Vidna Obmana
The River of Appearance

Zoharum brings back to light one of Vidna Obmana's best albums, namely The River Of Appearance, originally released in 1996, one year after the substantial and monumental double album Well Of Souls with Steve Roach. From 1995, a new artistic phase opened for Dirk Serries, where rhythmic structures prevailed, following the example of an artist like the aforementioned Steve Roach, who had already explored these kinds of sounds in albums like Origins and Artifacts. The acclaimed The Spiritual Bonding of 1994 will represent the 'zeitgeist' of the period. But with The River Of Appearance, the Belgian musician sort of returns to his roots by releasing a small classic of ambient music. The percussion takes a definite back seat, giving way to atmospheres of crystalline and unreal purity that owe something to the lessons of Harold Budd and Brian Eno. The initial "The Angelic Appearance" is evanescent and dreamlike with synth sounds accompanied by piano. The ethereal "Ephemeral Vision" casts a glance towards enchanted landscapes with percussion in the background. The long "A Scenic Fall" (over 10 minutes) radiates fragments of infinity, reconnecting to the mythical trilogy. But throughout, the album maintains consistently high-quality levels, presenting us with an artist who, at that time, was enjoying a happy inspiration. Today, the genre has become somewhat overdone, but listening to this work helps to drive away bad vibes. Recommended for lovers of the more ambient Vidna Obmana. For the occasion, Zoharum has made available a limited edition in a wooden box of only 50 copies containing, besides the album, a cassette with demo versions, unpublished photos of Martina Verhoeven, and a theme bag with the graphic of the work. The standard CD version is released in 450 copies in a refined digipack. Available on Bandcamp: https://zoharum.bandcamp.com/album/the-river-of-appearance-25th-anniversary-edit.