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.”
VIDNA OBMANA – TWILIGHT OF PERCEPTION REDUX VOLUME ONE (1990-1998) (3CD, Zoharum)
After quite a numerous series of reissues of classic albums, it’s time for another real treat for fans of the VIDNA OBMANA. The compilation “Twilight Of Perception Redux Volume One 1990-1998” opens a collection of rare recordings, often unreleased before or scattered on various types of samplers, small formats, which are practically impossible to obtain today. Now these tracks have been collected in one place, rearranged, remastered and provided with a proper commentary by Dirk Serries. This collection, planned for at least four parts of three-disc compilations, is both a reliable compendium and a supplement to VIDNA OBMANA extensive discography. This edition released in an eight-panel digipack with graphics designed based on photos by Martina Verhoeven.
At an introductory price this first installment is now available with a 15% discount. Use the code : twilight2024 to order the digital album Use the code : twilight2024cd to order the 3xCD release. Valid till November 8th !
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
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.”
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.
A late, a bit critical but luckily clever written review of ZOHARUM’s reissue of VIDNA OBMANA’s DANTE TRILOGY. VIDNA OBMANA’s use of Dante Alighieri’s famous poem was not to musicalize this impressive piece of literature but to draw parallels with VIDNA OBMANA’s own creative demons. The album is available here.
“I’ve been tending to pass by a lot of these Vidna Obmana reissues that have been steadily appearing from the Polish Zoharum label, but I must admit this Dante Trilogy (ZOHAR 288-2) set has too much “presence” for me to ignore. A triple digipak with a spine as thick your index finger stares down from your shelf and won’t take no for an answer. Between 2001 and 2004, the Belgian ambient emperor Dirk Serries trading as Vidna Obmana managed to put out the original CDs on the American label Release Entertainment, at the time an imprint more readily associated with avant-garde noise rock and experimental metal.
I suppose there is a subtext running through the entire work that either refers to Dante’s epic poem in an oblique manner or attempts to retell aspects of the story of the descent into the ninth circle of Hades, and there are some helpful printed quotes from the Cantos on the artworks, but I feel all these things are kept on the back burner and remain merely as props or illustrative cues on which the creator can hang his assorted reprocessed experiments, looping beats, and dark ambient tones. To put it another way, this isn’t a “concept” story-telling album like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and certainly the curators at Zoharum evince little interest in the works of Dante, let alone the “infernal” themes – the sound of Obmana is pretty much all they care about. On 2001’s Tremor, there are references to tunnels, descent, and something rather menacing called the “insane brightness”, but these glimpses of the diabolical zone are just that, hazy impressions delivered through the miasma of reprocessed recordings of flutes, pipes, electric guitar, harmonica, and percussion. Matter of fact the rhythms and beats might be the selling point for Tremor for an audience arriving 23 years after the fact, since along with the troubling off-kiltre non-chords and foggy moods, they help the album induce a rather queasy trance-like state akin to delirium. To achieve that mesmerism, it also helps that most of Tremor stays much in the same area – the same pace, the same overall tone; in fine, it doesn’t help to speak of a musical range when there are no conventional notes to speak of, rather an array of layers and textures.
By the time of 2003’s Spore, there might be a subtle turning down another alleyway or corridor of Lucifer’s kingdom, although the aesthetic changes are so indiscernible we’d need new maps of Hell to locate where the shift took place. The same instrumentation was used, including the “Recycling & Abstract Mutations” credit that was printed on the original release. This part of the trilogy contains a shade more violence and hints at the kind of painful flesh-tearing antics that Clive Barker would approve of, which isn’t to suggest this subtle music would have served as a good alternative soundtrack to the Hellraiser movies – although the closing cut, ‘Resonant Gore’ lasts for some 17 minutes and almost manages to propose its own horror movie just by dint of its extreme length. Obmana isn’t using ferocious hammering beats on Spore, but there is an ounce or two more reverb somewhere on these backing rhythms that induces mild panic attacks and nudges the listener closer to that “shamanistic” condition that many American droners were also shooting for around this period. Collectors of this Belgian creator’s work will be glad to note that the original 2002 7-inch version of ‘Isolation Trip’ has been included on this 2nd disc.
