REVIEWS reviews...... sounds...... pictures...... words...... links...... info from Hans Stoeve, Power Spot (a weekly program on Eastside Radio (89.7) in Sydney, Australia) Visit the Power Spot website for playlists and reviews.   The Apiary - Descent (Fou.03) Another incarnation of Michael Bentley, founder of The Foundry Not quite as serene as say his release as Rhomb, reviewed some time earlier but still satisfying. The pieces on this release relate back to an installation he was involved in. Slightly moody and melancholy, Descent has a harder edge to it. Influences seem to come from people like Vidna Obmana / Steve Roach, at times Harold Budd, at times Robert Fripp. It's more melodic than Hidden Topographies, with recurring themes cropping up time and time again. Lots of bottom end synthesiser, simple flute playing, some shamanic percussion. There are references to Nordic mythology, though it doesn't strike me as particularly Nordic. Instead it comes across more as initiation music, falling somewhere between the peyote infected worlds of Castaneda and Jorge Reyes. Bentley as The Apiary touches zones of serenity from time to time, eg water garden, but I suspect this was not what he was aiming for on this release. Track 6, away, is cavernous and filled with liquid, as good as anything you will ever hear, he should explore this theme more. I like this feeling of darkness and underground existence when it's done well. It's organic and filled with life. There are recurring themes that he goes back to, themes at the edge of darkness, slow moving, spiralling, almost beatless. I think this sort of thing would work well with visuals given half a chance. Just as you nod off, the mood changes with the introduction of processed and somewhat distorted guitar. It's almost a relief when it comes for suddenly we have a sense of melody, something recognisable. It's a tense piece, if you can call it that but as i said before Bentley has some good ideas that are worth exploring. Check out the site for more info but definitely one to keep an ear out for.