Phaenon - Submerged [Malignant Records - 2007]Submerged is Phaenon (one Szymon Tankiewicz) opening shot of deep, heavy, and expansive dark ambience that as the title suggests is akin to being submerged into an vast underground space or falling down an endless tunnel. It’s just made up of one long 66 minute track that starts off very heavy and fast(for ambince) in it’s feeling of deep sound revulsion- like falling down and down & over and over into blackness, but over time Tankiewicz slows it down and stretchers the dark ambient tones out as if your slowing on your descent and taking more and more the dark wonder and cavernous landscapes that surrounds you. Tones echo, bob and submerge, towards the end of the track it really does feel like you’ve reach the bottom of something and are staring around in fear/wonder at you surroundings. I think the closet thing I could compare the starting tones to is Yen Pox’s Second album New Dark Age, though this is no way as advanced or shifting. Later on when it slow’ s, opens up , expands & the tones edges becoming more fuzzy, feedback ridden and more drone based, with forays into dark melodic ebbs . I think this is where the material really shines most, with hints that he’s moving towards his own sound, though not quite fully there yet. Tankiewicz has made an effective and deep sounding dark ambient opening trip, though hardly the most original thing you’ll hear from the genre, he mangers to conjure up quite an atmosphere and feeling of dark wonder with real promise for the future. Roger Batty
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