LEVANT

“Beyond The Masque Of Eden”

(Anno 2011 – Dead Scarlet Records)

Romania

“Dall’ombra dei vasti soffitti s’allontana, si sporge a una bifora: nei suoi tragitti Lucifero la scorge. 

Guarda di lassù come invade il mar della sua luce e lungo le liquide strade nere chiglie conduce.” 

E’ una poesia di Mihai Eminescu dedicata a Lucifero: parla di una seduzione da parte dell’angelo della luce o del buio, come preferite, ne abbiamo parlato proprio poco tempo nel raccontarvi il debutto di Wolfuneral.

Una seduzione, un abbandono ai sensi: quale situazione è più romantica dell’accettare il demone, nel dare lui la possibilità di amare, perché nelle frasi successive lei lo guarda con un sorriso attraverso lo specchio, sa che l’angelo le prenderà l’anima ma quale dono più grande è questo?
Ancora più dell’amore…

IaÅŸi, nella Romania tra Moldova e Valacchia, è la città in cui il poeta è cresciuto ma è anche la città in cui George D. Stănciulescu prima con l’act Ad Ombra, oggi con LeVant, seppur nel difficile universo del gothic-business, lancia il suo segnale all’Europa.

Lo fanno in tanti dall’Est ma i paraorecchi chiudono la possibilità di scoprire talenti, come in questo caso, splendidi, una capacità compositiva antica nelle radici, proiettabile nel futuro per lo spirito “catchy” imposto.

C’è davvero romanticismo tra le note di “Beyond The Masque Of Eden”, undici tracce in cui realmente la regione di provenienza sembra voler dire in ogni solco amore e maledizione; IaÅŸi, la Valacchia del principe Tepes che, come un’ombra, oscura il soundscape dell’album, la musica di George, classica ed elettronica, diversa dalla solita elettronica goth cui siamo abituati, bisogna guardare altrove per raccogliere semi.

In Auroram, qualcosa di Blutengel nell’avere la cappa maledetta del sangue scuro dell’album, una sensazione di barocco accelerato di un Sopor Aeternus ora dedicato alla dance, Diary Of Dreams o le ultime seicentesche interpretazioni di alcune band cresciute all’ombra del monte Fuji (The Blood e affini), questa è l’area, affascinante area, in cui troverete LeVant; ascoltate “SyMatrix (The Spirit Roundabout)” su tutte per capire i legami.

Più elettronico di Ad Ombra seppur Stănciulescu non abbandona le compagne della precedente avventura discografica e tra le asimmetrie delle “sonate” dancy si captano le voci lontane e liriche: torna sempre alla mente una novella Mina Murray (le pagine di Stoker di nuovo ispirazione…n.d.a.) che rapita, rinchiusa diventa anche lei demone e bella, eternamente bella come il digipack che Dead Scarlet Records vuole simile ad un tomo antico, rosso scuro come il sangue.

 Maria Păduraru, Ilinca Olteanu o Alexandra Demian, di nuovo al fianco di George per intarsiare le proprie voci eteree tra le costruzioni di tastiera, i riff lontani, molto lontani della chitarra di Mihai Mahalu come in “Saint Angst”, segnali distanti tra nebbie del tempo, un film in bianco e nero surreale ma moderno e colto come quando in “Faustian Skies” prima del piccolo minuetto morente, una voce narrante recita Dino Campana, surreale ed onirico, perfetto spirito che si reincarna nella musica del brano che nella successiva “The Sex, The Penance, The Dissent” torna veloce, ancora barocca e dancy.

Vedete a volte l’enfasi dello scrittore deriva dalla frustrazione del quotidiano disfattismo reminiscente: “Beyond The Masque Of Eden” è bello perché impregnato di goticismo letterario ottocentesco, colto come il suo compositore ma incantevole perché attuale, realmente gotico e spesso dimentichiamo un confine invisibile tra goth e darkwave, un matrimonio incantevole ma spesso ognuno è realtà individuale, come in questo caso dove lo sposo è tornato a casa, tra monti natii di romantico terrore antico.

Nicola Tenani

http://www.myspace.com/levantmusic

In January 2011 we shared the great news of the release of LeVant’s “Beyond the Masque of Eden” with Deadscarletrecords; intuiting that it is a great album and being convinced so by the album trailer (watch here). It was no surprise, then, to discover a great audio experience in the album of the self-entitled “contemporary electro-mystique music project” LeVant, and to feel proud of our Romanian roots and cultural heritage.

George D. Stanciulescu’s compositions included on “Beyond the Masque of Eden” are a fascinating voyage, one that appeals to the ear that is accustomed to darkwave and electronica, and that is redolent at moments of great composition of dark cross-genres, from Rasputina to Diary of Dreams, and from This Mortal Coil to In Strict Confidence – in a flow of sound that leaves you no alternative but to pick up and carry on the majestic and thoroughly intellectual tracks. 

