Music Style ambient, ethnic, tribal, ethereal

Musical Influences Dead Can Dance, Swans, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, arabic music and other ethnic

Similar Artists Dead Can Dance, Swans, Vas, Cocteau Twins, Love Spirals Downwards, The Changelings, Delerium, Angels of Venice, Tom Aragon

Group Members Lee Nisbet: voice S.K. Evans: instrumentation(

Instruments anything out of this world

Albums tentative release date of June 2002

Press Reviews "Eerie awakening. Targeted sounds. Soaring melodies. There is a sharp balance between the absurd gothic and the beautiful honest. On this edge balances Animus Mundi, the living universe. When does ambient is the Mundi in grief? What satellites orbit our planet? Which version of the universe are you prepared to believe in? Stoics once had a philosophy were there were no mysteries, no revelations, no gospels, no temples, no priests, norituals, no ceremonies, no worship. Their Zeus, their God, was the domi nant philosophy of educated men in the Graeco-Roman world we often call ?the cradle of knowledge.? A stoic was ?a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 B.C. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by j oy or grief, and submissive to natural law.? There is also the further definition of Animus Mundi being the living earth, the soul of the planet, but this modern approach is most often associated with New Age, and listening to their music and their strong medieval themes and instruments, I?m going to go with the original meaning, whether you like it or not. I like the first association better because it portrays an honest world and not a glossy version of it; because I found their music a lot more honest than most. So, knowing all of this, I downloaded this music in good faith. A week has passed since download, and the music has been played over and over again, every day. And I can reveal at this time, I came out of it, still in good faith. What is it ab out this music then, that fascinates me so? It is not a piece composed of a mad genius that barks out at me, nor a simple tune with cute harmonics to lull me into submission either. I feel it sitting there straight in the middle; texture, emotions, hones ty and beauty. Wrap these qualities in voices, ney flute, strings, oud, bouzouki, hammered dulcimer, acoustic guitar, tar, djembe, dumbec, ashaka, castanets, bass guitar, drum kits, and prepare yourself to be astonished by quality. Yes, there is a thick essence of quality reeking from this music, filling every corner of my musical mind with a longing for a room with a view. What a beautiful conceptual music this is. And - hold on to your totems! - I find this a lot more honest and approachable from a h uman standing than I find ?Dead can Dance?, even though this specific piece draws most resemblance to them than anything. Here is a rare happening; the fans outperform their idols. (The true nature of their idolism is not known, but ?Dead Can Dance? is not only the music resembling Animus Mundi by far, but is also listed first on Animus Mundis list of Musical influences.) The piece is long; more than 10 minutes! There is a haunting intro, which carries the first two tidbits I have out of three;there is an ambient bass rumbling that overdrives at the beginning of the first movement of it, at exactly 0:52. Secondly, at about the same spot, the shaker is unaligned with the pling-plong rhythmic sound (I suspect the dulcimer), creating an ?out of rhythm? fee l, if only for a slight moment. The third tidbit I have is that the lyrics are often very hard to catch, and since there is so much of them, I would like to know what they were. Since I can?t make the lyrics out, and since the music doesn?t falter because of this, I won?t review their poetic importance nor their lyrical values, but only the musicalqualities.The song has a two-part haunting and ambient intro, two-part intervention with vocals, a small hammered dulcimer solo - which is outstanding in itself! ? and a three-fold ending, cut in half by a vocal bridge. The themes introduced at the beginning is reflected throughout the music, and the musical stimulant, carried over from Arabic and what I could gather Baltic influences, is blended with modern sou nds and styles to create this very wonderful ?White Lilies.? The recording is excellent, apart from my little tidbit with the overdrive. Every instrument sits very well in the mix, and I was especially impressed with the dulcimer placing, which was clea r and precise, and the gentle percussive tonations. Was that a clay pot drum I heard? Very subtle, yet powerful. The vocals, although somewhat blurry and hard-dictioned, was beautiful and warm, and gave the soul impression of importance no matter what the words were. Musically they were perfect, and reminded me a lot of Marie Brennan at times in honesty if not in warmth, although the clear pointer towards ?Dead can Dance? is ever present. I have enjoyed reviewing this music very much, and I?m looking forward to hearing more of Animus Mundi in the future. I hope they take the Stoic approach to my review, and let their musical offerings carry them further and further. There is a Mundi for everyone. " Alexander Johannesen, "Gods of Music"ˆ

Location Raleigh, NC - USA

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