Inspired by the mysteries of the afterlife, Chaos In Premonition returns to the fantastical world Spotted Peccary artists Deborah Martin and Dean De Benedictis built in their first collaboration as Desensitized. Like their previous work Hemispherica Portalis (Portal of 1000 Years), Martin and De Benedictis recorded their latest release live in the studio together, forming nine pieces from edited improvisations. Blending instrumentation such as clay ocarinas, flutes and Tibetan bowls with a variety of digital and analog synthesizers, Chaos in Premonition is an album that invites contradictions and makes peace with them, the only way to approach the question that inspired it: who are we and what made us?
The title track “Chaos In Premonition” begins in quiet vastness and rises to a bewildering crescendo, then fades to an ethereal chorus. Percussive chimes like raindrops in a cavern rise slowly from shadowy depths, evoking the cosmic. From there, the piece builds a sonic mosaic of skittering breakbeats, glitched fragments and glimmering arpeggiations: the birth of a world from quietude. On “Abundant Time” counter-rhythmic clock samples and heartbeats ebb and flow around sinuous drones and gently plucked strings. The two artists employ a rich amalgamation of acoustic and electronic elements throughout the work. With “Immortals And Their Graves,” De Benedictis’ Mayahachi flute moves from calm lulls to sweeping trills to rhythmic stutterings and back again, capturing in its amorphousness the peaks and valleys of a life. Even vocal elements appear in the finale “Sleep Of Innocence” which finds Martin and De Benedictis humming in harmony over celestial chimes, an otherworldly lullaby. Just when one feeling takes hold, it darts away—unknowable, and yet a seamless compositional flow offers a well crafted consistency with every track.
Martin describes the joy of collaboration as discovery; as each artist brings their own unique identity, how their compositional styles will blend is a mystery until uncovered. She continues: “That is what I find most exciting, the endless potential and possibility.” De Benedictis says “the essence and originality of Desensitized lies in how Deborah and I are so different.” From asynchronous perspectives comes sonic synchronicity. On Chaos In Premonition, this accomplished duo embrace their collaborative name Desensitized and weave the ancient and futuristic into an otherworldly tapestry all their own.
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Quotes
On Chaos In Premonition, this accomplished duo weave the ancient and futuristic into an otherworldly tapestry all their own.
Well, maybe there are some ghosts waiting for you, but nothing to hold the rest of us back. Tis all reliably strange. What does music sound like after death? Chaos in Premonition.
…a thought-provoking album that is designed to bring you peace while listening to its duration.
Reviews
Brain Voyager Music
Review by Robin James 10/28/22
Well, maybe there are some ghosts waiting for you, but nothing to hold the rest of us back. Tis all reliably strange. What does music sound like after death? Chaos in Premonition.
A wild shifting audio ride, things happen quickly, things happen slowly, the sound of irrational interpretations of delirious phenomenon, and it is all dreamy-strange. Possibly, the story is that we arrive on a planet, we go deeper and deeper, before we realize we are here to stay. Some of Chaos in Premonition is influenced by laptop based granular sampling technologies, plus: harp, drums (all manner of percussion), flute and so many keyboards that seem to have new magical powers. What you might discover here is probably directly from nocturnal deep space, with familiar bits glittering in the darkness. If you need to know every little detail this will be a challenge, sound tricks us and we like it. Why?
Poetry, and perhaps music, never needs to explain itself. Can it explain itself?
Why should it explain itself! I vainly opine, as one does in such circumstances, nonetheless, here are nine tracks. The spirit here is restless and explores or exaggerates a wide and changing range of strange clues, the story is layered and complex too. What I find are strange sounds to listen to. You might say that describes a whole musical genre, but this project is different, it is the strangest one in a spotty population of many random oddballs and individualists.
The pursuit of music is often playful and imaginative, daring and exposed. This is time spent listening carefully because it is interesting and I want to hear it all, fearful that I might miss some important clue, while asking my ears what the how is this? But then, I am crazy about this, so I am unreliable and hopelessly prejudiced on this matter.
I am seduced by the beauty of the difficulty of interpretation, unreliable evidence, natural entropy, elemental collages with paradoxical granular control of the content, constantly seeking perfection in the organic ambient or theatrical audio collage, so elegantly overloaded with meaning and there are many colors unexplained, mystery abides here.
A complex background in an abstract way:
What the heck is this? (I want more!) It is not equipped with a consistent rhythm necessary for exercising to, but for me it works as a complex background in an abstract way. Time is flowing differently sometimes. It’s maybe experimental jazz or rock or playtime or dance or just to quietly sit for a listen. There is plenty to listen to. I do not know what Chaos in Premonition is for.
