Conversations About The Light - 'Barren Eyelids Flowering' 3"CDR

1. Everything Beyond This Pane Is Sleeping
2. Twilight Scattered Violently By Gasping Curtains
3. Digesting A Sea Of Unmapped Words
4. You Need Me (mp3)

released 21 November 2006
limited edition of 100 - AVAILABLE

Reviews

I never heard of Conversations About The Light, which seems to be the project of one Robert Hunter. I really have some trouble with this. In his softer moments he sounds quite ambient but in darker lands, which is quite nice, but why on earth does he have to play his noise tricks too? For me it seems two worlds that are hard to combine.
Taken from Vital Weekly

The band name and disc title are stupid and pretentious, but otherwise there's nothing wrong with this. I think you could call this some kind of psychedelic, ambient noise as there's plenty of all three. That kind of an approach and also the rather lo-fi analogue sounds remind me of some Haare releases, but I guess CATL use more synths and electronics. There are good atmospheric drones accompanied with different saturated harsher sounds. The sound is extremely pleasant and easy to just sink into. There seems to be some Astro influence as well. The last track is a Swans cover "You Need Me", and I could've done without it, but it's always interesting when abstract noise artists cover actual songs. Stylish handmade covers are guaranteed Cipher quality.
Taken from Hard and Obscure #2

Wax is an old fashioned way of sealing bits of paper or card together. It is though a very nice touch on a limited 3 inch CDR. The problem of course being that once you break through the wax to get to whatever is inside you have no way of sealing it up again. Which is why I have this very nice petite bit of card wrapped with an elastic band around it to hold it all together in place. Some thoughtful touches are best left on the ideas shelf department before committing to the mistake that inevitably follows. Back to the drawing board for you Cipher Productions.
Conversations About The Light is one Robert Hunter Osgood. No relation to the Chelsea football player of the early 70s by the way. Based in America he has been releasing music since around 2002. As well as recording under this name he also collaborated on the A Crown Of Light - The Clearing release which received an undeserved kicking by another reviewer on this website. Everyone has their own opinions. The reviewer was wrong concerning this release is mine. 'Barren Eyelids Flowering' serves as a perfect introduction to this artist's work if you are unfamiliar with it. Featuring just 4 tracks and 18 minutes of music Robert flexes his muscles with some damn tasty 'noise' pieces that have the afterglow of Industrial and drone influences spread throughout. He likes to tease the listener by leading them into a false sense of security by not stepping on the 'noise' pedal too early. He builds up the first piece with some dark ambient influences before gradually introducing the spectral noise that soon envelopes and overawes with its pugnacious ferocity. The second track follows suit with another slow burn intro before the walls cave in and the waves of crashing static fields cackle and fizz in ever increasing regularity and magnitude. By the third track the tack is changed slightly. As a metallic beat hammers down over a storm brewing atmosphere an eloquent sythn line is played only to be disrupted by a squalling mass of frequencies that is a call to arms. The noise gradually abates leaving the residue of glimmering electronics to take over and disappear into the ether before a triumphant last gasp appearance of all the constituted parts makes one last appearance. For the last track Robert once more has the temerity to start the piece with more pitch black ambient influences which then turns vicious with an outrageous mix of extreme electronics and vocal manipulation. At less than 2 minutes in duration this abrupt ending has you gagging for more.
'Barren Eyelids Flowering' won’t win any prizes for originality but it has, within its limited time frame, the wherefore all to grab your attention and hold it there. Something sorely lacking in similar recordings. The 'noise' and 'ambient' elements make for strange bedfellows normally but with the care and attention that has been lovingly crafted here they gel in a certain harmony that isn't readily explainable. Suffice to say that the 18 minutes just flew by in its company and overall I was highly impressed with it.
Taken from Heathen Harvest

Conversations About the Light return with their second 3” CDr release of the year (the first being ‘Death Tree’.) In case you are unfamiliar with CATL, the music never really fits into just one category. In the case of this release, the sounds that spew forth are of the dark electronic/ambient, with harsh noise finding their way into the mix.
The first thing I noticed when I received this CDr was the packaging. I don’t think I have ever seen such beautiful packaging on a release before. The CDr is packaged in a handmade cardboard sleeve, and it is sealed with wax. I was almost afraid to open it and destroy the beautiful work, but after hearing it the tracks, I was very glad I did. The first two songs on the album are both harsh, grating noise, definitely not a style everyone can get into. Very few people can stand to listen to distorted noise grating on their ear drums for more than a few milliseconds. However, the standout track on this 3” is ‘Digesting a Sea of Unmapped Words.’ It opens with a bit of slow noise before leading into a beautiful, almost depressing melody. Eventually, a high pitched noise that resembles a whale song is introduced, just adding to the magic of this song. ‘Digesting…’ reminded me of the works of Akira Yamaoka (the mastermind behind the Silent Hill music) in that it is beautiful, yet terrifying sound. The final track, a cover of Swans’ ‘You Need Me’, is also featured on the Lunar Hypnosis mp3 compilation ‘The Unscathed Pulsation of Decay’.
If there was one thing to complain about, it would be how the songs seem to just cut off, and sometimes in what seems to be awkward places. Other than that, this is a fairly good release overall. Personally, track 3 is what makes this whole release worth it. This won’t appeal to everyone, but to those who enjoy experimental noise, I definitely recommend picking up a copy. Hurry; this CDr is limited to 100 copies.
Taken from Lunar Hypnosis

While listening to this mini album, we can experience its double nature. Light and shadow lie beneath these four songs. from ambient moments to heavy industrial passages. A multi-shaded mix, very interesting, despite its brevity. The final track is a Swans cover, it starts from an unquiet ambient and develops into a raw sound, beaten by vocals filtered with painful effects. "Digesting A Sea Of Unmapped Words" well represents the whole album with noise feedback, floating and dreaming ambient sounds and some epileptic samples. Special packaging limited to 100 copies.
Taken from Exoteric #4