Release data: Ambient Joy – Always hold the Light CD, Groove Unlimited, 2017 I can’t deny Ambient Joy’s debut album, a collaboration of German artists Dagmar Hoffman (aka Klaus Hoffman-Hoock’s ex-wife Dagi Daydream) and Harald Nies, appears a different and unusual release on Groove Unlimited. ”Always hold the Light“ features 56-minutes of ambient rock music with lyrics, moodscapes and a…
Release data: Johan Tronestam – Space Collection CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, TeamQuasar, 2017 “Space Collection” (mastered by Johan –Venja- Geens) features 10 accessible tracks of gentle pulsating sequences and lush melodic music with a strong cosmic vibe. Stylistically, quite some pieces carry hints of the solid work of Pyramid Peak along some of Rolf Trostel’s early music, while “A Ninth Member” reveals…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Echoes in the Vacuum CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2017 With “Echoes in the Vacuum”, Alpha Wave Movement’s music takes a turn offering seven shorter compositions of cyclic-rhythmic, melodic, lighter-flavored and accessible electronic mood music. Not only does a dance beat fly by on opener “Herzschlag des Universums”, the album’s overall sphere is mellower…
Release data: Sigma – Worlds within Worlds DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 Welcome to another Sigma-recording of ambient electronics with a stark edge for which only self-built electronic instruments were applied. On “Worlds within Worlds” it involves a Moog Prodigy synthesizer clone, TTSH-2600 synthesizer (a clone of the famous ARP 2600) and the Electronic Music Box (EMB), which is not…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Further Rooms DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2016 What I got here is a hidden album offered initially to every customer who bought a vinyl copy of 36’s “The Infinity Room” which contained an URL plus password etched in to the runout. The 26-minute “Further Rooms” offers another six fine crafted ambient tracks (“Room…
Release data: Simon Lomax – A Strange Light CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Council of Nine, 2017 Simon’s intention for “A Strange Light” was a sonic exploration of the different forms and meanings of light. Well, the album’s eight compositions are vaporous, ethereal and freeform ambient drifts featuring strong emotive (under)currents and occasional senses of yearning. This is expressed most generously through the…
Release data: Red Planet Orchestra – DNA DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Path of Action Productions, 2017 According the liner notes “DNA” features the full score soundtrack for a previously unreleased horror thriller that has been much sought after by collectors in the past, also including music composed for the film but not included in the final cut. This time around the output…
Release data: Colin Rayment – Architects of Orion CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Syngate Records, 2017 The inspiration behind “Architects of Orion” came from time Colin Rayment spent stargazing deep in the British countryside of Lincolnshire, a rural area with little light pollution and amazingly clear night skies. It’s situated very close to where astronomer Isaac Newton was born and grew up. After…
Release data: Akikaze – Solstice CD, Spheric Music, 2017 With Pepijn Courant’s “Solstice” (composed on the occasion of E-Live 2015 festival), German label Spheric Music has added an album fitting their catalogue. The release offers nearly 80 minutes of fresh sounding, sequencer-spiced and melodic instrumental music with additional percussion and very tasteful acoustic guitar at places. “Jacob’s Ladders” makes a…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Black Soma CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3Six Recordings, 2017 A strong sense of the eternal, vast open spaces along a profound emotive current of longing and melancholy are found at the heart of Dennis Huddleston’s velvet ambient project “Black Soma”. The eight tracks set out on a lush, gentle-melodic drift of ethereal, cosmic-infused and minimal-oriented textures calming…
Release data: Remy – The Return of Planet X CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Deserted Island Music, 2017 The outcome heard on “The Return of Planet X” was staged live in concert at a one-off event organised by Remy Stroomer and Ron Boots in May 2012 in the Grote of St.Bavokerk in Haarlem. “Part 2 –Movement VI” also included here was already released…
Release data: Bridge to Imla – The Radiant Sea CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Winter-Light Records, 2017 Bridge to Imla is a project by the German duo Michael Brückner and Hans-Dieter Schmidt who started collaborating occasionally since 2012. At first glance exploration and discovery seem central themes throughout the deep ambient trip making up “The Radiant Sea”. The origins of the latter hail…
