Alio Die

Alio Die & Parallel Worlds

Circo Divino HSL 055

Circo Divino (2010)

This is the first collaboration by ambient master Alio Die with soundscape creator Parallel Worlds.
the unique sound achieved could be described as a hybrid sonic world, made out of bouncing electrons and air vibrations.
the modular machines of Parallel Worlds are merged with the acoustic instrumentation and drones of Alio Die, joined by the ethereal voice of the Polish vocalist/composer India Czajkowska, resulting in a surreal, yet down to earth, listening experience.
The compositions, being, at times, minimal and calm and, at other times, full of mystical darkness and microsound elements, take the listener into a place were mental and physical boundaries have no need to exist.
 

Circo Divino is a collaboration between Stefano Musso (Alio Die) from Italy and Bakis Sirros (Parallel Worlds) from Greece. Musso’s organic ambience melds perfectly with Sirros’ electronic experimentation, actually sounding more like the former than the latter for the most part. The music is beautifully augmented by haunting vocals on three of the six tracks by India Czajkowska, including the opener “Lost Fractales.” The vocals are particularly edgy and unsettled here, in a good way. The title track is next, with Sirros’ blips and bleeps blending quite well with the moody sonic undercurrent. This is exceptionally good, mesmerizing stuff. The entire disc has a wonderful flow to it, though each piece forms a unique, immersive listening experience. Often the music sounds like it was recorded near a stream or in a damp cave, very atmospheric and spacious, as on “Electrostatic Forest.” Circo Divino is immediately like able yet it should also hold up well on repeated listening as new nuances are discovered. Highly recommended.
electroambientspace.com/

That's what happens when two interesting and original music project colloborate together. «Circo Divino» became the first collaborative effort Alio Die and Parallel Worlds. Absorbed in my opinion, the best of both parties, this album had unique in its kind sound. Acoustic experiments of Alio Die literally melted together with the modular synthesis of Parallel Worlds, add to this the insinuating voice of India Czajkowska and at least you get a pleasant listening experience. «Circo Divino» seems to me to travel to distant lands, a bit surreal and I would say even fabulous. A mixture of ethnic ambient, technogenic landscapes and vocals give the album a fresh colorful sound. Before my eyes and float the endless landscapes of these nonexistent, but nevertheless beautiful places. Sound also has some indescribable depth, and the more you listen, the more you are drawn into this depth, more and more. And believe me to get out of this embrace of magic doesn't want to. Music is a kind of boundary condition: it is minimalist and exciting, full of mysterious darkness and light simultaneously. Such is the concept antogonistic gave, in my opinion, not only the original sound, but also the unique emotional color.

The most enjoyable for me was the fact that experimentation doesn't struggle with the melody, not suppress it, but complements. I would note the remarkable design of the artist Romani Sanchez . In my collection his artwork is one of the most beautiful works together with the artworks of Jeroen Advocaat (known for his artwork for Sending Orbs). Although I'm not a big fan of ambient-oriented music, but «Circo Divino» became one of my favourites in this genre along with such albums as «Atlas Dei» by Robert Rich, «Night Falls» by Hecq and «Solitare» of David Moufang.
arrhythmiasound.com

Before 'Shades' landed on my table last year to review, the name PARALLEL WORLDS didn't sound any bells, but the album indeed was a spectacular work and I decided to keep an eye out for Bakis Sirros's. 2010 brings a collaborative effort between Bakis Sirros of PARALLEL WORLDS and Stefan Muso aka ALIO DIE with the name 'Circo Divino'.

Everything's set in motion with 'Lost Fractales', kind of spiralling into eternity from a ground that's being filled with a liquid, surging, amorphous sonic entity, creating an ever evolving carpet of sound. Mystical vocal harmonies just as blissful acoustic notions belong to this universe. The title track follows right up, introduced by a smooth transition from the opener, and the farther you're walking into this imaginative world, the more you see its repertoire of shimmering colours, passing you like schemes that only remain present for a spell while others keep you company for as long as the song lasts. Whereas song isn't the correct word to describe the pieces! The only similarity is they've got a more or less perceptible beginning and end. 'Nuvole di Palissandro' is akin a trip through an ice cave; its glittering beauty timeless and the stunning atmospheres taking your breath away.

'Electrostatic Forest' has its name for a reason; you'll understand the moment you've reached the 1 Min mark. A million sparks crowd this place which could be the world far beneath the elevated circus tent we can see on the front cover- A living, breathing world captured in sound and with a good 5 minutes the closest thing to a normal song on the record. The journey then ends within the dense arms of 'Slide of Grace', falling a little short of delivering a proper ending for an otherwise impressive collaboration of two artists.
reflectionsofdarkness.com

