Divinorum Isms Play: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi   Download: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi (Excerpt from track 'Isms Part 1')

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Divinorum is a pseudonym of Bjorn Lynne. A couple of issues ago we reviewed the second Divinorum CD 'Talisman'. That title was very well received and like it 'Isms' is excellent high energy stuff with quite a dance element in the first two thirds of the disc.

'Antigravity' starts with a slow bleepy sequence to which a second more rapid one is added. In then comes an energetic dance beat which should get the whole body moving. 'Isms Part 1' begins with some tabla drumming before developing into a superb slightly Eastern groove which compliments the swirling pulsations perfectly. Its a track which would have sounded at home on the latest Cerulean album.

'Communication (losing you}' has loads of blistering sequences sizzling through complex beats and other rhythmic flourishes. Its got one hell of a BPM to it! I can just imagine strobing lights twisting and turning like crazy through walls of smoke. 'Qualities of Religion' is one of the highlights of the album for me and is a much more conventional EM track especially in the sequence department. A slow rhythm builds and I am this time reminded of another of Dave Barker's projects Asana. This is very much like the title track to 'Shrine' with some excellent sampled or vocoded spoken vocals thrown in for good measure. 'Isms Part 2' is firmly back to dance territory and rather exiting it is too. A high energy workout for sure but also with some good changes in pace descending to lovely atmospheric passages with very little structure before returning to the syncopated maelstrom. 'Can you Hear' gives us much more of the same but with the addition of stabs of energy and even stronger melodic content. Again Asana came to mind. 'We turn like Whisks' begins with a right old East Meets west combination. The vocal samples certainly sound Eastern but musically its rather acoustic sounding and Western. Tablas and an electronic rhythm then combine emphasising Eastern influences once again. It reminded me rather of Monsoon. I rather liked it but I can imagine it being a little too commercial for some SMDers. From now on the album moves away from dance influences somewhat.

'Isms part 3' begins with wonderful slightly melodic atmospherics, some distorted vocal samples then, after a couple of minutes, a fantastic rhythm / sequence combination oozing with attitude which got my whole body moving and air drumming like a mad thing- awesome- I can't praise it highly enough. In my opinion the best track on the disc. It just gets better and better- heavenly mayhem! 'No Surrender' is an even bigger blast this time with added scything, machine gunning guitar and a wicked groove. 'Zen Koan' begins with an infectious bass loop, little lead lines shimmering over the top. Its a relaxing gently syncopated number which cools the fevered brow somewhat in time for the end of the CD. My advice would be get up and press that play button one more time. (DL)

Nederlandstalige versie

Divinorum is één van de pseudoniemen van Bjorn Lynne. Enkele magazines geleden bespraken we de tweede Divinorum CD 'Talisman'. Deze titel was een succes en zoals deze zit 'Isms' ook boordevol energie met een dance-element in de eerste twee derde van deze CD. "Antigravity" begint met een trage bliepende sequence waarbij een tweede snellere wordt toegevoegd. Dan komt er een energieke dance beat bij welke heel je lichaam in beweging moet gaan zetten. "Isms part 1" begint met een tabla ritme alvorens over te gaan naar een geweldige Oosterse groove, bijgestaan door draaiende puls effecten. Dit nummer zou zo van het laatste Cerulean album kunnen komen.

"Communication (losing you}" heeft verscheidene spetterende sequences die door en over complexe beats gaan, alsook andere ritmische verfijningen. En wat een tempo! Ik kan me zo de lampen met stroboscopische effecten voorstellen die op deze muziek zouden meelopen. "Qualities of Religion" is één van de hoogtepunten van het album en is meer een commerciële sequencergebaseerde EM-track. Een traag ritme bouwt zich op en dit deed me wat denken aan Dave Barker's project 'Asana'. Het heeft zelfs wat weg van de titeltrack 'Shrine', met uitstekende gesampelde of vocoderstemmen. "Isms part 2" gaat terug naar de dance en is erg opwindend. Pure energie maar met goede afwisselingen, die dan afbouwen tot atmosferische passages met weinig structuur, en dan terug opgebouwd worden tot een syncopatische maalstroom. "Can You Hear" is gelijkaardig maar met een dichter klanktapijt en een nog sterkere melodische inhoud. Weer komt 'Asana' in me op.