As for Serge Devadder’s previous cds, the cover of this release features an abstract texture by abstract art painter Birgit Schweimler that somehow reminded the composer of an amphibian organism, which fits perfectly with the concept of the album. “Taxon”, as its name suggests, is heavily influenced by Serge Devadder’s fascination for comparative biology and the act of taxonomic classification as an attempt to bring order to the chaos of evolutionary drift. Its ambient sonic narrative explores the dark, murky, cruel, slimy processes of biological differentiation while expressing the composer’s fascination for its complexity and versatility. Another source of inspiration was the famous cabinets of curiosities (the so-called “Wunderkammern”) of the baroque rulers which displayed a blend of early natural history collections with more bizarre artefacts. Thus, Serge decided to name each of the seven tracks on the album after an organism, either f r om real nature or from the realm of fantasy.
So what’s the music like? Well, it’s a carefully moulded and shaped travelogue of tribal-organic electronics, moody textures and primordial alchemy matched with a few aquatic elements. Also note some distant horn calls merged with spatial sequences and deep spherics (“Alraune”) or gentle bursts of conch shell trumpet (the closing piece “Conchilien”). The sequencing found on the release is also something special, putting things in fascinating yet exciting pulsating motion (“Vipern”) while mesmerizing atmospheres materialize. And there’s the fascinating track “Perlboot” (the German common name for the Nautilus pompilius) having a special meaning on the recording. The chambered nautilus-shell, with its many compartments, is a well-documented example of a near-golden spiral and almost a symbol of how mathematical principles drive growth and differentiation in biological processes. Hence Serge included a reference to the “golden ratio – Phi” Fibonacci-series in this piece (which comes with a beautiful video on You Tube) as the number of pulses follows the series between 1 and 233. This actually reflects the increasing size of the air-chambers in the shell.
“Taxon’s” mesmerizing acoustic-infused, highly imaginative soundworlds are simply ear-candy as it paints its own sonic worlds of natural wonder. Check out this quality release if you like the organic ambient works Robert Rich, Loren Nerell and Steve Roach.
Right from the first sound you hear, to the last note - this album will transport you to a natural place. I cannot put into words how this album has been such a huge help. It’s like a friend now - like someone who is always there. An amazing album that everyone should own. Thanks so much, Robert. darkstarr666
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