Oikos is the Spanish duo of David San Martín and Rafael Femiano, and Ecotono sees them exploring spectral planes of dense guitar noise and computer-generated ambience to create an album that, while begging to be played loud, finds you drifting into a state of hypnotic meditation. The title track makes use of vast waves of distorted electronics that fluctuate and flow, while bass-laden guitar drones provide another layer to the atmospherics. Elsewhere ‘Deriva’ takes a slightly more melodic turn, its pulsating guitars and descending synths sounding as if they were performed while submerged underwater, giving it a tremendous ethereal quality. The subsequent track ‘Red Forest’ takes an altogether more menacing tone, combining retro string sounds and eerie horror soundtrack effects to create quite a claustrophobic piece of music, while closing track ‘Jatavena’ finishes proceedings with loose guitar, whistling electronics and industrial ambience. Ecotono may not be too everyone’s tastes, but the mood and all-consuming sound created by the duo are a wonder to behold. 8/10
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Freddy Palmer
http://www.themusicfix.co.uk/content.php?contentid=14146&single=true
