Dim - Compendium III
8 track album
We're spending a couple articles in a row focusing on things pretty firmly on the edges of DS, and sometimes you have to walk the borders of a thing to know the thing better. DIM started with Compendium I back in 2017 with an album that felt like pretty pure Fief-worship - a variety of plucked folk stringed instruments, harpsichords, jaunty compositions. It had its own stamp, and that was certainly made evident by the widespread enthusiasm. Compendium II brought more delicate and sensitive orchestration into the mix alongside the prevalence of folk instruments, and the effort to innovate, rather than recreate, on the established formula helped catapault this project into a well deserved spotlight.
This third album (did I read somewhere that it was the final?) is yet again a departure - reining in the orchestral elements, and bringing in some very slight EDM elements into the production and composition. Whether it's the dancy percussion elements which fade into the opening track "Woldur" about midway through, or the gated percussion and filtered viola on "Mound Dweller", there's definitely some conceptual similarities here to the recently covered Cybard album, although the DIM release predates that album by several months. The more sparing use of these elements here makes them more impactful, and there's a genuine sense of melancholy and nostalgia throughout the composition that really adds some significant emotional range to this short album as a whole.
Take the delicate grand piano chords of "Old Skald", neatly decorated with some plucked folk strings. It's a single idea that is allowed the space to breath over 3 minutes, and it is a nice palette cleanser between two more upbeat tracks. "Mound Dweller", as with many tracks on this album, is significantly improved by the presence of live viola, attributed to Hannah Geisinger - her contributions on this album, whether sampled/processed, looped, or just given an edge through acoustic technique, add a lot of character to this music by connecting to what I hear as Swedish/Scandinavian fiddle traditions. Even played relatively straight as on the layers of "Elska", the depth of texture and timbre is a marvelous addition to the high quality sampled instruments employed here.
The pacing here is also excellent - in a relatively short album clocking in at under 26 minutes, the artist takes care to balance more rousing pieces with more contemplative pieces, offering a variety of key signatures, and centering different instruments in the mix. The aforementioned "Mound-Dweller" and the energetic "Heska" are among the most experimental pieces in terms of the dynamic mixing and clear inspiration from beyond the realm, but taken in context of the entire album, they are a natural fit in the tapestry of this short journey, conveying excitement and action without submitting to DS (or Hollywood) cliche. The short length, as with previous DIM releases, leaves me wanting more.
I'm having a hard time finding things to critique here. I know for certain the percussive and production elements on certain tracks here will be a turn-off to stiff-lipped traditionalists. I genuinely appreciate them but I find them quite stimulating - for those used to DS that is static, or looking for music an accompaniment to reading or gaming, these elements may possibly disrupt the mood. I also find moments of the final track, "Traust", to be a little too reminiscent of some of Yasunori Mitsuda's compositions for the Chrono Cross soundtrack. That influence can be heard throughout the three releases of this project, but on this quite short track it feels more like direct imitation than borrowing and repurposing an element. But that's me really actively searching for criticisms. Overall, the composition, instrumental timbre and production work in near perfect tandem to create a highly involved and engaging musical journey.