Release data: Gert Emmens – Stories from Floating Worlds Vol. 1: The Turbulent Years CD, Groove Unlimited, 2017 Already having a successful back catalogue of solo and collaborative releases, accomplished synthesist Gert Emmens hereby brings us the first chapter of the 2-volume sonic narrative “Stories from Floating Worlds”. During the creative process of shaping the four lengthy tracks, Gert applied…
Release data: Beyond Berlin – Fine Tunes CD, Groove Unlimited, 2017 “Fine Tunes” is the first factory-pressed release of Martin Peters and Rene de Bakker (aka Beyond Berlin) based on musical sketches mapped out during a jam session in November 2016. Both synthesists love vintage Berlin School music, a style also executed with a crisp sound on this almost 73-minute…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Source of Present CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silentsun, 2017 Being a long time ambient fan myself I’ve reviewed quite a bit of music fitting the bill to slow down the mind and detach from busy modern life, offering a doorway to tranquil spheres for contemplation and introspection. The sphere paintings created by Spanish composer Max Corbacho in…
Release data: ASC – Trans-Neptunian Objects DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Auxiliary, 2017 “Trans-Neptunian Objects”, refering to dwarf planets and asteroids that lay beyond the planet Neptune, is a 73-minute ambient recording of smooth resonating deep space explorations. Sonically it extends on the world of expansive, gentle drifting cosmic waves that made up ASC’s previous album “No Stars without Darkness” though floating off…
Release data: Phobos – Approaching Dark Space CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 Those familiar with Phobos well-crafted dark ambient will find out David Thompson stepped a bit further into the darker side on “Approaching Dark Space”. Simultaneously (and contrary to his previous albums) this voyage into the far reaches of outer space and beyond implements a slice of melody creeping…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Lost & Found CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, ad 21 Music, 2017 “Lost & Found”, a 5-track/36-minute release with neo-classical piano music, throws new light on some past gems that were buried and lost in other collections but rediscovered in recent times. The whole process has been done in such a way as to inspire the idea of…
Release data: MoonSatellite – Dark Summer CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 It may just be me but I can’t say the gloomy, dark mood shown on the album’s cover matches with the accessible outcome of MoonSatellite’s 64-minute “Dark Summer” , described by the composer as a transitory album between “‘Sessions’” and his future works. The release contains eight variations still…
Release data: Altus – Winter Embrace (15th Anniversary edition) CD, Private Release, 2017 What I got here is the first factory-pressed cd from Canadian sound artist Mike Carss, aka Altus. It’s the definitive 62-minute version of the orchestral-electronic release originally composed in 2002 which influenced future Altus albums such as “Black Trees Among Amber Skies” (2010) and “The Sidereal Cycle…
Release data: Vanderson – Beyond Time Structure CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2017 Vanderson’s previous album “Vandisphere” sounded quite disappointing to my ears so it is good composer Maciej Wierzchowski is back with the consistent “Beyond Time Structure”. The latter contains a 64-minute mix of exciting, fresh, spacious and driving contemporary electronics moving and shifting easily between Schiller, Jarre, label-owner Moonbooter,…
Release data: Arc – Fleet CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2017 “Fleet” is another powerhouse live recording from Mark Shreeve & Ian Boddy featuring their set played at the E-Scape festival in May 2017 for an enthusiast audience. On their 7th concert recording the duo has pulled up their sleeves giving way to a large array of rich harmonic themes in their…
Release data: Seetyca – Winterlicht CD, Winter-Light, 2017 Slow morphing, cold and profound ambient is on the menu on Seetyca’s concept album “Winterlicht” (a 79-minute effort conceived, played and recorded over three summers between 2014 – 2016) coming up as a continuous odyssey unfolding into a vast white expanse. Helped by an excellent mixing and mastering job as well as…
