Release data: GROBEK – GROBEK I DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 Grobek (a word without any meaning) is a project initiated by Jörg Erren and Christian Steffen (both know as one half of the fine German quartet EFSS). Same as on previous EFSS- occasions, they went to the Dutch coastal village Ouddorp, played analogue equipment only and relied fully on improvisation…
Release data: Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo – Meridian CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2017 Contrary to “Frontiers”, the sonic journey of Ian Boddy and Erik Wøllo third collaborative effort “Meridian” is for those preferring slower evolving, denser and atmospheric electronics expanded with lyrical e-guitar additions. The overall 58-minute cinematic ambience -spread out over 11 tracks- passes through various emotive currents, gentle melodic lines along…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Elysian Fields CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, TMB Soundworks, 2019 This recording was and is one of a few albums Thom Brennan finished but held off on releasing. The nine tracks on “Elysian Fields”, recorded mostly between 2015 and 2016, are what the composer likes to refer to as texture improvisations, meaning they were “lead” by the sound development.…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Mass Object DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 Sketching out the realm of untouched, undiscovered matter and delving into deeper layers are just a few characteristics of the ambient music of Dutch composer Matthew Florianz. “Mass Object” offers a 49-minute cinematic journey into expansive cosmic space made up by strings of ominous, dark soundscapes merged with mysterious…
Release data: Planet of the Arps CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Deserted Island Music, 2019 “Planet of the Arps”, the seventh release on Deserted Island Music, is the first ambient side-project by Dutch synthesist Remy Stroomer that evolved in various stages since he drew its first aural sketches in July 2010. Spyra was asked to join a few months later but the project was…
Release data: Mathias Grassow & Michael Brückner – Polar Vortex CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DataBloem, 2019 “Polar Vortex” -a magical ambient journey created in 2017 and 2018 leading the listener from mystical regions of the north to realms beyond- is a 75-minute ambient canvas featuring various smooth sliding atmospheres and degrees of intensity while addressing introspective spaces as it unfolds. “The North” and…
Release data: Rudolf Heimann – Die Unendlichkeit des Augenblick CD, Spheric Music, 2019 This concept album by German composer Rudolf Heimann -of which the title translates as The Infinity of the Moment- features a mixture of Berlin School-angled synth music, symphonic-ish (score) elements along a slice of progrock surfacing occasionally in the contemporary instrumental music. The 68-minute result is accessible…
Release data: Craig Padilla – Patterns of Thought (Special Remastered Edition) MC/CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 1998/2019 What I got here is a special remastered -20th anniversary- edition of Craig’s classic release from 1998 which was his last recording that came out on tape as a limited edition double cassette. Much of this music ended up being released on two cd-r’s in…
Release data: Toby Marks & Andrew Heath – Motion CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Disco Gecko Recordings, 2019 “Motion” -the first collaborative album by UK soundscape-artist Andrew Health and Toby Marks (better known as Banco de Gaia)- offers a 60-minute ambient journey of processed and transformed sounds leading into the endless unfolding and deeply meditative. The seed and theme came out of a series…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Polyphasic Music CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2019 There’s quite a bit of sleep-inducing music around in the ambient and electronic music genre, just think of Altus’ “Sleep Theory” –trilogy, James Johnson, Eno’s “Thursday Afternoon”, Robert Rich’s “Somnium” or the works of Liquid Mind. “Polyphasic Music” is a most calming and balanced 50-minute space to…
Release data: Lauge – Dawn DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Iboga Records, 2019 This is my third encounter with Henrik Laugesen’s down-tempo electronics, who decided to expand the sound of “Dawn” (that also features two collaborations with fellow Dane producer Feeding Spring, aka Morten A. Nielsen) with a hefty dose of smooth-pounding trance vibes. Slow, steady beats and deep bass lines merged with tasty…
