The first side opens with "Requiem" by PGR, the longest track on the album at 6'30". A smooth mood piece. simplistic enough, but very effective - a steady sustained dark note, distant clattering percussive sounds like muted wind chimes, and the occasional distant synthetic addition. It's subtle & very effective - the only thing can compare it to in mood is the intro part to the COCTEAU TWINS' "Donimo" - a gravid sense of events impending. PETER FROHMADER offers the next track "Waves", continuing the mood of warm, languid calm, this consists of sustained notes. pattering percussion, whirling stereophonic effects, smooth synthesizer sounds & simple sequences. That various elements fade in & out as it continues pulls it out of Electronic Music arena & puts it in a room of its own. LUCIANO DARI again continues the smooth moodiness of the last two pieces, only his music is somehow darker, slightly more deadly. "Lapide Minerale IV" consists of a sustained dark rumble through which various shattered, ragged elements rise & fall, and tuned sounds create something approaching recognizable structure. Moody & fractured. "Le Dictionnaire Des Synonymes" by HÉLÈNE SAGE & BERNARD VITET is mostly a spoken track with both male & female voice in French. My lacking any grasp of the language lessens my appreciation, although it does somehow maintain the album's mood. In the background is heard a strange horn-like sound, distant yet distinct. UNACD conclude the first side wtth their "Anthropometrie" - another dark mood piece consisting of ponderous bass notes & higher-pitched squeals through which protrude a variety of different odd musical images - almost mad violin, what could be bassoon, other wind instruments making the piece sound a little like CLOCK DVA circa "White Souls", only a lot more accomplished in what they do. The second side opens with HESSKHÉ YADALAMAH's "Creeping Paralysis", a short piece combining various falling & rising notes & sort of distorted, crackling backdrop with an ambient image of frogs. S*CORE comes next with "Incense Burner", sounding not unlike a dark, moody crossover between CONTRASTATE & mild THROBBING GRISTLE. Over the growling, churning dark bass notes appear a sort of thin, sustained wailing sound, like some Eastern wind- or simple bowed- instrument. VRISCHIKA comes next with "Les Profondeurs", which combines a short vocal loop with various strange audio images - sustained yet varying notes underlaid by a grizzling sound. WHEN bring us "Bell I", a dark thing whose sustained Monks-chant voices, metallic percussion & ceremonial feel suggest a curious crossover of CURRENT 93 & CONTRASTATE with elements of, say, FAMLENDE FORSØK & the COLD MEAT INDUSTRY groups. PETER VOGEL lightens the atmosphere a little with "(Excerpt From) Loop Music" which combines what sounds like looped flute with tuned percussion to produce something which is very much like STEVE REICH's early experiments in both approach & sound - a short but effective piece. DESACCORD MAJEUR bring us the comparatively normal "En Contre-Parti" which builds out of an echoed loop into a fully-structured, calming, charming little instrumental built on drums, sustained keyboards & muted piano-like played sequence. It concludes with a dramatic flourish, allowing the final track, a piece called "Halabja (Trafalgar Square Mix)" by BOURBONESE QUALK. This must have been recorded sometime in between "My Government Is My Soul" & the new PRAXIS releases. It harkens to their post TALKING HEADS' Latin American rhythmic sound, a quiet little piece, catchy in a mild. almost shy way - lacking the brutal harshness of the earlier material or the non-stop Techno-drive of the new. The tracks are glued together by short snatches of found voice. mostly from interviews, some are Vox Pop, all combine to give the album an overall together feel. The 'A' side at least reminds me in mood & image of SPK's "Zamia Lehmanni", while the 'B' tends towards a more diverse sound (although the mood still pervades).Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.