recorded between 2001-2002 - released by somnambulant corpse in 2003 - mastered at misanthrope studio by thomas garrison crionicmind.org -This 7 song CDR, comes packaged in a nice looking DVD case thanks once again to the folks at Somnambulant Corpses Recordings (now just called Somnambulant Records.) I have the Önd full length that was released previous to this and thought it was alright, but haven't found myself returning to it often. With"For Influence..." their sound seems to have matured quite a bit, and thus makes this a more memorable project and release. Ominous tonal Dark Ambient with melodic accents is the quick and dirty description of what to expect here. However, there is a nice depth and character to the tracks, that is noteworthy, and the use of melody is quiet effective as it provides a nice foothold for the listeners attention amid the crumbling textures and cavernous drift. There isn't a lot of layering in the tracks, or well defined evolution, but the subtlety and richness of the sounds used helps to keep it pretty engaging along with the melodic and sparse percussive elements. There is a nice warmth to"For Influence..." as well that makes it a slightly different kind of listen for the genre. This is a nice step forward for this project, and I'll be curious to see where Önd goes from here.industrial.org - This aptly titled disc from the umlaut sporting Önd starts off so sparse and slow that it totally fooled me into unfair complacency. After a minute or so of monontonous rhythmic chordal breathing I was lulled to the point of disinterest and ceased to even be cogniscant of the recording, going about my various activities unawares. Some time later however I finally realize that the reason I am clenching my teeth and feeling more than a little electrified is actually due to the sonics coming from the speakers in front of me and not thanks to too much green tea early in the day. This one's a sleeper for sure."For influence blooms of the subtle wing" balances itself delicately between heady ambient and a strangely contemporary-classical sort of minimalism which presents the listener with a low profile density of musical form and tone. Here wooly drones act as an aural gauze often obscuring the direction and source of each track until the listener is well swept away by the current, a little like Phillip Glass being interpreted by an orchestra of blackened cotton batting if you can imagine such a thing. The result is halfway between a most delicate Monstrare vertigo and the contextual aphasia of Italy's Andrea Marutti - all possible reference points filed off but with a constant shifting beneath the feet none the less. Initial consternation at not being able to right one's self becomes relief once the listener accepts absolution from the urge to control and categorize. Just close your eyes and let the unseen currents take you where they may. Stylistically I hear some shared elements with Chaos As Shelter as the results here are halfway between his drone and more religiously themed works with a nice mix of minimalism and form that compliments each. It's no where near as sharpened however as everything shares the sense that you could push your hand through it like so much heavy mist and the momentum that carries you here is like that of a dream - rife with intent but inexplicable in purpose. There is definitely form, distant yet close tinkles of glass charms, low end organic thronging like a repressed memory that you just can't quite pull up from your subconciousness, warm rushing air like that from an underground vent. It's highly honed using gently sloped filters and even the right angles make for a comfortable place to rest your head. It's Vromb like too in the way that repetitive phrasing will appear, each interlocking link straining to pull the next out of the mist but also include a few abrupt fall offs lest you become too familiar. One of the stranger things to me about this release is that the sporadic opening has gone from inducing"yeah, whatever" type insolence to being something I genuinely look forward to. It's so gently premeditated and composed with such stealth that I just have to lay my arms to my sides and drink it up since I know that I am going to succumb regardless. I think that Önd have managed to create a work particularly compelling here and for fans of subtle yet evocative ambient, this is definitely one to seek out. twilight-zone.it -"Önd stretches its seven magnetic geometries, cosmic propellers of varied intensity and of mysterious tones, darkambient radiations contaminated by analogical psychedelia and interstellar ambient. The author works hardly on superimpositions of low but explosive backgrounds and decadent and graceful sidereal atmospheres. Loud broadsides erupt from the nebulas of the first track, contrasted by shining pale hisses. More cavernous and burning the visions of"II","III" follows it into the abyss, but deaf martial rhythms and spectral fades slowly emerge from there. Magical and chilling is the lunar surface of"IV", essential keyboards cover ever-changing vision fields. The energy given off from Tibetan alcoves couldn't lack,"V" is intriguing, purifying, solemn, rhythmic and vibrating; a millenarian outdoor ritual. Transmissions with the unknown are resumed through the hypnotic sensors of"VI", disturbances and frequencies picked up through ceremonial ecstasies."VII" pulses and nails the senses down for all the twenty minutes, space chasm of interminable aural solicitations. Effective and shattering as Inade, long-lasting and mystical like Tangerine Dream. Impersonal