Phases is an eerie, orchestral album of restraint and grief. Built of feedback and loops, it extends from sombre // gentle strings to colossal drones that invite headbanging. It’s as intimate as a church organ breathing and, at times, not one jot less loud.

A phase is the period of play between consecutive breakdowns. Phases is a composition in four movements, two eponymous Phases wedged between an introduction and a conclusion. This symmetry is subverted // strengthened by the medium of a double-sided vinyl. A Phase is the period of play between consecutive breakdowns.

A phase implies repetition and nothing resolves repetition but change. Repetition doesn’t need your attention because it doesn’t go anywhere. Repetition doesn’t need your attention because it’s still there. Repetition is uninhibited and becomes disturbing only when it ends.

Phases is the debut album by Penumbra Vortex, a solo project of Daniel Kozlík, known from various sludge doom // hardcore punk projects (Möbius, Boiling Point, Unattended Funeral) and the electronic solo act BDY. It was influenced by and builds on the legacy of music. Phases is an uplifting record of sonic oppression and the sixth release by the romantic label Weltschmerzen.