- If you know Seraphim Rytm, it's probably through his releases as Damaskin, the alias he uses to make rough and grinding techno. For his debut album on Silent Season, however, the Belgian producer softens up considerably. Aeterna shows him throwing away all that rusty metal to let in the softer sounds of the earth—the rustling of vegetation, the smooth trickle of running water—which combine for an almost celestial loveliness. It's hard to imagine a record better suited to the woodsy ethos of Silent Season. Like a less emotional Dominik Eulberg, this is deeper-than-deep techno shrouded in the damp atmospherics of the rainforest.
Aeterna has a way of sounding immense but not overpowering. The title track coaxes you in with nine minutes of gorgeous nature sounds, and then it hits you: one glorious wash of bliss after another. Almost every track deals with the same elements: whirring high frequencies, slow-rumbling basslines and peppy percussive arrangements. Each sprawling path has a different way of putting these parts together, but they're always hidden under a canopy of trees, creating a thick, humid air that only makes the album more enveloping. There are differences here and there—"Nastir Sina" gestures towards dub techno with its rubbery synth leads, while "Sumaritma" recalls The Field in how it squashes everything into one graceful blur—but fundamentally, Aeterna is an album that lives solely in its own carefully-defined world.
The LP is so committed to this dense universe that at times it feels impenetrable. Unless you really zone out to it, Aeterna might seem a little samey—it requires a certain ear for detail to pick apart the intricacies in those flowing layers of sound. Unlike, say, Segue's Pacifica—maybe the definitive Silent Season release—Seraphim Rytm doesn't do much to keep you entertained once you're deep in the album. It's about the small details that surface in the deluge, like the water droplets in "Sumaritma."
Wading through Aeterna, you might feel lost deep in uncharted territory, where you know you'll have to explore for a long time just to make it back to civilization. It takes some commitment, but as with a long expedition, it's the moments of beauty you encounter along the way that make it worth the journey.
Tracklist01. Aeterna
02. Kalinovik
03. Sumaritma
04. Nastir Sina
05. Onahivu
06. Sutra
07. U Brdima
08. Kozara
09. Sana