Hear some sonic artifacts in an atmosphere of stereo emotions, “Ionic Realms” [Victronomy Plubonius] (4:52) and there are two riders, emerging slow and regal, equine versus impressionistic and capricious, like a butterfly and a horse, a juxtaposition of opposites on several levels making a philosophical connection between surrealism in art and existentialism. Two simultaneous musical narratives, wordless stories or just amazing ideas, a regal classical Greek vibe, ancient origin stories with a malfunctioning time machine that brings forth hunks of melting realism. That was the first track.
Now a celestial harp, and bowed metallic shimmers, pursued eventually by the mad ticking of the clocks. “Abundant Time [Stemiostratamos]” (4:46), I hear many clickers, measuring the moments one by one, they come and go in the multiplying music layers, searching for an underlying epistemological view. The dancing cave worms glow red but are not on fire. “Chaos In Premonition [Firestimo Mutato]” (8:54), is the title track, I hear nostalgia pounding a pattern hidden in the music, there are false endings, I like false endings. I hear a gong rumbling slowly in a distant cave, joyful and fast moving at times, flying in a sunny sky over fields of wildflowers where we might be inches off of the ground or we might be arcing high across the horizon, all gentle so gentle, a melody sparkles flitters and then new elements emerge, the atmosphere of constant change is suspended and contrasting. Toss your problems into a deep hole and consider their demise falling forever, “Deep Chasm [Subliminostrum]” (10:40) where distant night bugs jubilate somewhere out there, loaded with tiny details. I can hear ringing from deep tunnels, now deeper, more delicate darkness with lots of layered granular textures, an atmosphere of gloom, suggesting caves and tunnels, or a cathedral deep below, very deep and slow in the darkness, at last an atmosphere of peace in darkness.
Yes, it is spooky here:
“Mutations Of The Highest Order [MOTHO]” (8:47) begins, a quiet start rising slowly. Bells or chimes, rattles waddle, battles sounding, and dry chimes crackle, I do not think that we are rising from the darkness. It stays spooky, the shakes are nearly steady like a heartbeat and now with some minimal metal tangs and clangs, now some more false endings, ghostly smallish bells tinkle, I hear an atmosphere of silence with mild imperfections, but wait, there is a ghost choir very far away. There is a story here and it is frightening at times, for a moment a gigantic moth with wings the size of a soccer field struggles to right itself.
We are on a strange journey, right now we are in a very big old magic castle, “Logic Of Expression [Praetoreum]” (5:39) there is a flute and there are hands keeping a marching beat, hand percussion slow and expressive with the cosmic atmosphere, the pace of large beasts of burden, a caravan with drone sparkle effects along the way. There is a parade of sorts, a processional exhibition of the miracles, a call, a spectacle, a strange dance, a sudden path to explore.
Yes, it is spooky here. “Immortals And Their Graves [Sacriligonus]” (7:38) perhaps flutes in darkness, meditations on forever, eternal spontaneity, the voices… “Crevices In Dark Places [Anexplicora]” (7:12) pours out purring on a liquid night, night sounds in the wilderness, crickets crunching, in the water I think that I hear a crustacean choir, wavy deep reflections, some kind of arthropod tribal ritual out there? At the end, the final track, glorious restful rising, angels signal through the distance, “Sleep Of Innocence [Embulata]” (4:52) brings the great release, the gentle flow upwards into gentle clouds with voices singing lullaby tones floating in a night rainbow sky. If you are listening while waiting for sleep, this final track is the perfect send off. The way has been dark and scary in places, now it is time to let go and ease into sleep. There are some…
No. Well, maybe there are some ghosts waiting for you, but nothing to hold the rest of us back. Tis all reliably strange. What does music sound like after death? Chaos in Premonition.
Newage Music Guide
Review by BT Fasmer
The title track “Chaos In Premonition” begins in quiet vastness and rises to a bewildering crescendo, then fades to an ethereal chorus. Percussive chimes like raindrops in a cavern rise slowly from shadowy depths, evoking the cosmic. From there, the piece builds a sonic mosaic of skittering breakbeats, glitched fragments and glimmering arpeggiations: the birth of a world from quietude.
On “Abundant Time” counter-rhythmic clock samples and heartbeats ebb and flow around sinuous drones and gently plucked strings. With “Immortals And Their Graves,” De Benedictis’ Mayahachi flute moves from calm lulls to sweeping trills to rhythmic stuttering’s and back again, capturing in its amorphousness the peaks and valleys of a life. Even vocal elements appear in the finale “Sleep Of Innocence” which finds Martin and De Benedictis humming in harmony over celestial chimes, an otherworldly lullaby. Just when one feeling takes hold, it darts away—unknowable, and yet a seamless compositional flow offers a well-crafted consistency with every track.
