7″ Vinyl, Drone Records, 2008
www.shrine.me.uk
The first of four new Drone Records 7″ releases is the project Shrine from Bulgaria. “Distorted Legends, Pt.1” is the first vinyl release for Hristo Gospodinov after a full-length CD on the somewhat unknown Corvus Records, also Bulgarian.
The very heavy black vinyl – to be played on 33 rpm – is hidden in a foldout cardboard sleeve with a mind-tingling picture based on a drawing by Tsvetan Mirchev. It depicts buildings reaching for the sky, and though the structures could be anything ranging from pre-unification factories to the Babylonian skyline, the title implies the former of these two extremes.
Music-wise there is a lot to be discovered here. Nice mellow ambient layers form the basis on which static analog sounds create a feeling of loneliness. On the reverse side, some added bass sounds create an emotion that can only be described by the word mesmerizing…
A welcome addition to the Drone Records catalog and a name to remember. Looking forward to the second part.
[7.5/10]
— Bauke van der Wal