Ian Boddy - Box Of Secrets

[Mergi]

Artist: Ian Boddy

Release: Box Of Secrets

Year: 1999

Label: DiN

Cat-#: DiN 1

Rating: 4/5

 

With the Databloem reviews roaming the site I figured there might also be some space for a DiN CD review, actually there is very much alike IMO. Ian Boddy is leaning towards more techno in a few of his tracks but it's all very very subtle and I think it could be quite hard to get it to work on the dancefloor (did IDM ever work on the dancefloor?). Listening on the other hand works perfectly, this is perfect background music or inspirational music. Very much like Databloem.

 

Frozen Web opens high tech with a... well, a web of rhythmical effect pads fading in. The loops continues in a hypnotic kind of way with additional simple yet imposing melody sequences sweeping through over a breakbeat filled environment. Very nicely done, nothing sounds out of place. In the latter half the beat is let lose and a 4 by 4 session ensues. The track manages to stay restrained in the atmosphere, it does not spiral out of control it stays uncompromised and interesting.

 

Box Of Secrets is more tentative, at least in the beginning. A slow heartbeat-like sound is accompanied by overlaying atmospheric pads and everything is very very calm. The beat fades completly in after awhile and is accompanied by yet again simple but very beautiful melody layers echoing through the atmospheric background pads. Very dreamstate ambient music, only downside maybe is that once the track has established itself it fades out and leaves room for the next track. But damn, those few minutes of bliss... damn...

 

Shadows In The Sand opens with just sweeping atmospheric layers which after 2 minutes fades out and leaves room for beats to fade in. The whole track turns kind of cool with it's breaks, but along the way we get layers of arabic-like melodies emanating from all sorts of different instruments. Very nicely done IMO.

 

There's Something In Your Attic is short interlude I guess, which only purpose is to be abstract in it's atmosphere. Ambient noises of various shapes pitches tweakiness is sweeping through. The album is getting slightly darker feel to it.

 

Walking The Slow Path opens with despair, subtle dark menacing atmospheric layers fades in and out along with subtle chants and what sounds like flute. This gradually gets louder and louder until it stops and gives room for rhythmic pads and a simple bassline which only appears in the middle of every bar, it shiftes slightly during various sections of the track. Also along comes what sounds like a very wobbly kind of guitar layer. To add to the surreal atmosphere is a layer which sounds like glockenspiel.

 

Nobody's Home is pure evil. I've managed to collect enough music to compile (for myself of course) a Mentally Unstable compilation of beatless tracks, this track made onto it in no time (along with Aphex Twin and Hesius Dome to name a few). There's never too much going on here, one layer fades out and another fades in, of course along comes strange sounds from out of this world, and, well, all sorts of moods is here. At one time the track sounds like there's light at the end of the tunnel, but the light is abruptly swallowed by menacing layers of dark twisted sounds and when this track is halfway through you are going slightly mad or at least having very bad/strange dreams.

 

Hive Culture, if you fell asleep, will wake you up with a roar. It settles quite quickly into a 4 by 4 beat environment, sometimes a few of the beats are accentuated. It's still going evil but now it's not going to lull you into madness, it's going to hunt you down... and well you better start running. The track turns quite epic and/or imposing with a drizzling melody layer that fades in halfway through. It ends abruptly though and the track folds back into itself again with additional screeching tweakin' layers that gently fades in and out.

 

This is really well done journey through all sorts of moods and all sorts of different paces, everything is mixed together so there's no stopping to go to the toilet or grab popcorn... once you've tuned there's no turning back.