Release data:

Geodesium – Arcturian Archives
CD, Loch Ness Productions, 2011

Mark C. Petersen, aka Deodesium, belongs to the select group of musicians such as Kevin Braheny and Jonn Serrie who composed custom-made planetarium music in the early ’80’s.

“Arcturian Archives” is Geodesium‘s 11th album to date, and contains music that was originally created in the 1980s and 1990s. It was a period of time when both the planetarium technology and musical keyboards were undergoing intense technological revolution: planetarium hardware companies were creating new ways to present content on the dome, while and in the keyboard world, new digital synthesizers were coming out.
The custom-made scores making up “Arcturian Archives” captures the musical tenor of those times along the quite revolutionary technological changes while also providing an exciting soundtrack for flights of exploration into the cosmos.

The biggest part of the cd is made up by the “Digistar Suite”, presented in two parts of 25 and 11 minutes each. Although its overall sound is a lot thinner than we are accustomed to nowadays, the melodic planetarium music is gently dynamic, shifting through various tempo sections while also containing diverse symphonic hints. A special note on the well-rendered “Movement 4”: starting out in a velvet way it soon fades into nicely sequenced parts before the listener is pulled virtually through a gravity well. The second movement of Suite 2 even introduces some digital drums. The orchestral style vaguely reminds of Synergy, but than overhauled and executed in a cosmic fashion.
In addition, the cd features three renditions of popular orchestral pieces I’m less sure about: Pachelbel’s “Kanon in D”, Resphigi’s “Pines of the Appian Way”, and Geodesiums version of Holst’s “Mars, the Bringer of War”. Despite the fact these have never been heard before, outside of the few planetarium performances for which they were commissioned, they are a bit obsolete, old-fashioned and easy-going to my ears.

The biggest part of “Arcturian Archives” though is an invitation for all who’d like to revisit those early days of imaginative space music.

Website: www.geodesium.com

You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Geodesium artist page