“The improvising trio Yodok III are about to release their latest album, Legion of Radiance, on the Consouling Sounds label. The group consists of Swedish (though living in Norway) drummer Tomas Järmyr of Zu and Barchan, Norwegian tuba player Kristoffer Lo, and Belgian minimal ambient artist Dirk Serries, who’s also recorded as Microphonics, Fear Falls Burning, and Vidna Obmana, among other projects. This is dark, slowly sprawling music that takes as much from synth-based artists like Tangerine Dream as from a free jazz-adjacent group like Supersilent. Echoes of Sunn O))) and Sigur Rós can be heard in the slowly unfolding dronescape on Legion of Radiance, but Järmyr’s drumming is an unfettered clatter that, particularly in its uses of toms, recalls Tony Oxley. It’s hard to specifically categorize it—it’s also difficult to believe the sounds are being made by electric guitar and amplified tuba (and “flugabone,” whatever that is). It’s not jazz, or metal, or ambient music, but this album could easily be played alongside Dead Neanderthals‘ Endless Voids (on which Serries appears) or Supersilent‘s 9 or 12.” BURNING AMBULANCE
“Yodok III (quite a strange moniker indeed it is) is a collaboration of three notorious and well-known musicians that did work together under other pseudonyms or in other constellations too. Best known, at least in our countries, must be Dirk Serries, for whom I recently wrote two reviews for stuff released via Consouling Sounds: the albums Unseen Descending And Lamentations and Buoyant (the latter created with colleague Rutger Zuydervelt); reviews posted on July 8th 2015 and June 8th 2015 respectively. On this album, Dirk performs all guitar parts, and he took care of the mastering duties too. The drums have been performed by Norwegian colleague Tomas Järmyr (also known from Zu), who did the mix of this live recording, and the third person involved is Kristoffer Lo (amplified tuba and flugabone). The trio created this one-piece improvised experienced on May 15th 2015 at Dokkhuset, Trondheim (Norway), supported under the wings of the New Wave Of Jazz current. The result lasts for more than one hour (almost seventy minutes, actually), by the way. Legion Of Radiance, the sole ‘song’ on Legion Of Radiance: Live At Dokkhuset. After three minutes of unbearable silence, slowly, very slowly things seem to move, but only sporadically something’s audible. Long-stretched moments of sonic nothingness, just far away at the background, waves of aural contribution appear, and disappear once again. At nine minutes, something starts to smoulder, but it takes another five minutes for the droning experiment climbs out of the bottomless pits of emptiness. But when passing the twentieth minute or so, everything gets clearer, louder, deeper. Rumbling drum patterns, hypnotic guitar lines, and transcendental-ominous blowers… These are the ingredients for a concept that starts to overwhelm, to intrigue, to grab your attention step by step, minute after minute. Remarkable is the ease of the synergy filtered out of this three-piece co-operation, but then again, the trio did work together several times before. Yet still, that does not explain everything, for there’s more to come. Clocking just over half an hour, everything turn more introvert once again, with that fabulous, even mystic tuba sound and some neo-shamanistic percussion patterns. Dreams of distant oceans, starlit skies and desolate deserts appear and reappear time after time (no, I did not smoke anything at all). Slowly a revival gets annunciated, and the last third of this lengthy journey kicks off with a long-stretched trance, causing meditative hypnosis and post-dimensional subconsciousness (no, really, I am sober right now!). The craftsmanship and professionality within the organic interplay of the three musicians involved reveals itself even stronger, more profound, than before. Slowly but resolute, Legion Of Radiance evolves towards a tantric climax, spiritual orgasm of sound, intimacy, relativity and fantasy! Only at the very end, after an explosive grand finale, the surmountable aspects of your inner eye turn back to reality, telling that this trip, causing a natural high (you see that didn’t do anything), was really ravishing, in both integrity as well as in extraversion. I will put on this disc once again, I guess…” CONCRETE WEB
