Label: Sound Age Productions
Date: May 10th, 2025
I’ve been through, what I call, reviewer’s hell more times than I care to remember, but it still amazes me each time I get something out of the ordinary, hard to explain or simply out of my area of expertise. On the other hand, there are releases like “Dingir”, which are complex for a whole different reason.
Namely, Tamerlan is a musical entity which, I believe, is not meant for explaining, examining, dissecting… The band (as I understand this is the first Tamerlan album that took a whole band to record) performs music which is meant to touch you, inspire you, ignite a fire within you… In a word, make you feel it. It’s dark, to a point of ritual invoking. It summons the release of inner inhibitions. It makes your body writhe, tremble… Yeah, I embraced it with eyes closed, as I thought it should be. And it worked. It was a beautiful feeling, letting go of my immediate surrounding, washing away the mundane.
I won’t pretend to understand it completely. A lot of this record eludes me completely. “Dingir”, best I could find, is a Sumerian word (sign) for a god. Combined with the sixth song being titled “Enki” (a Sumerian deity), one can come to a conclusion that these tracks are composed as invocations of sorts, though there seems to be even more to it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make up most of it, hard as I tried, but you’re all most welcome to try yourselves.
As for the music used for these rituals, it’s fairly easy to explain it as dark folklore and be done with it. (Un)fortunately, I’m not that kind of reviewer and I’m not going down without a fight. With any type of traditional, folklore inspiration, it is of utmost importance to find its origins. So, I underwent a bit of research into the traditions of Eurasia, starting with the hint contained in the band’s moniker. Along the path of expansion of Tamerlan’s (the man, not the band) empire, you can find a plethora of musical influences, from Tatarian, Mongol, Uzbeki, Persian, Middle Eastern… Exotic, to say the least. Hints of ancient cultures from Genghis Khan’s Mongolia to “the fertile crescent”.
Tamerlan (the band this time) emulates these by using just a bit less exotic instruments. At least some of them. Even if the songs sound rich with sounds, there are not too many instruments involved. However, the trio (plus a guest female vocalist) composes the tunes in such a manner that there’s no vacant spaces in the soundscape of “Dingir”. The entirety is “coloured” as much as it is developed so that it flows throughout. At times it feels as you are being enclosed in a cocoon, which then slowly opens up to finish in a vibrant crescendo.
Entrancing and enchanting, yet ominous, Tamerlan’s performance evokes the enormity of open space through which your mind traverses on a journey of self-awareness. Step forth towards the mage. I highly recommend it!
