Product Description
2 Crystalline
3 Magnetar
4 Nocturne
5 Solar Pulse
6 Hull ← dark and heavy!
7 Icy Rings Serenade
8 Sonata Improbabile
9 Revolver ck
10 Oxygen
GENRES: Ambient, New Age, Drone
Belgians Dirk Serries & Trösta (the nom de plume of Nicolas Lefèvre) release their second album of ambient drone. What sets Magnetar apart from many others in the genre is Trösta’s melodic alto saxophone. Warmly phrased, the saxophone spreads its serene and graceful melody, washed in reverb, flowing in long, engulfing phrases. Don’t think about the jazz use of the sax but consider it as a warm analog wind instrument that moves above, underneath and along with the expansive guitar soundscapes.
Serries began the project with electric guitar and effects; performed live in the studio, he received a duet in return. The results are elaborate soundscapes: a symphony of lyricism, depth and nuance. It’s a solace drenched in melancholy and light, organically made by the hands of talented musicians. The 102-minute album expands their unique sonic universe, creating a beautiful, harmonic and moody blend. Music created on the spot showcases how naturally their two worlds blend.
AVANT MUSIC NEWS wrote of their debut, “Serries, who has also recorded and performed under his VidnaObmana and Fear Falls Burning pseudonyms, returns to his signature sound on this duo effort with Trösta on alto sax. Credited with electric guitar, Serries provides… layers of soft drones that gently reshape themselves. To this, Trösta adds plaintive and exploratory themes. Whether merging with the drones or serving a contrast thereto, these melancholy lines evoke a wistful and peaceful sadness… The result is not quite ambient, and neither dark nor light. Instead, it is a strangely moving set of long-form pieces that capture the emotions of the moment.”
LUMINOUS DASH wrote of their debut, “The two musicians produce a rich and compelling sound palette… Trösta colors the sonic swells in an impressive way with his saxophone. The duo immerses the listener in beneficial cosmic atmospheres that convey a soft timbre of melancholy.”
A subtle contrast is created between the fine, graceful brushstrokes of the saxophonist and the ever-transforming surfaces of the electric guitarist. Within a subtle cloud of sound, Trösta feels at home with his light, intimate playing as these two artists keep each other in balance walking together on a tightrope across a deep, dark chasm.
Trösta – bio:
Nicolas Lefèvre started music at a young age, studying the saxophone diligently. He played as a freelancer and sideman for many years in a broad array of genres, both in Belgium and abroad, until an interest grew for recording, computer music and studio work. He opened Sunny Side Inc studios in Brussels to become a dedicated engineer and producer. In 2020, the road was paved to relight the spark with the saxophone and his first collaboration with Serries, Island On The Moon.
Dirk Serries – bio:
Dirk Serries has experimented with music on the border between avant-garde, industrial, experimental, and ambient for more than 30 years. From 1984 – 2007, he released his work under the pseudonym vidnaObmana. In October 2013 Dirk Serries re-booted his classic vidnaObmana ambient sound from the mid-eighties/early nineties, though contrary to his original mostly synth-based music, his new ambient music is constructed on electric guitar. He still performs his vintage ambient music live while dedicating most of his available time to his free improvised music and as the artistic curator of his A New Wave of Jazz record label.
Reviews Editor –
From Moorish Magazine
Belgian jazz guitarist Dirk Serries is a man of many faces – he usually makes improvised, extremely adventurous music that requires a sharp and attentive ear if you don’t want to miss anything, but in the collaboration with Trösta (saxophonist Nicolas Lefèvre) something different happens, because here you as a listener mainly want to lie down and let yourself be carried away by the music.
Magnetar is perhaps the most accessible album Serries has ever made, with his electric guitars and effects creating a soundscape on which Trösta with his warm alto saxophone lays down long, divine melodies, in a perfect duet. Ten long pieces of around ten minutes each can be found here, and I have to be honest, I haven’t had enough of them yet.
Music to relax to, but certainly not a simple ambient soundscape, there is too much to discover if you listen carefully. Recommended.
Reviews Editor –
From Exposé
A magnetar is a neutron star with an incredibly powerful magnetic field, such that as it decays it powers the emission of high energy electromagnetic radiation, and in particular x-rays and gamma rays. No need to worry about that here, this magnetar is completely safe and won’t harm your hearing, vision, or internal cell structure — no danger at all. In fact, being in the vicinity of this Magnetar is a relatively gentle and calming experience, though it is warm, a combination of ambient and melodic elements that cover the listener like a warm blanket on a cold autumn night under the stars. Dirk Serries should be well known to Exposé readers — we interviewed him years ago when he was using the moniker VidnaObmana to release his own work, as well as many collaborations with the likes of Steve Roach, Stratosphere, Asmus Tietchens, PBK and numerous others over a 40-plus year career. Trösta is Belgian saxophonist Nicolas Lefèvre, an outstanding player but relatively unknown, though we did review his 2021 collaboration with Serries titled Island on the Moon.
On the ten improvised tracks at hand, Serries provides a heavily effected ambient guitar backdrop to the proceedings, while Trösta provides the melodies on alto sax with a mild amount of studio reverb. The sax is always clearly audible as such, while the same can’t be said for the expansive guitar sweeps, which often sound more like a wall of synthesizers, but the combination that they present together is always graceful, forceful, and melodically striking, though never harsh or abrasive in any way. For those who need categorizations, one might say it’s a mix of floating ambient and melodic jazz working together seamlessly, weaving in and out of a cosmic atmospheric fabric, each track around ten minutes in length, give or take a few minutes, and all together the album comes to well over 100 minutes. While there is definitely too much going on here to make it suitable for slumber, it’s a perfect soundtrack for relaxation and meditation. -Peter Thelen