From: extreme@well.sf.ca.us (Brent Wilcox)
Subject: RELEASE: Vidna Obmana "The Spiritual Bonding" [CD]
Date: 19 Sep 1994 03:47:39 GMT

        PRESS RELEASE & ARTIST BIO      (9/15/94)
 
        COMING SOON from EXTREME...
 
        FILE UNDER:  AMBIENT/WORLD/TRANCE
 
        VIDNA OBMANA  "The Spiritual Bonding" (XCD-027)
 
VIDNA OBMANA returns to Extreme with "The Spiritual Bonding",
exploring the musical and spiritual dimensions that are a part of
his life.  There is a  powerful and positive direction in these all
new recordings, a distinct voice and character.
 
Through Vidna Obmana's growing friendship with American Composer
STEVE ROACH, the opportunity arose to create and record a new Vidna
Obmana album in Roach's Timeroom studio in Arizona.  
 
It all became more than just a recording at the Timeroom.  Steve
Roach became the album's producer.  The various source recordings
were prepared in Vidna Obmana's Belgium studio and numerous
internationally recognized musicians were invited to contribute.
With the understanding that only Vidna Obmana and Steve Roach would
be present at the final recording, Belgian musician and frequent
participant DJEN AJAKAN SHEAN supplied two of his rhythm sources,
American composer ROBERT RICH some flute and rhythm sources, for
which he's famous, and from Italy ALIO DIE recorded a dynamic
"looped" soundsculpture.  It was this combination of collaboration
and support that led to the album's title, "The Spiritual Bonding".
 
In the words of Vidna Obmana:
 
"Being introduced to the breathtaking character of the Arizona
desert was magic.  The Sonoran desert, a vista of plains and
mountains, foothills and valleys and the all-too-human Saguaro
cactus, inspiring wild and fanciful thoughts.  The Timeroom, looking
out onto this desert landscape, was perfect for witnessing the
changing scenery and linking "The Spiritual Bonding" with the
environment.
 
"The music captured the essence of how the album needed to evolve and
made it an artistic challenge for me to incorporate all the pieces
into a whole, being greater than the sum of the parts.  "The
Spiritual Bonding" became my most diverse album to date.  All of
this was brought together in collaboration with Steve Roach.
 
"The Spiritual Bonding" was constructed as a pyramid, from ascension
to descension, with the title track becoming the pinnacle.  The
piece was left to the end of the recording, gaining from the
experience and growth of the previous  recordings.  Steve Roach, in
his role as producer, not only provided musical but spiritual
support that set the stage for the whole event."
 
BIO: VIDNA OBMANA
 
VIDNA OBMANA, the Belgian composer (a.k.a. Dirk Serries). creates
and performs atmospheric music in all its aspects.  His definition
of composing atmospheres (since 1988) is that of working in respect
for each separate sound and color towards the whole composition.
 
Vidna Obmana's work can roughly be divided into three separate
artistic periods.  The first was the pre-1990 post-industrial stage.
The second was the minimal, droning atmospheric period, centered
around the "ambient trilogy", and now he has entered the tribal
influenced atmospheric phase.
 
Vidna Obmana's ambient trilogy allows little or no interference of
more conventional or recognizable sources.  "Passage In Beauty",
"Shadowing in Sorrow" and "Ending Mirage" introduced a refined
compositional technique to express and explore atmospheric music
with its own identity.  All three releases presented no real rhythms
or real melodies, only structures wherein sounds and their colors
are bound.
 
In contrast to this, Vidna Obmana composed "Echoing Delight", his
first album for Extreme.  This work shows his interest in combing
electronic with acoustic sounds, such as percussion, bells, gong,
vocals and didgeridoo, and increases the variety of styles and moods
in his work.  Guest musicians on this release were Djen Ajakan Shean
and Tom Kloeck.  "Echoing Delight" has also been performed live in
Europe.
 
This journey is continued in Vidna Obmana's second release for
Extreme, "The Spiritual Bonding", offering his most powerful album
to date.  "The Spiritual Bonding" brought together the talents of
Robert Rich, Djen Ajakan Shean, Alio Die and Steve Roach, both as
contributor and producer.
 
Vidna Obmana already has an impressive list of solo releases and
collaborative works, with Asmus Teitchens, Marc Verhaeghen, Sam
Rosenthal and Djen Ajakan Shean.  The following is a selection of
existing and upcoming releases:
 
"Passage in Beauty"  		(CD reissued in USA)
"Shadowing In Sorrow" 		(CD reissued in USA)
"Ending Mirage"			(ND, USA)
"Terrace of Memories" 		(with Sam Rosenthal, on PROJEKT, USA)
"Echoing Delight"		(EXTREME, Australia)
"Parallel Flaming"              (with Djan Ajakan Shean, on
                                         MULTIMOOD, Sweden)
"The Spiritual Bonding"         (EXTREME, Australia)
"Memories Compiled"		(PROJEKT/RELIC, USA)
 
=================================================
 
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