“Yodok III is a collaboration between Norwegians Tomas Järmyr (Zu, Barchan), Kristoffer Lo and Belgian minimal ambient artist Dirk Serries (Microphonics, Fear Falls Burning, VidnaObmana, etc). This album was recorded live and is set for release to coincide with their appearance on the Roadburn Festival.It is unrushed and unhurried: a slow organic process moving toward a critical point. As each element comes into focus, at times imperceptibly and others in a noticeable way, the listener is held by the way in which the piece develops – bordering, eventually, on a tune rather than the beginnings of a melody. These possibilities of a tune start to make an appearance towards the twenty seven minute mark but are left incomplete and unformed. This passage is held for a few minutes heralding a completed state where all the instrumentation is active in a swirling, churning crescendo of the first peak or movement within the performance. The sounds drop away gracefully – drums and guitars diminish and disappear into the background leaving the sonorous, sombre and almost Gregorian tones of a tuba. Thus starts the second movement, a transformation of mesmerising and hypnotic solitude into the softly increasing cries of the returning guitar along with gentle and light splashes of percussion. The drone guitar is like a blast echoing through a mountainscape and suddenly becomes full bodied as the percussion punctuates the details adding drama and assurance that something is, again, being built up to. This last half hour brings the entire piece into context as the various strands slowly pull together weaving around each other toward a simple melody. It is as if you’ve reached the shore and are staring out over the undulating ocean with clouds drifting at an achingly slow pace across the sky as your heart beats with the rhythm of what you see before you. A perfect resolution to a journey started so long ago. AA split second you realise this was all recorded live as the crowd applaud Yodok III‘s accomplished performance. This is a one track album of approximately sixty eight minutes duration which was recorded live and to many people this will sound like a tune that nearly happened but gave up before getting anywhere. For those of you who find a wealth of creativity within the outer limits of music (with a Rock/Metal bias) this will be as worthy a release as the recent Nadja album (Sievert). It has a subtlety and drama which Yodok III are well known for and will be a welcome addition for fans of the project as well as those who enjoy this type of extreme music. If you are a newcomer to this area of music this is an excellent entry point to start from.” INVICTA MAGAZINE
“The trio YODOK III has established a unique kind of an interplay and aesthetics of its own. The trio offers powerful and addictive sonic rituals that leave no choice but to surrender, willfully, and be purified by these kind of secular rituals. The trio fifth album in the last three years, «Legion of Radiance», suggests another variation of these rituals, a longer one, one that still sounds fresh and intriguing. YODOK III features Norwegian, Trondheim-based drummer Tomas Järmyr, now also the drummer of Italian power-punk-free jazz trio Zu and the like-minded Norwegian trio MoE, amplified tuba and flugabone player, Kristoffer Lo, known also as a member of the successful art-rock group Highasakite and the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries, known for his minimalist ambient projects under the monikers Microphonics, Fear Falls Burning and Vidna Obmana. already established a unique interplay.
«Legion of Radiance» was recorded live at the Dokkhuset club in Järmyr and Lo hometown, Trondheim, on May 15, 2015. It features one untitled, free-improvised piece, 68-minutes long. The piece is an atmospheric and arresting drone monolith, rich with details. YODOK III sketch dense walls of sounds that blend the deep-toned, manipulated sound of the tuba, the effects-laden waves of hypnotic guitar lines and the exemplary cymbal and drumming work of Järmyr into a pulsating, tight unity. The dynamics of this sonic entity are changing patiently and organically, adding more colors, depth and resonant layers of sounds. The piece morphs from a dark, meditative and trance-like introduction into a more tortured and claustrophobic segment, and then building its tension in a reserved, dramatic manner until the ritual reaches its emotional climax, almost as in a archaic, shamanic ritual. All without losing its focus and course, even at its most noisier moments when it sounds as volcanic, metal piece.. But even