In the Nursery The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

Numerous folks have told me that with my "dark tastes" In The Nursery would be a veritable feast. Apart from the occasional track I hadn't got round to "sitting for a full meal" so the arrival of this album was very timely. ITN are Klive and Nigel Humberstone of Sheffield who have been producing dark, ambient soundscapes for over a decade. Much of their work has been used for film projects, including scores for 'Interview with a Vampire', 'Streetfighter II' and the feature soundtrack for 'An Ambush of Ghosts'. Here the twins take on the cinema's first "cult" movie, Robert Wiene's 1919 classic 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' and if ever a score revitalised a dusty old film then this is it! ITN's dark, foreboding ambience breathes new life into the expressionistic imagery of Gothic horror. 'Opening' is a sedate piece of ocean deep ambience which could sit happily on Tangerine Dream's 'Canyon Dreams'. 'Act 1' segues seamlessly (as does most of the album, making for one darkly classical ambient trip!) with its strings, menacing bass and industrial rhythms. 'Town Hall' and 'Fairground' meander with suppressed ominence, overlaid with subdued industrial passages, and on we go deeper and darker into the labyrinth. The overall feel is one of claustrophobic alienation through electronic and classical arrangements which dovetail perfectly with the film. Further depths bring the chilling 'Das Kabinet' , the classical 'Holstenwall', the uptempo dub of 'After the Funeral', and the sequenced 'Caligari Sleeps', all coupled with diverse electronics and interwoven with recurrent themes reminding the listener of Lightwave, Tuxedo Moon, Lull and Biosphere respectively. This is a perfectly weighted album which works beautifully with or without the screenplay. An aural experience deserved of its own release. In closing I can only quote Radio Derby's Ashley Franklin. "Klive & Nigel should now be given chance to flex their muscles on a major movie of today. They have refreshed the old, let's now hear them electrify the new". Well said! (Stuart J Harris)

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