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Circular is an experimental ambient electronica duo from Bergen, Norway. The members are Bjarte Andreassen and Jostein Dahl Gjelsvik.
Mix of jazzy, clicky and ambient. |
 review |
This is Circular's third album, and one that offers a wide variety of electronic music. It beautifully jumps between styles and genres, with influences from Biosphere and other ambient artists, science fiction movies, musique concrete, Arabic music and jazzy atmospheres similar to Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks soundtrack. The whole album relies heavily on sampling and electronic treatment of sounds, and thus falls in the Art of Noise tradition where sound is more important than formal musical structure. That's not to say that the music isn't structured or crafted, which it is. Mostly we are served dishes of ambient structures garnished with cute rhythm patterns and weird electronic sounds on the side. Sort of like the ambient brother of another Norwegian act, Sternklang. Glass Darkly is much less ambient (in the drawn-out drone sense) than their previous album, Divergent, and says clearly that Circular is not an ambient group as such anymore, at least not for this album. Granted, you can play Glass Darkly in the background and experience it's non intrusiveness, but there are so many nice details and unusual sounds that it's also an album for dedicated listening. Even though it may be a cliché by now, Glass Darkly is one of those "Arctic ambient" albums, which is typical of Norway, in spite of the band members coming from the West Coast rather than Norway's Arctic areas. But what makes it great is not it's arcticness, but the attention to details and combinations of traditional and unusual sounds, and the way different techniques and styles have been melted into a solid plate of musical food that is both exotic and familiar. This is rarely done with success. 8/10 2004. Glenn Folkvord |
 review |
Circular’s Nanotopia release is among the strongest to come out on Norway’s Origo Sound label; so it was with great interest that I received their latest, Glass Darkly, named after a favorite passage of mine from scripture. “Clay” features coolly shifting percussion and bass, modern synth sounds and textures, and piano that echoes in the background. The piano is like A Produce, the synth sounds are more like Pete Namlook, making for an interesting musical dichotomy. “Titan” continues in similar form, with a percolating little percussive loop that really chugs along nicely. “Time-Slip” is a more abstract work with sonic layers that weave in and out of each other in subtle fashion. This one makes me think of the cool, jazz-infused ambience of Spyra. Speaking of jazz, “Jazz Kid” is next, featuring Circular’s penchant for interesting vocal samples, both spoken and sung. The feminine touch works well, though I can’t understand a word of it. “Spook” is darker around the edges, sparse and somewhat experimental in nature. “Revolved” has a beautiful delicate sequence that carries it. Essentially, what we have here are 17 assorted little sonic gems, each telling its own story with a unique voice. Despite the varying nature of the pieces, they fit together rather well, like listening to a good compilation except that these are all by the same musicians. Throughout, the tone is laid back and cool, case in point being “Bliss”, with shifting light synth sounds and a simple but very effective bass line. If you like material on the FAX or Databloem labels, you should also really enjoy the smart electronica of Glass Darkly. 2005. Phil Derby / Electroambient Space |