatto emotivo dell’album, trasportando l’ascoltatore in un regno di riflessione e introspezione.
Ogni brano di Defiance of Self è una meditazione sull’identità e l’autodefinizione, come suggerisce il titolo. Serries utilizza i suoni per esplorare i confini del sé, mettendo in discussione le percezioni e le aspettative dell’ascoltatore. Non si tratta di un album facile ma richiede un ascolto attento e contemplativo, invitando a perdersi nei suoi intricati paesaggi sonori e a riflettere sul proprio viaggio personale. Le atmosfere brumose e malinconiche, che riescono ad evocare un piacevole stato ipnotico, rendono l’ascolto un’esperienza profondamente coinvolgente e trasformativa. Il CD, in custodia di cartone con busta interna, esce in un’edizione limitata di 200 copie.”
VITAL WEEKLY REVIEW :
“You can’t say Dirk Serries is a one-trick pony. I am one, though, because I used that same line only some weeks ago when discussing his ‘At Future Dawn’ release (see Vital Weekly 1439). He started dabbling with noise in his very early days as Vidna Obmana, explored the world of ambient and electronics with that project, picked up the guitar to play a more rock-like version of ambient music as Fear Falls Burning, and about ten years he added pure improvisation to that. I always assumed entering a new phase ended the old one, but that’s not the case again, as we saw last time. This new disc sees a continuation of the previous one because if Serries has an approach, he shares it plenty. The information mentions Serries uses his motherboard of pedals and an electric guitar, which one easily assumes brings a mix of Fears Falls Burning and Vidna Obmana, or perhaps a different take on improvisation, but instead, Serries manages to make the guitar sound unlike the guitar. I do not know if he bought a new load of effects, as they give the music a more organ-like quality, almost as if he uses some granular synthesis and pitch-shifting harmonics. It is atmospheric music, and the last track, ‘Vigil’, is the most ambient, whereas the others have an excellent atmospheric unrest feeling. The music is both intense and relaxing, which may depend on the volume you use for playback. I prefer a more moderate volume, so the space I am in, my living room, fills up beautifully with sound without being too immersive (that kind of thing is not something I like to experience at home, but rather in a bigger space, different sound system, etc.). As with the last review, I like to end with the same line, ‘I don’t know why he no longer wishes to use his Fear Falls Burning moniker for this, as this could have morphed into something that Dirk Serries does on this CD”
SPONTANEOUS MUSIC TRIBUNE REVIEW :
“Zbiór nagrań poczynionych od kwietnia do grudnia ubiegłego roku otwierają frazy, którego zdają się pochodzić z samego dna kosmicznej czarnej dziury. Z jednej strony wystudzona warstwa czystego dark ambientu, z drugiej strumienie szmerów. Opowieść już po kilku chwilach ma bardzo bogatą fakturę – niskie, niemal basowe pasmo delikatnie chrobocze, z kolei wysokie śpiewa niczym chór anielski. Narracja płynie coraz szerszym korytem, a do jej gęstego już wnętrza przedostają się drobne frazy usterkowe. Całość umiera w wiecznym szumie herbertowskiej pozaprzestrzeni. Owe zniekształcenia, fałszywe dźwięki, usterki, mikro sprzężenia stanowią wątek główny kolejnej opowieści. W kilka chwil po starcie na backgroundzie plejady usterek zaczyna formować się szeroka struga ambientu, wysoko posadowiona, w brzmieniu dalece mało subtelna, wręcz groźna, która z czasem systematycznie zawłaszcza obszar usterkowy, aż po stan pełnej dominacji. Na etapie finalizacji ambient gaśnie, a na powierzchnie zaczynają powracać strzępy fonii, które poznaliśmy już wcześniej. Przypominają robactwo, które po rzęsistej ulewie wychodzi z bulgoczącej ziemi. Trzecie opowiadanie, to rodzaj skupionej, mroczej modlitwy. Czyste pasmo płynie środkiem, a na jego obrzeżach zaczyna mościć się interlokutor, który ma nieco