Dubnos
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley March 13, 2021
Artist – Roland Buhlmann
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https://rolandbuehlmann.bandcamp.com/album/dubnos
A cacophony of sound is the introduction to prog rock specialist Ronald Buhlmann’s latest album Dubnos, a brilliantly contrived combination of music, noise, extravaganza and pizzazz, but there is a little more to the album than just music, as the word Dubnos flows back to the intrigue and mystique of the ancient otherworld of Welsh mythology; the world of the deities or even the dead.
The music created in Dubnos may have been inspired by these quirky facts, or alternatively it simply evolved in a skilful manner guided by Buhlmann, by creating an electric energy that takes the musician and the listener into another time, place and space, as these amazing works combining so many beautiful elements are often apt to do.
Mighla commences the journey as the fusion of guitars and synth could be considered to be formulating the entry to a fantasy Sci- fi world of change, shape forming and shifting; nothing seemingly that same, but the same none-the less.
By contrast the title track Dubnos almost appears to dance along until a deeper vibe is introduced, changing the emotion of the piece, encapsulating the etheric other world, elemental and mysterious.
A favourite is Ubiquitous, a dance beat that captivates, as there is an underlying element of Hollywood in the richness of the construction featuring some lovely drum work from Teri Bryant with some serious guitar rifts just to add to the mix.
Buhlmann is autistic, therefor in so many ways it is not surprising that his music is composed with what he calls straight lines which, with magic added, all come together in an orderly fashion to create music that is individual. The kaleidoscopic cover has been designed by Heiko Powell (who has Asperger’s) and is very reminiscent of the psychedelic era of the late 1960’s to mid-1970’s, a time of social, musical and artistic change.
Glorious violin work permeates Aaschutz which features some absolutely amazing guitar work, combined with a repetitions backbeat, to create another stopping off point on the journey into the otherworld of intrigue.
Galgallim the longest and final piece is an incredible mix of ethereal sound, which as the title suggests has a basis in the Hebrew belief that the Galgalim (alternate spelling Galgallim) are a high ranking order of Angels used to, metaphorically speaking, connect people to the Divine. If careful listening is applied to the entirety of Galgallim, the piece could definitely be considered as a useful sound medium to encourage a shift into another dimension.
Experimental, intriguing and abstract, the canvas of music colours is incredible. The addition of oil tanks, wrenches, stones, branches and vases mixed together with the more traditional guitars and synth, orchestrated by Roland Buhlmann, violin played by David Cross and Koto played by Yukiko Matsuyama, with drums from Teri Bryant, all mix seamlessly to invite you on your very personal voyage to the otherworld of modern day life and the mystique to be there discovered.