Release data: Arcane – Live @ E-Day 2017 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2017 There’s actually not much to tell about this fine release containing Paul Lawler’s 67-minute live set played at E-Day 2017 festival. At the occasion Lawler performed solid while presenting a cross-section of his music from his back catalogue which bears resemblances of TD’s melodic (begin of the)…
Release data: Sequentia Legenda – Ethereal CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 Laurent Schieber is one of the purveyors of classic Berlin School music (most notably late ‘70’s Schulze but without any soloing) executed through long, slow evolving and building tracks. He has a keen eye and ear combining sequencer patterns & rhythms to a mesmerizing minimalist whole. This, combined with…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – D.MO Vol. 4 Harmonic Decadence CD, Spheric Music, 2017 Some long-time and avid Em-fans may remember German synthesist Robert Schroeder once contributed a track called “Harmonic Decadence” to Inkey$ No. 2 cassette (1983). The track is actually just a part of a larger sonic canvas composed in 1979 -for which Robert only used his self-built…
Release data: Michael Neil – Return to the Greenlands DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 It was Michael’s old friend and music colleague Clive Littlewood of Electronical Dreams fame who suggested a kind of commemorative release (“a revisit” in his words) of new material to mark the 30th anniversary of Mr Neil’s classic “Goodbye to the Greenlands”. The core inspiration of…
Release data: Mathias Grassow – Divinations CD, Gterma, 2017 “Divinations”, an almost 80-minute recording featuring five haunting ambient tracks, is a new chapter in Mathias Grassow’s Alchemy Suite inspired by man’s quest for higher knowledge and his taking to mysticism and obscure practices to find it. It’s a minimal, morphing yet spacious soundscape fitting very well to the fall and…
Release data: M. Persson – Sounds: A New Time DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 Here’s another batch of smooth ambient and cinematic soundscapes from the Swedish west-coast by Mats Persson continuing where his previous music left us. It’s still an overall floating affair where strings of ethereal textures come and go in waves, breathing hope, introspection and calmness through the…
Release data: Ran Kirlian – Continuum DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2012 Ambient space aficionados who love to travel into deeper zone worlds may find Ran Kirlian’s “Continuum” an interesting choice. Created from music composed between 2005 and 2010, the album contains eight tracks of freeform, organic-infused, vast and rather intense soundscapes blending both darker-shaded undercurrents and ethereal realms into a…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Arte Magnetica DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SilentSun , 2017 Extreme weather conditions have been a source of inspiration through the years for various ambient composers, just think of Robert Rich (“Calling down the Sky”) or Steve Roach (“Slow Heat”, “Storm Warning”). With “Arte Magnetica” Spanish sound sculptor Max Corbacho delivers his contribution to the subject painting an…
Release data: Deepspace – The Barometric Sea CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2007 “The Barometric Sea”, the debut ambient release by Australian musician Mirko Ruckels, was initially offered for free on lunarflower.us because the composer wanted to show some support to that label. According the composer the album features score music putting the listener in a deserted spaceship after a cataclysmic…
Release data: ASC – No Stars without Darkness CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silent Season , 2016 This is a fine recording working well when the weather starts growing colder and in wintertime. With “No Stars without Darkness” listeners enter a far-off world of floating ambient spaces drenched in sorrow, soberness, beauty and dreaminess. Despair, hope and loneliness shimmer evidently through the leaves…
Release data: Howard Givens & Craig Padilla – Being of Light CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 With this follow-up to “Life Flows Water”, accomplished composers Howard Givens and Craig Padilla emphasize a visceral and enveloping experience, conceptually envisioning the outcome as a topology of energy where the individual is a single point of light, solitary and self-aware, yet melded…
Release data: Chuck Van Zyl – Recitals CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synkronos Music, 2016 What I got here is a 140-minute double album featuring sequencer-driven electronic music (extracted from five May 2016 performances) tapping in the pool of German vintage electronics bridged with an own signature. Imagine two 70+ minute highly improvised sonic journeys extending the trajectory of van Zyl’s “MemorySpace” (2010),…