The interferences above, however plausible in a contemporary exchange of permeating cultures, do not actually add up to being influences. LeVant’s sound stands out and flows in an original manner, from the first to the last track of the album. In addition to the sound, song names that are tell-tale of esoteric pursuits, of a mystical frame of mind are there like labels on jars of diverse concoctions or of suave perfumes thought up by a savant perfumer. The song that opens, and shuts sealed closed the album, namely “Communion” (“Prelude” and “Postludium”) is about spiritual inspiration, a great way to start off and conclude what lies “Beyond the Masque of Eden”.

The ethereal, yet substantial sound of this composition is further enhanced by “Herbsttag”, a melancholic, lingering and yielding track that deploys a great deal of orchestrated ambient and power, with scattered and juxtaposed lyrics taken from the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. A very intellectual track, it does not promise something it cannot deliver; the ensuing track “Through Heaven’s Grace” with choral interludes and a very compelling sound, which deserves to be singled out from the album as a very promising composition, and giving a direction worth exploring in the music of this genre.

“SyMatrix” and “Le Rouge Dans Ta Vie” play with the same arsenal as their tracks of before, adding escalating keyboards, minimal movie-like monologue and a very flagrant tension to the set of stylistic contraptions resorted to give shape to the album. If Rilke’s powerful words take the floor in ‘Herbsttag”, it is time for Edgar Allan Poe to be quoted in “Le Rouge Dans Ta Vie” and usher in with the less known poem “Alone” a sort of genesis of the feeling of standing alone, and being different, a common locus of musings on the condition of the artist through the ages. Cadenced speech, choral effusion, and even sounds redolent of the call to prayer of a muezzin all figure out a delicate geography and a very inviting atmosphere.

“Within Chimeras”, despite its English title, is the only track of the compilation that carries on a message in Romanian, voiced via the verse of the Romanian poet Mihai Beniuc. The poetry is accompanied by an elegiac score that undermines and at the same time consolidates the texture of the song. “And if”, a track that sets a quicker pace, provokes the same effect as kaleidoscopes filled with glass, through the lenses of which children admire the apparent harmony of the world. The pace is further bedecked with choral imprecations that bring to mind at the same time religious procession and country-style carousing.

What “Saint Angst” brings is cascading sound that canvasses around Bene Gesserit’s litany against fear. The universe of “Dune” is a very fertile one to back up the dichotomy of fear and plenitude, and to show how far we have gone in contemporary thought to sanctify fear and how, via Frank Herbert’s clique of mental programmers, our efforts should be not vain and when combating fear. The labyrinth-like play with literary message juxtaposed with music continues with “Faustian Skies”, a tensioned track that delicately spins the yarn of visionary poet Dino Campana’s “Poesia Semplice”, a seesaw of life and death hung between strong poles of antagonistic nature landscape and human volition. “The Sex, the Penance, the Dissent” creates the same intellectual, well-studied effect that does well both in the quietude of one’s home and yields atmosphere in a club; as the last track of the debut album from LeVant, it can be thought of a well-studied and controlled mash-up of the entire album: the same pervasive feelings, powerful vocals and determined line define the track.

LeVant’s “Beyond the Masque of Eden” offers a lot more than you would expect from a debut album; it comes from a geography that needs to stake more in order to be recognized on the map of darkwave, but at the same time does not diverge from familiar geographies, since the vein of German darkwave is present to a large extent. In composition, “Beyond the Masque of Eden” is classical, in that it follows recognized harmonies, but novel in its juxtaposition of cultural contexts, religious beliefs and practices and contemporary feelings.

Tracklist:

LeVant are:

George D. Stanciulescu – composer, producer, orchestrations/arrangements, electronic devices, synthesizers

Alexandra Damian – mezzo-soprano

Ilinca Olteanu – soprano

Maria Paduraru – soprano

Mihai Mahalu – guitars

LeVant

Artist : LeVant
Album : "Beyond The Masque Of Eden"
Musical style:  Majestic Dark  Electronica orchestral.
country : Romania.
Note :  88 /100

Avis aux amateurs de noirceur poétique ensorcelante .
LeVant , projet électronique mystique de Roumanie, présente son premier opus :
le splendide "Beyond The Masque Of Eden".
Présenté dans un très joli écrin digipack  sorti chez le label Dead Scarlet Records, 11 compositions vous attendent pour enivrer vos sens d'un parfum dark orchestral de qualité.

George D. Stanciulescu , maitre d'oeuvre de LeVant n'est pas à son coup d'essai ;
 il s'est  fait remarquer par deux excellents albums d'Ad Ombra : projet Dark symphonique empreint de poésie nous projetant dans des abysses sonores admirables.
(Ad Ombra est à recommander à tous fans de Sophia , Elend , Arcana ou encore The Protagoniste).

