‘Hikikomori’ is a Japanese term that refers to reclusive people who have voluntarily withdrawn from all aspects of social life, and it’s certainly an apt title for the contents of this album. I haven’t been able to turn up much information regarding the identity of Hikikomori, aside from the fact that he/she is a French dark ambient producer, and that in the wake of two preceding CDR releases, this third album ‘Far From The World’ represents his/her first ‘proper’ CD release. The isolationist aesthetic hinted at in the title certainly extends to the nine untitled tracks collected here, and rather than featuring any real peaks, this collection leans more towards building a constantly seeping sense of oppressive and claustrophobic atmosphere that calls to mind a sealed chamber slowly and relentlessly filling up with toxic gas.
If ‘Track One’ ominously sets the scene with what sounds like bowed drones gradually building into an oceanic trail of reverberative tones, the occasional dubbed out crackle adding a sinister edge to what sounds like the distant hum of vast machinery, ‘Track Two’ sees the murmur of unintelligible radio chatter hanging just out of reach as abrasive sheets of noise texture bleed into the forefront of the mix, the occasional melodic undertone seeming to drift through like a mirage. Elsewhere, ‘Track Three’ sees a hint of rhythmic texture making an appearance as repetitively crunching noises and the occasional snatch of echoing voices disappear into an echoing wall of noise that calls to mind the wash of reflected noise in a subway tunnel, before ‘Track Five’ sees more delicate, glitchy tones floating out over a slow bleed of grinding machine noise and slowed down melodic tones that sees a hint of beauty rearing its head, albeit briefly, through all of the ugliness. While there’s certainly an effective Lustmord-esque sense of claustrophobic isolation generated here however, there’s isn’t really much in the way of real progression or variation, making this collection difficult to really engage with.
Chris Downton
*
