i love 'dismal region,' last night i listened to it like 50 times in a row while i wrote because it has the perfect mood for my story and everything and when i listen to it i just get images and ideas and its just great. i wish i wouldve made this song ;).

Just received my copy of Frozen, and I've listened to it virtually non-stop. Gorgeously disturbing, like silk on raw nerves. Beautiful stuff. Thank you!

Hi there Joel, I have been checking out your music in the dark seeds station at mp3.com and I must say I am REALLY impressed by what you are playing I must say that I’m inspired to no end from hearing all of your sonic ethereal space music…

IkEcht - Jaap Kamminga (c) 2007
The American artist Joel Hinkle has so far mainly been an amateur musician. The internet offers very little information on him. A page on SoundClick gives some scant information suggesting he has made several albums so far (probably self-released?), has a fondness for ethnical instruments (didgeridoo, djembe etc.) and is not on any label yet. As far as I can determine, "As The Flesh Departs..." on the .net label Dark Winter is a first step in that direction.

So... what does this record offer us? Everything seems to point to dark ambient and that is largely correct. The album kicks off strongly with a five minute piece of dissonant resonation of... yes, of what exactly? An electronic organ is probably the closest to the truth. Subsequently you enter darker and especially calmer waters, inclining more towards drones as far as I'm concerned. Although it doesn't reach the level of the first track anywhere, the album does have its moments ( e.g. "Insectarium"). Not a record that grips and oppresses me (but maybe I have been blunted by too much dark music), but not a bad record either. This is an artist that can make interesting music, although the majority of the album with its drones is nothing out of the ordinary. I'm having trouble recommending this album to everyone but the dark ambient and drone lovers. Then again, it has been released under the CC-license on a .net label, so you can't go terribly wrong with it either.