Toutefois même si la noirceur d'Ad Ombra subsiste dans LeVant , la césure de style est nette car le nouveau projet est nettement plus électronique et rythmique .

Tour à tour noire electronica de haut-vol aux relents orchestraux "Within Chimeras"  , symphonie ethnique au tempo plus cadencé "Saint Angst" , hymne éthéré aux saveurs empreintes de musique sacrée "Trough Heaven's Grace" ;
 il est difficile de mettre une étiquette précise sur l'oeuvre de LeVant ! tant l'originalité du brassage de divers styles est ici brillamment exploitée.

La séduction sonore est assurée et ce , dés la première écoute , par des compositions aux sonorités électroniques orchestrales sombres et crystallines :"Faustian Skies".

Une mélancolie poétique drape chaque composition (l'excellent "Le Rouge Dans Ta Vie...") et nous entraine avec maestria dans des tourbillons mystiques électroniques qui enivreront à coup sûr vos sens. ("The Sex , The Penance , The Dissent".)

Ajouter à  ceci la beauté de choeurs d'anges déchus ( deux sopranos ; une mezzo-soprano) ;
 un zeste de samples cinématographiques et la présence bien placée d'une guitare ensorcelante et vous obtenez LeVant :
un cocktail divinement sombre à déguster sans modération !


Page Officielle Myspace : http://www.myspace.com/levantmusic

LeVant offers you in FREE download his excellent "Naked Light" E.P here : http://www.archive.org/details/PL011

Page officielle du label Dead Scarlet records : http://deadscarletrecords.com/bands/levant/

Band of the Week - Le Vant

By Baz Dedheven on Apr 12, 2011 | In Cuts from the Crypt, Band Of The Week | Send feedback »

Le Vant is the brainchild of Transilvanian born George D. Stanciulescu, created as a side project to his dark neoclassical metal act Ad Ombra. As a contrast to Ad Ombra, Le Vant is sublime electronica, combining ethereal and scared sounds with uptempo beats and samples. The debut album "Beyond The Masque Of Eden" was released in December 2010 and, despite a limited 500 copies being made available, has managed to spread across the nations.

The album kicks off with "Communion", a sub-trance instrumental overlaid with some deep vocal samples and electronic brass, which brings to mind those 'therapy' tapes used to lure the listener in to a deep subconscious sleep. A classical piano opens "Herbstagg" drawing the listener in, then the trance ensues again. A European voice speaks to us, guiding us through the undergrowth of our dream, luring us deeper. This could almost be the lost original soundtrack for Labyrinth, as we weave our way "Through Heaven's Grace" and on to the "SyMatrix (Spirit Roundabout)". The sounds are quite different to what I've previously been used to, and draws us nowhere towards the tiring EBM or acid-trance-club-rave or euro electro pop. This is more like a film score, the soundtrack to our sleepstate, the sound of our inner sense.

Along "La Rue Dans Ta Vie" we see the monks, see the architecture, smell the insense burning, then are faced with a sudden high speed chase. The calm is broken, and danger is present. Under the spell once again, "Within Chimeras" shows us illusions, and swirling guitar solos, whilst the narrator draws us towards a door. "And If..." leads us unknowingly through the doorway, to meet "Saint Angst" face to face. Taken by the hand, we wander back towards the light, a sense of nerves on edge as "Faustian Skies" unfold and encompass the light. Back in the air, back in the subconscious, and safe, we witness "The Sex, The Penance, The Dissent" of the crowds in the square, like Jesus bannishing the traders from the market. And then peace again. We rest to catch our breath, whilst the "Postludium Communion" makes a reprise.

I can guess which of my friends would like this, and those that wouldn't, and for anyone with Tangerine Dream, Mark Shreeve, Jean Michel Jarre, John Carpenter or even Oribital in their collections, then it's worth a listen. More than likely best to listen to an hour before retiring at night, or on a long motorway journey. Go beyond the masque and check it out here:

www.myspace.com/levantmusic

LEVANT

"Beyond The Masque Of Eden"

(Dead Scarlet Records)

Time: (44:14)

