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The juxtaposition of beauty and despair, the revelation of vulnerability, honesty and mindfulness, the music of PHASENMESCH always evokes a melancholic depth. “A Prenatural Silence” takes that passion to a new level: A musical rendition of Jeff VanderMeer’s bestselling novel “Annihilation”, of which Wolfram Bange has been very fond of for years: A difficult story, a devoted musician. Support in writing and production comes from ANTOINE SAINT-MARTIN (who has already contributed to a track on the “Perpetual Transmutation” collection).

Four unnamed women with a blurry agenda examine a deserted patch of nature with a rich wildlife. That’s the setting of “Annihilation”, which meanders between dream, nightmare and hallucination and wallows in its seeming contradictions and defiance of the world we take for granted: Haunting, distracting – and considered simply stunning by many.

Of course PHASENMENSCH possesses the sonic arsenal to tackle such vivid and dark themes: His 2019 album “Haunted” had impressively portrayed a painful process of introspection, and all his albums so far have had a conceptual background and a soundtrack feel to them.
Here again, everything is in its place, every sound on spot, and the ups and downs and uncertainties of the story are captured with an uncanny ability. From the opener “A Path” there’s a constant battle of beauty and horror, with almost detached vocals by Nina Kiel. Indulge in the struggle of silence and noise, ambience and rhythm, from gentle like in “Decades of Journals” to industrial technoid like in “The Structure” which features the input of long-term companion ICD-10. Calmer sounds dominate towards the end and culminate in a celestial – albeit deceiving - tranquillity. We feel, this musical portrayal is much closer to the original story than the 2018 movie with Natalie Portman, but then, it’s everyone’s very own world.

All lines and song titles from “Annihilation” are used with kind permission of Jeff VanderMeer and 15% of all profits will go the Friends of the St.Marks National Wildlife Refuge – the place of inspiration for “Annihilation”.

Phasenmensch was founded in 2009 by self-taught musician Wolfram Bange from Düsseldorf. He originally studied literature and philosophy and is now working as a certified teacher of these subjects.
In 2013 his project was signed to the well recognized industrial label HANDS. A still ongoing and fruitful cooperation to this day.
All his albums so far have had a conceptual soundtrack feel to them.

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