Anyone who has been into ambient music over the years has heard Baraka[H] through his work with Troum and Maeror Tri and as the head of Drone Records (and if you have not, you really owe it to yourself to check out anything by Troum or Maeror Tri). This is his first solo work, and the label describes the process thus: “Baraka[H] has created and collected through the years some tracks that were not used for Troum tracks. He went back to these tracks and completed them in 2018-2019, especially for this release. The result is ‘illuminescence,’ a collection of beautiful aerial and nostalgic guitar-based tracks, maybe a bit more droney and melodic.” This was released in two editions. First, there is the main disc, which like most taalem releases is a 3” CD that consists of 4 tracks. This is limited to 150 copies. There is also the special edition, which also includes a transparent two track 7” lathe-cut disc. This edition is limited to 50 numbered copies. I will be reviewing the latter.

We open with “ãtãmon,” which is lush drone with a staccato synth beat running through the track. There is a sense of rising and falling that makes this hypnotic and soothing. Next up is “kêtú-h (until we transform again),” which is also ethereal and peaceful. “phasis” is a shorter track that has a melancholy feel to it. Finally, we have “the pain that never goes away,” which a has a bit darker feel to it, with a simple melody that runs through it.

Now on to the lathe cut disc. The first track is “yollallia,” which has a nice complexity in the track, with a mix of minor and major tones giving it a sense of tension and intensity. This is not quite as soothing as the main disc, but still quite interesting. Flip it over and we have “dákryon,” which is one of the only ones that is clearly guitar based, and the closest to a traditional music structure. If I had to describe the feeling of this track, it would be "sentimental." The liner notes state that “these ‘songs’ are not played perfectly - I'm not a professional musician. But all I can say is that they express my deepest feelings, a yearning for something that is absolutely not ‘visible’ or tangible. I don't know what it is, but there must be something hidden in the air, in the sounds, in the sensations.”

Overall, if you are looking for something akin to Troum, you will not be disappointed. However, if you are instead looking for something a bit different from Troum, you will also be pleased. This manages to have a different feel from a lot of the Troum work that I have heard, but you can definitely tell that they come from the same lineage. Very well done. The disc weighs in at around 17 minutes and the 7” at around 11 minutes.