KEMET HIGH TECH. PART II: HISTORY ILLUSIONS

To mark the release of his 50th album under his Senmuth project, multi-instrumentalist Valery Av set off to compose and produce another two-part album cycle, the likes of which had not been seen since he came out with the 'Oracle Octave' pair a few years before. As the second part of the 'Kemet High Tech' duology, 'History Illusions' follows the first's theme, diving right into the ancient mysteries of Egyptian civilization. Based on a trip Valery took there, his surroundings intrigued and ultimately inspired him to compose this ambitious project. However, while 'Artefacts' (the first half) set a very strong precedent as one of Senmuth's best, 'History Illusions' sadly does not manage to meet my expectations. While being a fairly decent Senmuth album, this album lacks the variety and engaging vibe that made the first half of 'Kemet High Tech' so interesting.

The issue here that makes it weaker than the first is simply the lack of diversity and compositional tightness. The production values are still here to most extent, but as for the actual composition of the music, it feels as if Senmuth opted to put his best effort into the first installment of this double album project. With the exception of the most interesting and memorable track 'Denderah Hypostyle' (which is based around a jazzy bass groove), the music here falls deeply within the realm of ambient music. While the mixture of styles that was seen on 'Artefacts' is still here, there is less dynamic, and less of an intentional flow and ebb of the music.

As always, the music here is surprisingly well executed considering how complex the mixture of ethnic instrumentation and computer samples is. Although Senmuth is indeed a very talented artist, he has unfortunately repeated the mistake he made with the 'Oracle Octave' duology; a very strong first half, with a mediocre second.

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