Release data: [‘ramp] Synchronize or Die CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Doombient, 2017 “Synchronize or Die” (celebrating 20 years of unsolicited noise) is the result of a five year sabbatical after the release of “Astral Disaster”. It reveals a much mellower, less stark sounding pack of tracks featuring complex sequencer work along an assortment of multi-layered rhythmical patterns. Stephen Parsick elaborated on the…
Release data: Jim Ottaway – Deep Space Blue CD, Private Release, 2017 “As far as I’m familiar with his catalogue, “Deep Space Music” is the first true cosmic release with lots of freeform soundscapes from Australian synthesist Jim Ottaway. Opener “Astral Voices” takes off with smooth ethereal textures, the following tracks propelling the listener into weightless expanse and toward the…
Release data: Zanov – Moebius 256301 (40th Anniversary edition) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1977/2017 Zanov, strongly influenced by his own scientific background, always attempted to connect some scientific concepts such as chaos theory, fractals and complexity theory with his music. Its influence appeared in 1977 while experimenting with some three counts patterns sequencers that changed almost unnoticed to four counts…
Release data: Steve Roach – Nostalgia for the Future CD/MC/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Edtions , 2017 “Nostalgia For the Future”, the companion release to “Long Thoughts”, is a calming reverie for the slow lane featuring a deep ambient flow of six interconnected soundworld immersions evoking an echo in time and place. Darker shades are absent in this drifting tapestry of velvet,…
Release data: Pyramid Peak – Roots CD, Manikin Records, 2017 “Roots” is a commemorative release celebrating the 30th anniversary of this successful German band who states the outcome is the essence of all previous albums. At the same time it reflects on a lengthy period of friendship between the members, their ongoing passion for electronic music and the evolution of…
Release data: Walter Christian Rothe – Alice (30th Anniversary edition) CD, Groove Unlimited, 1987/2017 In a way “Alice” could be considered a kind of forgotten work of Belgian synthesist Walter Christian Rothe. Initially released on vinyl in 1987 as a concept album it was followed by a cd release in 1997 on the IC label as “The Story of Alice”.…
Release data: RON BOOTS Derby! CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 During his decades-long career Steve Roach has composed lots of longform ambient for looped infinite low volume playback mode to wander off gently and disappear in. The completely freeform environment “Long Thoughts” is presented as a vital sanctuary of deep resonance and reflection to us humans as a constant deluge of overstimulation…
Release data: Chronotope Project – Ovum CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music , 2017 Chronotope Project’s seventh album “Ovum” had a long gestation period with seeds slowly starting to grow at the beginning of 2013. The process of (re)shaping, revising and refocusing the outcome turned out satisfactory, as the composer succeeded in balancing many personal and impersonal elements, bringing his emotional…
Release data: Chuck van Zyl – Rituals CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synkronos Music, 2014 Mr. Van Zyl’s love for and signature style of classic electronic music forms the core of the 57-minute “Rituals”, an album containing two long tracks. The 21-minute “Saturn” kicks things off with a mysterious entrance of sound effects before carrying the listener away on celestial winds with a…
Release data: Yagya – Stars and Dust CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Delsin Records, 2016 “Stars and Dust” is an album full off well-made, attractive and atmospheric down-tempo electronics encouraging the listener to get horizontal and feel at ease. This time around and compared to his previous efforts, tenderness seems the keyword here. The lush, dub-oriented and affective melodic outcome by Islandic creative…
Release data: Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder – Red Live @ USA CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manikin Records, 2017 This double EP-album comprises three long excepts of music by the trio as they crossed the pond in 2012 to play several live gigs in Princeton and Philadelphia at The Gatherings, Star’s End radio show and Echoes radio. The variation I missed on the…
Release data: Llyn Y Cwn – IV DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manky Music , 2017 For his fourth Llyn Y Cwn release, musician Ben Powell created another set of freeform dark ambient tracks based around a field recording supposed to represent the conditions at Llyn Y Cwn (a small lake in the Glyder mountain range of Snowdonia, North Wales) at that particular…
