Of & The, by Illusion of Safety

Of & The

by Illusion of Safety

supported by

eMGee In vast catalogue of IoS productions this one really stands out.
Clearly dark ambient with experimental/field recording additives so well mastered by Dan Burke.

Each track has distinctive texture and structure and entire album doesn't blend into one droning piece.

Highly recommended. Favorite track: Lilt.

Alex Ruder / Hush Hush Records thumbnail

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more
Subscription

Subscribe now to receive all the new music Illusion of Safety creates, including this release and 42 back-catalog releases, delivered instantly to you via the Bandcamp app for iOS and Android. You’ll also get access to subscriber-only exclusives. Learn more.

Subscribe Now $4 USD/month or more
Full Digital Discography

43

releases

Get all 43 Illusion of Safety releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Pastoral, IOS40, Live @No Fun 2008, Hz, Frontal, Longform One, ORGAN CHOIR DRONE, Schmetterling Ep, and 35 more. , and , .
Excludes subscriber-only releases.

Purchasable with gift card

$100.50 USD or more (50% OFF)

1.	Puer 06:51 video	buy track
2.	Playground 16:13	buy track
3.	Erosion 07:34	buy track
4.	P.O.E. 21:28	buy track
5.	Lilt 23:04	buy track
6.	Immerse 15:52	buy track
7.	Clearing 09:24	buy track
8.	Center 13:41	buy track
9.	Holding (free) 18:17	download
10.	No Thing 06:32	buy track

about

Recorded1992-1995 by Mark Klein & Daniel Burke. Photography and album concept by Mark Klein.
Released in regular flat 2CD jewel case with foldout inlay on Soleilmoon Recordings in 1997.
© 1997 Illusion Of Safety/finitematerialcontext

AllMusic :
Chicago's long-running experimental Illusion of Safety collective, now reduced to a less-stable lineup of Dan Burke and Mark Klein, turns briefly from meticulous musique concrete construction to explore various shades of electronic drone. In the German tradition initiated by Cluster and Tangerine Dream, and kept alive by Thomas Koner and Inade, the double-disc OF & THE maneuvers within desolate fields of sound, its blurred melodies nearly accidental, with cores of introspective calm at the center of each lengthy piece.
Monochromatic but far from monotonous, such glacial and ascetic OF works as "P.O.E." are ultimately suffused with glorious rays of light during their final ascensions. The tumultuous orchestral tunings of "Lilt" stretch across eternity as they dissolve like an artful film edit into a thunderous downpour. In THE's opening "Immerse," a tide of lonely strings rises against billows of gray, churning surf. The magnificent burgundy warmth of "Center" engulfs you in a wall of living sound, while clanging ghost trains and spectral ships emerge from the ectoplasmic vortex of "Holding." The closing "No Thing" swallows all sound into a pitiless null-set void, the palpitations of an atomic heartbeat driving the metaphysical engine that digests and devours all stray traces of matter.

OF & THE industrialreviews.ru/review/4821/
Dan Burke has been experiencing creative spasms for many years, which will take all the fingers to count. The main project throughout his life was Illusion Of Safety, and although, strictly speaking, one cannot put an equal sign between them, for a long time Dan has been working under this brand completely alone, although many famous personalities have gone through the group, for example Jim O'Rourke. Over the long period of its existence, Illusion Of Safety has gone through several different phases, which undoubtedly affected its sound. It all started with an industrial guitar cacophony, but at some point came to more calm (relatively) forms, and one of the best albums in this manner is the double "Of & The". These two discs show almost ambient sound, but this is a special kind of experimental ambience that has nothing to do with the products of guys like, say, Steve Roach or Robert Rich. Often very monotonous and extremely static, it is, however, extremely exciting for fans of industrial experiences. The slowly pulsating essence of the tracks, long and extremely quiet intrigues (lulling or, on the contrary, intriguing), and almost always loss of shape and mutation into some kind of drones near the end - that's what characterizes almost all the things of this doublet. Something will sound louder (for example, Lilt), some - so quiet that even suspicions of some kind of marriage will creep in (this is about Center), but, perhaps, you won't find boring things here. By the way, now about the same type of sound is actively used by Dirk Serries under the Fear Falls Burning brand, albeit with a great emphasis on the guitar (however, it is clearly present here as well). In general, it is a very interesting work, due to the absence of any time reference, it sounds great and fresh even a dozen years after its publication.

