CD, Einzeleinheit, 2005
www.einzeleinheit.de
“Die My Illusion” is an album that took me quite some time to actually come to terms with. While not on the same level as the cinematic ambient works of someone like Herbst 9, Dense Vision Shrine does deliver a solid piece of ambient musicianship while being an expression of the author’s very personal universe.
Technically, this piece seems rather well composed with a fair amount of well-placed subtleties and intricacies, which seem to crop up at just the right moment, serving not only as musical elements per se but also drawing attention to the music, in case one’s mind has wandered off (not hard to happen).
If one is intent on going beyond that, then this release will very likely be a difficult piece to get into (the first reason for which is its long duration) and, despite the composition’s qualities, the reward for the discipline needed to fully appreciate it might well be the discipline itself.
If used as a subtle piece of aural decoration (as proposed by Brian Eno’s concept of ambient music), “Die My Illusion” fulfills its role masterfully. The musical compositions are regular enough to enhance concentration tasks but there are enough subtle changes to add variety to one’s ambient and ease any boredom/tiredness, replacing (or enhancing) the small and almost imperceptible sounds of everyday life.
As it is, “Die My Illusion” is a very heavy piece that requires perhaps too much investment from the listener and whose ease of listening is limited to being used as aural wallpaper (not a bad thing). It would definitely benefit from being sectioned into several separate tracks (without silent spaces), making for a more practical and pleasurable listening experience (especially by a casual listener).
[7/10]
— Miguel de Sousa