zabrudzone brzmienie. Z jednej strony post-melodyjna nostalgia, z drugiej porcja gęstniejącego brudu. Na górze śpiewy, po środku taniec, na flankach tumany szumu. Na zakończenie epizodu pojawiają się kolejne porcje usterek – tym razem brzmią jak pasma zdezelowanego syntezatora. Kolejna opowieść staje w dramaturgicznej opozycji do poprzedniczki. Nerwowa, jazgotliwa, wręcz demoniczna struga ambientowych wywiewów na etapie rozwinięcia zostaje uzupełniona o wyższe pasmo, jakoby niosące źdźbło nadziei. Tymczasem w tle zaczyna się już toczyć mała wojna światów. Nerwowe frazy umierają tu w prawdziwych konwulsjach. Finałowa ekspozycja podejmuje nie do końca skuteczną próbę uspokojenia sytuacji scenicznej. Drobne, basowe pulsacje, strumień czystego ambientu, ale i kolejna porcja usterek, tym razem dość drobnych. Opowieść toczy się umiarkowanie spokojnie, ale w jej wnętrzu budują się pasma gęstego, niemal bolesnego smutku. W głowie recenzenta budzą się teraz skojarzenia z post-elektronicznymi dekonstrukcjami Matta Elliota czynionymi pod jego epokowym szyldem Third Eye Foundation dwie dekady temu z okładem. Na choćby odrobinę ukojenia musimy tu czekać niemal do ostatnich sekund.”
KRAUTNICK MAGAZIN REVIEW :
“Es ist ein Rausch, ein Skulpturengarten im dichten Nebel, ein Tauchgang in Honig, ein zwielichtiges Labyrinth in Watte: „Defiance Of Self“ nennt Dirk Serries seine Experimente, die er mit seiner Gitarre und seinem Effektboard mitschnitt, in Echtzeit, wie die Info betont. Die Info sagt außerdem, dass die fünf Ambient-Tracks dunkel und experimentell ausgefallen sind, aber das ist durchaus diskutabel: Freunde solcher freien Musik finden Freude an den entschärften Atmosphären, die die Hörenden umhüllen und vom Übel der Welt abtrennen. Dunkel geht anders, abstrakt indes ist es sehr, und es gelingt dem Antwerpener ungemein gut, aus dem Experiment Schönheit zu extrahieren. Von wegen „Selbstverachtung“! Fünf Tracks zwischen zehneinhalb und dreizehneinhalb Minuten generiert Serries bei sich zu Hause im Studio mit Gitarre und Pedalen. Der Opener „Mantle“ trägt seinen Titel mit Recht, er umhüllt, umfängt die Hörenden wie ein Schutz, den man nicht spürt, nicht sieht, lediglich wahrnimmt, mit einem siebten Sinn vermutlich, ein wabernder Rausch. Auch zu „Crumbling“ an zweiter Stelle passt der Titel, das Stück zerbröselt nicht einfach, Serries zerhackt es, er generiert beinahe Industrial-artige Rhythmen, bleibt aber dennoch milde damit. Es erinnert sehr an den Sound des wunderbaren Duos Nac/Hut Report aus Kraków. In Track Drei, „Perception“, wird Serries beinahe sakral, es klingt wie ein Gottesdienst, der im grauen Zwielicht eines noch nicht besiedelten fremden Planeten abgehalten wird. Unterdrückte Chöre aus dem Zwischenreich und ein Organist, der gegen Ende mühsam dagegen ankämpft, zur Seite zu kippen, halten die Motivation der Kirchgänger am Rande einer unzugänglichen Landschaft aufrecht. In „Reckoning“ klingen Serries‘ Instrumente wahlweise wie Schiffshörner, die Orientierung zu geben versuchen, abstürzende Flugzeuge und Formel-1-Boliden im Vorbeiflug, begleitet von einem weit entfernt im Graben seine Instrumente stimmenden Orchester. Zum Finale gibt’s mit „Vigil“ eine transparente, ätherische Mahnwache, einen Chor der stummen Seelen, einen Begleiter hinab in ein narkotisches Traumland. Serries fasst „Defiance Of Self“ als Fortsetzung von „The Disintegration Of Silence“ auf, das er nur wenige Monate zuvor als Soundtrack zu einem Kunstbuch von Stefano Gentile unter gleichen Bedingungen aufnahm. Jener Fotograf, nicht der Basketballer, nun revanchiert sich damit, dass er diese Fortsetzung ebenfalls auf seinem Label Silentes/13 herausbringt. Wer Serries‘ Musik sammeln will, braucht derweil ein dickes Portemonnaie und viel Platz im Regal – der Mann ist unermüdlich. Man darf sich freuen auf die erste Collaboration mit Jörg A. Schneider, die hoffentlich in Kürze zu haben ist – die zweite sollte ebenfalls bereits aufgenommen sein. Es reißt nicht ab!”