Lastly there’s the 2004 release Legacy which originally surfaced in late 2004. This time there’s finally an explicit link to the works of Dante as the opening track is a sung-spoken recit of the Italian bard’s lines delivered by Steve Von Till, speaking as if wrenched from the grave. I had to look him up, but he’s the singer and guitarist from Neurosis, the Californian dark-ambient psych-metal industrial band who also had albums on Release Entertainment and their sister label Relapse. This Legacy one seems the least interesting of the three to my ears – more of the same limp “tribal” rhythms and pulses, and the wispy tone-paintings swirling together in a smoky basket of puff. Is it my imagination, or are there one or two fewer “layers” for this 2004 realisation of the theme? It’s pointless to look for guitar solos or keyboard breaks in this long-form, meandering music, but somehow the separate elements which our man blends together so seamlessly seem to be slowly unravelling at some point, leaving us with a stark canvas of emptiness.
If I’m reading the Zoharum press note correctly, it seems this particular trilogy was about where Dirk Serries reached the end of one of his tethers – they speak of his personal “frustration, disappointment and creative turmoil”, perhaps in the context of his place in the field or genre of ambient music, and sure enough, three years later, he decided to retire the Vidna Obmana project.” The Sound Projector – UK
Welcome to the return of the fantastic bandcamp Fridays. A perfect way to support your favorite artists as bandcamp on this day wave their revenue fees. This makes a huge difference. So to accomodate you in this we’re giving you a blistering discount of 25% on digital and hard copy items. Valid on these two platforms and only for today !! bandcamp code : bcseptember24 https://newwaveofjazz.bandcamp.com/ https://dirkserries.bandcamp.com/
German noise rock drummer JÖRG A. SCHNEIDER teams up with DIRK SERRIES.As we know Dirk, who never shies away from a challenge, but this one is beyond there. The music is absolutely not drone but rather a cross-pollination between abstract post-punk and post-metal. Enormously swirling and very in-your-face. While Jörg treats his drums as a madman, Dirk establishes himself once again as inventive as ever before with another unique take on playing the guitar and treating the sound with real-time and on the spot effects. The result is alienating, captivating and plain powerful. A record that is released in the impressive series of Schneider collaborations.
DIRK SERRIES & TRÖSTA – MAGNETAR (Projekt Records Digital, 2024) now available as a ‘name your price’ download here.
Belgians Dirk Serries & Trösta (the nom de plume of Nicolas Lefèvre) release their second album of ambient drone. What sets MAGNETAR apart from many others in the genre is Trösta’s melodic alto saxophone. Warmly phrased, the saxophone spreads its serene and graceful melody, washed in reverb, flowing in long, engulfing phrases. Don’t think about the jazz use of the sax but consider it as a warm analog wind instrument that moves above, underneath and along with the expansive guitar soundscapes.
Serries began the project with electric guitar and effects; performed live in the studio, he received a duet in return. The results are elaborate soundscapes: a symphony of lyricism, depth and nuance. It’s a solace drenched in melancholy and light, organically made by the hands of talented musicians. The 102-minute album expands their unique sonic universe, creating a beautiful, harmonic and moody blend. Music created on the spot showcases how naturally their two worlds blend.
AVANT MUSIC NEWS wrote of their debut, “Serries, who has also recorded and performed under his VidnaObmana and Fear Falls Burning pseudonyms, returns to his signature sound on this duo effort with Trösta on alto sax. Credited with electric guitar, Serries provides… layers of soft drones that gently reshape themselves. To this, Trösta adds plaintive and exploratory themes. Whether merging with the drones or serving a contrast thereto, these melancholy lines evoke a wistful and peaceful sadness… The result is not quite ambient, and neither dark nor light. Instead, it is a strangely moving set of long-form pieces that capture the emotions of the moment.”
LUMINOUS DASH wrote of their debut, “The two musicians produce a rich and compelling sound palette… Trösta colors the sonic swells in an impressive way with his saxophone. The duo immerses the listener in beneficial cosmic atmospheres that convey a soft timbre of melancholy.”
A subtle contrast is created between the fine, graceful brushstrokes of the saxophonist and the ever-transforming surfaces of the electric guitarist. Within a subtle cloud of sound, Trösta feels at home with his light, intimate playing as these two artists keep each other in balance walking together on a tightrope across a deep, dark chasm.
Recorded live, including all spatiotemporal effects at Sunny Side Studios between 2021-2023. Electric guitar, alto saxophone and electronics by Dirk Serries and Trösta. Mixed and mastered at Sunny Side Studios, Anderlecht.
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.
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).”
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