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chamber music

En Velours Noir * Else (mcd 2000 beyond…prod)

I don’t know why this name sounds so familiar. I didn’t have anything of this Italian band, the label is a metallabel of which I only know the names of a handfull of bands. What En Velours Noir do on a metallabel is a good question, but I suppose the bandmembers also play in metalbands or so. “Else” doesn’t contain anything like metal though. It’s more like minimal modern classical with some gothic and dark ambient touches and magnificent tenor vocals. The music is quite simple and not always truly enjoyable, but these vocals make up everything. The only band that I can think off with some resemblances is the German Artwork. I like this quite a bit and I wonder what the future bring for this band.

Chamber (l’orchestre de chambre noir) * Ghost Stories And Fairy Tales (cd 2003 trisol)

It was a long wait between the cdemo “Pleasure And Pain” (2000) and the first cd “l’Orchestre De Chambre Noir” (the band actually has a double name). The second cd came surprisingly fast. This time Chamber is two men and five females with stringed instruments (violin, cello, contrabass). The music is a mix between chamber music, folky music, gothic and medievalish sounds and around the end of the cd even country and rock’n’roll. Something else than all the neofolk things and also different from neoclassical projects, a real band, real music and a unique sound. The first songs are modest songs, at the end come some more happy-sounding songs. From wonderfull classical music to dramatic gothic songs and crazy ‘fairy whores’. Highly recommanded.

Chamber * l’Orchestre De Chambre Noir (cd 2002 triton)

It has been two years since the beautiful cdemo “Pleasure and Pain” was released. The bandname and cd-title is actually a double bandname. If you have the demo, you have most of the songs on this cd. All tracks seem to be played again, sometimes the new version is better, sometimes not. However the booklet doesn’t say, the band consists of one man (Marcus Testory) on vocals and guitar and a group of women on violins and cellos. The result is some kind of mix between chambermusic and (neo)folky music. I can recommand this cd to anyone who enjoys neoclassical and/or (neo)folky music.

Artwork * Digital Kharma (cd 1999 etage music)

This is already the sixth cd of Artwork. A German experimental (neo-)gothic project that mainly caught the attention over the involvement of Oswald Henke of Goethes Erben. He doesn’t have too big of a role though. This cd doesn’t reach the level of the previous one. It’s mostly atmospheric and the classical influences are again very big. Guitars are also to be found here, yet the neo-gothic/medieval tunes are less present. The great tenor still sings a lot, fortunately.

Chamber (l’orchestre de chambre noir) * Pleasure And Pain (cdemo 2000)

I had never heard of this band until they played at a free festival in Rotterdam (Netherlands) which had a “Cybergothic” stage. I saw a beautiful neo-folk performance with a male singer and an acoustic guitar and four young women on violin (2), cello and bass. It took me a while to find this band, there was nothing available at the festival and in the end the band turned out to not simply be called “Chamber”, but with the double name “Chamber / l’Orchestre de Chambre Noir”. “Pleasure And Pain” is the first cd of Chamber and actually it is a very professionally looking demo. The actual cd will be recorded this autumn and should be available from Trisol records coming spring.
The line-up on this cd is a bit different from when I saw them. On the cd there are two men and three women, two guitars and only one violin. Also the music is a bit different from what I remember. The cd has a more gothic sound while I remember a more neo-folk oriented performance. I think that if you want to compare this band with anything, it is best to say that it sounds something like the “From The Heart” cd of Shadow Project. Chamber is more orchestral though and there is a bit more neo-folk in Chamber as well and some medieval influences. The music is always very moody and very beautiful and if you like classically oriented gothic music or neo-folk, I suggest that you visit the band’s nice webpage and get a copy of this cd.