Click here for Vidna's side project: Fear Falls Burning.

For Vidna Obmana, music is like water.

It is a singular element with the unique ability to change form, flowing and changing, but never losing the qualities of movement and fluidity. It can be very lively and dramatic, but at the same time it can be very silent and cold.

Belgian composer Dirk Serries chose the name Vidna Obmana for his musical persona because it means "optical illusion." Thirteen years hence, Vidna Obmana still finds that the name gives him a feeling of freedom to place his music first, before his own personality and philosophy. Like water, Vidna Obmana continues to change form over his musical career.

As a self-taught electronic musician, Vidna Obmana explored different musical areas before discovering the techniques of looping and shaping harmonies, merging layers of sound and minimizing the configurations to a few notes. His style of atmospheric music creates trance-like states in listeners who understand the language of sound.

Having released several cassette-only albums and CDs on other European labels, Vidna Obmana joined the Projekt roster in 1993 with the two-disc package of his earliest work, Memories Compiled 1. This was followed by The Trilogy in 1994, a three disc box set of more early works. Another disc of compilation tracks, Twilights of Perception, continued the retrospective series in 1996; 1999 saw Memories Compiled 2, bringing to 7 the number of resissued classics on the Projekt: Archive side label.

Vidna Obmana's collaborative work with legendary sound pioneer Steve Roach has resulted in three groundbreaking albums on Projekt. The 2-cd Well of Souls (1995), the single disc Cavern of Sirens (1996), and the limited 3-cd box set: Ascension of Shadows

As Vidna said of Steve, "Our friendship became very solid and our musical ideas collided in such a respectful way without competition or extended philosophical discussions. Here the proof exists that you not only pull important inspiration from listening to other musician's work but also from experiencing feelings, exchanging thoughts and sharing moments in real life."

Inspired by the serenity and calmness of the natural world, Vidna Obmana recorded The River of Appearance for Projekt in 1995. The album meshed the beauty of natural sounds with dreamy, cyclical ambient loops and open spaces.

Accepting the challenge to leap into unknown and uncharted terrain, Vidna Obmana refines his minimalistic sound- sculpting and expands his range of rhythms on 1998's Crossing The Trail Exhilarated by the experience of performing live, new sound worlds are explored in which a cross exchange of harmonics herald a musical landscape rich in tonal texture and exquisite detail.

Just as water takes on new structure, so too does Vidna Obmana. Whether taking form as rain, ocean, ice or snow, the constant element in Vidna Obmana's music is change.