氛围音乐(ambient music)通常为我们展现的是一个广阔的空间,一种闪耀着光芒的史诗般的氛围,它让你宁静、放松,让你感受到大自然的安详和平和,感受到阳光下的温暖和惬意。然而有光就意味着有影,光明即意味着黑暗,美丽的风景后面必是延绵的阴影,而在这阴影的最深处,有一个声音仿佛黑色而原始的云一般冉冉升起,它就是lustmord。
如果实在要把黑暗氛围音乐(dark ambient)和某个人联系在一起的话,这个人无疑就是lustmord。其实“黑暗”这个浅显的词已经不足以形容lustmord的音乐。从早期的实验作品开始,lustmord就坚定不移地探索着人类存在和经验的最深地带。《被遗弃的天堂》、《异教》、《黑星悬浮的地方》、《异魂》这些充满诗意和宗教色彩的专辑,很容易唤起人们对黑暗与神秘的无限想象。这和lustmord所用的声音素材也有很大关系,从地窖到洞穴到屠宰场,从火山到深海……lustmord喜欢选用这些极富象征性的声音,而它们所营造出的氛围往往超出了它们所象征的范围,常能让人想到黑暗的太空,无穷的宇宙和神秘的黑洞。
当然,lustmord的这种实验难免偶尔也会陷入一种尴尬的境地。就像早期的歌特音乐一样,有时为了追求形式上的极端,对声音素材和实验技巧的过度强调,失去了音乐本身的严肃性和强度,这让他的某些作品显得很拙劣甚至可笑。最明显的例子就是他2006年的专辑《升起》,这是lustmord在著名的撒旦教“church of satan”的一次教会活动上的演出,是他极少数的现场演出录音。这张专辑里有各种恐怖的音效,但听起来就像是故意要吓唬人一样,这样反而显得娇柔做作。相比之下他的早期作品要自然和真诚的多,那才是能唤起人内心真正恐惧和神秘的音乐。它唤起了那超出人类感知范围的来自宇宙深处的黑暗,唤起了那原始的无法描述无法抑制的黑暗,这才是真正的黑暗氛围音乐所能做到的一切。
《异教》是lustmord最具代表性的早期作品,它比aphex twin最早的氛围音乐专辑还要早两年,被公认为是黑暗氛围音乐的里程碑式作品。大量的低频回旋和长音铺垫、若隐若现的工业噪音、强烈的金属撞击、动物的哀号、雷声、遥远而神秘的西藏铜号……所有这些共同营造出的氛围已经远远超过了current93“宗教的超感”而达到了一种语言难以描述的神秘境界。
在延续了《异教》风格的两张专辑《被遗弃的天堂》和《异魂》后,《黑星悬浮的地方》达到了lustmord的巅峰。这张专辑里lustmord不再运用繁复的声音素材,舍弃了很多过于“情绪化”的噱头而让音乐变得简单、纯粹,大量的重复、回旋和震荡所营造出的氛围正如专辑的名字和其曲名一样让人神游太空,他已经不再局限于人类情感的桎梏而深入到浩瀚的宇宙。《毕星团的一等星》、《暗伴天体》、《天狼星下沉》这些名字足以让你明白音乐家想要表达的东西,这样的音乐足以带你在幽暗冰冷的太空中翻腾穿梭。《黑星悬浮的地方》实际上比许多所谓的“太空音乐”更加贴近太空,从某种程度上甚至可以和holst的《行星组曲》相提并论,所不同的是lustmord更加彻底,让你感受不到人类情绪的痕迹。这张作品实际上已经达到了氛围音乐所能达到的另一个极致,它完全抛弃了人类的喜好和爱憎,它就像夜空一样冷漠而苍茫,在那里无数星体诞生灭亡,在那里一切都很纯粹,黑暗与光明,诞生与灭亡,一切都在重复、回旋和震荡,这就是永恒的宇宙。
lustmord的另一个成就是电影配乐,他在四十多部电影中担当过声音设计和作曲,包括《乌鸦》和《黑夜传说》,当然,最让人印象深刻的莫过于《潜行者》(stalker)。相信看过塔可夫斯基这部著名电影的朋友一定还对它的音乐记忆犹新吧,反正对于我来说,电影本身已经忘的差不多了,但是那凄凉幽远的笛声还犹在耳边。这是lustmord和著名的氛围音乐家robert rich合作完成的电影配乐,而robert rich的音乐通常是比较“光明”的,他们两个人的合作会产生什么样的结果呢?——结果就是一部伟大的氛围音乐作品诞生了。这张专辑几乎完美地诠释了塔可夫斯基的电影,一个未知的世界,一次象征性的寻找,苍凉、遥远、缓慢、神秘……两个极端彼此抵消,无所谓光明与黑暗,只剩下无法言传的美。
和很多氛围音乐家不同的是,与他合作最多的不是他的同行,而是一些玩摇滚的,比如melvins和tool。2004年的《罗马帝国的猪》是lustmord和melvins合作最成功的一张专辑,可以想象当沉重扭曲的sludge metal遇上冰冷低沉的dark ambient会产生什么样的结果。这是一次很成功的实验,对许多post-metal乐队来说是一个很好的启发。然而2007年lustmord和melvins的吉他手king buzzo再次合作的专辑《juggernaut》却是一个典型的失败的例子,这张专辑里lustmord照旧做他的黑暗氛围,而king buzzo一把吉他在那里即兴弹着,偶尔还唱上两句,有点不知所云,既没有营造出意境又没有什么新的东西出来,甚至可以说很无聊。
在2008年的专辑《o t h e r》里lustmord又邀来了king buzzo,tool的吉他手adam jones和isis的主创aaron turner,虽然这些金属大碗们在专辑里并没有太多的表演,只是反复弹着几个简单的riff(但是这几个riff很到位,比《juggernaut》里大段solo出来的效果要好得多)。这是一张“回归”的作品,回归到了简单纯粹的lustmord,你不会听到类似《升起》里做作的声音,有的只是无尽的永恒的黑暗。
by John Bush
