Reviews

The Wire:
"This is what they want" jokes the run-off groove; if more listeners
enjoyed the sound of looming B52 bombers, this might be true.
This album of illegible, deep throated drones, windswept, glistering
resonances and treated boffin-voices by Seefeel bassist Seymour
and 'Locust' Van Hoen gives some clue to Seefeel's recent sandblasted
Succour album. A more interesting, yet commercially unsustainable,
career lies before him. There's a prize offered if you can solve
the mystery of the track titles and dates. "Sir! Sir!"
...also featured in The Wire's Chill Out Zone 15 chart compiled
by Paul Thomas of Kiss FM, who plays it regularly on his late
show.

Melody Maker:
"They don't come much stranger than this; a collaboration between
Seefeel's Daren Seymour and Mark Van Hoen aka Locust. A radical
departure for both parties comprising of intense drone tracks
and Cage style minimalism. For Cabaret Voltaire fans and freaks
alike."

Incursion:
Aurobindo is Mark Van Hoen and Daren Seymour. Van Hoen is
best known for his work with Locust and Scala in addition to
his two solo releases (Last Flowers from the Darkness and
Playing with Time). Daren Seymour is better known for his
work as Seefeel (on Warp records, etc.). Involution was
released on Ash International in 1995. This project takes its
name from Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950), an Indian thinker
involved in reinterpreting the Indian spiritual heritage in the
light of his own Western education. The term "involution"
also comes from Aurobindo's writings (and most notably in his opus
The Life Divine). Just as the term "evolution" describes the
movement of a lower form to a higher form, involution refers
to the inverse process. Aurobindo thought that consciousness is
somehow already conceived in living matter before its evolutionary
emergence, and that the Divine Being is in some way immanent in
the process. He argued that Brahmin, by way of involution, manifests
itself as matter (and so this higher form becomes a lower form)
and then progressively brings about an unfolding of its powers through
evolution. It's a complex theory that is admiddedly difficult to
gloss over, and it's uncertain as to the weight of significance
this theory carries in these recordings from Van Hoen and Seymour.
The titles of the ten tracks are specific dates that move progessively
from 1877 to 1986. I'm not sure of the connection between the concept
of involution, the life of Aurobindo, and these dates, but I can
assume that they have some thematic significance. The tracks are
abstract aural structures, presenting 10 unique moods through some
heavy loop effects and dense sound layering. Some have more rhythm
than others, but most fall deep within the realm of abstraction
and thick ambience. The exception is "August 20th, 1977", in
which a scientist gives his report on some experiment having
to do with sound and vibration. The report (no more than 2 or 3
sentences long) is looped a number of times in the short track,
and each time another filter is added the voice becomes more and
more distorted. Some very intriguing results on this record which
presents a challenging collection of sound miniatures. Oddly, djs
have been using this record for mixing and creating unexpected moods
in their sets. Highly recommended. [Richard di Santo]The Empty Quarter:
"Amazing Seefeel and Locust collaboration. Highly resonant tones
wander through a repetitious void. A hugely cavenous interior
is filled with sampled bells, chains and other non-definable source
material. Even the sequenced quasi-electronic Supermind's Light
Becomes Part of the Earth is tempered with surrounding static
pulling away from any vision of standardised technoid territory.
The ten minute Battery Ending is a full, unrelenting force,
shifting pitch until...its gone...Involution is is a remarkable
recording and not only for its immense and fathomless production
quality. More please."

Phosphor (The Netherlands):
"Daren Seymour of Seefeel and Mark van Hoen of Locust combine
forces as Aurobindo, to create the 'Involution' album, a journey
into sound that summons the source of spiritual energy. Fucking
beautiful, hypnotic and spacey. At first, there is a certain coldness
hanging in the tracks, but after a couple of times listening you'll
find that Aurobindo creates fantastic sound scapes that can't
simply be labelled as ambient anymore. An absolute must!"