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Toronto-based composer Aidan Baker carries out a three-fold career:
soundscupting under his own name (using the electric guitar as a primary sound source), progressive-rock in the trio ARC,
doom metal under the moniker Nadja (started in 2003 as a solo project but later
transformed into a duo with bassist Leah Buckareff).
Nadja has released
Truth Becomes Death (Alien8, 2005),
Trembled (Utech, 2006),
Bodycage (Profound Lore, 2006),
Corrasion (Foreshadow, 2007),
Radiance Of Shadows (Alien8, 2007), containing three lengthy pieces,
Thaumogenesis (aRCHIVE, 2007), that contains just one 62-minute monster lungubrious piece for bass, guitar and drum-machine a` la SUNNO))),
its companion Thaumoradiance (aRCHIVE, 2008), that contains (bad) reworking of two previous pieces (one being Thaumogenesis),
the EP Guilted By The Sun (Elevation, 2007), which is also one of the best,
Touched (Alien8, 2007), a compilation of old material,
Bliss Torn From Emptiness (2008).
In these works the logic of heavy metal (the heavy riffs) is wed to the logic
of electronic soundsculpting (haunting background soundscapes).
12012291920/ 1414101 (Invada, 2007) is a collaboration with British doom-metal band Atavist.
We Have Departed The Circle Blissfully (Conspiracy, 2006, 2006) is a collaboration with Fear Falls Burning.
Unfortunately, Nadja released dozens of recordings of very mediocre material
instead of releasing just one good album.
Among his droning/ambient recordings are:
the double-CD Oneiromancer (Die Stadt, 2006), possibly his artistic peak,
Pendulum (Gears Of Sand, 2006), one of his best,
The Sea Swells A Bit (A Silent Place, 2006),
Thoughtspan (Tosom, 2007),
Exoskeleton Heart (Crucial Bliss, 2007),
Broken & Remade (Volubilis, 2007),
Figures (Volubilis, 2007),
Green & Gold (Gears Of Sand, 2007),
I Will Always And Forever Hold You In My Heart And Mind (Small Doses, 2007),
Orange (Thisquietarmy, 2007), a collaboration with Thisquietarmy, i.e. Eric Quach,
An Open Letter To Franz Kafka (Laughing Bride Media, 2007) with Beta Cloud, i.e. Carl Pace (Baker on flute, Beta Cloud on trumpet, synth and guitar),
Nagual (aRCHIVE, 2007) with Todd Merrell or Patrick Jordan,
Skin Turns To Glass (The End, 2008), a rather monotonous experience.
etc.
Again, being prolific is not a good recipe for being great.
ARC features
Aidan Baker as the guitarist of a trio with two percussionists, as documented on
The Circle Is Not Round (A Silent Place, 2006).
The 20-minute solo guitar improvisation Fragile Moments In Slow Motion (Universal Tongue, 2008) and the
Live From The Rotunda (Philadelphia, PA, February 2007) (Gears Of Sand, 2008) continued
Aidan Baker's drone-oriented program, while
Scalpel (The Kora, 2008) seemed to open a new direction with its
gentle folkish approach (the guitar sounding like a guitar and not like an
alien moan).
Magma To Ice (Fario, 2008), split with Netherworld, contains a 19-minute
Nadja piece, one of the heaviest ever.
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