What is that for a sound during this new premiere here on VoS? It might be a shrutibox, it could be an organ, it might even be simple synths. Whatever it is, it creates an atmosphere that draws you in. Captures your soul and thinking and leaves no space for any other though. Welcome to the music of ChiaraOscuro, welcome to “In the Manner of Serpents”.
Let’s get the unavoidable out of the way, shall we? Yes, Anna von Hausswolff, yes Lisa Gerrard and yes, Lingua Ignota. All these three wonderful talented artists can be dropped in order to describe the music of ChiaraOscuro and yet there is somethings very unique in her music as it seems to be closer to the Drone and Ambient somewhere between SunnO))) and Maschinefabriek, heck one might even think of some Björk tracks.
Okay, FFO’s out of the way we can try to find an image to convey for your very eyes in order to give you a better impression of what this song sounds like - imagine walking through the dried out desert somewhere south of the Peruvian-Chilean border. Everything is hot and scorching you and your members - the feet are burning because of the static growling sand beneath your feet, your skins is peeling off because of the air which feels as if Oppenheimer himself has used it as a trial area before Los Alamos. And then, all of a sudden there is this voice which embraces you, carries you to a tank full of soothing liquid and thus saves your body and soul. That’s what “In the Manner of Serpents” does to you. There is this only-seeming dichotomy of dangerous sounds and mighty choral-probed vocal harmonies which need no lyrics in order to help.
And before anybody tells me that I am just making up this thing about the tank, read this quote by the artist herself on where the song was recorded: ” ‘In the Manner of Serpents’ […] was recorded at The TANK Center for Sonic Arts, a 7-story steel water tank-turned-recording space in rural Colorado with a remarkable 40-second reverb. Honoring the architecture of the space it was recorded in, the track was artfully mixed by Viscomi and Daniel Knowles to give the listener a sense of being drawn toward and finally spun into a swirl of dark ecstasy.”
You can pre-order your copy of Rancor:Succor via Nefarious Industries’ store or place a pre-order at ChiaraOscuro’s Bandcamp page! Nevertheless, be warned - this artist will keep you spellbound, and you will love the sorcery.
