Ben Frost
A U R O R A

The album I want to talk about today is A U R O R A by Ben Frost, an electronic music composer born in Australia but residing in Iceland.

I've been listening to A U R O R A a lot lately, and it's no surprise that it's the least appreciated within the Australian’s discography. It's an extreme, rough, violent, cold, direct album. At times, it may seem like a nuclear explosion inside your mind, with all the atoms scattered in the surrounding environment clearly visible before your eyes.
And yet, I will tell you, after the acclaimed By The Throat, A U R O R A could even be Frost's artistic pinnacle, and I'll also explain why:

Steel Wound was a high-quality Ambient album, with Fennesz-like drones and electric guitars dominating the scene, and although it showed a certain originality, Frost’s style had yet to blossom. Theory Of Machines represented the clear influence of his friend Hecker, with more dominant and percussive drones than ever. Another very remarkable episode, but once again a tribute to his influences more than to his creative soul. By The Throat is instead considered by many to be the highest point, presenting many affinities with the more recent A U R O R A. Frost's style takes shape; a very particular and captivating style, with Boards Of Canada-like sounds combined with extreme distortions and noises.
Frost’s touch of genius may lie in blending the concrete music of his origins (sampling purely natural sounds, like the howling of wolves or the sound of bells) with experimental electronics that bring with them a myriad of original and peculiar sounds. In this way, Frost manages to paint clear, limpid atmospheres, and as if by magic, he transports the listener into the midst of his mental images.
A U R O R A continues exactly the path taken by By The Throat, indeed, it enhances it to the breaking point, massacres it, and makes it neurotic. Never before on this album has Frost been so violent and coherent. The atmospheres are spectral, Frost's style is consecrated: it results in a magnificent album, an electronic work with chaotic, dissonant, mechanical, tribal, primitive, and at times apocalyptic rhythms.
There are numerous key tracks in the album, but it is one of those albums that needs to be listened to from start to finish, as a sort of ritual. It is not background Ambient music, at most, it is a violent dreamlike journey.
The type of narration applied to A U R O R A (quoting the good old Mike Sandison) is 'a kind of extreme test, a twisted and claustrophobic journey that leads to a rather dark experience before reaching the open air again.' So buckle up and get ready to be catapulted into space, possibly with little oxygen at your disposal.

Few contemporary artists have dared as Ben Frost has here. A U R O R A is one of the most ambitious projects of recent years, and although it has sparked debate, more negative than positive, I allow myself to declare myself absolutely satisfied and enthusiastic about the result achieved.
An album that I have personally appreciated infinitely, and that gives me something new with each listen. If it's not your style, I recommend starting with the more accessible By The Throat, and then landing on the exploding planet called A U R O R A. The choice is yours, and it's at your own risk and peril.