The Circular Ruins

Tragedy is normally a terrible thing. Mutually assured destruction from subject/object renders life obsolete; only lessened by the fight against crippling. Whether it’s the Twin Towers tragedy, to war soldiers, tragedy sneaks its way into the mutual battleground of many occupations, never becoming a preoccupation. And it’s exactly this huge translation that Anthony Paul Kerby, aka The Circular Ruins has on the listener with “The Birth Of Tragedy”.

Firstly, this is not a noisy album. It’s ambient drone to the bones, and very deep and sad. I wouldn’t recommend it for who those unwishing uproot, angling across the skyline and being reunited with the warmth of the clouds of Heaven. In these ten tracks lies a trippy trip of putative moods. Kerby knows well to aim for discretion amid synthesizer pads, expertly treated as to move further beyond presets perimeter.

It’s really when “The Birth Of Tragedy” cut kicks in on the album where it retains a timeless quality. A sombre sun dip with a genteel to/fro, it turns meandering upside down to create bliss. The music is somewhat decaffeinated and tainted-sounding, as if these pieces could rule the world in a parallel universe. Kerby takes his time – the work runs over the traditional 45 minute LP length – but never does he outstay his intent. “Q.E.D”, the last, has different ideas in execution and flair, dovetailing the jetstream of drone against a kosmiche melody that arpeggiates like a solar light trail.

“Displaced Pt. 3” is particularly effective/affecting, a refrain channeling the cornerstone of isolationist ambient that labels including Kerby’s Data Obscura and Alessandro Tedeschi’s Glacial Movements do excellently. “The Birth Of Tragedy”, also, is not calorific in its refrain. Sparing deployment of repetition constructs a gain+reward testimony through small means. If anything is for certain with Kerby, along with Data Obscura as an outlet and his collaborations with Tomas Weiss, it’s shown on “The Birth Of Tragedy” to be completely soul-oriented. After all, he couldn’t make this type of music without one.

www.dataobscura.com