Ampscent is a project by Jacek Doroszenko and Marcin Sipiora, both of whom have previous artistic experience in the field of experimental music. The former artist is involved in sound and visuals and is active in the band Mammoth Ulthana; the latter is a more mysterious member, albeit one who is associated in the community though as a visualization designer and music producer. In Ampscent, both operate keyboards, synthesizers and electronics, resulting in some truly bizarre music.
The duo’s debut album was released by the Zoharum label, of course, and the material on the disc is introduced by two of the three tracks from the Nothing but the World EP: Nothing but the World and Boiling Field.
Without a doubt, it can be said that Ampscent’s music is curios and controversial, in terms of the definition of music. Some of Ampscent’s themes resemble, in their noise and rhythm, the sounds produced during an MRI scanner. However, these are not random sounds, but an arranged sonic sequence according to some concept and artistic vision of its creators. Various samples and loops of electromechanical devices create a synchronous and trance-like repetitive whole, which makes the compositions create the mood desired by the artists. One can clearly hear that trance rhythmics are an indispensable element of Ampscent’s compositions.
Pointing to examples, the track Hospitality is indeed reminiscent of a magnetic resonance in sound. Rhythmic beats and clatters, as well as buzzing, rumbling or rumbling of unidentified electromechanisms build a mysterious, futuristic, cold and at the same time dark atmosphere straight out of the movie Terminator with Arnold Schwarzenegger (dir. James Cameron, 1984). This piece manifests typical features of industrial noise aesthetics.
Moreover, these various sounds produced by mechanical and electrical devices are logically intertwined with contrasting synth and keyboard sounds that create snippets of melody (for example, simulating the playing of a harp, xylophone or treble percussion instruments). From among these collages, humanoid vocalizations emerge (female singing in Boiling Field, male singing in Arrival or group singing in Nothing but the World). However, these android motifs undergo constant breakdowns, coupling, rhythmic repetitions, as if they were suspended. This treatment makes the project’s music come off as overly ominous. Moreover, such melodic emanations evoke associations with dark ambient conventions, which brings the project’s arrangements even closer to a soundtrack straight out of a science fiction film.
Ampscent’s music, although dehumanizing, generates emotions typical of living beings, especially fear. One gets the impression that something mysterious is constantly accompanying in the background. All this strongly influences the imagination while listening to the duo’s disc. Doroszenko and Sipiora with their compositions are certainly able to bring out the listener’s deepest hidden fears and anxieties.
by Pavel. Rating: 8/10
