Vir Unis - Book Of Mutations

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Vir Unis - Book Of Mutations

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Combining and mixing a fresh blend of fractal groove textures and subtle rhythmic architecture steeped in glowing atmospherics, Book of Mutations, utilizes an array of acoustic and electronic percussion, drum machine, computer and synthesizer from work that's been continually evolving since Vir Unis, collaborative work with Steve Roach, Saul Stokes, James Johnson, Ma Ja Le, and three solo albums. Continuing in the spirit of the man/machine symbiotic relationship, Book of Mutations weaves a landscape of organic-electro hybrid grooves, steady-state streams, and deep spaces, always mutating and evolving, crossfading and fractalizing, to create a myriad of new forms…. In addition to the audio disc will be a companion cd-rom containing many high quality images of digital paintings and designs by Vir Unis drawn from the past 5 years while working and listening to the flow of the music.

Book of Mutations comes with a bonus cd-rom full of computer art that you can set up to watch as a slideshow while listening to the music. The combination is very compelling to this reviewer and strongly indicates the direction that tribal-ambient electronic music should take. Unis, who has recorded with Steve Roach, James Johnson, and many others, expresses a style on this recording that sounds a bit like a cross between the composed sounding works of Robert Rich ( e.g. 7 Veils) and the soundworlds of Roach. Anyone who enjoys these artists should get this recording, which I enjoyed very much. This is exploratory music, not dreamy ambient. Inner states are being explored in all their glorious ambiguity. Unis contributes plenty of his own style to create a very enjoyable listening experience. Most of the pieces are short, and feature some very good-sounding tribal percussion, some of which may be samples and some of which may be played. Unis mananges to make the percussion sound completely natural, as though there is a phalanx of human percussionists in the room with him. Aleph begins with stately and mysterious opening chords played on an orchestral sounding synth. It sounds like a prelude to the recording, at least until the percussion enters. Then the characteristic tribal percussion procession begins, played over a series of drones. The pieces warps into Metatron's Cube, which begins with compelling synth effects and a very spacey drone . The mood portrayed is one of anticipation. As the drones begin to modulate, Crossing the Photon Sphere, a striking piece, begins what sounds like a mystic chord sequence which repeats throughout the song. This is combined with extremely fitful and busy percussion to nice effect. Although static, this piece was one of the more impressive ones. Somewhere Along The Polar Axis features treated percussion, sonic effects and fluty-sounding pads. The Ascension Process changes the pace at just the right time by going to Unis trademarked fractal grooves (a groove contained within a percussion loop as far as I understand it) and his distorted guitar ( or distorted guitar synth sound) . The atmosphere is preserved but the pace intensifies over the next several pieces until Where Does Memory Go, which presents a new variation on the descending-second chord progression heard in much ambient music. This piece sounds more thematic than impressionistic and manages to sound beautiful and mournful at the same time. Unis uses a clear electric guitar and one that is distorted at the same time for some nice expression. Another standout track. The recording closes as it started in All Eyes on the Timestar with distant drones and percussion. The exploratory nature of this release, the variety with which it is presented, and the demonstration of how effective this music is when combined with other media all make this one of the most compelling Tribal Ambient releases of last year. More, please.