Rating : 7

Col debutto sulla lunga distanza di LeVant, nuovo side-project del compositore rumeno George D. Stanciulescu (mastermind degli ottimi Ad Ombra), torna sul mercato la greca Dead Scarlet Records, label poco prolifica in termini di uscite, ma sempre attenta alla qualità delle proprie release. Recuperate dall'esperienza con Ad Ombra sia la mezzo-soprano Alexandra Damian che la soprano Ilinca Olteanu, il Nostro ha completato la line-up di questa sua nuova avventura artistica con l'altra soprano Maria Paduraru ed il chitarrista Mihai Mahalu, dando vita con essi ad un sound di stampo più marcatamente elettronico rispetto ai toni prettamente sinfonici del progetto principale, come già mostrato dal recente EP in download gratuito "Naked Light" (che consigliamo di recuperare). Ben confezionata in un elegante digipak a sei pannelli e prodotta in soli 500 esemplari, l'opera ruota attorno al songwriting magnetico, affascinante ed avvolgente di George, che spinge verso una mistica elettronica d'atmosfera, lontana dalle facili catalogazioni ed a tratti vicina a certe cose di Delerium o Schiller, fatte ovviamente le dovute proporzioni. Melodie gentili e suadenti si dipanano su ritmiche groovy, lontane dai soliti stilemi e più attente ad avvolgere che non a dettare il passo sul dancefloor, anche se momenti come le più vorticose "And If..." e "The Sex, The Penance, The Dissent" riescono a scatenare il corpo a dovere. Prevale un mood pacato nei toni e misterioso, come dimostrano in particolare "Through Heaven's Grace" ed una "Faustian Skies" che si fregia di un bel sample in italiano, mentre la chitarra svetta soprattutto nella pinkfloydiana ed avvolgente "Within Chimeras", svolgendo un lavoro decisamente più solista che ritmico. Alle varie tracce non manca certo l'intensità, a partire da una "SyMatrix (The Spirit Roundabout)" che recupera certi toni sinfonici propri degli Ad Ombra, ma, pur fra tante ammalianti melodie, si avverte la necessità di un songwriting meglio focalizzato, di una produzione più corposa, di arrangiamenti meglio bilanciati e di un'integrazione più utile e produttiva delle tre valide cantanti, sinora coinvolte solo per vocalizzi sicuramente suggestivi, ma decisamente limitanti. Gli stessi spoken words maschili devono risultare più incisivi - così come la chitarra deve ritagliarsi più spazi diversificati - per raggiungere l'ambita eccellenza; ciononostante si tratta di un primo passo dotato di un proprio fascino, un caleidoscopio di profumi e colori ancora in divenire ma già meritevole di attenzione, e siamo certi che George, col tempo, saprà affinare le proprie arti anche in questi ambiti più inclini all'elettronica, bissando i picchi qualitativi e di contenuti raggiunti col suo act principale Ad Ombra.

Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi

LEVANT

BEYOND THE MASQUE OF EDEN [CD]

Ambient • Dark Wave • Electro • Neoclassical



Dead Scarlet Records
17/05/2011, Didier BECU

EN

Time for some bizarre music which comes from Romania.

LeVant is a project founded by George D. Satanciulescu. This musician (a psychologist too) is known in the neo classical genre as the man behind Ad Ombra, a band that got compared with Elend and Stoa. They released two albums so far on the well respected Rage In Eden-label.

And yet, this solopiece isn’t that neoclassical at all, as in fact "Beyond the masque of Eden" can be best described as electronic ambient that likes to flirt with other genres. You can hear some classic darkwave-influences but also guitarsounds that seem to come from some old progrock record.

This music has a sort of cinematography feel, running at 45 minutes long, Stanciulescu is taking you on a journey with (most of the time, instrumental) tracks that deserve to be labelled as “very beautiful”.

Sole disadvantage is that so far we couldn’t decide is if we like this wide range of styles or not, where as others will see this only as a bonus thing. It’s just the way you see things, not?

Didier BECU
17/05/2011

NL

Tijd voor een bizar stukje muziek uit Roemenië, Levant is namelijk het projekt rondom George D. Satanciulescu.

Deze muzikant (tevens psycholoog) is in het neoklassieke genre meer bekend als de man die achter Ad Ombra staat, een groep die vaak vergeleken wordt met Elend en Stoa en tot dusver twee albums heeft uitgebracht, en dit op het gerespecteerde Rage In Eden-label.

Veel neoklassiek blijft er op diens soloproject echter niet veel over want eigenlijk zou je "Beyond the masque of Eden" best kunnen omschrijven als een electronische ambientplaat. Weliswaar is het er eentje die graag met andere genres flirt, gaande van klassieke darkwave tot zelfs gitaren die uit één of andere progrockplaat lijken te komen.

Op bijna cinematografische wijze tovert Stanciulescu 45 minuten lang 11 ( grotendeels instrumentale tracks) uit zijn mouw die vaak het etiket “wondermooi” verdienen.

Het enige minpunt waar we tot dusver niet uitgeraakt zijn is of die vele diverse stijlen niet een beetje van het goede teveel zijn. Want tja, soms klinkt het net allemaal net iets teveel van het goede, terwijl weer anderen die verscheidenheid van Levant nu net als absoluut pluspunt zullen aanzien. Het is maar hoe je het bekijkt.

Didier BECU
17/05/2011

http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/reviews/levant-beyond-the-masque-of-eden/