Vidna Obmana & Serge Devadder
The Shape of Solitude
Vidna Obmana and Steve Roach seem to be having a contest to see who can be the most prolific in releasing CDs before the millenium. They also seem to enjoy diversifying both their sound and their company. On ‘The Shape of Solitude’, Vidna Obmana's atmospherics and recycling (his term for the way he processes and changes previously recorded material) are combined with Serge Devadder's talented guitar work. The outcome is at times disturbing, other times soothing, sometimes just plain unusual, but always interesting.

This is definitely a departure from Vidna Obmana's past work. Devadder's guitar is front and centre in many of the pieces, rather than buried in the atmospheres, as on Obmana's other recent collaboration, True Stories, with Jeff Pearce (which also features Devadder on two tracks). The end result is more musical, yet more experimental at the same time.

From the opening notes of ‘When a Dead Tree Sings’ with Obmana's atmospherics against Devadder's silky smooth, yet slightly out of kilter trippy guitar, it's obvious this is not ordinary. Devadder is either seriously bending those strings, or they recorded the session while he was tuning up. On ‘Evenings Prophecy’ the blending of guitar and ambience reminds me a bit of Steve Roach's excursion into spaghetti Western ambient with Roger King on ‘Dust to Dust’.

Because ‘The Shape of Solitude’ delves into a variety of sonic terrain, it is a somewhat challenging listen, but not without its rewards. Songs I didn't quite like on first listen grow more interesting on subsequent visits. I often find that these are the sorts of albums that grow to be among my favourites. Time, and a few more listens, will tell. (PD)

This page is part of a frame set. If you can't see the information strip to the left of the screen then click on the smd logo above.