Dilate was an

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

solo project begun in 1996 by composer and synthesizer player Victor Wulf, formerly of the

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or Musical composition, compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as Photomontage, ...

and industrial music band

Vampire Rodents Vampire Rodents was a sound collage and experimental music ensemble based out of Phoenix, Arizona, although its core members originally came from Canada. The creative nucleus of the project comprised vocalist and composer Daniel Vahnke and keybo ...

. Wulf released the studio album's '' Cyclos'' and ''

Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A ''regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, wh ...

'' for Hypnotic Records in 1996 and 1997 respectively.

History

Dilate was started by composer Victor Wulf after parting ways with the

project

in 1993. Wulf had already been began composing since 1977, worked with independent film scoring in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, Japan, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and performed in Vampire Rodents on the albums '' War Music'' and ''

Premonition A premonition is a feeling that some event will happen, typically a forewarning of something unwelcome. Premonition(s) or The Premonition may also refer to: Film and television * "Premonition" (''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''), an episode of ' ...

'', released in 1990 and 1992. Dilate released its debut album '' Cyclos'' in early 1996 for Hypnotic Records, a sublabel of

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, ...

. The album was somewhat well-received critically, with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

awarding the album four out of five stars and the music magazine ''

Keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

'' stating "he synthesizers swell majestically, but never sound corny or contrived" and "the rhythms are just organic enough to keep me from thinking I left one of the kitchen appliances running." Hypnotic Records followed-up Dilate's previous album in mid-1997 with a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

titled ''

''. Jim Brenholts of AllMusic reviewed the album positively and called the compositions "full of textures and sonic clouds." Dilate, and Victor Wulf, has not released an album since 1997's ''Octagon''. In 2000, the album was released again by Hypnotic as the first disc of the ''New Age...Spiritual Healing''

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

Reception

'' Cyclos'' was well-received with the exception of critical opinions of the music sounding inferior to its sources of inspiration, such as

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineu ...

and

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 1 ...

. ''

'' has been described as "deep sonic environmental minimalism" as well as good for meditation.

Discography

* '' Cyclos'' (1996,

Hypnotic Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...

) * ''

'' (1997, Hypnotic)

References

External links

*
Dilate
at iTunes * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dilate (musical project) Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Canadian ambient musicians Hypnotic Records artists