Semiomime - From Memory

What a richly detailed release this is, probably due to the time spent assembling it I'd imagine. "From Memory" plays out like a travelogue of sorts for the listener, there are many sounds of the natural world which beckon like an all too familiar phantom rattling his chains. How Semiomime have done this, I don't know. Where it was recorded is anyone's guess. This is a literal itinerary of the mind, an elucidated list of ingredients which to many would be somehow in congruent, just simply too odd to co-exist in the same sphere as the other. The dichotomy of opposites could be what this individual is alluding to, I'm not entirely sure but what I am sure of is that not since the days of Stoa and Anchorage has a neo-classical album been so fearlessly innovative, or so downright pleasurable to listen to. "From Memory" can only be viewed as a beguiling beauty, an oasis in the desert of mainstream electronic music

Strolling through abandoned factories layered with the decay of neglect is one feeling I get. Then I'm whisked into an elegant ballroom full of stately piano but before I can even bow -and I'm not kidding here- there literally is Mitzvah music being cranked out with a scattery breakbeat ripping through the violins and good god, xylophones! The man who is Semiomime apparently also has several other names he operates under but this little endeavor just soars through so many genres and styles that it about knocks the wind out of me. You can hear the elements of what someone else would be straight forward with given over to the whims of a composer (and I would definitely call him this without hesitation) who does not care for the methodology of niche pandering. He'll do what he wants with this thing, either enjoy it or get the hell out of his way. Oboes and diced percussion, a dirge topped by sugary sweet strings. Could legendary Looney Toons musical maestro Carl Stalling be an inspiration?

Press play. Go on, no one's stopping you.

"From Memory" expands out more like a symphony than just one guy and his machines. There are movements, there are beats, then come those pauses... shimmering, glorious swells of emotion crest and then come crashing down. I wonder if Semiomime utilize a baton while recording, probably not, it'd just be too much. The sound of rain perpetually appears in almost every song, and no, I don't mean literally but when I close my eyes I certainly see them while listening. These are not the drops which bring life, no. Rather, they're incisive shards of pure diamond menace and if you look into the facets cut in them you'll see all manner of reflections, recollections and yes, memories. They come down like the torrential downpour during monsoon season, utterly drenching everything as they release. Ad Noiseam get a very very big thumbs up for putting this album out, it's not something I'd come across before. Where on Earth did they find this guy!? A better question would be, when will we hear more from him, "From Memory" demands expanding upon.

This is the first of a hopefully ongoing series... absolute brilliance which somehow one, solitary human being has managed to conjure. It's pretty much a global overview of thoughts going on throughout "From Memory": where do they begin, where do they end. This one has my mind reeling, completely overrun by infinite queries.

Don't even question if you should own this, obtain a copy of Semiomime's debut. Immediately. Apr 12 2011