Bearly Queen: Void, Oh the Void

lvjcdr014
cd-r, edition of 50

44:14

June 2009

Void, Oh The Void

20. April–25. May 2009, Oulu, Finland

Thanks to everybody I sampled and to my beloved J.

Extra special thanks to Jaakob Karhu

Cover photo by J.K.

Even though the title of the previous album may have suggested otherwise BQ hasn't split up. There was some hesitation however if the next album should be something different. After working awhile simultaneously with two different tracks BQ soon realised that these two songs were not ment to be together on the same album. Both needed more space and time. The spacier of the two caught more attension because it had the spirit BQ had been searching for; this could be BQ's Atem? So instead of something different you get more of that familiar slow and dark BQ sound you have learned to love. Better luck next time. Maybe.

H. K.

*

Vaikka edellisen albumin nimi saattoikin niin vihjata, BQ ei ole hajonnut. Oli kuitenkin olemassa epäröintiä siitä, pitäisikö seuraavan albumin olla jotain erilaista. Työskenneltyään hetken kahden eri kappaleen kanssa yhtä aikaa BQ käsitti, ettei näiden kahden raidan ollut tarkoitus kuulua yhteen samalla albumille. Kummatkin tarvitsivat lisää tilaa ja aikaa. Kahdesta avaruudellisempi sai enemmän huomiota, sillä siinä oli sitä henkeä, jota BQ oli etsinytkin; voisiko tämä olla BQ:n Atem? Siispä jonkin erilaisen sijasta saatte lisää sitä samaa tuttua, hidasta ja tummaa BQ-saundia, jota olette oppineet rakastamaan. Parempaa onnea ensi kerralla. Ehkä.

H. K.

*************

REVIEWS

"More genius music from micro label Luovaja. Just love this album!" (Paanpa / Rate Your Music)

*

"Bearly Queen is a one-man dark ambient project based in Finland. Notably, BQ cannot play any instruments, so he must rely entirely upon samples as the source material for his bleak soundscapes. That wouldn't be such a big deal if he made harsh electronic or noise music, but Bearly Queen is quixotically hell-bent on recapturing the sound of Tangerine Dream at their absolute spaciest. Despite that significant handicap, he has nevertheless been a remarkably prolific fellow thus far, releasing at least four full-length albums in just the last year and a half. Lamentably, his talent is not at quite the same level as his ambition and work ethic just yet.

""Void, Oh The Void" consists of just a single lengthy track. The first six minutes or so are devoted to completely non-engaging deep rumbles and unrecognizably slowed-down and stretched sounds, but gradually the noises get louder and more intriguing and a low and ominous synth drone creeps in to add some much-needed atmospheric color. Then, for the next half hour or so, the foreboding crackling, creaking, and rumbling glacially swell and ebb in intensity, yet never really become engrossing or progress into anything more. In fact, it is quite easy to entirely forget that this album is even playing at times unless it is being played at jet engine volume. Oddly, however, the piece ends with an unexpected flourish of color and musicality, as the last two minutes are populated with chimes and a heavily-delayed glissando of classical guitar. This is a rather mystifying artistic decision, as this crescendo was not previously hinted at or built up to in any way, but it is hopefully a harbinger of more memorable and varied work in the future.

"I suppose this album succeeds artistically to at least some degree, as the atmosphere is undeniably cold and empty enough to approximate the void of space. Also, anyone with the superhuman patience and attention-span necessary to assemble a 44-minute track entirely from samples on their computer deserves my grudging respect. Unfortunately, “Void, Oh The Void” is generally just too murky, meandering, and one-dimensional to warrant much attention in the already hopelessly oversaturated experimental music world. 4/10" (Anthony D'Amico / Foxy Digitalis)

*

"Bearly Queen Oulusta on varsin tuore artisti dronekentällä. Silti parissa vuodessa hän on ehtinyt saada ulos jo peräti neljä CD-R julkaisua. Näistä tuorein Void, oh the Void vakuuttaa ainakin minut siitä että Bearly Queenin tekemisiä kannattaa seurata.

"Void, oh the Void koostuu yhdestä pitkästä raidasta joka kulkee tyylipuhtaasti minimalistisen dronemusiikin tietä. Alkupuolisko on jotakin Moljebka Pvlsen ja minimalistisemman Troumin välimaastosta; hiljaisuudesta nousee hitaasti, hitaasti esiin valtavan oloisena hyökyvä äänimassa. Kuin valtava laiva yössä, joka hitaasti lähestyy paljastaen yhä enemmän voimastaan. Todella matalat bassofrekvenssit tuovat massiivisuuden tuntua, vaikka levy onkin hiljainen ja volyyminupin reilu nosto tuo esiin äänimassan herkullisen yksityiskohtaisuuden. Levyn toinen osio on Lustmord-maisempaa syvän pimeyden tutkiskelua - staattisempaa ja synkempää. Lopussa on pieni orkestraalimainen "outro" jonka tarpeellisuudesta en ole aivan varma.

"Erittäin onnistunutta dronemusiikkia, esim. Moljebka Pvlsen ja Troumin ystäville todella tutustumisen arvoinen nimi." (John Björkman / Kuolleen musiikin yhdistys)

*

"Bearly Queen from Oulu is a rather fresh name in the field of drone music. Yet he has managed to put out four CD-R releases already in just two years. The freshest one, titled "Void, oh the Void" certainly awakens my interest to follow the activities of this artist.

"Void, oh the Void consists of one long track of pure minimalist drone music. The first half is somewhere in between minimalistic Troum and Moljebka Pvlse: ever so slowly a gigantic mass of sound rises out of the silence. Like a giant ship slowly approaching in the night, revealing more and more of it´s size and power. Very low bass frequenies and a rich and detailed sound (revealed by turning the volume button rather high) add to the feeling of vastness in spite of the record being rather quiet. The second half explores the deepest abyss in a more Lustmord-ish way - more static, more dark. In the end there is an orchestral "outro", of whose necessity I am not sure.

"This is some very well-made drone music, and a name worth checking out for fans of artists like Troum of Moljebka Pvlse." (John Björkman / Kuolleen musiikin yhdistys)