A Shot In The Dark is the perfect name for the work we are going to review, a limited cassette published by Sardinian label Tiny Speaker, one of the many albums and singles produced by cinematic dark ambient artist Tzii. His music conveys ethnic elements, grandiose soundscapes, dark layers of sounds and enigmatic, almost ritualistic atmospheres. By using vocal samples, dissonant orchestral elements, tribal rhythms and obsessive loops, he menages to build a world of his own by the means of his skills.
A four track cassette guiding us in a tropical, but dark, jungle where ancient mysteries and cathartic journeys await for us: You are… is a dark ambient piece soon enriched by dialogues and sinister wind instruments, developing in a crawling affair full of hidden tension and evocative passages. Underneath the skin, a melancholic melody can be heard, while mechanical intrusions have their say amidst the ambient structure of this track. A fusion of different elements giving us a coherent and elegant sound full of artistry. It’s not real to you but it’s real to me follows suit with its ethereal sounds moving between dark layers and sampled female voices, conjuring a malevolent but enthralling soundscape full of mystery and epic motifs. A creepy bagpipe completes the atmosphere, a shrilling elements intertwined with dialogues and tribal movements. An oniric crescendo is the main theme of this number, enveloping the listener in its lysergic world full of dissonance and hypnotic rhythms.
The girl in his dream starts with field-recordings and ghostly vocal samples, then developing a slow melody in reverse soon reached by a horror-themed synth line which recalls 80’s movie-scores. This new elements takes its place growing into the bone of the track, while new samples violate the structure with their shrilling cries. A crescendo is ready to give us a cinematic experience, between modern synthwave and ambient music, reaching a majestic pathos. A strong narrative without words can be found here, thanks to a competent songwriting in which the different elements and layers of sounds have their role in moving forward the song. Take your hand off my hand follows a submerged arpeggio soon clashing with noise and dark ambient, a descent into darkness full of nightmares. As usual, sampled dialogues have their place, aiding to the mysterious atmosphere, but we have a surprise: the rack abruptly ends here, showing itself as an outro more than a complete stand-alone.
An experimental work with a unique atmosphere which moves between ancient soundscapes and cinematic passages, sculpturing by music dark tropical forests, ritualistic ceremonies, imaginary movies and hidden journeys of the soul. Tzii conceives a world of his own where he uses different elements just like pieces of a jigsaw, taking our hands and not letting go of it until the end. Any lover of dark and experimental ambient music should give a chance to this work, influenced by world music and soundscores as much as by drone and orchestral music.
Davide Pappalardo for FLUX MAG on April 1, 2018
Compositore e filmmaker belga di tutto riguardo, TZII ha dalla sua il soffio dell’artista totale che crea musica come trame per film mentali e itinerari sonori dal fascino misterioso. Il nuovo tape “a shot in the dark” è un affresco notturno che evolve fra stratificazioni di atmosfere drammatiche e spazi ritmici viscerali, che pizzica corde profonde e invita a perdersi nei suoi anfratti di tenebra e sogno. Un ricettacolo di cicli uditivi indecifrabili, ma che esercitano un forte potere ipnotico sulla sfera dei sensi, siano essi sotto forma di danze tribali e ancestrali riti percussivi o di armonie fantasmagoriche e oblique grammatiche ambient per l’abbandono onirico. All’insegna del magick.
Aldo Chimenti for ROCKERILLA - 2018