Label: Chill Tribe Records
Released: 2007

01. World Travelling Eclipse Chasers
02. A Poem Of Hope
03. Artificial Earth Satellite
04. 96 + A Few Seconds
05. Time Zones
06. Future Society
07. You Are On My Mind
08. Copalectrocabana
09. Why Not?
10. Shimmering Madness And Hovering Butterflies
11. Shameful Silence I
12. Shameful Silence II

Psychedelic, experimental, eclectic. Is it possible to describe the album that have portayed these adjectives in itself as bad? No. No, if we know this type of releases in the past of the psybient scene. But important is in what percentage every of these adjectives is in the whole production, because any artist can give a free rein oneself to create pure, psychedelic, experimental and eclectic "anything". Also it is important to mention about the frames of the music in which the conception of these adjectives should be to see the final effect as the art. And these frames - about which I will talk later - have the album "Shameful Silence", the first album after a few yaers of album's gap in discography of Dane Kristian Thinning Andersen.

He is one of the bigger persons of the 90s scene. His main project, Elysium, presented downtempo and trance electronic sounds with ethnic influences. After 2002, when he released "Regenerated" as modyfied name Elysium Project, he has 5 years break of creating for the scene, though he had some single compositions contained on compilations, and not only there - one time he let for free download two marvelous chillout tracks from his official website (this website is no longer exist): "Free" and "Sunshine Song". One of the compilation tracks, "Fairytale", was published in a debut CD by Norwegian label Chill Tribe Records, on "Quality Relaxation". I am talking about Chill Tribe not without a reason 'cause in the end of April this label released first album by Kristian Thinning in his completely new image - Wombatmusic.

"Shameful Silence" is a unique album for many reasons, important event is also the aspect not related with the technical dimension of the music and I will start from this case. The title of Kristian's CD, "Shameful Silence", is a link to what have been done nearly one year ago in Lebanon, when the Israeli army attacked Lebanon in revenge of kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and firing Israel by Hezbollah from its bases in southern Lebanon. Nearly one year we have since that time, actually very widely described and commented in the world's media. But we have nothing after this, at the present time not many people remember it, though the people, especially children, are still suffering and suffering will be. Suffer without any sense. This is the key to this album, to the message of Dane - which also can be read on the official Wombatmusic website. This is very rare on the whole scene of psychedelic music that artist propagate his outlook on social topics. Of course it is not the aim of this music, this music we listen because we want carry the mind to the places where we don't see (hear) this kind of issues, I think. And this situation we have with the content of "Shameful Silence", I mean: this album is such and such: we have the message, but also the music as only the music is interesting and can "free us" (free from what? relate it with your own answer on the question "why I listen to the psy-music [the whole music]?").

The whole enterprise can't be properly described without what Kristian send to us on a level of the release. This message is perfectly done in the album's booklet. The graphics we can see there are amazing both: from technical (the drawing style can be seen on the cover) and from idea side. I will quote an image of one of the pages. Horizontal lines on which we have birds. Association? Only one: barbed wire. The sign of force separation... The booklet is a place in this whole album where Kristian's voice is most sonorous. Musical content direct us into other areas though also contain compositions that goes to this opposition of Dane, opposition of, don't be fear to say: our, silence. "Shameful Silence" is a diverse and an emotional one from which, attention please, all incomes are donated to Lebanon Red Cross. This is uncompromising move that realize the level of this artist's involvement. He changed the words, the theory, into the practice in so blunt way, as anybody. Even only for this, the artist should receive the words of a special respect.

Let's go now for the music. His brave voice Kristian contained also in the aspect of the sound. As I mentioned-above, he decided to give us experimental view for the music. This view is unusual, non conventional... And one more sentence about the length of the tracks before they will be described. Each of the track have different length, it's very different; mainly we have 4-7 minutes per track. Orthodox tracks will be detalied in the later description. The whole CD lasts nearly 75 minutes.

#01. The album starts with "World Travelling Eclipse Chasers", this track lasts over 13 minutes. Its early and ending phase is arch-calm (we have slowly pads, samples of the night) in comparision with what the middle, the essence is offering to us. And it is, in the biggest short, experimental ambient. These sounds are projecting visualisation of agressive, dark ritual. This reminds me of ATOI (Ambient Temple Of Imagination), although it could be also said that it is very radical side of Elysium sound. So it's wildly, ominously, massively. In the first and the last phase, in mentioned arch-calm moments, we have a short male monologue that is one time also in the middle part of the track - when the agression is not so wild, though also the monologue's power is not so big. What about vocals? We have modified female vocals, hums - this is quite difficult to describe... "World Travelling Eclipse Chasers" is a very "inaccessible" composition. The track is continually transforming, it take us on a tribal journey where we can see many predatory motives.

#02. "A Poem Of Hope" is a track inspired by Middle Eastern landscapes so much as no other else on this CD. In the rhythmicity of ambient we have flute motives typical for this world's region in the first part of the composition, sitara's motives in the second part, and also sounds of the street, a little percussion and a female, background spoken. We don't have a bass here (I mean pure bass motives) - I'll add by the way that it was absent also on the first track... Emotionally, "A Poem Of Hope" is a very pesymistic track, technically, this is another example of experimental ambient.

