Latest icy-cold-ambient themed work from this Italian label is Niptaktuk (GLACIAL MOVEMENTS GM055) by Ark Zead. This time the label goes even further out on a limb than usual, claiming that “Ark Zead” is a complete mystery and an unknown player, and this debut release arrives unburdened by solid facts about their biography or identity. That said, label boss Tedeschi, A. has managed to wring some hints from some corner of the global communications network, indicating that Zead may be Canadian or has at least faced the “hostile cold” of those climes. Their artistic mission is simply to represent that part of the world, and its peoples, and honour the “beauty of the True North”.
They did it by playing gongs and Tibetan Bowls, treated in the studio with synths and processing. Album and track titles are all, presumably, Inuit words – for instance ‘Sikinik’ and ‘Iglu’, but apart from the figurative cover photo the artworks by Lia Bosch have followed the path of non-specific abstract green shapes, suggesting bergs or blocks of ice. Too uneventful and slow on today’s spin, and I’m finding enjoyment in the “blanked-out” atmospheric cuts, as opposed to the pieces that insist on a user-friendly root note and a rather conventional drone aesthetic. (28/06/2024)