Circo Divino is a collaboration between Stefano Musso (Alio Die) from Italy and Bakis Sirros (Parallel Worlds) from Greece. Musso’s organic ambience melds perfectly with Sirros’ electronic experimentation, actually sounding more like the former than the latter for the most part. The music is beautifully augmented by haunting vocals on three of the six tracks by India Czajkowska, including the opener “Lost Fractales.” The vocals are particularly edgy and unsettled here, in a good way. The title track is next, with Sirros’ blips and bleeps blending quite well with the moody sonic undercurrent. This is exceptionally good, mesmerizing stuff. The entire disc has a wonderful flow to it, though each piece forms a unique, immersive listening experience. Often the music sounds like it was recorded near a stream or in a damp cave, very atmospheric and spacious, as on “Electrostatic Forest.” Circo Divino is immediately likeable yet it should also hold up well on repeated listening as new nuances are discovered. Highly recommended.
Electroambientspace webmag (US)

This is a cooperation between Italian ambient artist Alio Die, Greek electronic music artist Parallel Worlds and some guest appearances by the spherical voice of the Pole India Czajkowska. The music is basically very much like ambient soundscapes with the use of loops, drones and waves of sound textures, plus electronic beeps and evolutions, where the ambient fundament is acoustic. The colourful rhythms in space on the first tracks remind one a bit of Steve Roach. Where Alio Die's world is slow, Parallel World's textures use faster changes adding more detail, while the fundament of soundscapes does really not change or find a way to add more depth to it except more interesting colourful details and sometimes extra ranges of tonal layers. India(=the singer)’s spherical voice improvisations add another world to it, improvised and moody.

Parallel Worlds plays Doepfer A100 modular, Serge Modular Music System, AS Integrator modular, Metalbox/CGS modular, modified Oberheim 4-Voice, modified EMS VCS3, String machines, Tape Echoes, Tone & CV generators, wave shapers and modifiers ; Alio Die plays drones and loops, Zither, Carillon, effects and treatments. Voice and effects on tracks 1, 3, 4 by India Czajkowska.
(LP version limited to 500 copies only).
psychemusic.org

Intensely personal ambient electro-acoustic soundscapes. This delightful album has a deep, mysterious beauty about it right from the first few seconds. It would appear that these two gifted artists compliment each other excellently, seamlessly blending their contributions into an intuitive flow. The highly detailed exploratory renderings of found sound, loops, drones, unusual effects and treatments of Alio Die seem to entwine the modular synthetics and analogue forms of Parallel Worlds and vice versa. There is so much intriguing detail here - from the light flickering beats that shift and morph, adorned with metallic clatter, percussive disturbances and rattling noise to the heady multi-layered atmospheres of smooth artificial tone and environmental recordings. There are dark passages of brooding strangeness where gutsy mechanical pulsing swells and ethereal electrical susurrus well up in tandem, barely discernible voices drifting within. There are places of light sonic ephemera and airy warmth where watery currents and bell-like chimes meander in exotic reverie. There are restful sections of drifting textural sound and muted rhythmic clatter. Melody is minimal, yet harmony is often present, many of the tracks establishing tranquil other-worldly meditative zones that almost have you floating.

ARTWORK           Circo Divino arrives in a richly coloured three-section digipack adorned with hand painted images. The surrealist designs feature vaulted tent structures that might be emerging from the neck of a patterned skin vessel set against red/orange skies. Mysterious figures lurk in the shadowy folds and corners of the imagery whilst pennants twist above. All information is inside: on the leftmost panel are credits, thanks and website details; on the right is a tracklist, a gear list indicating who created the various sounds; the disc sits centrally.

OVERALL            Circo Divino is the result of an interesting pairing: ambient experimentalist Alio Die (Stefano Musso) and electronic soundscaper Parallel Worlds (Bakis Sirros). The very different musical approaches of these two accomplished musicians, when combined, create a lush and unique listening experience that is quite special. Vocalist India Czajkowska from Poland adds another level of depth and beauty, her vocalisations often far away down among the musical elements. Released via Hic Sunt Leones, the six tracks here are of medium length and are available both on CD and as a limited edition of 500 vinyl copies.
electronicmusicmall.com

"On 'Circo Divino' the Greek Bakis Sirros (Parallel Worlds) and Italian Stefano Musso - who we know better then Alio Die - takes us on a journey through a clash of cultures. Whereas we know Alio Die mostly from his ethnic etherial ambient soundscapes, the two decided on incorporating those sounds with the modular synthetic sounds for which Bakis Sirros is know.

Pictures of the journey are depicted in six tracks where you travel from Greece to Italy in under an hour, or maybe it's a journey from an Arabian sunset to the factory outside town.

This one is quite hard to describe: In ethnic ambient there are just a few names which are way on top of everyone else, and Stefano Musso is one of them. And even though I hadn't heard his name before, my peers guarentee me that Bakis Sirros is an absolute master when it comes to modulair synthesis.

The album as a whole is very good, albeit in the genre of ethnic ritual ambience. For my personal taste the electronic sounds either got lost in the mix (which would be a shame) or they sound so amazingly organic that I can't tell the difference.

The grading would be 70 in the first case, 90 in the latter. For now 80 / 100 will emphasize it's class."
rating 8 out of 10.
gothtronic.com

Other available Cds by this artist:
Parallel Worlds - Obsessive Surrealism (CD, Album, Ltd)
Parallel Worlds - Shade (CD, Album, Ltd)
Alio Die | Parallel Worlds - Circo Divino (LP, Ltd)

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