OMORI “Embryogenesis” C28 (Amek Collective)


It’s pretty dark right now, for everybody. In Bulgaria it’s also dark, for Omori, aka Stoyan Yovchev, and Amek Collective, who are isolated from a lot of the world due to this damned COVID! Damn you, COVID! But if Embryogenesis is any indication, this whole thing is a process, a trial run, for bettering ourselves in anticipation of life on the other side. Because, folks, let’s not forget – there will be a life on the other side.

So Embryogenesis, while created before the pandemic, is perfect meditation music for people in our position. We can’t get out and do the social things we want to do, so we do the indoor thing and cogitate, letting the waves upon waves of electric sensation mentally tune us up. Yovchev’s not kidding when he breaks out “I Didn’t Realize How Fast It All Ceased to Be” or “Struggle Against Chaos,” his dark ambient ripples lapping surprised and confused internal shores. And while it’s probably unfair to keep reminding everyone that Yovchev is a youngin’ – he’s only twenty, people! – it’s remarkable that someone so young can hit emotional notes so deep. By the time “There Are Other Worlds” rumbles out of the speakers, it’s like the sky has opened up and a portal to some-wherever-the-heck else has appeared, reminding us of our utter smallness.

Perspective: a lot of us need it at this point.

So it’s time to get inside your own head, maybe a little more than you have in the past or that you’d like to admit because it’s too difficult a thing to do when the world is in utter upheaval. But if you’re gonna do it, let Omori guide you around in there – he seems to have the situation under control. (Well, as under control as he can control his own personal outlook, but you know what I mean.)

EDIT: And then there was this. Angel Simitchiev, who runs Amek, passed on the horrible news that Stoyan Yovchev took his own life in April. Here is a link to a lovely memorial by Amek artists. In the United States we have organizations such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and I encourage you to utilize this or its equivalent in your country if you need help. Keep each other on our minds, always, especially now!


--Ryan