REVIEWS reviews...... sounds...... pictures...... words...... links...... info Ujamaa's Ambient Experience 9/98 (e-zine) http://www.susqu.edu/students/p/prindle/ eM/Djinn The Foundry FOU01 (USA), 1997 &laqno;&laqno;&laqno; The Foundry is an artistic collective based in Berkeley, California, and eM's Djinn is the first release on their record label. eM is a project that uses sounds derived from the activity of electromagnetic radiation to create musique concrete pieces that, as the liner notes put it, have "composed themselves." Nevertheless, many of the pieces feature synthesizer work which embellishes the sometimes difficult clickings and static that make up most of the album. Djinn starts off with "Heartbeat World," a pounding, rhythmic piece with an airy synthesizer melody in the background. "Sneaker Squeak Spirit Breath" is a more ambient piece, while "Moorish Heroes of the Spanish Main" weaves electromagnetic signals and highly processed guitar into a dissonant whirlwind. The pieces which follow continue along similar lines, combining signals of various derivations with electronic instruments for alternatingly serene and disturbing combinations. "Fanfare from Another Place," also featured on the Eclectronica compilation, is one of the more disappointing results, but at only 39 seconds it does not interrupt the flow too much. "The End of a Thousand Years" features a driving, anxious synthesizer melody, while "Joining Prayers" is a layered textural piece built primarly around processed vocals. Djinn demonstrates a wide variety of ways in which these naturally occuring sounds can be utilized to create musical pieces. Definitely the most experimental project to come out of The Foundry, eM's work will be difficult for many, but there are moments of sublime beauty within the sometimes tumultuous sea of sound.