Listening to Frisson Records' latest various artist offering, Daw of Absconsion, immediately showcases the label's commitment to quality production. A hunger for creativity shines through after the first listen. This album serves as a portal to a realm where dark progressive and psychedelic techno infuse otherworldly, energetic, and spiritual soundscapes, drawing listeners into a trance—an adventure inwards, a buffet for the curious mind.
Right from the opening track, DIAL & Dossman's 'Dystopian Decay', Daw of Absconsion wastes no time in establishing its serious and enchanting atmospheric theme, it means business. This compilation has a mixture of some of my favourite contrasts in music, futuristic synth elements and intricate drum with tasteful glitch that add layers of intrigue and mystery mixed in together alongside with alluring vocals that take and rise you up to higher planes. This juxtaposition always activates something primal inside of me when I hear it. As the journey unfolds, tribal rhythms and deep basslines take you through a terrain that feels both ancient and futuristic, blurring the boundaries of space and time, and hinting at a mystery far beyond.
The release from Sunshine Coast record label Frisson Records features both international and Australian artists. On the local front, Adelaide's Souphonious delivers ominously themed 'Ancestral Calling'. They call from deep within the earth, a low rumble, a cautionary tail perhaps of the perilous path humanity seems to be on. Brisbane's Rabbits On Saturn transports us to Japan with haunting melodies and spoken Japanese vocal samples in 'Akaishi'. Melbourne producer Kodama keeps in the Japanese theme with what I would consider more of a techno offering in 'Ishihara'. Over to Canberra with Nostavalgia and his track ' Snake Charmer', captivates with an exotic female vocal and takes us into more 'psy' territory. The album closes with 'Mausoleum' from Brisbane's Scott Stevenson. The track is meditative and pensive. It provides a deeply spiritual close to an album that has transported us through moments of intense enchantment, bountiful joy, flowing energy and deep reflection.
Cinematic in scope, each track in "DAW of Absconsion" feels like a chapter in a larger narrative beyond the music itself. A personal narrative about our story here in this realm, drawing us deeper into an immersive world. Eastern vocal influences add a primal energy to the feeling of the release, evoking images of rainforests, jungle rituals and spiritual awakenings, with technology beyond understanding. I am treated to a transcendental experience that blends religious motifs with tribal rhythms. Like a waterfall, the music pours out of the speakers and washes over me, leaving a state of blissful euphoria and anticipation for what lies ahead, not just in the music but in observing reality and life itself. Ancient echoes take us into a world where anything is possible and the boundaries of imagination are expanded.
Bringing together sounds of the past present and future, echoes of acid synth, intermingle harmoniously with modern drums, lush pads and traditional instruments create a rich field, while ancient-sounding shamanic, ethnic and mysterious vocals take the listener to ethereal realms beyond imagination weaving it's way across the tracks to provide cohesion throughout the release. Daw of Absconsion is the next captivating addition to Frisson Records as it continues to holds space for sonic wizardry with its roster.
Listen to 'Daw of Absconsion' in full and mixed by Ky Mi on Electronic Music Australia, and buy a copy for yourself on Beatport.