3.5

Release data:

Alemis – The Music of Alemis Vol. 1
CD-R, Private Release, 2002

“The Music of Alemis Vol. 1” is a collection of eight soundscape miniatures by ambient musician Peter Salemi.

The first four have an emotive yet slight new-age feel, but never getting too soft. Opener “The Enchanted Brook” is a introspective track combining bubbling water sounds with low-key piano and light melody, all presented in a very relaxed manner.

Alemis handles quite his own sound, although some slight East/Asian flavours are noticeable here and here, especially in the last two tracks.
“A Lonely Melody”, followed by “Lydia’s Dream” both offer a great atmosphere of melancholy and introspection, which do fantastic when daylight starts fading away bit by bit and darkness approaches in a non-threatening manner.

This really reminds me of the rather sad but so beautiful ambient music of Paul Sauvanet (“Eleusis”, “Tristesse”) or even the drifting stuff of Numina. “Dreamland” takes you away for over six minutes and brings you in a comfortable state of mind.

Another step is taken with “Aeolus”, my personal favourite. Here, Alemis steps delicately into the exquisite world of space music which absolute intriguing sound layers taking you deep inside.

From the following track “Floating in Space” one might expect to delve into the same source, but for me it travels into much lighter regions than the former track without being distractive.

In addition, the two closing tracks are somewhat different. They show the strong influence of Asian sounds as they are combined with the soft tickles of tabla percussion.

“Vol. 1” is an album for those who like ambient music to releax and feel at ease.

Website: www.cdbaby.com/cd/alemis