#03. And now we have probably the most difficult to receive track from the CD. "Artificial Earth Satellite" is a totally eclectic track because we have here funky, disco, tribal, dub, ambient and trance. It's difficult to imagine maybe, it's also difficult to listen to it even after a few times. The composition contain (great) female calls, a bit of percussion (drums, shakers), in the second part also a female deranged chorus in the distance; the males' samples are weird - it's funky but in the context of other sounds it sound is even euphoric. The main melody, that is with us with a bigger part of the track, is very bitter, very depressed. The main motive (which isn't that melody) is difficult to express in other words than as a guest participation of the disco music in this track. In the end we have a synth, simple melody and this is one of rares elements of the old Elysium sound we can hear on this CD of Wombatmusic in the way so distinctive and clear... "Artificial Earth Satellite" create mysterious atmosphere. From the technical aspect it is peculiar, experimental dubombient (dub percussion plus ambient vision).

#04. This time we have a composition that lasts a bit over 2 minutes. "96 + A Few Seconds", though is not so orthodox as the previous ones, contain pessimism of atmosphere very similiar to them. The major part of the track, in which we won't hear any percussion, have electronic motives and human's motives (but not vocals); in sum up it's still experimental ambient. This composition is ending my private section of the ritual world on this album (I'll say more about it also in the summary).

#05. We are going now into that part of the CD where we have less contemplation about sadness. "Time Zones" is a composition definitely more easy to listening. We cutted out the link to a more demanding music, but it doesn't mean that we won't hear any challenges, they still are - and element of pleasant chaos is spilling all the time on every of the tracks - this composition also is spilled with it, though, in fact, this track is a... space ambient in style of Solar Fields. With the long cosmic pads in the background and not coordinated (this a plus of course) percussion; even the main melody is quite like a Birgersson's sound from his life act, also for a very short monologues typical for that sound is a place here... "Time Zones" is the first of a series of three another tracks that could be in short described as "the future". Personally, in comparison with "the ritual" part (first four tracks) I like more "the future" for instance because its sound is more harmonious.

#06. The time has come on a projection of visions typical for my beloved ambient creator - Matt Hillier (Ishq, Ishvara, Elve). This composition, that is on the sixth track, is similiar to "Skyblue", the first track of a debut Ishq album "Orchid" - I can easily say this: if Ishq would like to create a space music, not earth music, then we have here his debut track - done by the wizard who's surname Andersen. "Future Society" have a strong low-tone bass (this is the first time of so powerfull bass on this album), dynamic percussion, in the background very beautiful chorus' and pads - in the background, but in fact they are the main elements of this composition and are its magic. With every new second the track is going on in amazing way, it can be listen for eternity - it's the uptempo ambient journey...

#07. Futuristic one. Nice, futuristic synth-pop... Initial (alone between 0:09-0:32) motive is generating on his own a vision of XXIII century (it's done simply but sounds absolutely brilliant). In general, "You Are On My Mind" are the ambient boots in which two elements are walking: piano and vocal(!) by Kristain Thinning. This vocal is filtered; this isn't a typical song's singing though it's quite close to this. In the second half we have a cosmic, short, loop melody and filtered dub percussion; there is also a place here for a low-tone bass... The whole is a very interesting collage and is closing for a "moment" my own stage called by me as "the future". It's time for a back to the womb of "Shameful Silence" - I mean a psychedelic, experimental and eclectic style in case of one track.

#08. "Copalectrocabana" is the track that lasts nearly ten minutes and a half. I must admit, that the title is a perfect illustration for its content: we have a beach atmosphere (Copacabana is a famous Brazilian beach) and tangibly impacts of electronica... In the beginning, somewhere in the background, guitar melody show faintly, but it is not the main link to Copacabana yet. Bond we have after the second minute when this melody is absorbed (literally absorbed) by a more expressive image: male singing, latin percussion, acoustic guitar with a known from the past melody, trumpet. Over the course of time, the background is reaching by other filtered guitars, once in a while we have also in this track a motive of electric(?) guitar - that is modifying by the filters in the way that is similiar to one certain job of FSOL (The Future Sound Of London). After the sixth minute we say goodbye to this stylistic, samples of breathing are expressing the entering into a new territory, and then they accompany the most difficult phase of the composition. This teritory is still Copacabana-like, but also more dark, jaunty (in the end everything is going faster and faster) and futuristic. Before the tenth minute this phase end, and after another several dozen of seconds of ambient swoosh, this very eclectic composition end definitely... This track is very weird, is the most extremist from the CD. As the only one don't fit to any of the three worlds I see while listening to the album.