Release data: James Johnson – Environment 2 (Music for The Working Space)(CUBE 1) CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AtmoWorks/Private Release, 2005 “Music for The Working Space” features one 60-minute track, a collage of slow evolving spheres, gentle textures and occasional piano keys along assorted environmental sounds. The latter enhance the mesmerizing, subdued, minimal impact of the created quietening ambience especially while the brief soft-soaring…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Iceland DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Polar Magnetic Records, 2018 “Iceland” marks the first album released through Boreal Taiga’s own label Polar Magnet Recordings. It continues the composer’s journey through the splendour of white out conditions and remote, frozen landscapes while exploring each area of this exciting country simultaneously. The very nicely rendered textural ambient mixed with environments…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Soundgardens CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, TMB Soundworks, 2017 “Soundgardens” was recorded between 2003 and 2005 and was intended originally to build on ideas Thom first explored on “Satori” as well as shorter tracks like “Radiant Ice” (the opening track on the album “Shimmer”). All four tracks, finally mastered in 2019 for this release, are longform, ethereal soundscape…
Release data: Australis – One of Ours CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Essential Noises, 2019 In the five years since his previous release “Adrift”, composer Oscar Aguayo (aka Australis) found he was particularly receptive to the underlying forces behind most of our acts and thoughts as humans. Some of them are emotions (love, hope, fear, anger, etc.), while others are facts (birth, life,…
Release data: Steve Roach – Bloom Ascension MC/LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2019 Coined as a resplendent expression of elegant futurism, Steve Roach’s “Bloom Ascension” features four minimalist tracks of fractal, gentle spiraling analogue sequencer-driven electronics complemented by smooth yet elevating textural spheres. Being the first release conceptualized for lp since “Desert Solitaire” (1989), the 41-minute outcome proves captivating and vibrant energetic…
Release data: Rising Galaxy – Horizons in the Dark DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cosmic Leaf Records, 2019 Now here’s an ambient recording featuring music treading similar ground as Vangelis’ “Tegos Tapes” and “El Greco” or some of Roach’s intense soundworlds. It’s a nicely rendered 41-minute soundscape journey by the Greek Nikos Betsimeas, aka “Rising Galaxy”, who has a background as composer and…
Release data: Beyond Berlin – Totem CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2019 From this album on, Dutch EM-band Beyond Berlin has become a trio seeing Oscar van den Wijngaard joining Martin Peters and Rene de Bakker on their fine sonic journeys into vintage aural landscapes. Their 60-minute “Totem” is a melodic, sequencer-driven and emotive recording lacking almost any soloing. It embraces the…
Release data: Neraterrae – The Substance of Perception CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cyclic Law, 2019 Neraterrae is a dark ambient sonic adventure by Italian composer Alessio Antoni. On “The Substance of Perception” he collaborated with some various names in the genre, delivering a highly atmospheric, in-depth aural journey incorporating dense, alienating, melancholic (the masterful “The Wicked Pulse of Conscience” and “Echoing Scars”),…
Release data: Lambert – Dimensions of Dreams CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music, 2019 Back in 1995 Lambert Ringlage released his successful third album “Dimensions of Dreams” that’s now available again as a remastered edition including one bonus track. It’s a highly accessible and positive sounding recording featuring ten contemporary melodic tracks incorporating jolly sequences and solo voices. It’s an uncomplicated affair…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – The Lower Lights LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Past inside the Present, 2019 The 10 tracks making up the 59-minute “The Lower Lights” were previously released digitally through 36’s Audio Diary on Patreon.com between April 2018 and April 2019, which has since been discontinued. For this release all music has been fully re-mixed and re-mastered from the original…
Release data: Kloob – Unpredictable Signs CD, Winter-Light, 2019 “Unpredictable Signs” is Kloob’s second album on Winter-Light and again an extensive journey into mesmerizing yet deep soundworlds and beyond. Compared to predecessor “Remarkable Events”, this sonic venture is characterized by more subtle, minimal evolving sets of meandering ambient textures, treated voice-pads and drone sculptures where darkness is imminent. Here strings of…
Release data: Johannes Schmoelling & Robert Waters – Zeit ∞? CD/DVD, Viktoriapark Records, 2019 Here’s a very nice live document I’m sure a whole bunch of EM-fans across the globe have been waiting for: the full concert (and more) Johannes Schmoelling and Robert Waters performed in November 2018 in Oirschot before a sold-out room, the same venue where Groove’s E-Day…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Another Time and Space CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, TMB Soundworks, 2019 “Another Space and Time” is a collection derived from many hours of material recorded over the last two years up to the present time. The meticulously progressing and cosmic-angled travelogue offers four extended tracks crossing through spacious atmospheric realms in vein of Rudy Adrian along slight…
