Perdition City
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''Perdition City'' (subtitled ''Music to an Interior Film'') is the fifth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by Norwegian
experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
band
Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian Experimental electronic music, experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album ''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, Bergtatt'', ...
, issued in March 2000, via Jester Records. The album was recorded and produced by
Kristoffer Rygg Kristoffer Rygg (born 9 September 1976), also known as Garm, Trickster G. Rex and God Head, is a Norwegian vocalist, musician and producer known primarily for his work with Ulver, Arcturus, and Borknagar. Biography Kristoffer Rygg was born ...
and Tore Ylwizaker, mixed by Ylwizaker at Beep Jam Studio and mastered by Audun Strype at Strype Audio. ''Perdition City'' continues the experimentation heard on '' Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'' and ''
Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...
'', containing elements of
trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes Musical tone, tone and atmosphere over traditional Musical form, musical structure or rhythm. Often "peaceful" sounding and lacking Musical composition, composition, beat, and/or structured melod ...
,
spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...
and
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
, the combination being described as "moody", "atmospheric", and "cinematic in scope". The album received positive reviews upon release, with
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noting, "This ain't rock 'n roll. This is evolution on such a grand scale that most bands wouldn't even be able to wrap their tiny little minds around it."


Background

The ''
Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...
'' EP, issued in September 1999, showcased
Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian Experimental electronic music, experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album ''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, Bergtatt'', ...
's new
electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...
sound, delving into what would become the foundation for all future records, Now consisting of only two members — Rygg and Ylwizaker — the duo started to incorporate
field recording Field recording is the production of audio recordings outside recording studios, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It can also include the recording of electromagnetic fields or vibrations using diff ...
s into their work. During the making of ''Perdition City'' Ylwizaker would hang microphones outside the window of his 5th floor apartment to capture the sounds of the inner city streets. Subtitled ''"Music to an Interior Film"'', ''Perdition City'', and companion EP’s '' Silence Teaches You How to Sing'' and '' Silencing the Singing'', represent the transition to the band's work in
film scores A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
, largely inspired by the results of electronic programming and digital sound manipulation they had experimented with during the recording of '' Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell''. In response to the subtitle, Rygg adds, "We mean just what we say, an abstract "inner movie". It wouldn't be wise to comment on anything afterwards in case there would be a hidden message." Leonards Lair state that ''Perdition City'' is “much more than background music, which is capable of adding atmosphere to a film, but taken out of context as a standalone piece is ultimately worthless. This music is too obtrusive, and to be frank, too good for a soundtrack.“ Expanding on the photography included in the ''Perdition City'' booklet, Rygg comments, "We didn't consciously think of taking the listener into a concrete city, it's more of a metaphor and abstract. A friend of mine who has written books and taken many photographs inspired me to capture weird pictures. We then compiled the best of them to support the story the lyrics make. We tried to make an anti-aesthetic whole that would create a documentary feeling." Printed in the sleeve note is states: "This is for the stations before and after sleep. Headphones and darkness recommended." Rygg adds, “Darkness is always fascinating, as well as the great void. It doesn’t matter under which aesthetic circumstances this void appears. It is always there and that was important for us to realize on ''Perdition City'': the void is even over the voice. (…) It is funny you call us criminal alchemists. Indeed in our lyrics there are enough criminal and alchemical aspects, or fascinating borderline topics, to be more concrete. That all takes place in the dead city, or better: in a centre, an imagined location of nowhere and nothing.” Rygg, commenting in Unrestrained magazine in 2007, said, "It's like I say, we only have three consistent albums. I think '' Nattens madrigal'' is one, I think ''Perdition City'' is one, and I think this new one 'Shadows of the Sun''">Shadows_of_the_Sun.html" ;"title="'Shadows of the Sun">'Shadows of the Sun'' They all sound pretty dead set. We were heavily into stuff like Amon Tobin, Warp Records, et cetera, and that certainly influenced the sound of that one." Continuing, “[Making film soundtracks] was more painstaking work than we thought. It's exciting work, but it's also more commercially orientated. You can apply your own tastes and your own vision, of course, but only to a certain extent. It always comes down to what the director and producers have in mind. And I respect that, as they are the ones with lots of money at stake. As a musician, it's an advantage if you get involved early in the process, before the editing is done because then you can cross edit sounds and images for better momentum or what have you. Whereas if the stuff is already edited, it can be difficult to get it to fit. Also, you have to learn to put your ego aside because the film itself is obviously the priority, so it's not like making an album. It's not music on its own terms. It's an underscore, aimed more at the subconscious experience. In a cinema context, you're not really supposed to listen to the music, but feel it."


Critical reception

Writing for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, William York commented positively, “Fifth album, ''Perdition City'' is an album of moody, atmospheric electronica, built up around basic down-tempo beats and noir-ish electronic piano harmonies, and then fleshed out with various blips and bleeps, static noises, samples, and occasional vocals.” Additionally, Johnathan Hill highlighted the album's "jazz-tinged" moments, noting that the "rich and varied instrumental passages" allowed for a greater level of depth to the band's musical explorations. Conversely, David M. Pecoraro from
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rated the album 2.6/10 and declared, “Who knows? Maybe ''Perdition City'' was nothing more than a well-intentioned but ultimately ill-advised experiment for these guys. Ulver might want to consider a return to their metal roots.”


Track listing

"Catalept" is a remix of ''Prelude'' from the film '' Psycho''.


Personnel

;Ulver *
Kristoffer Rygg Kristoffer Rygg (born 9 September 1976), also known as Garm, Trickster G. Rex and God Head, is a Norwegian vocalist, musician and producer known primarily for his work with Ulver, Arcturus, and Borknagar. Biography Kristoffer Rygg was born ...
- vocals (credited as "Christophorus G. Rygg"), artwork (credited as "G.") * Tore Ylwizaker - electronic programming ;Additional musicians * Håvard Jørgensen -
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
* Bård Eithun - Roland V-Drums on "The Future Sound of Music" *Ivar H. Johansen -
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
on "Nowhere/Catastrophe" *Kåre J. Pedersen - drums on "Porn Piece (or The Scars of Cold Kisses)" *
Rolf-Erik Nystrøm Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (born 23 April 1975) is a Norwegian saxophonist and composer in the field of contemporary music. Career Nystrøm has a diploma of music from the Norwegian Academy of Music and is now a lecturer in the art of improvisation ba ...
-
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
on "Lost in Moments" and "Dead City Centres" *Øystein Moe -
bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
on "Lost in Moments" ;Other credits *Subtopia - design *Tore Ylwizaker - mixing *Bård Torgersen and Esben Johansen - photography


References

{{Authority control 2001 albums Ulver albums