encomiast
2007
Encomiast have been harvesting an audience of enthusiastic music fans for almost a decade now. With six full-length releases, 2 EPās and half a dozen compilation appearances, Encomiast are one of the most highly regarded and prolific artists in the dark ambient/drone genre. For this Self-titled CD - Encomiast mined their extensive early recordings and un-released material to compile, edit and re-master six tracks that give a glimpse into where it all started. Lens Records released Encomiastās Winter's End CD in 2001 - a release recently described as āa delirious blend of dark dreamy blackened drones and shimmering cinematic ambienceā - the tracks on Self-titled revisit much of the same sonic territory.
reviews
This disc arrived with no accompanying press release or descriptive information...so we'll just say it as we play it. This music was recorded way back in 1999 by Ross Hagen and Nick Paul and apparently edited/updated in 2006 for this CD release. Encomiast features over an hour's worth of material...all of which is atmospheric, spooky, and slightly surreal. The best way of describing this might be to say that this could very well be the soundtrack to a very bizarre horror film. The sounds are soft and almost soothing...but the dissonant, peculiar material is ultimately rather unsettling. This disc features six perplexing tracks: "Aesthesia," "Suborbit," "Azazel," "Zero," "Concupere," and "Amnios." The closer we listen...the more interesting this becomes. And the louder we play it...the higher our mental elevation. Fascinating noise experiments from two fellows who aren't interested in playing by the rules..." (Rating: 5+) - www.LMNOP.com
"I remember Encomiast back when they sent me their album off of MP3.com. The Colorado natives were fucking great then and theyāre even more fucking great now. Dark ambient pieces that weave in and out from silence to abject disharmony. Eerie soundscapes surround you, beckoning you to come a little closer, only to ensnare you with their soft yet dark grasps. Some of these songs were included in that album, recorded back in ā99, but now edited and reworked in 2006 for this re-release on Lens Records. Who knew that Boulder, Colorado would be the \"it\" spot for dark ambient?" - www.smother.net
"The hardest albums in the world to review are ambient albums, even though I love them so. How much can really be said about aural exploration that most people would consider ābackground noiseā at a bare minimum? There are really only two sides of the fence when it comes to atmospheric /ambient albums, either you like them or you donāt get them at all. Thereās no grey area, no way to say āeh, itās not badā. Itās white or black, dead or alive, yes or no.
Encomiastās self titled effort was originally recorded in 1999 by Nick Paul and Ross Hagen, then uncovered and edited in 2006 to be released by Lens Records in the fall of 2007. The album will play a lot of your senses, mixing in sounds that trigger different parts of your mind, if youāre listening close enough. Itās certain that this is more than just background noise, itās a different side of the coin, and this is the musical companion to exploration. With every dive and turn it takes, you discover new layers and textures, different ways theyāve played with a particular ambient sound. Itās odd just how the use of a wind sound in the background or a stirring noise can change the musical landscape of a song, or how a sound that some would consider to be useless can define an entire album. I have to say, in my experience with ambient/atmospheric albums, Iāve got to rank this one up there. My apologies for how blaringly short this review is, but thereās only so much you can say about an ambient release, but this is one of the good ones. Definitely worth a listen if this is your jam." - www.riseandrevolt.com
"Hmm, tough gig, writing a review of ambient sounds. Still it's NN's job, so stiff upper lip, cup of tea and away we go.
'Encomiast' is an album some of mainman Ross Hagen's older material reworked and released. Each of the six tracks create audio landscapes with atmospheric drones and electronic sounds; not āsongsā in any classical understanding of the word, more like themes.
'Azazel' has a cinematic feel to it, like the soundtrack to a really dark and sinister film, with eerie rough edges and the slow repetition of half-remembered nightmares. NN had images of being deep underground, in some dark, greasy tomb surrounded by slow implied threat. The composition of subtlety takes you to places in your own head that the pop cultural train doesn't stop at.
And the more you listen and the deeper you're submerged within the details of the desolation, the more personal the experience becomes. It's as much an exploration as anything. 'Zero' is almost up-tempo by the standards of the rest of the album. A pulsing softened beat, sweeping atmospherics and harsh electronic sounds, perhaps the hint of some mad laughing horse; the sounds are distorting off the walls down here.
