Creation VI & Ugasanie - Birds Of Naukan

Even while being a kind of a continuous soundtrack, the album structure can be easily recognized because each and every track has its own dedication and theme. The first one is dedicated to "Nuneangan", an abandoned Yupik village which once was the most eastern human settlement of Eurasia before the USSR government destroyed it for some unknown political strategic reason. Sounds of water and rain, of wind and birds' twits are supported with a distant background hum that adds an extreme depth to this composition and a very meditative mood ensures an easy and natural flow. "Yttygran" takes us to a distant island, windblown and surrounded by cold ocean waters, lost between nowhere and the edge of the world. This track promises an even deeper immersion into a solid piece of drone music when a soft melody of a ritual flute joins the game somewhere in the middle. The island is famous for its mysterious Whale Alley, the alley which was built from bones and skulls of the whales that had been hunted by the locals for centuries; the alley was a central point of ritual gatherings of hunters for many centuries. The whole mysticism of the place is being projected into the third track of this wonderful album with a slow and dark droning melody backed up by the same wide spectrum of field recordings.

Needless to mention, that even after the first half of the record I was completely blown away by the spiritual, magical tunes, but the next composition called "Pegtymel" proves that there is still a long road ahead. Named after a big river in Far East Siberia, this track is the most authentic in the whole album carrying the direct visions of the local culture projected to the sound of vargan, a very common local instrument, and a monotonous shamanic chanting. It tells the story of Pegtymel rock art images painted a thousand years ago on the Pegtymel cliffs, conjuring primal figures from an endless oblivion to dance near the campfire together with a spiritual tribe. And I truly believe that the closing track is a direct dedication to those brave, modest and strong people that continue to keep their culture, continue to preserve their way of life and their beliefs to the sound of vargan flowing in the frozen air, against all odds.   
Once again I succeeded in finding a great interest in nature based ambient music. The theme, the highest level of performance and sound construction creates one of the best drone ambient albums that I heard during the last year. Sometimes it seems that nature itself whispered in the ears of the guys behind Creation IV and Ugasanie to compile a really solid and sophisticated record. My dear reader, I am sure that with a little help of “Birds of Naukan” you will be permeated by the spirit of northern nature as never before.