NO XIVIC "Uneksija"
Onyxia Onyx003 CD 2004

Once a few piano phrases of the introduction pass by, one can enter the proper part of the debut full length album by the Finnish "sound pharmacist" Henkka Kyllonen. I haven't heard anything about him before except for his appearance in the Drone Records roster, which is always a good recommendation for newcomers. As the press release states, "Uneksija" is devoted to, in general, a fear of human loneliness and solitude. Translate it into a music language and try to guess what you're in for. Yes, you got it! The piano was a prelude to a realm of peaceful, but sombre ambient music. Sounds familiar? Let's listen to it again then! In a way, if you want to evoke a quality mood, it's good to take a good pattern that's required to work out a sonic background. The most suitable seems to be "The Place Where the Black Stars Hang". If you manage to get closer to Lustmord's opus magnum, you're in a half way to be successful! No Xivic seem to follow this way... So, what's most valuable in its music for me is placed in the back, not in the forefront. Sounds that ebb and flow, reverberating against a static background, waving sonic bands, slowly circling satellites in dark nebulas. The first four tracks are just like that - not very original, but very listenable. The fifth surprises with an association to the music of Za Siodma Gora, and Rongwrong. I don't suppose this young Finnish dark ambient maker could have drawn any inspiration from these long dormant Polish groups, but the main features of the track are the bass strings' reverberations (ZSG) or almost noticeable female voices echoes-like against a humming background that follows the unique styles of both groups. Never mind... From this track onwards, the second part of "Uneksija" starts, and this part makes my opinion of the record, quite good so far, spiral downward. Can't point out exactly what goes wrong with the music, but it must be lack of a main idea how to progress the album on. The remaining three lengthy tracks are made up of elements that don't tie up with each other well. Paradoxically, the more happens within a track, the more I get confused. I understand that over 73 minute long dark ambient record needs something more than humming and sound drifts, but an overdose of add-on's is not a solution either. Well done, but undoubtedly suffering from a debut album inadequacies.

[krzysztof sadza]