Release data: Char-El – Archives I DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 I got nice memories of my first encounter with the electronic music of self-taught synthesist Charles Thaxton, aka Char-El, who sadly passed away in March 2019. After over twenty-five years experience as a composer and keyboardist/synthesist in the progrock scene he decided to pursue a sort of space-voyage pathway around 1996…
Release data: Loneward – Home DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 One of the worst fears a musician may have is to (nearly) lose music still in the works or not yet released. This is what happened to Loneward’s second release “Home” where the majority of the music was nearly lost to a severe hard drive issue (the mainboard in the…
Release data: Jos D’Almeida – Aspheres CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, caPe Recordings, 2019 “Aspheres”, a concept album dealing with a period after mass extinction, is the third release by Portugese synthesist Jos D’Almeida who’s residing in Ireland since two years. The almost 80-minute/12-track outcome links to the previous album “Aether” but evokes far more drama as it unfolds intensely before the listeners…
Release data: Thom Brennan – The Path Not Taken (Full album) CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, TMB Soundworks, 2019 Ambient aficionados may remember this release published as part of a 20-minute EP-CD series released by Amplexus back in 1994. Later on in 1997 it was included on the Projekt cd “Amplexus: Collected Works” from the 1995 Ltd Series” along with the music from…
Release data: Radiant Mind & Steve Roach – HelioSphere CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SteveRoach.com, 2019 The first intent of Radiant Mind (commited to working in anonymity with Steve Roach as his sole producer and interface to the world) for this music has been a process of meditation and healing. He truly believes that with the right tonal and frequency’s in music this can…
Release data: Jorge Reyes – El Costumbre CD, Extreme, 2018 “El Costumbre” -realised in affinity with the customs of the Huichol Indians of Mexico- is an album featuring graceful yet subtle world ambient merging smooth soundscapes by Steve Roach with various native instruments played by Jorge Reyes and Juan Carlos along some guitar work by Mick Franke. The result is…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Imaginary Conquests CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, TMB Soundworks, 2019 After a 10-year hiatus USA synthesist Thom Brennan re-enters the Em scene with three (actually four) new albums. One of them is “Imaginary Conquests” which was supposed to be a release of material recorded under that title before Brennan’s debut “Mountains”. The 71-minute velvet, pastel-coloured outcome was born and…
Release data: PERU – The Return CD, Private Release, 2018 With this album Dutch synth band PERU surfaces after approximately 25 years of absence. Their sonic odyssey now continues with Rob Papen and Ruud van Es leading the way using soft synths & assorted software technology only. “The Return” (of which initial recording sessions started in 2015) contains 10 accessible, versatile,…
Release data: Yagya – Stormur LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2019 The heart and soul of Yagya’s “Stormur” is centered round a subtle flow of delicately molded tonal progressions in minimal techno-ambient featuring some occasional dubby sidesteps. It’s a groovy affair overall having an undeniable hypnotizing, trancy effect on the listener as the 10-part/60-minute journey with great deep bass lines…
Release data: Metroland – Mind the Gap CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Alfa Matrix, 2012 Now here’s a Belgian duo leading the sound of Kraftwerk into the modern age of electronic music composing a collection of simple sounding tracks with vocoder/robotic vocals, Kraftwerkian rhythms and field recordings. The outcome -created by Passenger A and Passenger S- though appears more complex and layered at closer…
Release data: Awenson – Hope CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2019 After a hiatus of several years, French synthesist Joël Bernard (aka Awenson) returns to the scene with “Hope”, a 67-minute album of cosmic electronic music with an undeniable “French” twist combined with Berlin School characteristics. The latter applies to the sequencers accompanying the occasional solo voices, warm synth pads and brief…
Release data: Ulrich Schnauss & Jonas Munk – Passage LP/CD, Azure Vista Records, 2017 If I’m not mistaken “Passage” -which came to fruition out of a variety of musical motives and sketches by Jonas- is the second collaborative album by Ulrich Schnauss (synths and effects processing) and Danish musician Jonas Munk (guitar, synths, composition and structure). I’d say some of Jonas’…
