Eclipsed – The Probabilistic Mind

[Reviewed by Peter Marks]

The state of things these days at the experimental end of artistic expression is perilous, to say the least. Enter Aliens latest issuance, a project between Samhain and KIFOTH named Eclipsed. There’s a definite reason they chose this name, ladies and gentlemen and it isn’t to do with darkness covering the Earth; there’s precision and craftsmanship and then there is this record, one which declares it’s influences right up front… but the further into this release you go, the less commonality you’ll find; a more graceful execution in artistry would be difficult to discern coming out of the field they work in.

Samples? No worries there, they’ve incorporated some incisive ones to compliment their mind numbingly detailed programming. You could dance to all of this but who’d ever have the guts to play it? I get the feeling they made this one to satisfy their own creative urges firstly, anyone else’s appreciation is strictly subjective. Then again, look at the song titles, a message is being broadcast through all the distorted waveforms.

Repeated listening reveals the isotopes of who brought what being discernible, especially in the case of Samhain. If you’ve not checked out their latest, ‘One Minute to Twelve’, consider this an invitation to so; ‘The Probabilistic Mind’ is quite a cerebral and at times surreal experience. Beyond those beats there’s a lot of manipulation going on, the sort of tinkering which winds up transcending expectations and pushes boundaries in spite of how things are now.

T.S. Eliot wrote of the wasteland and hollow men, Eclipsed soar far above; each track another glorious plume of colorfully imaginative sequencing determined to kick convention to the curb.

An attentive set of ears won’t be let down by what’s been done here, there’s complexity and there is dizzying exoticism which just won’t quit. These four are esoteric in how they choose to compose, not taking the easy route of mundane repetition; each bar of sound is exquisitely detailed and no eventuality is overlooked. One last thing about those influences being bandied about: ignore them, they’ve too much talent going on to be aping anyone.

Eclipsed – The Probabilistic Mind
Aliens Production, APD 018
CDr/Digital 2018