vidnaObmana: Memories Compiled 2 (2-CD)

Remastered archival recordings from 1988 – 1991, resequenced by the artist in 1998, with an additional 30 minutes of unreleased music from that era added per disc.

AllMusic Review by Jim Brenholts:
Memories Compiled, Vol. 2 is a double-CD reissue of two early cassette releases by Vidna Obmana (aka Dirk Serries). In his early career, Serries was a pure minimalist with strong references to Brian Eno. Near the Flogging Landscape (disc one) is a 14-track set of icy and gray minimalism. Serries can go dark with the best of them and still does. And some passages on this disc are dark, but the main focus is one of isolation and desolation; the imagery is that of an Arctic tundra. Refined on Gentle Clouds (disc two) is similar to the first disc, but it is fuller and more dramatic. It is not as dark and it is more desolate. This is a great set that will appeal to fans of Brian Eno, Robert Rich, and Jeff Greinke.

Amazon editorial review by Steve Landau
Like his friend and sometimes collaborator Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana makes ambient music of many stripes. At times it’s suffused with soft tribal percussion, at others with postindustrial noise, and still others with guitar or saxophone. But Obmana’s most satisfying recordings have always been those bereft of ornamentation – keyboard-based music that drifts languidly, providing a sonic foundation for personal introspection or just daydreaming. This double-disc rerelease of two previously cassette-only albums, Near the Flogging Landscape and Refined on Gentle Clouds, is just such a recording, from Obmana’s fruitful late ’80s/early ’90s period. Glacial pacing and minimal variation are tinged with a quiet melancholy, producing a series of dark yet hopeful soundscapes capable of evoking anything from a swath of snow-covered tundra (“Floes on Miracles”) to a vast, empty desert (“Nearly Constant”). Like its predecessor, Memories Compiled 2 offers more than two hours’ worth of relaxing, meditative sound that’s textured enough to reward attentive listening.

Original 1998 album description:

As a self-taught electronic musician, vidnaObmana 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. Continuing Projekt: Archive‘s retrospective of Vidna Obmana’s previous work, Memories Compiled 2 presents the first CD release of two albums originally recorded for analog cassette release between 1988 and 1991. Showcasing his interest in minimalism, Memories Compiled 2 features shorter, repetitive pieces in a slow tempo and darker melodic structure, and stands as a compelling companion to his more recent work on Projekt.

“If you wondered why Brian Eno didn’t make a Music For Airports Vol. 2, wonder no longer. Our friend Vidna has devised pieces with very similar parameters: slow washes of synth chords, drifting piano, very ambient. What renders this fresh and vibrant is an occasional eastern harmonic or polyphony (12-tone, or what sounds like it) that has been worked into the fabric so that you might miss it had you not been listening to it.” (OPTION MAGAZINE)

• Double CD release at a special budget midline price
  
• Vidna Obmana is recognized internationally for his solo and collaborative work with over a dozen albums released on several different labels.
  
• These remastered archival recordings from 1988 – 1991 have been resequenced by the artist, with an additional 30 minutes of unreleased music from that era added per disc.