The Circular Ruins - The Alchemy Concert

[abasio]

The Circular Ruins

The Alchemy Concert

Databloem

2005

 

Tracklist

 

1 Affinity Construct (14:02)

2 Their Subtle Purpose (12:21)

3 Calibration (4:08)

4 The Circle of Life (10:59)

5 Changing the World (5:54)

6 Exclusion (6:23)

7 The Flame's Shadow (12:22)

8 Alpha and Omega (3:12)

 

The Alchemy Concert is a live concert from June 2004, broadcast by Atmoworks label on their Atmostreams web radio station. It was broadcast direct from the studio of The Circular Ruins in London, Ontario Canada & was performed on 2 keyboards feeding a variety of synthesisers. Released on Databloem in 2005, I get a feeling of time, natural darkness & science from this great live show.

 

 

1. Affinity Construct

The first track to me represents time. I get the feeling of old father time through the entire piece. Grand sounds, huge chimes & while there is no drum beat, the whole thing manages to sound like the passing of time, the ticking of a clock. The sounds are all very wide open like I'm flying in a dream, out of my body, out of my reality so I can view it from the outside, I can see the time passing by me 6 from my view point, father time will be kind.

 

2. Their Subtle Purpose

A much more subtle & relaxed track here. The sounds are very light & float around inside my head like fireflies on a warm summer's night. The synths push gently against the night air & the simple melody adds an extra element to this lush late night music. When I listen to this in summer it seems to fit the mood well, when I listen to it in winter it ignites a longing for those muggy summer nights my body seems to have forgotten but that my mind can never let go off. Later comes distant sounds of conversation and towards the end, comes in the same feeling of time as in the opening track. The synths stab and a counting kind of way. Tick Tock, Tick Tock.

 

3. Calibration

That's how it's done, the vocal sample used at the start sets the mood. The continued use of samples is done very well, half muttered, short, dark sounding and deep. The same feeling of time is here but it's slowed down & the sharp synths play a melody that feels like it's setting up for something, a little short, I'd like to see where it might have gone if expanded.

 

4. The Circle of Life

Slowed down again, the feeling of time is now pushed to the back, still there but as it's slowed down immeasurably it seems to have lost it's importance. Instead the music seems focused on the infinity, the never ending circle that we are a part of but will never come to fully understand. The calmness & the serenity can only come from an immortal concept with no beginning or end. Very nice & relaxed.

 

5. Changing The World

Very soft percussion in this track over which is an amazing oscillating synth sound & some ultra trippy vocal. Do you want me to tell you what it is? It's the greatest thing to ever happen to me. It's a great track, so chilled but descriptive & dark in an old world, London back room sort of way.

 

6. Exclusion

This track gives me the feeling of science. Beakers, test tubes, things bubbling in jars. Bunsen burners, pippets, acids & alkalies all stacked up on a shelf. The music itself is very minimal, with a few synths used here & there, droning along with a few whooshes & hints of melody but it continues the old London shop feel on very well.

 

7. The Flames Shadow

A synth oscillates like the shadow of a flame flickers. Sounds shoot upwards like the gas above the flame of a burner alters the air it passes through visually. Ethereal voices come out of the darkness surrounding the sounds at times and violin like strings play under the ever present oscillation. Melodious at times, nothing but droning at others, beatless yet percussive! It is a great ambient track that while lacks the journey quality still doesn't get boring even though it's 12 minutes long. It's like the exploration of a room. It never goes anywhere but you just start to notice more & more details.

 

8. Alpha & Omega

A nice short dark track to finish on. The mood is quite melancholic, the vocal sample at the start seems disappointed & all the sounds seem to focus downwards culminating it what sounds like a sonic shower, with the sounds cascading.

 

 

Very nice sounds used overall. As always The Circular Ruins has delivered a top notch piece of ambient, it all feels so deep and meaningful when I listen to it. The tracks are so varied yet so in keeping with themselves that the album flows like a journey & keeps you interested until the very end.