Vir Unis - The Drift Inside (review by heavydoom)

[John Koch-Northrup]

I can't quite track down who "heavydoom" is since I can't find an "about" link on the blog - but it's a nice review of one of early Vir Unis albums, The Drift Inside - which scarily enough - is approaching it's 10th anniversary of release! Main inaccuracy in the review is it says John lives in Peoria - which isn't true. He grew up near Peoria, but has lived in Chicago for many years. I didn't realize Steve Roach actually appearing on the album, but I could be remembering wrong on that one! John will have to clarify.

Thanks to heavydoom for posting the review!


http://heavydoom.blogspot.com/2008/11/vir-unis-drift-inside.html

If you are not familiar with the aesthetics of ambient-space music, this album may seem incomprehensible to you - or put you to sleep. But if you are an ambient fan, as I am, it is a wonder. It is a luminous journey through musical inner space, led by one of the brightest stars in the Steve Roach galaxy, Peoria-Illinois-based "Vir Unis." His album Body Electric , done in collaboration with Roach, was a frenetic and wildly exciting experience full of noise and action. This solo effort is just the opposite. The Drift Inside consists of 12 electronic pieces, which proceed along at a slow, stately pace. There is no rhythm and only very minimal percussion. Each piece is a meditation on only one or two chords, with volume pulsing softer and louder, traced about by a slow kaleidoscope of electronic effects that come and go. The chords are beautifully chosen, some as tonal as Debussy, others microtonal and more dissonant. All are sunk in that ocean of reverb that is so characteristic of the school of Steve Roach. Roach himself does put in an appearance here and there, but this doesn't sound like imitation Roach. The first four pieces are especially powerful, seamlessly linked together, and the title cut, number 4, "The Drift Inside," is perhaps the best on the album.

As the title advertises, the album is meant to drift you into an inward, meditative, perhaps ecstatic mental state; it certainly works like that for me. The sensuous yet austere harmonies evoke moods of languid dreaming sunlight, or bracing interstellar darkness, or unearthly visionary landscapes. I highly recommend The Drift Inside for any astral travelling you may be planning to undertake.

[Vir Unis]

Nice review. I think I remember this one. Not sure who Heavydoom is either though. Yes, Steve actually debuts his guitar playing/electronics on one track called "Crystal Eyes". It's a minimal part, but very integral to the overall sound of the track. He also played a little bass on the track as well if I rememeber correctly. I might have been living in Peoria at the time of the review, but not sure about that one....I did live there briefly in 1998 before moving to Pekin for a couple years....I have several more reviews of The Drift Inside I can post up to this thread....

[Vir Unis]

Mike McLatchey, Expose Magazine (c) 2000

Following on the heels of The Ambient Expanse, the first solo effort by Vir Unis, after collaborations with Steve Roach and Ma Ja Le, consists entirely of ambient floats and drifts, putting aside the 'fractal grooves' of Body Electric. Naturally, the closest similarity would be with the co-producer Steve Roach, yet Vir Unis already has his unique voice, already a sure hand with subtlety and nuance. There are 12 pieces here, and as with many albums of textual nature, the divisions between tracks aren't always noticeable. At times, such as on the opener "Currents Beneath the Shine" or "Resonate and Glow", the sound is crystalline and ethereally positive, reminding me of early Michael Sterns with the music's shimmering, mandala-like patterning. At others, Vir Unis reaches the abstraction of his contribution to The Ambient Expanse, sounds of twilight grottos and other such vivid imagery. Every moment is rich with atmosphere, mystery, and vision, each piece picturesque and compelling. It's everything you would hope it to be, a debut of extraordinary quality. Waste no time purchasing this one.

[Vir Unis]

Sharee, Jungle Voodoo E-Zine (c) 2000

Ambient fans listen up ... you may not have heard of the artist or the label, but you're going to want to seek it out. Long time electronic musician, Vir Unis forges deep into aural atmospheric exploration with "The Drift Inside". There are no stand outs on this 12 tracker ... they all flow effortlessly into one another creating a cavern of synths, fx, rhythms and more. With track titles like "Leaving the Skin" and "Neuron Lights", you can get an idea of what inner aural journey you can take with this CD! Outstanding.

[Vir Unis]

Bert Strolenberg, Klem Magazine (c) 2000

This is the 2nd release of the new Minneapolis-based ambient soundscape label Greenhouse, and Ii'm sure this one will have some consequences, as this one comes from John Strate-Hootman alias Vir Unis. Since his fantastic collaborative projects with Steve Roach & Ma Ja Le, he has become someone to expect a lot from. With this 1st full-length solo-excursion Vir Unis has succeeded in producing a musical inward journey that wins on all points. As the title already suggests, The Drift Inside offers a great collection of 70 minutes + spacious but also dense ambient soundworlds that have been carefully spatial enhanced by friend & soundmagician Steve Roach. Vir Unis' shimmering, almost dwelling ambient textures have the ability to capture the listeners in an almost gracious way, I even think it perfect evening & night-music. Vir Unis has done very well with this release, this is a must-have for every ambient-addictive.
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Phil Derby, SMD Magazine (c) 2000

The ambient music I like best is the kind that just floats by, washing over you as it moves along effortlessly. 'The Drift Inside' is so effortless, so smooth, that it seem to pass by in an instant, or to last forever, I'm not sure which. Not too dark, but with deep, rich sounds and brilliant bright high end tones, this is first-rate ambience.

