He’s quite a productive guy, this Dirk Serries, and quite experienced since he’s active within the spheres of Aural Art for several decades. His best known outfits might be vidnaObmana and Microphonics, but he created many other things under different monikers, or in collaboration with same-minded artists. Very recently, on June 8th 2015, we did upload the review for the album Buoyant, which was a collaborative work in between Dirk and Dutch colleague Rutger Zuydervelt. That album, and the one this review will deal with, were released together on March 6th 2015 via ConSouling Sounds (who else…).
Unseen Descending And Lamentation is another expression of Dirk’s constantly evolving sonic creativity, consisting of two lengthy tracks, both of them clocking over twenty minutes. ‘the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance’, it’s a statement that gets defined to the core by this majestic album.
The first track (they are untitled, or better: known as part one and part two) is the shortest one (21:31), and it opens with a soft, even distant sound, little droning and subtly buzzing. After two minutes or so, the ‘sound’ gets more forceful, strengthening the initial drone with its hypnotic character. part one slowly, very slowly builds up, constantly maintaining the initial mesmerizing core of both atmosphere and concept. It’s kind of sonic escapism once again, knowing that there is nothing sudden to expect, and experiencing so many impressions at the same time, despite the calm and soberness. It’s like a trancelike mantra, easily combining soberness and richness at once: soberness referring to quietness and integrity, richness focusing on multi-layered emotions translated through instrumental craftsmanship. Towards the end, part one slowly returns to the initial modus, being more nihilistic and so(m)ber, like a minimal drone softly fading away into oblivion.
part two is pretty much the same in conceptual and structural point of view. But in its whole, this work is much more emotional and conscious. Slowly on, it unravels hidden dimensions of the mind, searching for the perfected equilibrium in between harmony and emptiness, knowledge and nothingness. By means of droning ambient melodies, Serries accompanies us within his vision of psychic exploration, but it is us, the listener, who needs to fill in the definition, the meaning of the travel, the (spiritual) outcome of that (inner) travel. I think he succeeds to lead us into that inner eye-effect, that meditative aspect that forms our self-identification, the most introspective way. Of course, that’s just undersigned’s modest opinion (and since I’m still quite sober right now…). At least, part two gets little further than part one, sonically and conceptually, and it might be 1) much harder to digest or 2) more intriguing to experience. Or maybe it’s 3) being both 1) and 2), but that’s the best possible outcome.Menu