'Concupere' reminds us of the Terminator soundtrack by Brad Feidel. The same menace vibrates around in the dark throbbing atmospherics, the deadened crashing percussion and the harsh metallic impacts. But it's nebulous - there's no triumphant melody to carry you through, you're alone down here with the unnamed and unnameable.
If you like songs, you know, with things like choruses and melodies, then maybe you'll find this catatonically depressing and just not see the point of it all - Encomiast, music, life, pretty much all of it. But if you're into a bit of introspective relaxation and taking a guided journey into some of the darker corners of that broken-beyond-fixing thinking machine of yours, then give this a go." - www.new-noise.net
"I remember Encomiast back when they sent me their album off of MP3.com. The Colorado natives were fucking great then and theyāre even more fucking great now. Dark ambient pieces that weave in and out from silence to abject disharmony. Eerie soundscapes surround you, beckoning you to come a little closer, only to ensnare you with their soft yet dark grasps. Some of these songs were included in that album, recorded back in ā99, but now edited and reworked in 2006 for this re-release on Lens Records. Who knew that Boulder, Colorado would be the \"it\" spot for dark ambient?" - www.smother.net
"The hardest albums in the world to review are ambient albums, even though I love them so. How much can really be said about aural exploration that most people would consider ābackground noiseā at a bare minimum? There are really only two sides of the fence when it comes to atmospheric /ambient albums, either you like them or you donāt get them at all. Thereās no grey area, no way to say āeh, itās not badā. Itās white or black, dead or alive, yes or no.
Encomiastās self titled effort was originally recorded in 1999 by Nick Paul and Ross Hagen, then uncovered and edited in 2006 to be released by Lens Records in the fall of 2007. The album will play a lot of your senses, mixing in sounds that trigger different parts of your mind, if youāre listening close enough. Itās certain that this is more than just background noise, itās a different side of the coin, and this is the musical companion to exploration. With every dive and turn it takes, you discover new layers and textures, different ways theyāve played with a particular ambient sound. Itās odd just how the use of a wind sound in the background or a stirring noise can change the musical landscape of a song, or how a sound that some would consider to be useless can define an entire album. I have to say, in my experience with ambient/atmospheric albums, Iāve got to rank this one up there. My apologies for how blaringly short this review is, but thereās only so much you can say about an ambient release, but this is one of the good ones. Definitely worth a listen if this is your jam." - www.riseandrevolt.com
"Hmm, tough gig, writing a review of ambient sounds. Still it's NN's job, so stiff upper lip, cup of tea and away we go.
'Encomiast' is an album some of mainman Ross Hagen's older material reworked and released. Each of the six tracks create audio landscapes with atmospheric drones and electronic sounds; not āsongsā in any classical understanding of the word, more like themes.
'Azazel' has a cinematic feel to it, like the soundtrack to a really dark and sinister film, with eerie rough edges and the slow repetition of half-remembered nightmares. NN had images of being deep underground, in some dark, greasy tomb surrounded by slow implied threat. The composition of subtlety takes you to places in your own head that the pop cultural train doesn't stop at.
And the more you listen and the deeper you're submerged within the details of the desolation, the more personal the experience becomes. It's as much an exploration as anything. 'Zero' is almost up-tempo by the standards of the rest of the album. A pulsing softened beat, sweeping atmospherics and harsh electronic sounds, perhaps the hint of some mad laughing horse; the sounds are distorting off the walls down here.
'Concupere' reminds us of the Terminator soundtrack by Brad Feidel. The same menace vibrates around in the dark throbbing atmospherics, the deadened crashing percussion and the harsh metallic impacts. But it's nebulous - there's no triumphant melody to carry you through, you're alone down here with the unnamed and unnameable.
If you like songs, you know, with things like choruses and melodies, then maybe you'll find this catatonically depressing and just not see the point of it all - Encomiast, music, life, pretty much all of it. But if you're into a bit of introspective relaxation and taking a guided journey into some of the darker corners of that broken-beyond-fixing thinking machine of yours, then give this a go." - www.new-noise.net