Review: Khan Tengri - Aeons

I've long been an admirer of The Gateless Gate who, for those not in the know, produces some utterly bewitching ambient/kosmische music (check out www.thegatelessgate.net for more info.....it'll be worth it!), so when Allister Thompson, the man behind the music, got in touch with his new project, I was intrigued & excited to say the least. The new project goes under the name Khan Tengri and the album is 'Aeons' and just reading the list of influences is enough to whet the appetite: "Hawkwind/ Gong/ Magma/ early Pink Floyd/ early Tangerine Dream/ Popol Vuh/ Jefferson Airplane/ Manuel Göttsching/ Ash Ra Tempel/ György Ligeti/ Morton Feldman/ Yat-Kha/ George Harrison/ Amon Düül II". The album professes to be a fusion of "kosmische, celestial psychedelia, and progressive rock"....and gotta say this is a pretty good description.

The album begins with a musical interpretation of H.P.Lovecraft's novella 'At The Mountains Of Madness'....'At the Mountains of Madness a) Arrival in Antarctica b) The disturbing scene at Lake’s camp c) The flight over the mountains d) In the aeon-dead Cyclopean city e) Fleeing from the horror' may have an unwieldy title, but it is an ambitious plan...to neatly encapsulate a novella in a 13 or so minute track...that successfully comes to fruition. The opening minutes have all the dread and foreboding of Lovecraft. An ominous drone with some swirling, barely audible chants mix with some skittering electronica to set up an atmosphere of impending doom. The eerie synths and drone provide a framework for some great guitarwork to build on....sounding like early Floyd and at one stage sounding exactly like a tortured scream. It builds into a kosmische soundscape, full of texture and atmosphere. What is evident is that early 70s German rock runs deep in this dude's blood, in both The Gateless Gate and Khan Tengri guises. The track culminates in some genuinely spooky wails and wooshes of synth...an epic track of kosmische horror. 'Kalpas' starts with some delicately picked guitar and the lightness of the intro is the very antithesis of the darkness of the opener. Some very zen chantlike vocals add to the gentle tranquility of the track. 'Dualistic Stomp' is a straight up psych rock number, again shades of Floyd can be heard in the guitarwork and the vocals are strong and treated to give them a echoey feel. 'The Shining Sea' has an intro that has echoes of The Cocteau Twins and the vocals, although not as pure and ethereal as Liz Fraser's, are the star, softly but firmly getting the message across. In the background is a locomotive rhythm that keeps things together without being 'in your face'. In all it is lush track...beautiful and thoughtful. 'No Beginning, No End' is another straight from the seventies; the languid psych guitar hangs in the air like gossamer and another luscious drone provides the backdrop. It is nine minutes of pure, unhurried, cosmic bliss....a beautiful track and probably my favourite from a very strong field. 'The Holocene Extinction' is an extension of 'No Beginning..' but a with more electronic bent, the opening minutes are pure Tangerine Dream. As the track evolves it becomes harsher and stronger and when the treated vocals list species that have become extinct (down to humankind no doubt) it unexpectedly brings forth feelings of anger and shame...and I'm guessing that is the intent. Any song that highlights the destruction that man has done to this great planet is going to be emotive.....in this case the music matches the emotion...it is strident and forceful and makes you listen. 'The Celestial Chorus sings “Hommage à Ligeti et Feldman” is pretty much that..an angelic chorus singing wordless vocals over sombre strings in hommage to two giants of modern classical music. It is a simple but powerful piece. 'Maitreya Has Come, and All Is Renewed' is a tribute to the future Buddha. Musically it has some lovely guitarwork that is pure early seventies psych while the vocals, main and backing, have a sixties feel. It is another song crammed with soul and emotion and it somehow leaves you feeling cleansed. 'Silurian' closes the album and is another luxurious dreamscape, a track in which to get genuinely lost. Rich swathes of synths and drone lull the listener and little electronica effects create some variety in proceedings. Another beautiful track.

'Aeons' is a lush collection of songs that have beauty, substance and a vision rooted in a Zen like calm. What Thompson has done so cleverly is take his work as The Gateless Gate; the glacial beauty and kosmische ambience, and has used it as a base for some psychedelic meanderings and musings. It works on so many levels - whether you just want to listen to it....or LISTEN to it - and the messages contained are laudable and holistic. A stunning piece of work. You can purchase it as a download for a mere $6 via the Bandcamp page here