The Circular Ruins - Empathy Test

[abasio]

The Circular Ruins

Empathy Test

Databloem

2003

 

Tracklist

 

1 Empathy Test (5:39)

2 Over Fields Of Light (6:31)

3 Recollections (7:06)

4 The Interpretation Of Dreams (9:20)

5 Salient Features (8:58)

6 Eccentric Souvenirs (7:24)

7 A Little Different From Reality (8:55)

8 The Seven Sisters (7:47)

 

After discovering Databloem records I also discovered just how good The Circular Ruins are. The Circular Ruins are up there among my favourite ambient producers now & I am eager to collect all of the albums. This is one of the first 3 I bought & the 4th released. The sounds are all very well used, intricate, very relaxed but never boring. It's an easy trap to fall into making ambient, letting it be boring. Some big names have fallen into this trap but I've yet to here a boring track from The Circular Ruins.

 

1. Empathy Test

We start of with some soft bleeps, a high pitched but pleasant droning melody & very light percussion. There is a very, very soft sample about flying to fast which comes in before a slightly more noticeable sample from a female leader discussing policies. The percussion comes a little further forward but never grows beyond relaxing. The whole feel of the track is dark warmth. Like bad news on a summer night.

 

2. Over Fields of Light

This track starts very naturally with the sound of a river & some bird calls. A sound like electronic bamboo permeates through the air. The naturalness gives way to electronica quickly although they blend together very well. The high pitched electronic sounds sound like buzzing insects in the air & I get a nice warm feeling like a summer evening out in the open, maybe in an orchard or a field with a few trees. Some very light percussion sounds to me like the passing of a horse somewhere in the distance, carefully controlled by it's rider. Nice natural electronic soundscape.

 

3. Recollections

Recollections starts off with a very static like sound which morphs into a sonic downpour of sounds which get darker & deeper as it moves on, like a long forgotten memory being recalled. Melodious sounds pop out the background, fly around a little bit & then go underwater again. Halfway through there appears an oscillating sound, like the memory has come to us but is just out of reach. Finally the sounds bubble up to the surface like at last it has been recalled & then flitters off into the void of insignificance.

 

4. The Interpretation of Dreams

The most melodious track on the album, probably the most accessible to chill lovers rather than ambient lovers. A simple melody repeats through the track as sounds are build up around it, let go & then have more build up. The sounds that accompany the melody range from percussion to soft oscillating drones to little bleeps of a different melody. The melody itself does not evolve through the nine & a half minutes of this track but how the other sounds accompany it makes it feel like it does. In the final third the melody leaves to be replaced by a more percussive sound. Wind blows at us & we have a much darker track now. The sounds are all very similar to those that were accompanying the melody but with out it's bright presence the music descends into darkness. A very nice piece of ambient.

 

5. Salient Features

The conspicuous thing about this track is that the sounds are very much in the foreground, like famous or important things that need to be seen. Whereas the previous tracks had just as impressive sounds, they didn't seem as intrusive on my thoughts as these salient features. The sounds are jutting, marked & have a lot of movement. Notable are the drones in this track that are also in the foreground. Drones in most ambient sit in the back but these feel like they are rushing towards you. Not obtrusive or obvious, but prominent & pronounced. For me this is quite a significant ambient work for those reasons

 

6. Eccentric Souvenirs

This track seems way out there in the depths of space. I really get a cosmic feel from the music. The light drones whisper images of stars & hyperspace gateways to my mind. The way the sounds bubble in the middle makes me picture the birth of galaxies. It gets a bit more glitchy (not enough to ruin the mood) later on making me imagine alien communication through the ether.

7. A Little Different From Reality

The swishing in this does hint at something different but it is the inclusion of little mental sounds that if were made louder & put in an upbeat track would have people going nuts on the dancefloor. As they are, subtle & relaxed all they do is intrude upon your open mind & pull at a few of the threads, slowly unraveling everything. One of my favourites on the album & one of the most psychedelic ambient tracks I've heard.

 

8. The Seven Sisters

I can't describe how this track seems to have a finality to it but it really feels like the journey is coming to an end. Elements of feeling from all previous tracks seem to be gathered here like meeting all the players after a play has finished. There is natural sounds, electronic wind, outer space & ultra trippiness all in one. All the sounds though sound as if they are dropping down into nothingness & though they are here now, they will soon vanish from your life. This adds an extra melancholic feel, for as good as this album is I don't want it to end & it's imminent conclusion leaves me a little sad & wishing there was at least one more track. Brilliant.

 

 

So a very good ambient album from The Circular Ruins. Each track is varied enough to make the whole album one you want to come back to again & again. From warm summery sounds to deep space tracks to ultra psychedelic trippiness this is an album that ambient lovers the world over should own. Pure brilliance. Such chilled goodness but never boring once focused on. It leaves me wanting more every time.