Published by Davide Pappalardo on March 17, 2019
NIMH is the experimental dark ambient project of Italian artist Giuseppe Verticchio. Born in Rome (1965), the man behind the music is a computer programmer who started venturing in electronic music in 1994. By time, he has incorporated ethnic elements in his sound, as well as shoegaze and industrial aspects, thus forging the premises for NIMH.
The project has many releases under its belt, such as Frozen (Afe Records, 2002), the collaborations with Maurizio Bianchi Secluded Truths and Together’s Symphony (Silentes Minimal Editions, 2005) and Black Silences (Naked Lunch Records, 2012).
The new album Beyond The Crying Era (Winter-Light) is not a new composition, it is an extended rework of a previous work called This Crying Era (Synästhesie Schallplatten, 2012). Here we will find the 6 original tracks plus 4 new ones taken from other previous works and compilations. Expect a sound where experimental music, dark ambient, post-punk and shoegaze suggestions are mixed in an evocative style with cinematic takes and dream scape-like ambiances.
This crying era welcomes us with its droning sounds with solemn atmospheres and noisy walls, hypnotizing us by the means of avant-garde effects, while Streets of Teheran showcases the ethnic side of NIMH’s music thanks to its use of sampled voices and field-recordings, evoking a distant world with its rules and streets filled with buses and chidren. The timbre is mysterious and placed, using the weapon of subtle impressions and minimal structures. During its second half, the track grows into a darker affair with windy effects and sharper takes.
Dark earth comes from the compilation Beyond The Darkness (Oltre Il Suono, 2005), an eerie experience made of ghostly soundscapes and diaphanous melodies picturing a night-world full of nocturnal creatures that crawl in the dark, and The garden of loneliness (from the aforementioned Together’s Symphony with M.B) is a cinematic track with the usual field-recordings and a vivid tension made of static effects and surreal atmospheres. Dark ambient and industrial find a common denominator in a spiraling crescendo with grim undertones.
The reversed nightmare, from the compilation Breaking Down The Barriers 1995-2005 (Afe Records, 2006), is an industrial piece with haunting samples and brooding synths. It evokes horror soundtracks, but soon a more human atmospheres is approached thanks to ethnic instrumentation. The album ends with the unreleased track Sounds from Alasya, a drone piece with obsessive loops and shrilling sounds which put us in an imaginary factory; during the second half of the track things go in a different direction, showcasing ethnic instruments and soothing rhythms.
Beyond The Crying Era is another example from the Dutch label Winter-Light of dark ambient music with ethnic and industrial elements, in which different worlds combine in a personal style characterized by the freedom of experimental music. Hypnotizing mantras and sudden changes enrich many of the tracks of the work, guiding us during our listening experience.
Label: Winter-Light
Rating: 8