On Chaos In Premonition, this accomplished duo weave the ancient and futuristic into an otherworldly tapestry all their own.Martin describes the joy of collaboration as discovery; as each artist brings their own unique identity, how their compositional styles will blend is a mystery until uncovered. She continues: “That is what I find most exciting, the endless potential and possibility.” De Benedictis says “the essence and originality of Desensitized lies in how Deborah and I are so different.” From asynchronous perspectives comes sonic synchronicity. On Chaos In Premonition, this accomplished duo weave the ancient and futuristic into an otherworldly tapestry all their own.
Review by Terry R. Wickham
March 31 2023
Desensitized is a musical collaboration between longtime Spotted Peccary artist Deborah Martin, who’s been on the label since 1994 and Dean De Benedictis who’s been creating ambient music since 1996.
These two long time ambient artists share a common vision to take the listener into audio sphere that combines both natural world and modern technology.
This album is a real refreshing change of pace for me. It’s nice to have something that grounds me in a holistic, organic, natural way.
I appreciate the audio space these two musical artists create on this new album. The first track called “Ionic Realms [Victronomy Plubonius]” sounds like the beginning of some sort of biological creation that struggles to define itself, yet somehow works its way into motion to move forward.
The second track “Abundant Time [Stemiostratamos]” has an instrumental quality that twists and turns almost like the winding motion of a clock. There are a few places in this music cue that incorporates the sound of a clock ticking, which comes across as a percussive element.
The title track of the album, “Chaos In Premonition [Firestimo Mutato] is incredible detailed with all sorts of instrumentation and musical movement. It puts forth a cerebral aspect to represent the assemblage of life on a biological molecular level.
The gravitational pull of “Deep Chasm [Subliminostrum]” is good for the soul. The musical layers of cavernous sounds have the cause and effect of meditation. With everything going on in a human being’s daily life, it is very healthy to slow down, to pause and take inventory of one’s spiritual or intellectual level as a person.
The little click-clack sounds in “Mutations Of the Highest Order [MOTHO] remind me of bones. This gives the nearly 9-minute fifth track on the album a tribal quality. It’s very interesting listening to the instruments mixed on the lower scale of sound registry. There seems to be flutes, wooden clackers and bird-like sounds integrated within.
Speaking of tribal, the drums & percussion along with flutes in “Logic Of Expression [Praetoreum] feels incredibly indigenous and links the music to native people that reside in a place the composers have in mind for this song.
High pitch flutes are used to show deep respect in “Immortals And Their Graves [Sacriligonus]”. The seventh track has a somberness to reverence.
I like the earthy quality of “Crevices In Dark Places [Anexplicora]”. The soundscape literally put me in a terrestrial environment I pictured as wet, dark with so many trees it drowns out the sun. All the sounds of insects and amphibians bring to life a vision of the habitat.
The last track “Sleep of Innocence [Embulata}” brings a soft sensitivity to wrap up this album. I particularly like the warmth the tender female voice has three-quarters in.
Altogether Chaos In Premonition by Desensitized is a thought-provoking album that is designed to bring you peace while listening to its duration.
Jonathan Widran
In a genre where so many artists focus simply on creating an atmospheric sonic realm designed to promote relaxation, Desensitized – the duo of veteran Spotted Peccary artists Deborah Martin and Dean De Benedictis – aims to provoke and inspire deeper spiritual contemplations related to the mysteries of the afterlife on their second dual album CHAOS IN PREMONITION. The follow-up to their epic 2020 collection Hemispherica Portalis (Portal of 1000 Years), the nine track set weaves powerful, shape-shifting and ever-evolving narratives via a hypnotic fusion of digital and analog synthesizers with exotic instruments like clay ocarinas, Tibetan bowls, chimes, strings and De Benedictis’ Mayahachi flute. Beyond the sometimes sonorous, often (as per the title) chaotic energies, the album is a compelling showcase of how two ambient electronic artists with unique solo identities, driven by a common musical and thematic purpose, can complement and ultimately harmonize with each other. CHAOS IN PREMONITION is a deep, immersive experience that will take the listener’s open mind and imagination on a fascinating journey. –
Claudio Bustamante review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5IOamXWl8c Claudio Bustamante radio show https://www.fairfaxcitymusic.com/ or YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Fairfaxcitymusi