Customer Reviews

Stalker

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a huge fan of the movie Stalker and i was enthused to hear that two artists have collaborated to create a cd inspired by the movie. I did not know of what genre the two artists would be, but upon further investigation i found them both to be the dark ambient classification. That said, i bought this cd, and was blown away by how acuratelt they captured the movies atmosphere of desolation, instilled apathy, and "greyness". You do not have to be a fan of the movie to enjoy this cd, it stands on it's own as a classic in the Ambient genre, and it's a great cd to space out to, or take a nap to..i highly recomend this cd to people who appriciate wonderfully crafted ambient and darkwave.

Ive got other recordings by both of these artists  so far this is my favorite from each of them. The music on this disc is very, very dark  dont expect anything else going into it. That statement is not meant in the least to imply, however that this work is one-dimensional  nothing could be further from the truth. This is creativity of staggering proportions, black washes of keyboards and other instruments (and voices, I think) that combine into music that is simultaneously beautiful and frightening in its intensity. Its not noise  theres a definite structure to the works included here  the breadth of its conception and execution is such that it can be enjoyed ambiently as well as attentively. For those listeners already familiar with the works of these artists as individuals, its easy to hear the two different personalities present in this disc  this is truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts (and thats saying a lot, because their work as individuals is excellent).

The music was inspired  at least in spirit  by the Russian film of the same name, but its certainly not necessary to view that film to appreciate this recording. From the back cover: A guide to possible interpretations on an ambivalent reality; a non-Euclidian geometry as yet unmapped, inaccessible through linear perceptions; to illuminate, decode and decipher this landscape of fractured density, ultimately to reconstruct these unfolding dimensions, where dreams are only whispers. It does all that and more. As I stated above, it can be experienced in an ambient way  but I recommend listening to it at fairly high volume on a nice system.

That the collaboration of two ambient acts can have astonishing results, has been proved in the recent past by Norway's Biosphere and Scotland's Higher Intelligence Agency (they made the highly admirable and unique "Polar sequences" and "Birmingham frequencies").

Now we have Lustmord, who produced such stark, creepy dark ambient albums as "Heresy" and "The place where the black stars hang", collaborating with Robert Rich on a concept album, that had the Russian film "Stalker" as source of inspiration. The Andrei Tarkovski movie, about three men entering an undefinable "forbidden zone", had a terrific soundrack of its own, by the acclaimed Russian composer Eduard Artemjew.

But although one might expect that Lustmord and Rich have a huge admiration for both the film and its original musical design, they completely went their own way with their record, producing an eerie, chilly mood and giving us a sense that something frightning is lurking in the dark.
Sizzeling sounds, diversed iron scraping noises, musical tones that sound like psychotic whispering, hollow chants, everything is in place to put our minds and sanity to the test.

But like the best (and darkest) moments of Lustmord, the music prevails. It succeeds in taking us on a journey into the unknown, into the undesirable, into a place that is filled with loathing and despair, through an all embracing sacrilegious void, and yet, pulls us out at the last moment, to let us emerge again to the surface, and give us a new sense of brightness and illumination, as though we went through some kind of musical catharsis.

Maybe. Maybe.

I don't think that Stalker is especially scary.

The music itself (and it is music) is very typical of Rich and Lustmord's ability to illustrate time and setting accurately and beautifully. Like the film (and I link this work inextricably to the film as a necessary companion piece), Stalker creates a dense atmosphere of knowing and unknowing, the mysterious and the obvious - both works lend themselves to many interpretations.

The dialog of the film makes one point fairly obvious. This work, face value alone, may be considered dark ambient mood music. But like the visuals of the film (especially wind and water) there is much more to be experienced by looking deeply into the art. Those who look to the surface only will see something dark and scary (and hopefully well crafted). Those who stay with it and really listen will hear a distinct time, place, etc..

The fact that I find it hard not to write about this work (and all of both Lustmord and Rich's other works) without confusing the visual with the auditory, speaks to its real impact.

Like the best ambient (Eno, especially), the music here lends itself to many different interpretations and emotions. Unlike most ambient, the music here is frightenly visual, dense, and not to be ignored (I do not recommend that anyone listen to this while doing the dishes and it is woefully inappropriate for airports).

Beautiful in execution. Frightening in impact. (Like the film).

I'm really impressed by this album -- it's "dark ambient" (not that you need to get piercings or wear eyeshadow to enjoy it), which I suppose just means that there are dripping noises and odd little nightime crawly touches throughout, rather than happy birds and streams.
Stalker isn't the stuff of nightmares, though--it's like a soundtrack to an alien world, much like Eno's brilliant "On Land". This is an album that works phenomenally well in a dark room over a multichannel stereo, and also works very well close up over headphones--there are lots of details in the music.
For what it's worth, I'll definitely be buying more Lustmord on the strength of this one. I'd bought Steve Roach "The Magnificent Void" at the same time, and much prefer Stalker.

