Ohrwert has long produced both Dub Techno and beatless Ambient recordings (the latter under his real name, Arjen Schat). He's a master of both forms, with his Dub Techno varying between deep mysteriousness and upbeat jams, and his Ambient recording covering sequential compositions, Drone Ambient, and even the occasional step into Dark Ambient.
With his album Ambex Project (http://music.ohrwert.com/album/the-ambex-project), he blends the two styles into a seamless experience, by making a set of tracks that sit at varying locations on a continuum from being heavily rhythmic to a carefully constructed drone.
As usual for his work, the quality of the sound staging is impeccable. I recommend listening to this in a quiet room with either good headphones or a stereo with really good imaging. Formally, most of the tracks are quite sparse in terms of composition. But what they lack in density of elements they surely make up for with beautiful sonic texturing.
The opener starts us with a sparse beatless Drone Ambient track, Ambient A# (Re-edit), to set the mood. This leads into Monstro, a firmly Dub Techno track with a great shifting ambient background.
Next up is Nocturnal Timbres, which loses the beat of Monstro, but is still heavily rhythmic; this one is reminiscent of some of Ohrwert's earlier super-warm sounding releases like Prism or Aberrate.
Echoes Before Dawn is another Drone Ambient track with interesting textures and subtle overtones, which leads into another heavy-beat track, 13. We hear the appearance of some 909 hi-hat sounds (or at least similar to those), but they sound entirely at home with the beat and heavy bass hits.
This is followed by another beatless but rhythmic track, Rotation Loop. This also sits at the edge of Dub Techno as it's missing kick drums, but the melodic structures are still clear.
We're then led further into Ambient territory again, with the Drone Alter mix of the earlier Nocturnal Timbres. I personally like these densely foggy-sounding Drone Ambient compositions, such as Loscil's Black Tusk.
As if to wake us up, Aceo hits us in the face with an aggressive sequential synth melody and beat, but it is soon joined by subtle background ambience which is a great contrast.
The beat disappears for Supervoid, and the album cools down and ends with another Drone Ambient track, the Drone Alter version of Rotation Loop.
I've described the album's trajectory in an attempt to illustrate the disparate styles Arjen has mixed together into a cohesive whole, since that is what makes The Ambex Project special. As with most music with a Minimalist bent, multiple listenings bring the music into better focus. I recommend giving this one a chance to make an impression on you.
With his album Ambex Project (http://music.ohrwert.com/album/the-ambex-project), he blends the two styles into a seamless experience, by making a set of tracks that sit at varying locations on a continuum from being heavily rhythmic to a carefully constructed drone.
As usual for his work, the quality of the sound staging is impeccable. I recommend listening to this in a quiet room with either good headphones or a stereo with really good imaging. Formally, most of the tracks are quite sparse in terms of composition. But what they lack in density of elements they surely make up for with beautiful sonic texturing.
The opener starts us with a sparse beatless Drone Ambient track, Ambient A# (Re-edit), to set the mood. This leads into Monstro, a firmly Dub Techno track with a great shifting ambient background.
Next up is Nocturnal Timbres, which loses the beat of Monstro, but is still heavily rhythmic; this one is reminiscent of some of Ohrwert's earlier super-warm sounding releases like Prism or Aberrate.
Echoes Before Dawn is another Drone Ambient track with interesting textures and subtle overtones, which leads into another heavy-beat track, 13. We hear the appearance of some 909 hi-hat sounds (or at least similar to those), but they sound entirely at home with the beat and heavy bass hits.
This is followed by another beatless but rhythmic track, Rotation Loop. This also sits at the edge of Dub Techno as it's missing kick drums, but the melodic structures are still clear.
We're then led further into Ambient territory again, with the Drone Alter mix of the earlier Nocturnal Timbres. I personally like these densely foggy-sounding Drone Ambient compositions, such as Loscil's Black Tusk.
As if to wake us up, Aceo hits us in the face with an aggressive sequential synth melody and beat, but it is soon joined by subtle background ambience which is a great contrast.
The beat disappears for Supervoid, and the album cools down and ends with another Drone Ambient track, the Drone Alter version of Rotation Loop.
I've described the album's trajectory in an attempt to illustrate the disparate styles Arjen has mixed together into a cohesive whole, since that is what makes The Ambex Project special. As with most music with a Minimalist bent, multiple listenings bring the music into better focus. I recommend giving this one a chance to make an impression on you.
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