“This is a colossal album where MB pleases himself, by pleasing us and by bringing nuances to music build around E.A.Poe's poems”
CD1 83:35
1 The Raven (feat. Rebekkah Hilgraves) (Vocoder Version) 27:32
2 ...dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before... 29:56
3 Ulalume 26:06
CD2 82:09
4 Der Rabe (feat. Georg Bruckmann) 14:05
5 ...seine Feueraugen funkeln gar dämonisch aus dem dunkeln, düstern Schatten um ihn her... 42:59
6 The Raven (feat. Rebekkah Hilgraves) (Clear Version) 12:46
7 ...swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor... 12:18
8 The Raven - Rabenvater ReMix (Bonus Track) 18:33
(CD-R/DDL 184:18) (V.F.)
(Dark Ambient, Drone)
Exploiting the theme of this magnificent and disturbing poem by Edgar Allen Poe to satiety, at least in the meanders of his compositions and visions, our friend Michael Brückner gets back to us with a most complete album paying homage to this famous poem; The Raven. It must be said that the sympathetic German musician was torn on all sides by the requests of his fans. The Raven's adventure begins around 2014 with an invitation from Rebekkah Hilgraves, host of the famous radio show At Waters Edge, who invited various artists from the electronic world to compose music inspired by the theme of Mr. Poe's dark poem. This compilation, entitled Nevermore, included the participation of MB who composed a 58-minute track drowned in over 8 hours of Dark Ambient EM; Rebekkah's Raven. By the way, this album is always offered as part of a name your price offer. It's around this title, interpreted in different ways, that POEtry (Drones-Atmospheres and Dreamscapes Vol. 2) is built. I love the pun here! And Michael has gone all out for this album to meet the demands of his fans. In English and German, with or without vocoder as well as with or without text, this track of nearly an hour is dissected in all its aspects in this colossal work which has the gift of surprising by these different subtle nuances brought to each version.
First of all, it's not on this album that we're going to put out our dancing shoes or even invite friends to a Rave party! POEtry (Drones- Atmospheres and Dreamscapes Vol. 2) is an album of tenebrous atmospheres developed on the theme of darkness and tension guiding us through different musical paths where dread belongs to our imagination. Revisited for a third time, The Raven features the voice of Rebekkah Hilgraves on vocoder to music designed to perform in the shadow of a play. It's the voice that dominates a quiet music where one can feel its torments in a silent rage that Madame Hilgraves' voice manages to appease twice rather than once. Except that segments, like around the 15th minute, escape her, thus showing the vision of Michael Brückner and his arrangements to make our blood run cold. Obviously, listening to this album in the dark and with appropriate headphones (I did the test) changes the situation and our perception. So, the hostess of At Waters Edge, who has also collected field-recordings of a nocturnal nature with crow's song, has this kind of voice that flirts between the poles of haunting and logic. Her voice, those of the crows and the various sound effects interpreting thunder and lightning inject an ideal relationship with the music of MB on this track. As well as on ... dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before ... which offers a different approach in the music, always lifeless, which is more intense. These two tracks actually feature the entirety of Rebekkah's Raven. There is a little, barely noticeable zest of organic effects that works in both tracks. There are also segments reminiscent of the awesome The Fall of the House of Usher from Alan Parsons Project. Ditto for Ulalume where Michael himself recites this other poem by Edgar Allen Poe on music whose segments without texts exude a demonic intensity.
CD2 begins with Der Rabe which is one of the special requests of German fans. This version recited by the horrifying voice of Georg Bruckmann, the German Vincent Price, offers music that is more fluid. Music flowing towards ... seine Feueraugen funkeln gar dämonisch aus dem dunkeln, düstern Schatten um ihn her ..., the German version of ... dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before ..., which is a real symphony on darkness and its demons. An excellent title of Dark Ambient flirting with a philharmonic essence. My friend Michael uses the theme and its music in any way his fans demand… or almost. The vocoder-less version of The Raven features a highly stylized voice from Rebekkah Hilgraves. If the voice is clearer, its effect is diminished, even with the appropriate intonations of Rebekkah. ... swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor ... is another very intense musical track. The music time limit being exceeded on each CD-R, the downloadable version of POEtry (Drones-Atmospheres and Dreamscapes Vol. 2) offers a bonus track which reaches 18 minutes. The Raven - Rabenvater ReMix (Bonus Track), is a breath of fresh air with a version that flirts between psybient, orchestral progressive rock and a small, shy side, of course, of Electronica. The texts are in English and German. It's an 18 minutes of pure happiness 😊!
Again, Michael Brückner didn't do things by halves. And big projects don't intimidate him either! POEtry (Drones- Atmospheres and Dreamscapes Vol. 2) is a colossal album where the German musician is pleased, by pleasing us and by bringing nuances to his long composition of nearly an hour in each of its versions and the proposed extracts. It's Dark Ambient! Big Dark Ambient blown with a philharmonic value, thus giving all these letters of nobility to a work that should survive to time!
Sylvain Lupari (January 2nd, 2021) *****
Available at Michael Brückner Bandcamp