Release data:

James Johnson – Echoes
CD-R, Atmoworks, 2003

As Mr Johnson explains in the inlay sheet, “Echoes” is the outcome of an exploration of the process of “designed systems”: self-generated, always changing soundfields, melodies and floating textures, of which traces already could be heard on his former albums “Odyssee” and “The Butterfly Chamber”.

Well, the introspective title-track leans towards Thom Brennan (although Thom’s work gets deeper and sounds bigger to my modest opinion), but “Eastern Haze” on the other hand is more active with its nice, smooth bouncing Gamelan-like sequence.
The first part of “Mandala Wave” is reminiscent to the title-track, but its minimalistic, twinkling sounds get company of a beautiful high-tech kindred sequence.

The best piece of music of “Echoes” though is found at the end of the album: the almost 17-minute “Samadhi” is a beautiful work of drifting ambient textures with nice Asian flavours.

“Echoes” (that comes in a dvd-case) is a refined and dreamy album with slight Eno-esque details that will do nicely in quiet evening hours.

Website: www.james-johnson.net

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