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Selected Reviews for Paul
Vnuk Jr. (Ma Ja Le) "Silence Speaks in Shadow" / 2001 "Everythings
about this CD is dripping with cool, from the jet-black cover sprinkled with
nighttime city lights, to the soft rain that permeates the sounds and music.
This is truly an environmental work, labeled "psycho-environmental
music," which is accurate. Vnuk successfully depicts an urban setting, with
the rain falling and the windows open. Soft synthesizers accentuate real-world
sounds such as a siren driving by (I backed the CD up to be sure I heard it
right, thinking it was real). Changes are slow and subtle. It paints a perfect
sonic picture, the musical equivalent of the current American penchant for
"reality-based TV." Other discs have used environmental sounds,
particularly rain, but this is a cut above. It really sets itself apart from
anything else out there. Thunder rolls occasionally, synthesizers softly float
throughout much of it, but the rain really is the centerpiece, at times the only
sound heard. Everyone knows the feeling of hearing a gentle summer or autumn
rain on your rooftop or out the window on a sultry day, and how refreshing and
luxurious that can be. Now, you don't have to wait for just the right conditions
to experience it. This is perhaps the ultimate ambient music, truly meant to be
played in the background, to be absorbed into your world of the moment." . "Silence Speaks in Shadow is a solo CD from Paul Vnuk, Jr., better
known as one half of the duo, Ma Ja Le. His cohort, Chris Short, edited,
arranged and engineered this disc. (Paul very graciously refers to Chris as his
brother and friend and thanks him for his selfless contribution.) The CD is
billed as "psycho-environmental meditation." Paul recorded the disc
during two thunderstorms approximately one year apart and states, "The open
windows and industrial sounds of a rain drenched city can have a strange calming
effect on the soul." So can Paul's soundscape! He expertly mixes somber
passages and samples with an expansive drone, nature samples and melodic
pastoral ambience. The effect is both chilling and calming. The emotional and
spiritual responses are clear and undefinable. The physical response is
immediate calm. Congratulations, Paul! This CD is essential psychoactive
meditation material!" . "The notes
read: “The open windows and industrial sounds of a rain, drenched city can
have a strange calming effect.” This is true. Since I was a child I loved
listening to nature: the sound of the park, or the beach, or the night crickets
I always heard at the grandma’s house, even though they scared me. Water
always soothed me; whether rain or river. Add washes of synthesizer to the sound
of a rainy night, and you have what Hypnos, perhaps the master label in this
genre, describes as “psycho-environmental-music.” I am less than
sympathetic to most “ambient” music, but do find environmental soundscapes
rich, and this well-crafted disc is one of the better ones, as these rain
sounds, and wind, even if the wind is computer generated (and I’m not certain
of this), do create a particular sound environment. I might not have thought
about it if the line note hadn’t stated so, but this clearly is not country
rain, or a storm-at-sea. This is city; the sound of rain on concrete. Then how
come things are so still? Actually,
it’s not still. The rain, for the seventy-four minute span, not only evolves,
but changes. There is lightning, and thunder, sporadically. In this sense it is
real. The synth is not oppressive, nor are the tones chosen for it; the music
literally washes over you. I can see many people using this for love-making, as
well as other out-of-body experiences. As for the title, there is no silence,
but much moving shadow. Toward the end of the sojourn, the music, perhaps
unwittingly, takes an emotional turn. The synth recalls some of the organ works
of Olivier Messiaen, and things become quieter, and still. Quite
beautiful." . "Paul
Vnuk¹s (who is one-half of the duo known as MaJaLe) incredibly beautiful solo
release, Silence Speaks in Shadow, could be considered (to some degree) to be
the doppleganger to James Johnson¹s and Stephen Philips¹ CD, Lost at Dunn¹s
Lake. Where the latter minimal ambient recording was enhanced with sounds from a
woodland thunderstorm, Paul¹s album brilliantly interweaves the sounds from an
urban landscape during a rainstorm/thunderstorm with warm layers of exquisite
electronic ambience. In my review of Lost at Dunn¹s Lake, I wrote ³even though
it's only March, I didn't think I'd hear a better minimal-style ambient
recording this year.² While that statement is still true, Silence Speaks in
Shadow is damn near as good as Lost at Dunn¹s Lake. It¹s a tremendous
achievement in subtlety and nuance. I don¹t know
if Paul recorded his urban sounds (rain falling on streets and sidewalks,
sirens, thunder, and faint other cityscape sonic textures such as a meowing cat)
in our shared home town of Milwaukee; but even if he didn¹t, I have a soft spot
for the environmental sounds on the CD. For most of my adult life, I have lived
in a large city (as opposed to either the country or the suburbs). There is
something special about the sound of a rainy night in the city that has a
sweetly melancholic feel to it; it¹s a sense of shared loneliness. Upon first
hearing Silence Speaks in Shadow, I was vividly reminded of the first apartment
I lived in after my divorce (in 1990). My efficiency was on the 2nd floor and it
overlooked a mildly busy intersection, just outside of downtown St. Paul. On