Release data: Uwe Reckzeh – Surreal Dreams CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2018 The melodic, sequencer-driven Berlin School music with stronger ’80’s TD-characteristics found on “Virtual Minds” is prolonged on the “Surreal Dreams”. The nearly 76-minute album offers a transparent sound design where steady rhythms and beats lead the way as well as the catchy, soft soaring melodies on each of…
Release data: D’Voxx – Telegraph CD/Lp/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2019 Ian Boddy’s DiN label always had and still has a fine ear for alternative electronics and this debut release by D’Voxx – a live electronic music project by Paul Borg and Nino Auricchio- is no exception. On the 55-minute “Télégraph” the duo creates mellow, exciting sounding aural worlds and spherics of…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper – Transmitter CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2017 The nearly 60-minute “Transmitter” contains Jeffrey Koepper’s set played live at Chuck Van Zyl’s WXPN’s Star’s End Radio show in June 2016. Using vintage analogues only, the result (featuring six new tracks along one track taken from the previous album “MantraSequent”) mixes percussive-driven stuff and pure ambient excursions wherein…
Release data: Arjen Schat – 一人Hitori DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 Being an avid fan of longform and calming soundscapes I surely like to recommend “Hitori” by Dutch synthesist Arjen Schat. It’s freeform, meditative and slow morphing textural music with subtly played electric piano parts great to escape the speed of life, traveling inward and exercise some soulsearching as the…
Release data: Robert Rich – Tactile Ground CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2019 Especially the previous four albums by Robert Rich have been demanding above average, sonically as well as thematically. Divided in two parts, “Location” and “Dislocation”, the first disc of the highly introspective double album “Tactile Ground” leads its listeners into a slow evolving, beautifully rendered inner place of…
Release data: Mathias Grassow – Himavat CD/DIGITAL Download, Staalplaat, 1999 I’ve reviewed quite some (more recent) recordings by German drone-master Mathias Grassow, so here’s an older one from his back-catalogue. The cold, the dark and a distinct Tibetan feel are the intriguing ingredients making up the continuous, dense atmosphere of “Himavat”, King of the Himalayan mountains and snow. Mathias’ trusted…
Release data: Mike Griffin – Fabrications CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2008 As far as I know this album is the last solo recording by Hypnos owner, visual artist and minimalist sound sculptor Mike Griffin. This dark ambient work – the follow-up to his 1997-debut “Sudden Dark”- is actually a collage of environmental and location sounds captured with binaural microphones with results…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – C45 Dreamloops 1-2 MC/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3 Six Recordings, 2019 Here’s a new series launched by Dennis Huddleston, aka 36, focusing on loop-based tracks made especially for C45 cassette tapes containing two tunes 22:30 minutes in length. This debut plunges into quiet, morphing ambient soundscapes existing in their own sonic cocoon of time and space, an…
Release data: Pillion – Enigmas CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1980/2019 Here’s one of those pinnacle releases of the past that never saw a cd-release after it came out in 1980. On this 54-minute live-recording, Walter Rothe and Guy Drieghe-D give their best in spacy, classic Berlin School style. Those familiar with the original vinyl recording will be amazed what stunning job…
Release data: ASC – Trans-Neptunian Objects 2 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Auxiliary, 2018 I only need a few lines for this recording, the final one in the series, which sees James Clements – aka ASC- pick up the sonic trail where the previous album left us. We continue our captivating journey into deep space and far beyond, entering spacious environs where the ethereal,…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Ars Lucis CD, ad21music, 2009 After the gentle ambience of his 2008-release “BreathStream”, Max Corbacho takes us to ambient heaven with his release “Ars Lucis”. Those familiar with his work know what he’s capable of, spending lots of time in his studio sculpturing and harmonizing a continuous flow of expansive textures, which now have ended…
Release data: Etherfysh – The Sundered Sky CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 After a lengthy hiatus of 17 years, Etherfysh –aka Chris Christou- returns to the electronic music scene with “The Sundered Sky”, a 5-track release recorded partially in 2007 (backing tracks to: “Sundered Sky”, “Nightsands” and “The Dying Earth”) and the summer/early autumn of 2018. It was originally intended…
