Release data:

Michael Thomas Berkley – Images from Earth
CD, Numinous Records, 1998

To me, the 26- year old Michael Thomas Berkley who hails from Oregon, is a new name in the genre of contemporary instrumental and electronic music. It seems this debut album “Images from Earth” created quite a fuzz on the other side of the ocean when it appeared on the market.

Well, first of all this 60 minute recording sounds very diverse as it paints “a history of the planet earth through music”. Next to quite a bunch of electronica, there’s also room for intimate sounding ethno-acoustic instrumentation and percussion.

A beautiful, powerful electric violin pops up in several tracks, giving things an extra portion of emotion. The music as such alternates between ambient textural soundscapes (“Dawn”, “Suspended in the Womb”) and more prog-rock, vigorous rhythmic pieces (“Tectonics”)

The properly composed music on the album at times reminds of Peter Gabriel’s “Passion”, the output of Bob Holroyd or the works of Steve Roach.
On the other hand, the engaging piano in the intriguing closing piece “Beyond” sounds more like Brain Eno and Harold Budd.

The overall production and mix of this highly cinematic piece of work are very well done.
To me, “Images from Earth” is an extraordinary recording!