summer nights, I would leave the window open (I did not have air conditioning)
and would fall asleep to the sounds of light traffic (the occasional bus or
car), muted conversations from late-night strollers, and, if I was lucky, the
sound of falling rain. So, to say that I love this CD is an understatement. You¹d
probably have to be a real urbanite to understand the appeal of this kind of
recording. The music
itself on Silence...is wonderful. Paul incorporates shimmering synths, long
patient washes of keyboards, and some other very subtle sound treatments (the
liner notes list instrumentation as ³Looped synth improvisations, and
manipulation²). There is just a hint of mystery and no trace of foreboding or
sadness; the overall feeling is one of calm and a slight sense of slowly
drifting. Seldom does the music take center stage in dramatic fashion. Mostly,
the environmental recordings hold equal place in the soundfield with the
electronic music. The ebbing and flowing of the keyboards has a warm organic
feel. The album patiently unfolds over its nearly 74-minute length and, if
played in the background at just barely perceptible volume, I¹d have to think
this is an ideal sleeping CD, especially if put on repeat play. As the album
progresses, gentle bell tones emerge from the other musical shadings, twinkling
faintly amidst the ever-softening synths. This is just flat out gorgeous music,
reminding me a little bit of Stephen Philips¹ superb Desert Landscapes
recording, which is another late-night favorite of mine. The other
interesting thing Paul does is to have the rainfall pattern on the disc change
over time - from a steady downpour to a more sedate gentle storm, accentuated by
what sounds like runoff from downspouts hitting concrete. Again, to a city-boy
like me, these sounds are comforting in the extreme. If one was used to a more
rural setting for storms (e.g. the sounds of the forest of the plains), I don¹t
know that it would have the same effect. Silence Speaks
in Shadow is a fantastic exploration of the possibilities of ³long-form²
ambient. I could see having this play endlessly for hours, even while one is
awake. I plan on doing just that more than a few times myself. I don¹t know
that there is a better blend of (unique!) environmental sounds with pure ambient
music (as opposed to new age music). Bravo to Paul for this ³ode to a rainy
night in the city,² and thanks to Mike Griffin for releasing still another
amazing recording. Silence Speaks in Shadow may be the ultimate ambient album
for us city dwellers - it¹s a true gift from Paul to those of us who embrace
the steel and concrete and long for the sound of rain on asphalt as we drift
asleep on a summer night." . "There's a
small quote at the bottom of the insert to this CD, apparently a quote by Vnuk
Jr. himself who states that "The open windows and industrial sounds of a
rain, drenched city can have a strange calming effect on the soul." When I
first read this little snippet I wasn't sure what to think, but after my first
listen it made good sense. A lot of Ambient/ Atmospheric music compliments or
enhances the ambience of a particular space, but then there are some ambient
recordings that transcend or alter your space altogether, i.e. Stephen Philips
and James Johnson's Lost at Dunn's Lake, or Brannan Lane's Troposphere, Silence
Speaks in Shadow is like this as well, but it's a different, grittier, almost
urban ambience rather than the organic natural works of Philips, Johnson, and
Lane. Clocking in at 73:58 Silence Speaks in Shadow is a long-running single
track that immerses the listener in a blend of natural ambience and harmoniously
synthesized chording. With Silence Speaks in Shadow Vnuk Jr. has created an
undisputedly great work that emphasizes the harsh undertones of the urban
landscape while sonically capturing the mysterious beauty of a rainy night. A
fantastic recording that transcends as well as it projects." . "Paul Vnuk
Jr. fills up the entire length of his first CD with a wash of synth sounds that
roll in like the sea. To which he adds the occasional sounds of rain, running
cars and other environmental sounds. Very much music to pass your time
with...."
Electric
erwig review Silence
Speaks in Shadow
by Paul Vnuk, Jr. (“Ma Ja Le”) Hypnos Recordings, 2001 http://www.hypnos.com/vnuk
Paul Vnuk has done some fine ambient work in collaboration with “Vir Unis”
and Steve Roach in the last decade. Here he is on his own in an extended ambient
atmosphere, a “sound-picture” or as he calls it, “psycho-environmental
music.” The album notes speak truth: “The open windows and industrial sounds
of a rain-drenched city can have a strange calming effect on the soul.” What
you get for your 74 minutes of silence and shadow is the sound of rain and
distant thunder, mixed with real-life city sounds (including a police siren at
one point near the beginning). Accompanying these sounds is a delicate, mournful
texture of long synthesizer notes which have no melody, just tones drifting here
and there. I am willing to suspend my meteorological disbelief that thundery
weather can persist at a low level for more than an hour (at least in my own
Mid-Atlantic area, such conditions are rare) in order to experience the
melancholy quiet mood of this album. Despite the description, this is not meant
to be “music,” in the conventional sense, but audible virtual reality.
Vnuk’s reality, though, is a bit on the spooky side; you might want to choose
carefully when you will unleash this stormy weather into your parlor. HMGS
rating: 8 out of 10 Hannah M.G. Shapero 8/5/01 |