Release data: Steve Roach – Electron Birth CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2018 It’s been a while since a dynamic, energetic as well as electrifying work of electronics by Steve Roach has seen the light of day. From the start the nearly 67-minute album track (created live in concert at the Galactic Center in 2018) propels the listener onwards, merging the…
Release data: Seetyca – Trances CD, Winter-Light, 2019 Here’s one for those who dig long, continuous strings of soundscapes as expansive, inspired and deep drone worlds are on the menu on Seetyca’s “Trances”, a kind of follow-up of “Zwischenwelten”. The 60-minute organic-spiced aural space is long and continuous flow of sound a blend of electronics, wind instruments and acoustic elements immersing…
Release data: Maria Warner – Metamorphosis CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Neu Harmony, 2018 I don’t have a clue who might be the skilled musician (according the label a musician who has been on the Em-scene for almost 30 years) hiding behind the Maria Warner moniker. But so far all recordings I heard from this guy rank far above average. On “Metamorphosis”–the artists…
Release data: Patrick Kosmos – Mindscapes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1987/2019 Originally released privately around 1986/1987 on cassette, “Mindscapes” was later also included in “The Chronicles” cd-r box set. “Mindscapes” is Patrick Kosmos’ second album receiving a long-awaited release as factory-pressed cd. What we got here is a very nicely rendered, slow evolving melodic/atmospheric album with its own cosmic sound signature besides…
Release data: Kurtz Mindfields – Gate to a new Dimension (Trans Aural 3D Xperience) CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Electrik Dream, 2018/2019 Work for the music of “Gate to a new Dimension” started in 2012 with the desire to record a vast range of legendary synthesizers. For this purpose Jean-Luc Briançon (aka Kurtz Mindfields) visited and played the vintage synth collections of Oliver…
Release data: Glyn Lloyd-Jones – Mindmusic DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 1984/2013 In an interview I conducted in November 2008, this composer talked about his first steps in music, finally being able to build a bridge between the electronics side and the musical side in the early ‘80s. Using a self-built modular analogue synthesizer with 16-note sequencer built-in, a self-built polyphonic ‘string’…
Release data: Sequentia Legenda – Over There CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 Since his fine debut “Blue Dream” in 2014, French synthesist Laurent Schieber made his own personal journey through electronic music, most notably composing his own extended vision of the classic Berlin School style of the mid 70’s until the mid ‘80’s in particular. “Over There” sees a culmination…
Release data: Massergy – Fire Opal CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2019 As has been the case for all previous Massergy music, Eric Jensen performed, recorded, and mixed the complete outcome entirely outdoors without the use of any sequencers, loops, software, or plugins, applying analogue, digital, and hybrid hardware exclusively. In addition no sound edits or manipulations were made after the…
Release data: Axess – Seashore CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music, 2018 From the start Axel Stupplich’s album “Seashore” proves to be an overall mellow and relaxing soundscape affair with a soft rhythms accompanying. Sonically the biggest part of the 70-minute result balances between ambient-lounge, chill-out, Schiller’s Einlass Musik series and the calming pieces on Mind over Matter’s early albums. If the third…
Release data: Nigel (John) Stanford – Solar Echoes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 I imagine listeners who enjoyed Nigel (John) Stanford’s 1999 release “Deep Space” (like me) may have similar expectations of this double album. First of all “Solar Echoes” isn’t actually not that new as it contains various newly remastered (and re-arranged, altered versions of) tracks from that fine…
Release data: Vataff Project – Maeoma CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Virtual Worlds Records, 2012 “Maeoma” is the fourth album by Vataff Project, aka Bulgarian musician Victor Marinov, an emotionally-charged project aiming for profound feelings of ecstasy, dance and ritual from the ancient times, the present and the future. To achieve this, Vataff Project offers a unique but also quirky sounding outcome blending traditional…
Release data: Ron Boots – Once the Dust Settles CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2018 “Once the Dust Settles”, surfacing over three years after Ron’s last solo album “Standing in the rain”, is a 60-minute release containing the live-set played at Planetarium Brussels on the occasion of the Cosmic Nights 2018 festival held there. It’s a cinematic, true cosmic space journey unfolding…