CONTINUUM RECYCLINGS VOLUME TWO

Bass Communion (Steven Wilson) and VidnaObmana (Dirk Serries) released two collaborations which were called "Continuum" Volumes 1 and 2. After the success of their first collaboration, VidnaObmana used that album and an unreleased Bass Communion track and the tracks from the 1st volume as source material to produce what they called Recyclings, new imaginings of the original tracks that stood on their own for another album. "Continuum Volume 2" was released and it contained 3 new tracks with the same collaboration, but this time, the tracks not only had the same drone style atmosphere, but also incorporated more dynamics (especially in the first track) that gave the soundscapes an even darker and heavier tone.

Finally, in 2010, a Recyclings album for volume 2 came out. But this time, the reconstructions of the volume 2 tracks were done by Justin K. Broadrick from "Godflesh". The heaviness of the source material comes through in these recyclings plus the also have an unsettling, almost industrial feel to them this time. Overall, this makes them much more interesting and not as devoid of time as the ones from the first volume. Don't expect any melodies or standard song structures however. The music is still trance-like, and probably even more so with the repetitive patterns that appear throughout. At least, the second volumes of source material and recyclings are quite distinct from each other, the first relying mostly on drones, the second relying on drones and patterns.

One thing that doesn't change much is that this material is only going to be appreciated by fans of the artists or the genre, and even then, you have to be in the right mood. This album has a much more unsettling result, however, and it can either make it easier or harder to listen to. After this, there were no other continuum recordings made, and its doubtful the second set would have been missed. But yet, here they are. If you are curious, then just know that you are getting into some interesting soundscapes that really have very little semblance to traditional music. If you love drone work created from layers of sound, then you will enjoy these, but the tracks are quite long, around the 20 minute mark. As with the others, I would consider this for fans only.