JAZZ’HALO REVIEW :
“Dirk Serries in zijn eentje met elektrische gitaar en de nodige pedalen ter beschikking, dat staat hier synoniem voor een flow van klanken uit de kosmos. Een ander en vooral donkerder aspect van de gitarist die graag en goed om zich heen schopt in de wereld van free en improvisatie. ‘Defiance Of Self’ sluit naadloos aan bij wat hij uitbrengt onder de naam vidnaObmana maar gaat ook enkele schemerzones verder. Vijf mysterieuze ambient stukken boordevol droom- en waanbeelden, gestadig opgebouwd maar zonder catharsis. De gitaar als abstract expressiemiddel. Opgepast voor de fans want het gaat om een beperkte oplage! Verschenen op het Italiaanse label van Stefano Gentile met wie hij het interdisciplinaire ‘The Desintigration Of Silence’ maakte (en dat inmiddels uitverkocht is).”
ROCKERILLA REVIEW :
“Dirk Serries torna alle sue immersioni negli abissi degli ascolti profondi. Registrato in tempo reale, Defiance Of Self è lo specchio dell’anima di una musica dedita alle modalita ambient noise della tessitura telepatico-minimalista piu pervasiva. Quale consumato stratega di sortilegi paramusicali, il compositore belga mette in camp le potenzialita della cifra contemplativa piu obliqua e rapita, solcata da irradiazioni di armonici rugginosi e stralunati. Una mappa cerebrale di processi uditivi che si allungano insieme alle corde della chitarra elettrica e al corredo di effetti plurimi azionati del Nostro. Una ‘sfida del sé fatta d’incontri imperscrutabili e manefestazioni extrasensoriali Da Dipanare Nell’Ombra.”
BLOW UP REVIEW :
“Dirk Serries è stato sempre estremamente prolifico, a partire da Vidna obmana con cui ha iniziato, della seconda metà degli anni ’80, per proseguire vent’anni in Fear Falls Burning, fina alle ultime stagioni in cui ha preferito firmare I suoi lavori col proprio nome, anche in un’impressionante quantità di collaborazioni. Rispetto all’ultimo atto per Silentes. ‘The Disintegration of Silece’, dello scorso anno ‘Defiance Of Self’, registrato, come d’abitudine, solo con chitarra elettrica ed effetti applicati in tempo reale, predilige sponde più ombroso e meno accoglienti, tanto che la conclusive, scura, Vigil sembra persino avvicinarsi a certe pagina del suo antico progretto. Negli altri brani, che hanno durate simili, si estendono tra I dieci e I tredici minuti, la dronica Mantle apre ad ambienti spaziosi e, per recate impressioni, piacevolmente neutri, Crumbling Sense si caratterizza per un procedure inizialmente faticoso, col natural flusso sonoro disturbato e intermittente, che si scioglie e scorre senza ostacoli solo nella porzione centrale per poi ritomare ad inciampare tra distorsioni e riverberi, in Perception of A Fall si avverte il senso della sfida di affrontare soavemente la consapevolezza esistenziale che un baratro si profila, in Reckoning si fruga in se stessi con discordanti, contorte, forze contrarie, tra mistica e cupezza (7,5).”
dirkserries.com 