Vernal Crossing＜限定盤＞

Robin Storey's tenure in the mysterious :zoviet*france: paid off dividends once he decided to go out on his own as the iconoclastic Rapoon. On VERNAL CROSSING, Storey's modus operandi is the transformation of Indian raga and Middle Eastern "folk" motifs into cubist, hypertext digital data for the next generation. Far too galvanizing to be christened "ambient," Rapoon's hypnotizing loops and mercurial aural tundra nevertheless induce a becalming effect. This is trance music in the purest sense. Opening this disc in the most provocative manner possible, and indicative of VERNAL CROSSING as a whole, is "The Same River Once," a handmade etching crisscrossed with looped tabla patterns and subtle, pliant synth entrails. "Bol Baya," stabbed through with Arabic whistles and the chants of long-dead pharaohs, speeds up the interlocking BPM of the tablas-the ritual forever re-enacted. VERNAL CROSSING is a stunning travelogue into areas of sonic mysticism, somewhat more tangible and more immediately captivating than Storey's forays with :zoviet*france: