Gamardah Fungus "Two Hemispheres, Two Worlds" / TBC013

This is the second release by “Gamardah Fungus” duo from Dnipropetrovsk.

Two Hemispheres, Two Worlds – this seems to be the best characteristics of the album material: 5 tracks built on contrasts. A quiet twanging that occasionaly drowns in noise overload. And this time it contains not only traditional guitar solos and ambient landscapes, but also church hymns, mysterious voices from the other world and even a Turkish vocalise…

Each of the five tracks continues his predecessor in its own way. That’s why we suggest to listen to this album from the beginning to the very end – to get the chance to capture the psychedelia that hides in it’s integrity.

Handmade package is made to highlight the music contrasts. A tender warm dark violet sac contains an envelope made of rough and crumpled packaging paper with the cd (in full print) itself. And only after opening all of them the listener gets the chance to read the track names… Patience will be rewarded. “He cuts through the path he follows”, as our ancestors used to say.

Release Date: August 3^rd, 2010

Tracklist:
01. Burning Church Of Eternal Sorrow
02. Kurtulus
03. Two Hemispheres, Two Worlds
04. Frozen Moon Rising
05. Black Ode To White Cherub

Total Playtime: 0:58:35

All the CDs are sold out but the full album in mp3 192 kbps is available for download from archive.org.

Gamardah Fungus – Two Hemispheres, Two Worlds
(Ukraine; Experimental, Electronic, Drone, Ambient)
5 Tracks (CD – Turbinicarpus Records) -_-_- (58:36)

Five tracks on a CD, hidden from side through multiple layers of paper and inside some sort of handmade bag. Such would be the release Two Hemispheres, Two Worlds by the Ukrainian band Gamardah Fungus. Each of the compositions is discussed separately.

Burning Church Of Eternal Sorrow (12:38)
The opener of this release has a play of accords (resolution) as a main motive, which is accompanied by an additional guitar in the background. Later, a rather harsh interruption disrupts this peaceful scenery and a metal part takes over, while towards the end the opening motives appears again; now in slightly distorted manner, though.

Kurtulus (8:27)
Arabic vocals (?) recite a text, while in the background guitars and keys set a calm and sedative mood. Strange to listen to, especially as the context of the presentation remains hidden. Furthermore, sounds, which remind on the chirring of locusts, make an appearance as well. Imagine sitting on the riverside of the Nile, while in the background the unfamiliar noises of the Middle Eastern culture and the Egyptian environment impose themselves upon you.

Two Hemispheres, Two Worlds (9:35)
The opening is a continuation of the preceding track, but after a while, a guitar motive enters the scene and progresses considerably in intensity. Over the whole length the sound of water and a wind play (?) set the mood, but once half the track has passed, metal guitar takes over and everything progresses to some noisy texture towards the end.

Frozen Moon Rising (16:59) Here, the switch between the ‘calm’ and the ‘aggressive’ motive takes place twice. Again, the contrast of normal guitars and metal ones appears and again samples of and textures play a crucial role.

Black Ode to White Cherub (10:57)
Compared with the previous four approaches, the closing one appears in a different manner. The difference in the ‘worlds’ is not as obvious as before, because the sounds were meshed together and try to ‘fight it out’ at the same time. Chants and bells have to compete with a noisy texture in the background. A clear distinction cannot be found over the entire length of this track.

The title suggests as much, “Two Hemispheres, Two Worlds”, and it should be taken literally. While the music hovers through the air, it switches between a more guitar-oriented, and therefore heavier or more intensive music, to a calm ambient atmosphere. Not every composition shows this distinction, but the contrast between those extreme levels is an important facet nonetheless. What makes this CD interesting is the variation in the noises and sounds, the contrast or facets in which the music appears.

Review taken from 'a dead spot of light (Number 13)', written by oneyoudontknow.
Source: http://www.archive.org/details/ADeadSpotOfLight...Number13
Released under: Creative Commons license: Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Germany

Another album review (in Estonian)