Cyclic Law, based in France, occupies an important space as a purveyor of dark ambient and experimental music. And this label’s releases are genuinely experimental, too, rather than simply sounding eclectic in ways which themselves soon become pretty predictable. There’s often a sense of mystery to what CL releases, if that’s not overstating it. And so we come to øjeRum – actually the solo work of artist Paw Grabowski, who lives in Copenhagen. As so often with Cyclic Law releases, there’s an interesting story behind Reversed Cathedral, his newest album.
The album is based completely around a Mannborg Harmonium, an instrument which became very popular around the turn of the twentieth century, and was manufactured for many years at Leipzig. John Lennon played one on We Can Work It Out in 1965; this instrument was very popular throughout the century, made light work of its American counterparts in terms of competition, and became widely-known for its surprisingly resonant depth of sound. But tastes change; as such, many of these old Mannborgs became old fashioned, left to time.
This happened to the instrument eventually used by Grabowski, as it was closed up in a largely unused room in a house out in the Danish countryside. Denmark being a country of rainy autumns and bitterly cold winters, this benign abandonment had a subtle, but noticeable effect on the harmonium; it began to deteriorate, rattled by the damp and plunging temperatures. What better a condition, at the outset, for an album themed around it and it alone?
Yes, the harmonium itself is the only sound source used on Reversed Cathedral; all things considered, this is a very fitting title for the resulting music, which, if we accept that cathedral music is meant to be uplifting as much as it’s also often solemn, things here are rather more introspective and downcast. Each song is really a kind of chapter, with titles which call to mind a series of ghost stories, because the music has an ethereal, ghostly, liminal atmosphere throughout. Each track works together as part of this whole and fits together perfectly; it is all introspective, subtle and evocative, and as such it is an ideal immersive experience which happily hovers on the periphery of your senses, rather than demanding an intent listen. It simply isn’t that sort of music. It immerses you in something else entirely.
Fans of the left-field, not to mention audiophiles – I know some of you still pop by – you should check out this project, if you have any love in your hearts for this kind of layered, contemplative, genuinely experimental music. It would make a great soundtrack to other ventures, too – to paint, draw or write to.
Reversed Cathedral is available now and you can check it out on Bandcamp, a site which gives a fair deal to bands and labels.