after this thunderous climax, unfolding throughout towards the first half of the piece, the piece keeps morphing as a monolithic drone. Now the gentle, subtle tone of Lo flugabone and later the processed sound of the tuba charge it with a peaceful course, slowly swaying between the spacey guitar lines of Serries and the minimalist drumming of Järmyr. Järmyr lleads the trio into the its second climax, this time with an alien, ceremonial pulse injected into the dense, deep-space envelope that Lo and Serries have created. It is less dramatic and thunderous climax, still, draws you deeper and deeper into the addictive sound universe of YODOK III. . Magnificent.” SALT PEANUTS
“Järmyr en Lo zijn de mannen van YODOK IIII, het betonblok dat eerder dit jaar dwars door de ruit werd gekogeld. De nodige sirenen die op deze voltreffer volgden, veroorzaakten een allerprettigste hoofdpijn die nog steeds voortduurt. De incarnatie van de hieraan voorafgaande improvgroep – III dus – kent ook Dirk Serries in de gelederen. En dat is danig andere koek qua bedwelming. Geef gerust een forse ruk aan de volumeknop als je niet kunt wachten tot je iets hoort. Maakt de climax alleen maar des te gezelliger. Daar moet je wel een dik uur voor uittrekken. Toch is dit geen wáchten. De luisteraar wordt beneveld met zachtmoedige ambiente klankbaden die nauwelijks enig heil of onheil vooruit telefoneren. Sterker: een zekere stasis in de drone zorgt voor een trance die nu eens niet jeukerig of plat voor de soezerigheid gaat, maar kietelt, je bij de les houdt – of sleurt zelfs – en intrigerend van timbre en kleurintensiteit verschiet. Legion of Radiance is het muzikale antwoord op hapsnapgedrag: even snel een deuntje van Spotify, je collectie de deur uit doen en alles streamen zonder enige context. Zo klinkt deze liveopname niet alleen griezelig perfect, de hoes – ontworpen door Silken Tofu – biedt tijdens alle driftende abstractie van de klanken een poëtisch idee ter overpeinzing. En voor de rest luidt het devies: hoor en luister, een uurtje van je leven. Akkoord, bij dat ene uurtje blijft het niet, zeker weten. Want na deze knock-out stap je gelijk weer de ring in. Het bewijs dat een gevreesde afstraffende geseling een zalige zucht plus een aai voor het hele gestel kan zijn.” KINDAMUZIK
“This is not about groove. This is about texture. Atmosphere. Ambience. Get some good headphones, a comfortable space, and no distractions for approximately one hour, eight minutes and thirty one seconds. This deserves to be uninterrupted. An ethereal, insubstantial beginning, barely a disturbance of the air, made me question whether I’m actually hearing anything at all. Legion of Radiance starts in that place beyond quiet. Hearing things that aren’t there, until a faint orchestral drone resolves itself from the reticent patter of shy percussion. This is akin to an awakening of sorts, like hearing the instruments stretching, slowly rising from dormancy and getting ready to greet a new beginning. A dawn chorus of what sounds like stringed instruments announces itself, almost as if disturbed by the occasional sudden rumble of bass drum and snare. These stirrings are all the while underpinned by low swells of tuba and gently breaking waves of effects, providing further organic sounding backdrops as the piece develops. This is a strange and unsettling piece of music in places. There is no discernable time signature, there are few traditional melodies, and those are sparsely interweaved through ever evolving soundscapes. And yet… There is a pulse. There is an ebb and flow. There are crescendos, like miniature victories expressed by the brightly sunlit patches of earth across a clouded and rainy landscape. There is beauty in the light, but also in the rain. Gentle, life-giving, greening the landscape and feeding the future. Is this an album? One monolithic slab of live recording, with little repetition? This feels more a movement. A non-vocal story. There is a great balance to this piece, from timid, humble beginnings, to an intense and abrupt ending. Overall, this is one immense escalation of noise, but the apex is reached in an entirely nonlinear way. There are slow builds juxtaposed with sudden changes, executed in such a way as to sound as if the world itself could have produced this, almost without human intervention. The delicacy with which this evolves attests to how each member of Yodok III is entirely in tune with the other members of the band, especially when you consider that this is a live recording with an audience present. This release provides a framework on which you can allow your emotions to be projected. There are themes provided in adequate measure, but you are encouraged to fill in the details, the plot twists and the conclusions yourself. This is a selfish listen, but once you immerse yourself in Legion of Radiance, your own context somehow takes over and fills in the gaps. At times, it’s necessary to be selfish.” ECHOES AND DUST
