Of the Swedish wave of ambient acts from the 1990s, Desiderii Marginis is one of the few still active and definitely one of the finest of those few. Far from being a typical project in the vein of Brian Eno/Lustmord, Johan Levin, the mastermind behind Desiderii Marginis, has created and developed its own unique sonic palette merging digital and analogue: melancholic electronica with electroacoustic elements and intravenous rhythms. From the early days his music met with positive reactions resulting in albums on renowned the legendary Swedish Cold Meat Industry label, and lately also on Canadian Cyclic Law.

Over the course of 20 years, Levin released 7 full-length albums, a 3-way split and a collection of rare pre-debut demos plus numerous tracks on various compilations. His latest offering entitled "Thaw" compiles the latter and adds 3 tracks from the split "Lost Signals from Unknown Horizons". On the one hand, it is simply a collection of rare tracks, but, on the other, it may serve a purpose of a "best of" album. With the  chronology unaltered, it gives you the full picture of the project and its progress. It is a history lesson of the last 20 years in sonic melancholia of Desiderii Marginis.