But in this case you can..

Imagine. You're on an island, the same island you see on the cover. No one knows about the island. No one will ever know you're there. No one will ever come near. No one will ever hear you scream. No one will ever find your body. That thought frightens you, yet at the same time fascinates you.

You're standing on the beach, the wind whales over the sea, making a lush sound that bearely brakes the silence that surrounds you and the whole island. It's not really cold, but you still have an ice-y shiver running over your spine. It's getting darker, you can still see the things that are close to you, but you can't see what's between those trees behind you. You're sleepy, but decide not to sleep either because you're too excited or too frightened, you don't know.

The darkness gets thicker, you can see less and less, until you can only hear the sound of the sea and the wind in a night without a moon. You suddenly hear other, stranger sounds, but don't question what they're from. Besides, you're so sleepy, you probably just imagine them. Yeah, that's it, you're just imagining them, it's your head playing tricks on you. Yup, definately. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, hopefully..

You hear sounds, the strangest you ever heard. You hear.. voices? Could that be possible? You lay down, hoping to fall asleep. You grab sand, as if you hope it will protect you against whatever is watching you. The sea comes closer and touches your bare feet, and although the water is cold, it calms your troubled soul. Deep inside. The sea keeps touching your feet.. Am I sure that's the sea touching me? It sure doesn't feel like the sea.. Everything is dark, darker than the darkest night you ever seen. And then, all of the sudden two pale white eyes open right in front of you..

You wake up, screaming your lungs out. Sweat drips off your face. You look around, you're in your room. Yup, the plate on which you ate your pizza last night is still there. You see you left your computer on. You forgot to close the music player. You left your CD playing. The CD just ended. You look on the cover of the CD. The island. The Sea. Stalker. Robert Rich. Lustmord.

This is a beautiful, dark album. The meeting of Robert Rich and Lustmord has produced some stunning material. Many of the characteristic sounds of these artists shine through, from Rich's smooth flowing drones and melodies using Just Intonation, to the deep, subterranean tones and noise washes of Lustmord; They work together brilliantly. The production on this CD is superb also. "Hidden Refuge" has a lot of depth - on a good set of headphones, turned up loud, it's not unlike being in a large, dark forest, miles away from civilization. One can hear rain gradually moving through the forest, soft winds surrounding the trees and some kind of distant panting, like that of a lost person or someone in distress. Well! I wouldn't know if that is what Rich and Lustmord intended, but that is the imagery that comes to my mind when listening. To me it is great music, because the imagery is so vivid. Toward the end of the album, the music becomes softer, until a gradual buildup of noise in the second-to-last track results in a thunderous bass finale...leaving the listener with a simple repeated percussive sound, but as if recorded in an enormous cave somewhere. I love the whole space this album provides....it creates a perfect mood of darkness and as if telling a story, it moves slowly with a continual sense of unease. The last track continues the overall mood of the album some more, before a gradual fade-out. Some people would say this is a spooky album, and there certainly are elements of fear (like the dark monk-like chants) but it is generally just a really interesting exercise in sound design. Spookiness in music is really up to one's imagination, because in the end, it's all just sound waves. All in all, an excellent album, if you are into long, dark music with superb production.

It did not take long while listening to this cd for me to appreciate it as being something entirely cool. The production quality alone is superb enough to warrant investigation, and the album is also strong in a compositional sense. What contributes to this, I believe, is the interaction between the 2 musicians Rich and Lustmord. On the one hand, you have a more traditionally ambient sensibility, creating chord structures and floating melodies, and on the other you have the dark ambient sensiblility of Lustmord, expanding Rich's music into huge spaces, deftly defined with sounds that run the blade between music and noise.

I was tempted to check my little stereo while listening to this album, because it sounded to me like a hole had opened up behind it to reveal some giant space filled with fog and wild landscapes. If you could see my stereo, this would certainly impress you. On a good system, I can hardly imagine how cool this release would sound. . .

Only two words; OWN IT. A must have for any dark ambient fan, a true piece of art, will take you to higher dimensions of music. Even if you are not familiar with Dark Ambient style of music, this is for true music fans. [but definitely not for commercial or mainstream music listeners]
from CD back cover - A guide to possible interpretations of ambivalent reality...

Stalker allows the listener to bear witness to a grand meeting... Brian Lustmørd and Robert Rich, two of the best artists exploring the dark ambient realm. This is some of the artists best work, combining Lustmørd's "soundings of the deep" with Rich's trademark "glurp." Highly recommended.