3.5

Release data:

Mathias Grassow – The Lanzarote Concert
CD, NO-CD Records, 1995

The double cd “The Lanzarote Concert” is a live recording with basic–tracks from DAT, documenting Mathias’ live performance in the “Cueva de los Verdes”, Lanzarote, on October 18th, 1994.
At this event, Mathias played synthesizer and singing bowl, to which he added his own voice and environmental/nature sounds.

Since its release, the minimal album is considered a classic ambient recording worldwide, and when one experiences the sonic content it’s not difficult to understand why.
The emotionally driven album breaths the same realms and depth through all its veins as the critically acclaimed organic works of Steve Roach of the early and mid ‘90s .

Reminiscent as these albums, the lengthy textural drone music (seven tracks ranging between 11 and 27 minutes) captured on “The Lanzarote Concert” is able to grab the listener from the beginning and transport him or her to another time, place, and dimension by means of its deep emotive, ongoing themes.

This is especially felt in the two-part “Anderswelt” featured on the first disc, but the second cd raises the bar even more by means of the compelling, slow morphing minimal ambience of “Celtic Moon” or the stunning meandering movements captured on the closing track “Ham El Khior”.

All in all, over 140 minutes of well rendered, highly recommended ambient minimalism that especially works magic when listening through headphones.

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