While his days are spent working on sound design for Hollywood scores by Graeme Revell, sound designer Brian Williams records experimental ambience and dark space music as Lustmord. His recordings have been embraced by a variety of ambient fans, ranging from the 70s traditionalists at the Hearts of Space label to the ambient-techno experimentalists at Plug Research. Born and raised in Wales, Williams first performed as Lustmord in 1980 as a series of unannounced support slots at larger gigs, with Williams simply leaping onstage and performing until security became aware of the situation. Though understandably brief, the rock terrorism gained Williams contact with like minds in the proto-industrial scene including SPK and Throbbing Gristle. He soon began appearing with SPK on tour and in the studio, and in 1982 released a self-titled Lustmord LP, including work by Coils John Balance and Nocturnal Emissions Nigel Ayers. His second album Paradise Disowned (released by SPKs Side Effects label in 1984), featured recordings made in a variety of subterranean locales including the crypt at Chartres Cathedral, Dunster Abattoir in Bangor, Wales and on the oceanfloor. By that time, Williams had also taken over the running of Side Effects.
Though he released no additional Lustmord material during the rest of the 1980s, Williams did record (and do sound research) for albums by Current 93, Nurse with Wound, SPK, Chris & Cosey and SPK member Graeme Revells solo project The Insect Musicians. Lustmord returned in 1990 and released a pair of albums for Side Effects, The Monstrous Soul in 1992 and Place Where the Black Stars Hang in 1994. Williams moved to California in the mid-90s after being recruited by Graeme Revell to work on his sound library for the scores of feature films including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Street Fighter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Crow and Spawn, among others.
Another Williams collaboration, this with space-music pioneer Robert Rich, debuted with the 1995 release of Richs Stalker album, recorded for Hearts of Space. One year later, Williams responded to requests from the ambient-techno DJ community for Lustmord material on vinyl by releasing a single for Plug Research. The recording inspired his next project, a collaborative live album named Lustmord Vs. Metal Beast that skirted the edges of dark-ambient-techno. Purifying Fire appeared in summer 2000, but it was his critically acclaimed Metavoid that raise eyebrows. He also has several ongoing projects including Arecibo, Isolrubin BK and Terror Against Terror.