I was not familiar with the works of New Zealand artist Clinton Watkins, who has collaborated with Richard Francis (Eso Steel/CMR label) in the DOE project and released solo stuff as Three - and I regret not knowing more, because his debut as Whitebass is absolutely brilliant, surely one of my favourite drone works of 2004. The night/ocean theme behind Mystery Sea is powerfully conveyed by this 40-minute track, mostly based on amp-cracking bass frequencies: heavy, thick low-end drones, best enjoyed with headphones or in a very silent environment. The track evolves at a glacial, but steady, speed, and when you feel you've reached the bottom of the ocean, your eardrums imploded for the pressure, a menacing pulse painfully brings you back to breathing. The whole work is incredibly powerful and cohesive, even when indulging in silent territories. Its mind- and time-bending quality reminded me of Lull's masterpiece "Cold Summer", but take it as a feel more than as a direct reference. One of the most engaging ambient works I've listened to this year.

A prolific and eclectic electronic musician, Cordell Klier now contributes to Mystery Sea's always remarkable night/ocean drones series with this 3-track, 40-minute work. A scary and brooding album to say the least, "Traces" features Klier in a definite dark ambient mood, assembling layers and layers of metallic frequencies and subdued, disquieting noises. Klier's ocean seems to be plagued by unkown monsters and upsetting memories, and he certainly delivers no shelter to rest by. The underlying oppressive force of the work reaches a peak in the third and final track, "...right?, I'm still here!", with an epic climax and possibly a sort of final purge of inner demons.

Another Positron! Records release. This time they present us a new artist signee named S. Sturgis who released 13 albums and a dozen of eps in his previous years. The new six instrumental electronic tracks is cross between different genres; from ambient to abstract to dub and weird. Morelikely , Sturgis is exploring electronics and samples. The tracks can draw you in and alleviate your mind. "At The End" is an ambient piece with a funky and dub feel. Somewhat I consider "Tomorrow" a very strange track. It's a mixture of tribal rhythm, weird and abstract. I'm going to have to say that "Euphondisson" is my best favorite. The atmospheric vibe it gives sets the mind at ease and the music is ambient and very more laidback without the weird and crazy things going on in the track. Don't get me wrong, "In A Haze" is a good electronic album. I find the music very relaxing and soothing, especially when you're just getting off from work within all that stress and tension that's been building up and working your nerves.

ABSURDITY is the latest Jack Or Jive release and it is, at the same time, the band's personal tribute/comment to these troubled times. Sounding emotional and touching the album lacks of verbal communication because on the booklet you can't find the lyrics of the songs and since they are all in Japanese (as far as I can understand), I think an important part of the tracks is missing. Anyway, talking about the musical aspect, most of the ten tracks are ballads based on voice and piano with synth pads here and there and sometimes a rhythmical section ("Telepathy"). Even if Chako's voice sometimes is out of tune the fact isn't that important as I think that the duo wanted to focus their effort on the atmosphere and you can bet that ABSURDITY is full of it. Melancholy and bitterness are well expressed and listened with the right mood, ABSURDITY could be the sad soundtrack of these days.

A sort of experimental ep for Beyond, who usually plays straight dark ambient drones (see the review of "Shadeworld" in the archive). "Blightsrider" is actually a very obscure industrial-ambient track, with bass-heavy synths, ghostly voices buried within the mix, and metallic clankings. Pretty well done, and truly oppressive - if you like Nordvargr and the likes, you'll probably dig this one. The other two tracks (one being a remix of Stijn van Cauter's "In pain", the other of Beyond's own "Torn") are less appealing to my taste, being overloaded noise versions of droning tracks - they're probably ok for what they are, but they're not atmospheric nor rabid enough to make them stand out. I definitely prefer Beyond in his dark ambient vein.