Search - Vidna Obmana :: Subterranean Collective

Vidna Obmana is the prolific Belgian electronic composer Dirk Serries. As if he isn't putting out enough new music--he released three CDs of new material in 2000--he's also reissuing older material. This double CD contains three recordings from the mid 1990s, Echoing Delight, Parallel Flaming, and The Spiritual Bonding. They find Serries in a transition period between abstract space music and techno-tribal trance works. A disciple of Steve Roach, Obmana's career generally tracks the evolution of the American synthesist. Adding to the parallels, Roach also appears on the collection, along with Robert Rich and Alio Die. Vidna Obmana is Serbo-Croatian for "optical illusion"; in his music, Serries conjures the audio equivalent of all manner of sensory distortions/legerdemain. Synthesizers create infinite glissandos wrapped around rhythms that range from tribal rituals to ominous zombie dances. Serries has a slightly more melodic sensibility than Roach, albeit melodies that are stretched out over time. Sometimes serene, often disturbing and threatening, the title Subterranean Collective, might be aptly extended to Subterranean Collective Consciousness as Obmana explores a psychological zone beneath the surface. --John Diliberto