They Told us it was Safe

They Told Us It Was Safe is part of the dark ambient project of composer Minko Kalsbeek.

Where his other ambient albums are part of compositions about space, time and life, this project explores a darker side. This album is about hardship, betrayal, loneliness, fighting and perseverance.

Made entirely with sounds built from the ground up by Kalsbeek himself, it is heavily inspired by the Day by Day Armageddon book-series by former US naval officer J.L. Bourne. The compositions are filmic, melancholic, atmospheric and dark. The album is completely synthesizer driven. Other inspirations included scores, films and series like The Rover (Antony Partos), Book of Eli (Atticus & Leopold Ross), Sicario (Jóhann Jóhannsson) and Chernobyl (Hildur Guðnadóttir).

All sonic material was carefully recorded, created, and processed using both hard and software. From 20-year-old tube compressors and synthesizers to brand new plugins and reverbs. The sounds are available as a sound-set for the VPS Avenger soft synth. The sound-set is called Hotel 23 – Volume I and sold exclusively at hikimori.com and triplespiralaudio.com.

The synthesizer-driven compositions are filmic, atmospheric, and dark.