I guarantee your friends will want to know what the hell you are listening to once you play this CD. This album is by Scorn, the dark ambient/trip hop/dub duo whose music is most closely linked to that of respective pioneers and Clive Barker darlings, Coil. Aphex Twin, Tricky, Massive Attack follow suit with similair offering but none so scary as Ellipsis.
Particularly on the third track, there is about a minute and a half of nothing but a deep, dark new age "whoning" fading in and out, that brings to mind scenes from Aliens as the red cargo lights on the ships bay swirl around and around and around, signaling an impending doom. It is so beautiful and peaceful that you almost want that sound to go on forever. You then hear a few clicks and slides like that of a spider creature crackling it's feet speedily across a cold, aluminum floor. Then comes the beats. The song is structured so that these sounds layer on top of each other then break apart of an orchestrated symphonic piece that slowly dies to a point of silence, until the next thing you hear is that in an out "whoning" again. You might also feel as though you're underwater going deep to the bottom of the ocean and the sound you hear is that of the cabin pressure taking its toll on your vessel.
Then again, you make not think of any of these things. You may not be on any medicine and may just pop the CD in and listen to it without all the varied and schizophrenic hallucinations that a jarred and troublematic imagination can lead to.
The first track leads off with a raspy and muffled autonomous voice announcing, "All personnel...." You can't really hear the rest but the space sounds and the vortex swishing and black darkness sound take over until some really hard beats take over and run you through the rest of the song. Ellipsis isn't really sample laden at all. It is however, a very dark journey that will keep you fascinated for some time. There are many tracks that sty true to a more Tribal beat, of course with Scorn's own dub and the songs on Ellipsis, should be noted that they are remixed by quite a few folk. Including, of all people, Coil and Meat Beat Manifesto and more. There are some tracks that will rival your new age relaxation tapes. The only difference is their imagination lends itself to a dark world with vast open spaces instead of subliminal new age words designed to penetrate your subconscious.
Here is the track listing. Notice which artists contribute to each tracks, including the infamous Bill Laswell.
1 Silver Rain Fell (Meat Beat Manifesto Mix) 08:35
2 Exodus (Scorn Mix) 05:39
3 Dreamspace (Coil - "Shadow Vs Executioner" Mix) 11:30
4 Night Ash Black (Bill Laswell-"Slow Black Underground River" Mi 15:47
5 Night Tide (Scanner - "Flaneur Electronique" Mix) 06:30
6 Falling (Autechre - "FR 13" Mix) 10:18
7 The End (P.C.M. - "Nightmare" Mix) 07:40
8 Automata (Germ Mix) 06:52
9 Light Trap (Scorn Mix) 06:07
Why not give Scorn: Ellipsis a try? If you like ambient or dark trip hop, you'll like Scorn. I personally believe that if you like Portishead, Coil, Aphex Twin, DJ Spooky, Tricky, Morcheeba, BabyFox or even Gothic Switchblade Symphony or Rasputina, you will almost definatley relate to this horrifying yet immensely relaxing journey into the deep subconscious swell of demons lost in the engulfing madness and ominous aspects of deep space. Or something like that anyway.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.