“De avontuurlijke kant van het Roadburn Festival werd dit jaar onder andere vertegenwoordigd door Yodok III, dat in de kleine zaal van 013 een formidabel optreden gaf. Het langzaam opbouwen van spanning is het trio wel toevertrouwd en al staat de muziek van Yodok III een aardig eindje af van de muziek van veel Roadburn-acts, de trage maar spannende opbouw en de luidruchtige climaxen wisten ook de ruimdenkender festivalbezoeker te bekoren. Op de dag van het Roadburn-optreden verscheen ‘Legion Of Radiance: Live At Dokkhuset’. Yodok bestaat uit de Zweedse, maar in Noorwegen verblijvende drummer Tomas Järmyr en de Noorse tuba- en flugabonespeler Kristoffer Lo. Als duo brachten zij recentelijk het zeer sterke album ‘IIII‘ uit. Indien de Belgische gitarist Dirk Serries van de partij is, wordt de bandnaam omgedoopt in Yodok III. Van dit trio verschijnen de platen normaliter op vinyl op het Tonefloat-label, maar in dit speciale geval komt het album uit op cd op het Belgische Consouling Sounds. Overigens verschenen van dit drietal niet alleen lp’s op Tonefloat; ook twee cassettes zagen het daglicht. Dat betroffen registraties van optredens in Dokkhuset in Trondheim (Noorwegen) in oktober 2013 en in de Singer in Rijkevorssel (België) in juni 2014. Ook ‘Legion Of Radiance’ is een weergave van een concert in Dokkhuset, maar dit optreden vond dik anderhalf jaar later plaats, op 15 mei 2015. De stukken van Yodok III volgen vaak in wezen hetzelfde stramien: langzaam spanning opbouwend wordt naar een apotheose toegewerkt. Leidend motief is de drone die gelegd wordt door Serries en/of Lo, waaroverheen het elektronisch bewerkte tuba- en flugabonespel van Lo wordt gelegd. Järmyr is belangrijk voor het bepalen van de intensiteit, doordat zijn drumspel varieert van erg ingetogen tot zeer luidruchtig. De muziek lijkt niet al improviserend tot stand te komen maar op natuurlijke wijze te evolueren. Er wordt een enerverend muzikaal verhaal verteld dat toewerkt naar een overdonderende ontknoping. ‘Legion Of Radiance’ duurt een uur en acht minuten en Yodok III bouwt het stuk op vanaf het nulpunt: stilte. Het duurt even voordat een zeer zacht bespeelde snaredrum te ontwaren valt. Gitaar en bewerkte flugabone- en tubaklanken leggen een ambient-tapijt neer, aanvankelijk zeer getemperd. Hoe zacht de muziek ook klinkt, lieflijk is het allerminst; de spanning is vanaf het begin te snijden. Het vergt wellicht enig geduld, maar voor wie zich kan laten meeslepen werken de klanken betoverend. Langzaam maar zeker neemt de intensiteit van het stuk toe en dat leidt uiteindelijk tot een eerste climax na circa vijfentwintig minuten. De gitaardrone wordt luider en dreigender, de drums vliegen je om de oren en er is een langzame melodie van de elektronisch gemanipuleerde blaasinstrumenten te horen. Toch is het nog een enigszins ingehouden climax; het lijkt een voorbode van wat nog komen gaat, maar waar vervolgens weer lang op gewacht moet worden. Langzaam neemt de intensiteit weer af en na vierendertig minuten volgt een verstild stuk, maar ook nu weer wordt een spanningsveld gecreëerd. Serries’ drone sterft weg en ook Järmyr houdt stil. Alleen Lo blijft over en hij speelt een tweestemmige melodie, die overloopt in een lange toon. De lange aanloop naar het tweede hoogtepunt is in het vervolg minder verstild dan de eerste. De drones klinken scherper, gemener en de lage trommels worden al vroeg ingezet. En uiteindelijk is er natuurlijk geen houden aan en volgt een luidruchtige finale waarin alle remmen los gaan. De muziek van Yodok III is, hoewel abstract, verre van gevoelloos. De drone- en ambientklanken werken op het gemoed en als uiteindelijk de opgekropte spanning uitmondt in de tweede, grandioze apotheose, komen de emoties echt los. Voor wie er voor openstaat, is ‘Legion Of Radiance’ een ontroerende luistertrip. Ondanks die ontroering rest een euforisch gevoel nadat de laatste toon is weggestorven en het applaus klinkt. ‘Legion Of Radiance’ is fantastisch. Punt.” OPDUVEL
dirkserries.com 