incuswetrust Oct 12, 2013
Must agree with Hexdump, this seems to have passed under everyone's radar. One of the best albums to come out of that grey industrial/ambient/field recordings axis...one track sounds like a playground bell ringing, but at such a slowed-down pace that it becomes a menacing, breathing entity. Another begins with what sounds like an interval during a symphony with the audiences coughing looped with the sounds of the orchestra tuning up, only to escalate into a thrilling and voluminous drone which then dissipates into the sound of a thunderstorm. Nothing is as it seems with IOS. Everything is up to be intermingled; everything shape-shifts in the hands of these wizards. Bow down and worship!

hexdump Jul 19, 2006
Edited 15 years ago
What? No comment for this masterpiece yet? For me this is one most deep and intriguing ambient works ever produced. Despite me not being the biggest fan of all of Dan Burke's work this album is the great exception. The soundscapes presented are really like imaginary journeys from macro- to microcosm and back. The ingredients are organic drones, vibrating string planes and haunting field recordings with a very naturalistic touch to it. 'Immerse' is my favourite track on the album starting out with a hypnotically stretched string melody accompanied by the sound of something like breaking waves on a beach and gradually shapeshifting into the sounds of cars passing by on a wet road. Genius.
There is something about this record that is hard to describe. It's like a mix of primordial fears and strange childhood memories. Or maybe i'm just completely crazy. However, the energy contained in this album is extraordinary.

credits

released July 7, 1997

license

about

Illusion of Safety Elgin, Illinois

Since 1983, Burke and his many conspirators under the IOS banner have over the course of 40+ releases traversed most every facet of the avant sound plane, from early industrial pop deconstruction to blindingly minimal sound art to densely surreal found-sound collage, creating uneasy music that is dense and dystopian and yet also beautiful. ... more

Recommendations

discography

Pastoral

Dec 2023
IOS40

Nov 2023
Live @No Fun 2008

Aug 2023
Hz

Jun 2023

more releases...

contact / help

Contact Illusion of Safety

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Illusion of Safety recommends:

Everything is Fine Until it Isn't
by Snek Trio

razed abandon is what i love about this project, no holds barred all out frontal delivery of the feelings at hand, no filter, real freedom of expression. blistering and detailed Illusion of Safety
go to album
Radio & My Voice
by Hali Palombo

like a trip to another world somewhat opaque in nature, like a cloud surrounding your field of sound and vision, clarity is almost attainable and you float in obtuse syrupy gel Illusion of Safety
go to album
Powers & Principalities
by homogenized terrestrials

fascinating blend of who the fuck knows what! and i mean that in the best possible way. reminds a bit of one of my favorites The Hafler Trio, unknown sounds put together in a concise narrative Illusion of Safety
go to album

If you like Illusion of Safety, you may also like:

Imperial Distortion
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 17 fans who also own “Of & The”

beautiful sound landscape. beautiful textures. Daniel S
go to album
A Distant Voice Unspooling
by Knowing

supported by 17 fans who also own “Of & The”

Completely immersive sounds. Elysian Fields - KXCI 91.3 FM
go to album
A Hound's Heart
by William Ryan Fritch

featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 4, 2014
go to album

Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.

listen now

Of & The

by Illusion of Safety

Streaming + Download

$7 USD or more

Subscription

Subscribe Now $4 USD/month or more

Full Digital Discography

$100.50 USD or more (50% OFF)

about

credits

license

tags

Tags

about

discography

contact / help

Of & The

by Illusion of Safety

Digital Album Streaming + Download

Buy Digital Album $7 USD or more

Send as Gift

Subscription

Subscribe Now $4 USD/month or more

Full Digital Discography

Buy Digital Discography $100.50 USD or more (50% OFF)

Send as Gift

Share / Embed

about

credits

license

tags

Tags

about

discography

contact / help

Streaming + Download

$7 USD or more

$100.50 USD or more (50% OFF)