Af Ursin: Aura Legato – LP
La Scie Dorée, Scie 405, Belgium 2005
Edition of 350 copies with die-cut sleeve.
Handglued labels.
Rereleased in 2012 in an edition of 80 copies with original sleeves and labels.
New DMM cut.
Run out matrix of this rerelease is SCIE 405 -92945 1A / SCIE 405 – 92945 1B
All instruments by Timo van Luijk
Recorded and mixed at Kulta Saha
June 2016 : re-release on LP and CD by Blackest Ever Black
Remastered and recut on lacquer by Noel Summerville.
Aphanes
Capsule détachée
Reviews
AF URSIN : Aura Legato
Timo van Luijk releases a new LP as Af Ursin, if I’m not mistaken his second or third. Van Luijk produces all the sounds himself on his records, which are finely woven together. He plays electronica to process sounds from a flute, voices, glass harmonium and on side two even, a drum-machine and bass guitar. Here, on this side, things are jumpy, perhaps even a bit krautrock like, which doesn’t sound unlike old HNAS records. But for the most part this record (four lengthy pieces in total) contains wonderful extended drone music, that is alike some of the UK counterparts, but Af Ursin adds a much more musical dimension to it, through a much clearer use of instruments and a likewise much clearer production. Great stuff for those who like expand beyond the ‘ordinary’ drone music. (Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly)
Af Ursin is Timo van Luijk (previously of Noise-Maker’s Fifes, currently half of In Camera with Christoph Heemann) presenting a side project which indeed has nothing to do with either of the above collaborations, as far as its sound is concerned. Coming in an LP whose cover makes me think of ancient 78 rpm records (and, at least in my copy, the continuous crackles and pops of the vinyl contribute an awful lot to this “old-time” scent) “Aura legato” trips through mysterious atmospheres seemingly filtered by a patina of rituals incantations and magic ceremonials bringing out forgotten memories – and also the translucent, whispering ghosts inhabiting them. It’s a very intriguing concoction of strange sounds made with acoustic guitar, organ, percussion and other instruments, at times comparable to Third Ear Band, Nurse With Wound and – why not? – even Mirror, if only for a few moments. Hypnotic voices and pulsating shadows create a sense of uncomfortable expectancy, announcing the arrival of a caravan of gypsy ectoplasms willing to steal your sleep for weeks to come. Apart from the annoying vinyl noises, which make me hope in a CD version onde day, this is destined to become an underground classic. (Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes)
Der NOISE-MAKER’S-FIFFES und MIRROR-Mitspieler TIMO VAN LUIJK aka AF URSIN hat auf seinem eigenen kleinen Label eine wunderschön altmodisch designte LP herausgegeben (gold-gelb-schwarzer Siebdruck, handverklebte Label-Etiketten, etc.), die vier Stücke seiner fein verwebten, grösstenteils handgespielten Drone-Muzak enthält: Pianofetzen, sanfte Gesänge, Harmonium- & Zither(?)- Sounds, leichte Bass- & Perkussion-Strukturen, schwebende Analog-Elektronik, alles sehr feinfühlig und zart arrangiert… ein echtes Schmuckstück ! (Stefan Knappe, Drone Records)
Upon hearing this disc for the first time at the house of Belgium’s finest experimental sound sculptor Timo Van Luyk, I was baffled, stunned and blown to pieces. In an attempt to gather the remains of my scattered mind after sitting through the “Aura Legato” album, I had a hard time getting a grasp on reality again. In short, it was too much beauty of delicately constructed psyched avant-garde forest dwelling acid folk. Constructed entirely without any collaborators, Timo Van Luyk sculpted a worthy successor for his previous released “Murille” album. But there where “Murille” was a more abstract listening affair, “Aura Legato” sees him graduating with honors by delicately weaving sounds together into a carpet of droney-sounds processed out of a wide acoustic instrumentation. But unlike so many artists who churn out easily conceived middle-of-the-road crappy and cheap drone-like music, Af Ursin injects it with a warm personality reminiscent to the atmospheric and even melancholic acidic music box-like excursions of days long gone, filled with hand percussive rattles, flutes, guitar insertions and completed with dream-like otherworldly layers of ecstatic ritualistic music. The condensed overall effect is one of tripping through mysterious atmospheres that are seemingly filtered by a patina of ritual incantations and magic ceremonials. In short, Af Ursin proves that his music is not conceived as a fashionable whiff within the tides of hyped-up rural European bummer road music but instead betrays a well-rooted foothold within musical history as well as a musical vision erected out of a well-aimed quest towards a sonic divinity. This is without a doubt one of the best discs you will ever hear this year. A hypnotic listening experience. Stunning high quality full color covers with die-cut, black vinyl and red/gold labels in black inner sleeves. The covers make me think of ancient 78 rpm records. Highly recommended. (Johan Wellens, Tiliqua Records)