Unlike much ambient music which prefers to develop very slowly, none of the track lengths on 'The Drift Inside' approach double digits. The 12 tracks flow seamlessly together as a single piece of music, but within each track there is a unique character to the long, streaming sound that both binds it to the whole and sets it apart on its own. I found as I was listening that, although transitions between tracks were very smooth, I was always able to identify when it had moved to the next piece. Each track seems to run a perfect course, exploring feathery light sonic realms, with deliciously rich textures. Steve Roach helped produce the CD, which was put together in his Timeroom studio and mastered by Roger King. Roach also contributes sounds to two of the tracks, though even the tracks he wasn't directly involved in seem to have his musical tendencies.

The music is nearly devoid of any rhythm, although some of the textures, like some subtle crinkling noises in 'Leaving the Skin,' lend themselves to a slight feeling of something solid. But for the most part, the sounds just hang beautifully in the mist, often with metallic brightness meeting deeper, lower tones that don't quite approach darkness, merely hinting at it instead. 'Zero Ground' delves a little deeper into the darkness than some, with traces of the style Roach employs on his disc 'The Magnificent Void.' Titles appropriately convey the feelings evoked, such as 'Resonate and Glow.' 'Crystal Eyes' is velvet smooth, with Roach's soft guitar contributions sounding much like Jeff Pearce's ambient music.
I have reviewed many ambient CDs, and though I have only played 'The Drift Inside' a few times, I would have to say that, without question, it ranks as one of the finest ambient releases I have ever heard. If you like formless shifting ambience, you are virtually assured of a thoroughly rewarding listening experience.

Bill Binkleman, Wind and Wire (c) 2000

Those people who are always bemoaning the lack of "classic" space music in the vein of Jonn Serrie's And The Stars Go With You finally have no reason to complain. Vir Unis' The Drift Inside is as perfect an example of warm drifting space music as has been produced in years. While definitely on the warmer side of ambient, there is a complexity to this disc that is more than simple synth washes. For example, the calm beauty of "Crystal Eyes" fades into the liquid burbling of "In the Wake of a Passing Thought" with its minor-key shadings and vague rumblings. However, starting the album off in the glow of "Currents beneath the Shine," Vir Unis steers the recording more in the direction of either a positive or, at the least, a neutral emotional impact. "Currents..." features billowy layers of iridescent synths gently undulating with a single lead line melody lazily traipsing through its velvet darkness. The synths rise and fall in waves of ambient bliss and I absolutely defy anyone to compare this to a cut from Serrie's And the Stars... and tell me it's not every bit as heavenly.
Although there are twelve tracks on the album, much like the floating ambient/space works from Steve Roach (who co-produced this CD and contributed guitar loops to two songs) The Drift Inside is really one long slowly evolving piece of music. "Hidden Streams" brings a soft warmth to the previous opening cut's spaciness. On the next song, "Leaving the Skin," the album shoots back out into the blackness of space with long soaring synth washes launching the listener into the far flung reaches of solitude and quiet. The title track introduces subtle background effects amongst the patient waves of synthesizers that adds an uncharacteristic depth to the mix. It's a very well done cut!
Toward the end of the CD, songs take on a slightly darker feel. Shadows grow longer, odd synthetic noises echo and bounce off distant walls and there is a vague disquieting air to things. Yet, despite the evolution into more menacing territory, Vir Unis (does one address him as Vir?) keeps one foot planted firmly in a melodic sensibility that, while not even remotely neo-romantic, is also not the least bit dissonant or avant-garde. By album's end, the music has become almost formless yet still retaining a friendly glow, like a distant star nebula or the faraway lights of a lunar city on some moon orbiting a planet in the Andromedan galaxy.
By now, you probably have inferred that I think this is superb outer space music. But there is more to it than even that. Is this warm dark ambient? Soft yet cold? Maybe it's just the work of one of the next generation of great space musicians. Whatever you want to call it, I call it a must have for fans of the genre. Saddle up, all you space cowboys, there is a new galactic sheriff in town.

Chuck van Zyl, Star's End Radio Program (c) 2000

Vir Unis, Latin for "one man", is the name synthesist John Strate-Hootman has chosen represent him as a musician. Odd then that Strate is probably most well known for his rhythmic collaborations with the duo of Ma Ja Le as well as with Steve Roach, until now that is. The "one man" has finally released his first full-length solo album, "The Drift Inside". As the title implies the music is aimed toward the space within the listener. With "The Drift Inside", Vir Unis demonstrates his talent in his chosen artistic system: the Soundworld Expedition. The CD is as spacey as the night is long. Thick with atmosphere, "The Drift Inside" is best experienced nocturnally, immersed in night. The new album invites contemplation and introspection, creating a sonic environment that is comfortable and transportive. "Drift" progresses in a nearly imperceptable linear fashion, the listener only faintly aware of being led.

[Seren]

This has been a long time favourite album of mine (I should get back into playing it more) and I used to put it on repeat play, low volume and drift in and out of sleep with it all night. Highly recommended