The Door of Possibilities (1994)

A collaboration between Alio Die and the english group ORA (Andrew Chalk & Darren Tate). More obscure sounds on this release, special artwork inlay with leaves and seeds. It's the dance of the amoebas and fantoms, of naga-spirits of water, the subtle noise of crystals and fossils in their slow movements, and of the the sound of buds that blunt the earth or the subliminal sounds of invisible existence that live in terrestrial spheres.

(Label press)  

There is something incredibly secular about the tones of this album. A dominance of earth and water sounds, with sedate organ chords pulled away for miles along a thing silvery cord. The influence of mr. Chalk is quite evident in the choice of environmental extracts, sounds that are strong and  yet unspecific, a half-painted canvas. It makes its own  in your head, evoking the feeling of deja vu with noticably insufficient cause. One of these days i'll sleep through the night to it, with the hope that i'll wake up somewhere i recognize. I found this as a used disc and have seen it elsewhere in its shrinky wrap, so be encouragad when you seek.

Lush ambient textures and natural sounds. This CD includes one collaborative piece, two pieces by Ora alone, and four shorter Alio Die pieces. This collaboration between Alio Die and Ora (here Andrew Chalk and Darren Tate) is a beautiful shimmering synthesis of dark ambience and organic droning.

Giuseppe Verticchio / Oltre il Suono

On this album we can find 4 tracks by Alio Die, 2 tracks by Ora, and one collaboration track between the two projects. Alio Die is the project of Stefano Musso, an Italian musician who composes soft and meditative drones with a very organic character. Musso uses various instruments as well as a lot of nature recordings to create loops and drones. Ora is a project of Darren Tate, Andrew Chalk and Colin Potter, three English musicians who also use a lot of environmental recordings as the source for their music. Ora’s music tends to be a bit more Œraw’ or ‘unrefined’ than the music of Alio Die, but has a very comparable character. It is also very subtle and meditative, and uses natural sounds as a source. Because these projects have a similar approach to making music, it is very hard to tell which track belongs to which artist, this makes The door of possibilities sound as a whole instead of a collection of tracks by two individuals. Therefore, The door of possibilities is a very successful and beautiful collaboration which reminds me of older Zoviet France releases now and then. It sounds a bit more industrial than Alio Die’s other releases, and a bit more quiet than the Ora releases.

I had listened to a part of this CD before when I was recently meeting with Alio Die and I have known for a long time Ora, an English group with Darren Tate and ex-Organum Andrew Chalk. But this collaboration between primitive minds (in the positive way) come new, sure rich of the experience of the digital sound. In this artists' music, a perfect balance of tune and a rich clean of the sonorous front are indispensable: only in this way is assured at the listener the necessary concentration for plunged in the sound. Alio Die starts with an incredible deep track,characterized by tonare percussions and threathing, sure something different and far from their usual sweetness. The titles can explain... After come Ora with a long and marvelous "Approach to zero", a 20 min. ceremony full of magic rumours and roar with "Bestiole nascoste tra il muschio e le alghe": again dark percussions in far water layer, with submissive development, on an oriental melody that plunder the sleep and nevers go away. Dear Alio Die where go your music? Towards the darkness of the underworld? or towards the lands of "The door of possibilities", the track that more than others in this record can show us the way to Orion? A sing song simple and sublime, an invocation to the not revealed world, a breathe of extreme pure in an armonic structure towards the infinite. The dark come again in the track with Ora, with other 20 min. of nightmare, tin tin, Amazzonian flute, drones, voice of the spirit & sibils,with peyote in the body to destroy the frontiers of the consciousness. It's time for another invocation (Stonevoice) and then "Autumn cove", again Ora with 12 visionary min. with slow movements, a static close, from the "ritual" to "avantgarde". A great record.

Gianluigi Gasparetti / Audioview feb.1995

ALIO DIE, c'est Stefano Musso, magicien des sons, et animateur de ce fameux label italien Hic Sunt Leones. ORA, c'est Darren Tate et Andrew Chalk, ce dernier nous venant tout droit d'Organum. Que dire sinon que l'on sort litteralement envouté de cette ecoute. L'elément liquide est fortement present au fil des titres, apportant la quiétude du ressac de la mer, l'apaisement ressenti a l'ecoute du doux ecoulement d'une rivière.
Le développement des pièces est lent et organique, superposant nappes de sons naturels et de synthèses d'une maniere presque pointilliste, mais ou jamais rien n'est superflu. Un ceuvre magnifique et poetique! Cette "Porte des possibilités" vous ouvrira les portes d'un univers insoupconné, celui de la perception absolue de rèves engourdis.

Revue et Corrigeée / Patrick Vancayezeele dec. 1994