Year: 2025
Label: Zoharum

Belgian Vidna Obmana and Polish Zoharum continue their joint effort to unearth rarities and unreleased tracks from the former’s archives. Where the first installment in this series (reviewed here) spanned the years 1990 to 1998, this second compilation starts from 1995 and ends in 2002. Again, the format is three CD’s, each with over an hour’s worth of music. So, in total, around three hours and fifteen minutes of ambient is what’s on offer here.

In contrast to the first installment, Volume Two also consists largely of previously unreleased tracks. I find this worthy of mention from the bat, considering how vast Vidna Obmana’s catalogue is – if you’re a fan, don’t bother looking through your collection to see which tracks you’ve already got on other releases. Most of these you won’t have.

Ambient of a serene and harmonious kind is still the order of the day here. The tracks have grown in length: where Volume One had 23 tracks, Volume Two has 16 tracks, clocking in at about the same running time. This means Vidna Obmana and sole member Dirk Serries have better time to develop and evolve ideas within the tracks.

There are some other changes, too. Whereas Part One, at least according to how I recall it (I admit: I didn’t revisit the entirety of it for this review), was largely sans dominant percussive elements, here they are at the fore and core of many tracks. Looped, repeating, vaguely ritualistic and/or tribal percussive patterns give a bit of tangibility to many tracks. If I’m not mistaken, instruments such as flutes and reeds of various kinds have a more pronounced role here and there, lending the music some degree of tribal/ethno ambient vibe.

However, for the most part, Vidna Obmana remains Vidna Obmana between the two volumes. This means long, drawn out layers of peaceful, serene synths washing over the listener like waves of some cosmic sea. Undulating, pulsating subsurface layers give depth and substance to the music, whilst various echoing, rattling, droning layers in the background add variation and active elements. Concepts, themes and motifs evolve and emerge slowly, languidly in the lengthy pieces.

Sadly, my one major issue with Volume One remains on Volume Two. Sometimes there are long silent sequences between the tracks. This breaks the flow, interrupts a seamless and continuous stream of music, which I believe would serve this kind of music best.

But apart from that, Twilight Of Perception Redux Volume Two is a fine release. Personally, I’m preferential towards less percussion in my ambient, which makes me partial to the first volume. But this issue of personal taste notwithstanding, the second volume matches the quality of the first. I must also mention how well these tracks, created over many years and sessions, go together. There are no chafing seams here.

Summa summarum, the second volume continues the high quality of the first volume. I’d go so far as to say that for the casual listener, this can already be now called the essential series of releases to get from the Belgian project. Take that with a grain of salt, though: I admit I’m no expert on Vidna Obmana; at best my knowledge of the project and its recordings is spotty.

But, yeah, anyhoo, good stuff.

Visit Vidna Obmana on Bandcamp, or visit Dirk Serries’ website