Weekly album: Fata Morgana - Fata Morgana

Fata Morgana - Fata Morgana

1995 / Dark ambient, Dungeon synth

1. Stargazer

2. Søk din ånd

3. A Forest Path

4. Fata Morgana

5. Distant Thunder

6. The Last Rainbow King

7. Purple Sky

Kattroll: Originally my pick for this week was the new Mortiis album 'The Great Deceiver', but after I listened to it, I wasn't so sure if I wanted others to listen to it too. It wasn't exactly utter shit, buuut yeah. Mortiis' first era albums are the ones that do it for me. I could've picked one of the first era albums, but I ended up picking a bit less known side project's album from the same man. 

The album 'Fata Morgana', done under the project with a same name and currently the only full-length album under it, is atmospheric and psychedelic enough ambient music. It's best suited for situations where you want to throw you brains out of the window and just stop thinking about anything deeper, like when you are comparable to a coma patient or playing video games. The music is simultaneously simple enough, but still offers versatile and beautiful moods, like ambient usually does. Fata Morgana isn't as gloomy material as Mortiis' first era, even though they are dated around the same time and similarities exist. 

Even though people may think I'd feel anxious while listening to this, I rather feel freed and relaxed. In order to avoid sleepiness, I recommend people to check the 7" 'Space Race / Robot City' by the same project, of which electronic robot disco sounds force you to dance!

Orostider: There are genres where releases sound almost same as the others. Some of the genres usually end up being garbage, but dungeon synth is a thoroughly average genre. This practically means that pretty much every dungeon synth album requires a certain mood or situation for it to be effective. Like when you play certain type of video games. 

'Fata Morgana' falls into the medieval-ish branch of dungeon synth. Usually there are only two branches and the other one is the gloomy, more dark ambient influenced dungeon synth. The interesting elements are the sort of clever cembalo (most likely done with synthesizer) melodies and the weirdly uplifting mood shifts. But like it is with almost every dungeon synth album, 'Fata Morgana' is probably the best suited for being background music while playing video games. It's not a bad album in any way, but like it is with the whole genre, it only offers you something deeper if you have a special bond with it. Give the album a spin and see if baroque inspired dungeon synth hits the spot. 

btcarey: Fata Morgana was my first taste of this specific flavor of dark ambient music, which I now know is called “dungeon synth” (thank you Orostider). The genre sounds exactly how it is written, ambient music that puts forth the feeling of trudging through a dim, moist hall of a dungeon, superimposed by dominating synth melodies. After listening to the album I must say I’m moderately entertained. The music is in a sense “fun”, while maintaining its dark atmosphere, which was pretty cool. “Fata Morgana” is a very easy listen and I can imagine it setting a nice background mood in some situations (isn’t that the main idea of ambient music after all?).

The music doesn’t take much concentration to appreciate. Unfortunately, I’m afraid if the listener pays too close attention to the tracks, the simplicity could leave them feeling a bit bored.

One bone I have to pick with the album is the lack of transitions. Transitions between songs are almost non-existent and even melody transitions come completely out of nowhere on some occasions. These badly executed transitions completely break the musical flow, as well as any hopes of being an above average ambient album. Fortunately, if you are just spinning this record in the background these irritants become relatively insignificant, providing a nice atmosphere for the listeners.

If you are having a board game or D&D night, check this album out.

Favorite Song: Fata Morgana

tp5170: To be honest, Fata Morgana took me by surprise, and even though the album doesn’t represent the style of ambient I usually go for, I had pretty good time with it. There is something really intriguing and relaxing in the peaceful dungeon atmosphere, and despite the album being quite melancholic in general, there are also some cheerful and just plain out strange parts to balance out the overall feel. Each of the songs also felt distinguishable and unique enough to stand out from each other. 

Probably the only complaint I have is about the transitions between songs, as it seems like little to no thought was put into those. It’s a bit disappointing considering what it does to the overall atmosphere when songs just stop like they hit a wall and after a shot silence the next song starts. I don’t know whether this is something that bothers people in general, but as a person who (at least for the time being) rather listens to full albums than individual songs I find it pretty irritating and just makes it harder to get absorbed in the music.