Marsen Jules - The Empire Of Silence [Oktaf 010]

On the circuit since March 10th and released via his very own Oktaf-imprint is Marsen Jules newest album effort named "The Empire Of Silence", a glacial and beautiful eight track Ambient affair with each track named after a certain expression for 'snow' in the Inuit language - including such poetical meanings as 'the idea of snow' or 'forgotten snow' which perfectly compliment the beatless, floating and timeless pulchritude spread out over approx. 55 minutes of runtime. Clearly to be classified as Ambient but - especially with a track like "Skriniya" or "Katiyana" - crossing over into the realms of NeoClassical and / or score-suitable, cinematic sound "The Empire Of Silence" seems to sonically depict the gracious, slow motion movements of glaciers over time, the unseen freeze up of lakes secluded or the accumulation of icey crystals, each unique and never to be seen twice, on metal surfaces throughout the first frosty night of a late fall or early winter, all phenomena seen a thousand times before, yet fascinating still each and every time they appear anew in all their fragile clarity. And so is this album in terms richness of details and carefully layered strings - not new to the conversant Ambient head at all but still a wonderful journey through sonic spheres of ultratranquility.