Review Summary: An otherworldly combination of minimal techno and ethereal dark ambient.
I’m not going to lie to you guys, techno is a genre I have enjoyed from time to time, but it’s never been one that I’ve completely dived into. Ambient on the other hand is a genre that I’ve fallen in love with over the years. The number of feelings that can be provoked is astonishing. From sheer triumph, to melancholy and everything in between. Janusz Jurga is an artist that takes an upbeat yet somehow minimal take on techno music with catchy beats and headbang worthy drum and bass passages and mixes it magically with a darker ambient sound that reminds you of being stuck at the bottom of an ocean abyss with the slight hope that everything will be alright in the end.
The album cover is very reminiscent of the sound you’ll hear throughout the duration of
Hypnowald. It’s kind of a contradiction, but as I said earlier, it’s a piece of music with very long, drawn out darker ambient bits with no sense of hope while at the same providing tons of upbeat and almost fun techno bits that will make you want to nod your head for hours on end. It might not sound like the ideal combination of sounds but Janusz Jurga pulls it off in a completely masterful fashion.
My recommendation would be that any fans of dark ambient, minimal music, upbeat techno or anything in between checks out
Hypnowald immediately. This album has been one of the most enjoyable and immersive albums I’ve heard this year by far. If you’re a fan of an engaging atmosphere that you can lose yourself in, then this album should definitely be on your radar.