forces between magical and material spheres."aversion online - Seven untitled tracks totaling just over an hour of sinister dark ambient that flirts with tactful musical melodies as well as a scarce few slightly more aggressive textures. In general it's very hypnotic (notably the distant background synth melodies in the opening track), and even the more ominous and slightly louder or noisier areas tend to be somewhat calm in a strange sense, perhaps because such moments are few and far between. The bulk of the disc consists of lots of thick hums and drones, at times becoming very quiet and minimal, but never avoiding the consistently powerful and moving feeling of the record. At times things get very ethereal and spacious as far as depth and resonance, and some of the longer pieces integrate sounds that are more natural - what sound like field recordings - along with almost tribal instrumentation/atmospheres (percussion and the like). And, don't get the wrong idea, but there are a few small, subtle areas where the musical elements sort of have a really dark 80's new wave sort of flare going on!? The structures work very well though, and the flowing nature of the compositions really carries not only the longer tracks that top eight minutes (or reach nearly 20), but the overall length of the disc as well. I love the sound quality too, which is very thick and clear, allowing the layering to be condensed but not at all obfuscated. The presentation is very nice, as with most every Somnambulant Corpse release. The disc comes in a DVD case with a full color cover that shows a skyline with a bleak eclipsed sun, and all of the information on the back is presented in tiny, clean text. Not bad at all. I actually really like this release a lot. If this is any indication of what this project is capable of, I would expect to see Önd gravitate towards greener pastures as far as audience is concerned, because while this is a superb work that should be appreciated by dark ambient fans, I could imagine some of this being a bit more accessible to more open-minded fans of other such experimental genres as well. Very nice. Immanence webzine -ÖND are a relatively new act; hailing from Massachusetts, they have released only one disc prior to this on Italy’s Inner-Gravity Records. This latest release for the ever-sublime Somnambulant Corpse Recordings sees them hone the rich, evocative ambience of their previous outlet to a finely focussed art, alleviating much of the trite percussive elements and transcending the ritualistic form. The album takes place over seven, pregnantly untitled tracks and comes packaged in Somnambulant Corpse’s trademark DVD casing. The inspiration behind “For Influence…” appears to be the seemingly endless, yet subtly spiralling cycle of the Earth. As it revolves through its various seasons, with their innate characteristics, so too does the album. From the opening, frosty tones of its initial track to the brooding, protracted drone at the album’s close, everything moves in a definite cyclic formation. So precise, too, is the mixing that the change from the opening cold rumbles to the track’s final ushering of spring, hope and renewal is practically subliminal. The main thrust of the album is driven by sublimely rendered drones; drones that appear to occupy and embody every feeling of that particular phase of the earthly cycle, seducing us into other states of mind by their hypnotic stillness. As evocative as these drones can be though, they are often further augmented by the sound of hazy, distant strings that swoop gently through the various atmospheric layers and give an added depth of emotion and expression to the music. Further depth of sound is also given by judicious use of percussion, often merely striking a single beat per bar to enforce to low swoop of a droning chord. On the fourth piece, however, the composition become altogether more musical with the addition of a floating, arpeggiated melody atop the haunting atmospherics in a beautiful evocation of Summer. It is highly reminiscent of Coil’s Red Birds Will Fly Out of the East…, as is the entire album evocative of their “Moon’s Milk” series of releases, a fact which very quickly enamoured me to ÖND’s blend of ambient electronics. As leaves begin to fall at beginning of the fifth piece, so the album shifts to its Autumnal phase. Autumn, by its liminal nature, is a very haunting season full of mystery. It is only right, then, that this penultimate phase of the album should also be its darkest and most ominous. The drones on this track sound like a great chanting of occult monks, while the subtle acoustic rhythm brings an ancient, ceremonial feel to it, reminding us of the antediluvian nature of the season and its secrets. This ill-omened atmosphere continues through the penultimate composition, growing slowly more wind-swept and dense with frequencies before the last, monolithic ode to winter and the completion of the cycle. This hollow work of dark, unending nights and slow, icy dominion finishes with a long-drawn-out drone, which in itself embodies the perfect cycle of our sphere: perpetual, yet imperceptibly evolving until its bitter climax. A languorous work of understated beauty, “For Influence Blooms of the Subtle Wing” is a highly satisfying and evocative listening experience. Darkly torpid, it nevertheless revels in its monotony and its ability to insidiously work its way into our unconscious mind; to truly instil in us its disturbing mantra of the veiled, dark beauty of the seasons and their place in our perpetual spiral into the unknown.