I once knew someone who was firmly of the belief that people shouldn’t be wearing earphones and listening to music when walking on the street. He used to get rather upset about it. “People need to be alert at all times!”, he would rant, “Not making full uses of their senses when in the urban environment is a dereliction of their duty as a human! I could sneak up on them without them being aware!”. My more laissez-faire approach to portable music devices confounded him, and he moved to Japan (I don’t think I caused this, but you never know). I’m pretty sure he is a ninja now, the super-aware super-stealthy bastard.

Listening to this new album from Ahasverus (aka Swede Henrik Summanen) on earphones had a strange effect on me. In fact I felt super-aware, like I was perceiving the most minute sounds. I felt like a whale on legs. I could hear caterpillars munching on leaves in the trees. I could hear the heartbeats of those passing me in the streets, and even those sneaking up behind me with nefarious purpose in mind. I could hear moisture coalescing into thunder clouds. I could hear tectonic plates shifting under my feet. Foundation is reminiscent of the brilliant Elegi album on Miasmah last year; previously-repressed traces of string-based melody mingle with best-unidentified found sounds to increasingly discomfiting effect. I’m new to the work of Ahasverus, but this record marks him out as worth following (a few paces behind, just beyond his field of vision).

You can listen to a couple of tracks (”Insomnia” and “Oneirodynia“) and buy a copy directly from Ahasverus. Limited to 100 copies.