#09. Lasts nearly three minutes. The track begin with modified male monologue that finish with the question "why not?" and which is then repeated in the effect of delay and still modified - the composition generally focus on this in principle. "Why Not?" is a cybernetic track. We have here a background percussion with a support of ambient's ambiguously, and with a mentioned monologue once more we have a futuristic ambient. This is as it were the second (the first was "96 + A Few Seconds") passage on this CD into other musical region; though in this tag I am of course pass over the "Copalectrocabana"... The phase of "the future" is over, the time has come for "the nostalgia" phase - which technically is ambient as "the future", although emotionally direct us for a pessimism though not so radical as we had in "the ritual" phase.

#10. Beautiful, melancholic, technically simple, guitar melody orient the composition titled "Shimmering Madness And Hovering Butterflies" to the downbeat's stunned beauty. This melody, though is with us nearly all the time, is not boring even for a moment, never. In the previous tracks we had not many melodies, so now yearning for a melody that motive is soothing in the way clearly satisfied. Later low notes of piano are complement this melody; I must say: it's arranged greatly. We have "ambient" percussion that is changing and all the time perfectly fitted, assist us in the journey. In the end the track's tempo, that was quite medium before, is slowing down. Also in the background of "Shimmering Madness And Hovering Butterflies" we have phenomenally beautiful pads and samples and all of this, with melody's notes and percussion, create metaphoric image of the horizon of oblivion... Lovely composition.

#11. Experimental and uncommon is the start of the first part of title composition of this album - we have filtered, dubby mixer here. Then we have in "Shameful Silence I" autumnal and puzzled melody with an element of optimism in it and also female monologue (by Houry Seukunian) about the message of the album. In the same time non-percussion background is filling with pads that are coming in and coming out. At the sixth minute we have transformations of the sounds, great crossings, the trademark of Wombatmusic style... I will be more precisely: there aren't "usual" percussions here, but something that its roots have in percussion but is coordinated by chaos, so in sum up it is creating futuristic percussion.

#12. "Shameful Silence II" is developing similiarly as its first part. The first main melody is, this time, a representant of the rainy sunset. The second main melody (that first is a background for a moment), played on a piano, is emotionally the same - is a feigned optimism. In the second part, to the lonely piano a female message is reaching; before - in English language, now in French (this is the second official language in Lebanon). Percussion is experimental, but calm... No doubt this is a minimalistic part of "Shameful Silence". The CD is finish.

Through the album speaks many colours of pessimism: nostalgia, melancholia, depression... But one of them is the biggest: bitterness. This emotion not resign, even for a moment during every listenings to the whole CD. Thanks to this "Shameful Silence" is the album of sadness, powerlessness. Even the happiness that we have in "Copalectrocabana" is a laughing through the tears. "Shameful Silence" is a sadness one, because sad and shameful is that silence of the world for suffering. In this context, the artist's message found its perfect reflection in the sound... This is a concept album. Personally, I have explored three worlds which connector are those mentioned emotions. Ritual world (track 1, 2, 3, 4): lack of bass, agressive and postapocaliptic atmosphere; experimental ambient. Future world (5, 6, 7, 9): long pads, futuristic ambient. Nostalgia world (10, 11, 12): melancholic melodies, minimalism, emotions, ambient.

"Shameful Silence" is a phenomenon. This is a very, very difficult album to listen to for the first time. I didn't expected so big experiment while knowing well previous works by Dane. Every track is ambiguous here because every have got on its bottom many sounds, that speak to us with the time. This album can't be really known even after a few listenings to it, that's absurd. It can't be done so quickly. The time is important to understand these sounds. As I said in the beginning part of the review: this is psychedelic, experimental and eclectic album. But this could not, after sum up, give us a work of genius though I think that Kristian was fight for this. He is on this stage of the life that he already can do this.

In my opinion, the biggest bad point of this album is its good point in the same time. This whole huge eclectism is not so coherent with a simultaneous impression of sadness. Although maybe even I did not know well this album yet?... This album is so ambiguous as not any other. I didn't met so many musically brave works. This CD have many valuable ideas which, I hope so, were precisely described by me. It must be listen, listen and listen. For sure everyone will find in it in the beginning just a few virtues, it'll be weird and the discourage can be born in the head. But I give you my word, you should try. I know for sure that if someone love experiments in music then should like it, minimum. Searching for some after-like sounds? Then you should search somewhere else.

At times I have compared some of these tracks to the works of other artists, but I wouldn't take these analogies into consideration, because the album is evolving and, as every evolution, contain elements of the past, so for example "Time Zones" and "Future Society" is an evolution of "the ritual" part and contain that important element of specific nature of Wombatmusic. I assume in the case of so original CDs that comparisions should be written. The number of these comparisions show then how big that "originality" is really unique. So? The whole album can't be compared with anything, single tracks - indeed, but after all there was a small number of comparisions and they were done by force in order to present properly Kristian's new sound...

In the last seconds of the CD we stay one on one with a short monolugue that thanks us and announce that this is not "goodbye, just goodnight". So see you Kristian in the next album. This CD with its artistic authenticity and vision (these are the frames I was talking in the beginning - artistic authenticity and vision are exactly what is the art's seed) hit into not the biggest circle of fans of the styles widely named in short as chillout.