Appearances

"Appearances" by Tomas Weiss and APK is their second collaborative composition, building upon the solid foundations of "Distant Shadows" from 2011. This new work forms an uninterrupted story of images and visions varying from bright expansive spaces to mysterious dark grounds, wind-swept caverns, and pools of pure emotional depth. "Appearances" is an immersive, expressive ambient release that is both lush and timeless, and will certainly reward enthusiasts of deep listening.

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Reviews:

Tomas Weiss, creator of El Culto, has teamed up with Anthony Paul Kerby, aka APK, to offer an album like very few others, in all the time I have been listening to Ambient music. This duet has left me astonished of their amazing handling of technology, which allows them to create soundscapes so beautiful, sometimes spatial, and sometimes very abstract. The point is that they manage to create an atmosphere deep enough to look at the stars, while knowing that the depth of outer space is infinite; this first production, called “Distant Shadows”, fascinated me from beginning to end because I think it perfectly encompasses the Ambient spirit and subtly embraces it. "Distants Shadows" offers to the listener a moment for contemplation, a journey through deep thoughts and a unique excuse to admire the things that keep the universe in order, but it requires a lot of attention, mental and auditory ability in order to understand the complex sound structures, and spiritual predisposition to navigate through the waters of the abyss.

We definitely consider that this is a gem of electronic music and encourage you to give it a try." (Viaje al Abismo - Spain)

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"As it goes: changing the order of the numbers does not affect the sum. A few months after their first release, "Distant Shadows", the second fruit of Anthony Paul Kerby and Frankfurt-based producer Tomas Weiss (who meanwhile came out with his first solo album „Dato“) has already matured. "Appearances" is a new, fifty six-minute long stream of consciousness and an inner journey in the presence of natural landscapes, rigid and inscrutable. If "Distant Shadows" could be seen as a fascinating play of shadows and thin air, behind which one could occasionally behold the blinding light of the icy north, "Appearances" is a constant and tranquil flow in the darkest night, mirrored from time to time on the black surface of an iceberg. Whereas the two opening movements introduce the obscure view from a distance, "Vision 3" is the ultimate dive in the unabashed arctic silence: a droning flow that is unceasing and impalpable, above which germinate short and precious harmonic openings and digitally processed choruses (another change, compared to previous work). Hints of melody that are only premonitions: "Vision 4" dissolves every sketch into an enchanted and pure cosmic air, and it’s like looking up at the vault, turned starry all of a sudden and feeling almost in tune with the solemnity of the scene. The magic, however, breaks down quickly and here we are again, in the fifth track, in front of the severity of immutable nature. A few, scant notes of piano momentarily catch the listener unprepared, before the icy monolith which is "Vision 7", appears in front of us: twelve minutes of floating ice sheets, frictions and crackles amplified from the thin surrounding air. Probably the peak of the artistic philosophy of the two composers. Nevertheless, the listener's attention remains firmly focused on the sound impulses and impressions for the duration of the whole: the polar night ends without any striking solution, lying in the catharsis of "Vision 10".

Small treasure of reverbs and openness, a must-have for audiophiles, "Appearances" is the best successor to the debut album the two musicians could have wished for. A black pearl of ambient music to be entrusted with the meditations and ecstasies of winter." (Roberto Rizzo, Ondarock Magazin - Italy)

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"Appearances", (CD on Musical Philosophy label, download version via DataObscura) is the brand new follow-up to Tomas' & Anthony's premiere co-work "Distant Shadows" on the Construct label (released April 2011). This digipak release firstly attracts with its very nice cover image created by Jesse Harrison. The album, which consists of 10 pieces titled "Vision 1-10", begins with a shorter ethereal introduction that crosses almost unrecognized into "Vision 2" with the same mood, but later evolves into deeper drifting and tense configurations. "Vision 3" floats on similarly tight airwaves, but is gently enriched by assorted futuristic sound effects with a cascading texture. It slowly evolves into a massive soundwall effectively supported at the end by angelic choirs. An absolutely fascinating stratospheric odyssey!!! As magnificent is the next composition, "Vision 4", with deeply droning, free floating expansive and absorbing delicate soundscapes! Gradual tension unfolds "Vision 5", which slowly fades into rather motionless, but evolving dronescapes. Another highly mesmerizing composition heading into colossal territories and a pure masterpiece precisely interacting with album's cover artwork!!! Shorter "Vision 6" quickly returns into more organic worlds, enriched with hints of modern classical influences. "Vision 7" dives into abyssal depths of the ocean with deep, but evolving drones. The tension of this 12-minute opus gets tighter and tighter, enriched by circulating and pulsing hissy sound effects and sharply sounding industrial outbursts and disorders. At its highest peak it reaches massive soundwalls, painted with metallic and otherworldly transcendental sounds, presenting Tomas & Anthony at the throne of drone artistry. Pure bliss!!! "Vision 8" keeps the vast and intense magnificence of its predecessor, but is slightly more active with a less monumental texture, and at the end colored with razor sharp sonics. The next piece, "Vision 9", stays in rather quieter and static soundclouds, yet deeply drifting and layering into a massive palette of sounds. Grandiose, intense and powerful!!! Closing "Vision 10" is painted with more tranquil colors. A very relaxing and relieving outro of this highly fascinating and imaginative adventure. Definitely another huge one from Tomas Weiss & Anthony Paul Kerby!!! And be prepared for more, because these two guys have scheduled another co-work, this time between Anthony's "Nunc Stans" and Tomas´s "Nautic Depths". I think we couldn't ask for more." (Richard Gürtler - Bratislava, Slovakia)

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"Ultra deep, fantastic collection of spooked drones from Tomas Weiss and APK, the owner of the Data Obscura label. All titled as "Vision" in 1-10 format, take 5 uproots BJ Nilsen's prized searing granular drone, supplanting it onto craterous masses of unexplored phantasm atmospherics. There's a strong feeling of analogue sources - seldom are soft synths this rich in texture. "Vision 6" introduces a delayed piano, vibrating up and down like a cellphone in an abandoned poker waistcoat. That's the musky sensualism of the release talking as well - an ability to transport you into an underground room size, free of Ambient's relationship with minimalist and information obscurantism. Weiss and Kerby also subvert the broken synergy of spectrum decay - a rarity when sound is this densely crafted. Absolutely magical." (Subvertcentral)