Alternate Music Press - A Review by Ben Kettlewell
04/22/01

 TALES FROM THE INCANTINA
Richard Bone

     On this musical outing, Richard Bone has engrossed himself into creating huge conceptual canvases of sound. He describes his latest work as a musical depiction of a "lost world, once inhabited by spiritual people, now a forgotten mythology. It's a realm where the Gods of the ancient Toltecs were, at once, benevolent and unforgiving. These sophisticated idols demanded sacrifice and passion, prayer and submission. In return they promised a light everlasting, a night of eternal stars and a dreamtime of immeasurable wonder. "Tales from the Incantina" is a musical impression of those mystic people in quiet communion with their imperious gods."

     This collection of eleven pieces reflect what Bone is best at composing; sensous, tranquil ambiences. The opening piece, In Said Katun, is a calm imperturbable composition, with some magnificent pads, similar in texture to his recent work on the Hypnos label. It is followed by Nagualito, which creates a cathartic effect by a much more scarce, spare production similar to the way Jeff Pearce builds layers of pads and waves. A Column of Glyphs consists of a beautiful dynamic collection of evolving deep perspectives, that are less like Nagualito, and the first cut, and more like sound sculpture. Inevitable Zen features a minimal statement, which unfolds in a manner which suggests much more than it reveals.

     The Fifth Riddle features a greater degree of internal diversity than the previous numbers, yet still retaining the ambient cohesion of the collection. I found the next four songs a bit less engaging. Loop points were noticable in some places, and there was a slight distraction from the wonderful mood created by the first five compositions. Fortunately, the day is saved by the last two cuts, House of Elegant Idols, and Sanctus Sonora, which refrain back to the timbres and conceptual ideas of the first half of the album. With the tenth cut on the album, House of Elegant Idols, Bone reaches the true fulfillment of his talents as a composer in this genre. It is a triumph. The album concludes with Sanctus Sonora, where Bone makes greater use of silence within the composition as a means of fine-tuning its musical expression.

     Tales from the Incantina is a musical journey, a pilgrimage of sorts, and Bone's compositions lead us along the mysterious and mythical way.

Ben Kettlewell, Editor