False Mirror aka Tobias Hornberger provided one of my favourite tracks on Thonar Record's highly appreciated compilation "New World Order" so expectations were high for "North", the latest full-length release of this prolific project.
In the artist's words "'North is much colder and darker [than the predecessing 'Chronostatic Scenes']. I was always impressed by arctic surroundings and the early expeditions to the poles. This is the mood of the album, like an arctic expedition somewhere into nowhere.". And that is just what "North" is. It is cold and icy and you can feel the chill of an arctic landscape, put in nicely constructed and very well orchestrated ambient-pieces. I recommend to listen to the album on your headphones. Close your eyes and you can see scenes of frozen plains, endless waves of icy water, everything is bright blue and/or white.
The liner notes give a slight impression of the variety of instruments that were used to create the five ambient pieces (plus 1 bonus track). It is quite hard to identify them in the songs themselves, everything has a nice floating and organic sound, there is not a dominant sound that stands out, but all sounds have their distinctive part in the "North"-organism.
The pro-pressed cd comes in a regular case, sporting a nice artwork which adds to the atmosphere. Released via Thonar.