The word Redux describes something that happens all over again. It also means that something’s brought back or revived.
Redus (Romanian) means reduced, that is: to make smaller. Just to be clear with the words.
In this case then obviously we have an album that was revived. In most of the cases with the tracks here, they were re-recorded, re-mixed, re-mastered. Also it was “restored” – I guess that means the steam sources were also re-fined kind of upgraded for more bits production. I just noticed this is some massive undertaking work from Peter A. recently – trying to “Redux” his most successful albums from early beginning.
To the music itself, in the beginning of raison d’etre I can sense now better, there is a pattern regarding the composition approach. Which was a kind of specific at that time – a sense of repetitive snippets, everything more mechanized and industrial – compared with the later works, which are more generative like, fluid soundscapes. But back at that first period – what a period.
(Pause a minute, just heard a sample on track 4 – used by Lustmord too in his Paradise Disowned. Is this a good sign? Not sure now who has the rights to that very special same sound.)
That early period with most astonishing audio he has ever conceived, or any has conceived – I was blown away by the taste and the quality of the combination (to keep in mid that a good home computer or DAW for that matter, were a myth – very awkward moments of battle with hardware and software difficulties and limited resources (in themselves a source of inspiration and improvisation.)) That unexpected, important, essential, relevant sound snippets combined for really “divine?” music (mu-sick). Always wondering from where the inspiration, and what an alien Peter can be. To stress out, this was 1995! (Well 2013 2 CD redux album now, and 2020 vinyl edition.) This was “the thing” then. The absolute dark thing, and then again he has done it with the most fantastic “In Sadness…”, then with the “Empty Hollow…”. The peak of the project and of the label. This is my personal perspective though. Everyone how they perceived it then but I realized their value then, paid respect to them, by not even trying to copy the project in my music endeavors.
How it stands today in 2023?
The redux version has its good moments, it is still an enjoyable listen. Does not hook me as it did. I see now that the approach to the composition is the culprit. Although it has the same great sound stems, it sounds overall, as of today’s spirit, a bit outdated and puerile. Overall the test of time of the album: it’s only partially there.
“Of Dying Relics” is the most valuable witness of what I just asserted. It lacks atmosphere, it is a track locked between industrial music and the repetitiveness of the pop.
“Dreams Essence” is quite the opposite, coming to rescue the dark, in the then rising dark ambient genre. Beautiful piece which uses synths too, for an exploratory dreaming obscurantism. The very essence of dream muzak, of one of the most important aspects of subliminal dark music, at the threshold of enactive perception.
Is there a way an AI algorithm can ever reproduce that? I think it is very possible nowadays, due to identifiable compositional signature found in this release – same with other former releases, with less and less identifiable patterns towards more recent years albums I would add.
Speaking of this second period, the CD nr. 2 of the redux album which is in and I just write about (Complete album name: raison d’etre – Within The Depths Of Silence And Phormations (Redux)) – seems a rework that is exactly landing us to the more recent works of the artist. They seem greatly re-mastered and although a compilation of tracks, this CD sounds like a new stand alone album. It is more soundscape oriented, more fluid and deep. Beautiful reverb used – to recall Lustmord again, some accentuated sounds with powerful reverb. Over-repetitive patterns are there, but feels less industrially trapped.
The harmonics are now echoed, so then there is more to the dream’s essence after all…
soundpertures 