Release data: Secondface – Transitions CD, Gterma , 2017 The music on this album had a long way coming as composer Frank Vilbæk Jensen lost quite some drafts due to two severe computer breakdowns as he only made a partial back-up of them. Next to starting on new music to add to the recovered stuff Frank also struggled for a…
Release data: S1gns of L1fe – Pathways to Ascension CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synphaera Records, 2017 “Pathways to Ascension”, cut from a 24bit-44.1 kHz master source, is a down-tempo/chill-out exercise by Chris Bryant (aka S1gns Of L1fe) who hails from California’s Bay Area. Bryant’s emotive ambient-tech music has matured and deepened further with every new release featuring the intrinsic warmth, expert mastering…
Release data: VelgeNaturlig – Opalescent Pust CD, Winter-Light, 2017 Aficionados of haunting and profound organic ambient will find a lot to like on the longform “Opalescent Pust” by Portuguese soundscape artist VelgeNaturlig. It’s a liquid constellation of dark, slow morphing inner dronescapes triggering the imagination from start to fish. The continuous ride makes a fascinating descent into cool, constantly transforming…
Release data: David Helpling – A Sea Without Memory (Ambient Guitar Works Vol. 1) DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 What I got here is a typical album of US textural guitar soundscape music using only electric guitar along a range of custom programmed effects processors to achieve an overall drifting outcome. The latter was constructed from a series of…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Albion CD, Lunisolar Records, 2017 Jutaro Takahashi’s “Albion”, a 73-minute concept album, sees the light of day after a three year hiatus. Still using analogue synths only, Juta brings us five free form ambient compositions clocking between 13 and 16 minutes each inspired by and painting the beauty of Britain through rich, majestic, colourful and…
Release data: Pyramaxx – Move CD, Klangdesign-Records, 2017 On their debut album “Distance” Axel Stupplich, Andreas Morsch and Max Schiefele already presented a fine display of melodic-spiced, solid and mature electronic music. The result on their second endeavour “Move” fits in the same league with again some progressive rock nods showing up in the seven steady sequencer/rhythmic driven tracks of…
Release data: Free System Projekt – Five Suns CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 With the double album “Five Suns” Dutch duo Ruud Heij and Marcel Engels (aka Free System Project) continue their journey through vast Berlin School wastelands. The album concept is based on the Aztecs creation myth, a continuous cycle of creations and destructions called suns. The myth which…
Release data: Lauge – Pusterum DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sibri29 Records, 2015 Now here’s another strong candidate of highly sophisticated, refined and beat-less ambient soundscape music. Its composer is Danish artist Henrik Laugesen whose 72-minute “Pusterum” (mastered by the capable Huby Sea) is meant as an aid to induce a full and restful night’s sleep. I for one consider it an effective…
Release data: Siddhartha Barnhoorn – Structures of Light CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 What I got here is the second album by Dutch film/game composer and ambient-electronic artist Siddhartha Barnhoorn, who regards Steve Roach one of his heroes. Mainly composed with vintage synthesizers and fx’s, “Structures of Light” features one hour of calming, freeform music most suitable for evening and…
Release data: Quaeschning & Schnauss – Synthwaves LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Azure Vista Records, 2017 Presented as a homage to the electronic music masters of the past yet breathing fresh contemporary and enchanting vibes along an overall post-cosmic sound, Thorsten Quaeschning & Ulrich Schnauss “Synthwaves” is a 53-minute release made with vintage synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines only. The eight track outcome…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper –MantraSequent CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2017 As the title already suggest, “MantraSequent” is a series of Mantra-like meditative compositions that flow into each other creating a long sonic sculpture that lives and breathes. This time around, AnalogueJeff found core inspiration in rhythmic chants and analog sequences as well as spiritual places and their special atmospheres. The…
Release data: Cosmic Ground – Live CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sunhair Music, 2017 “Live” compiles a mix of the best moments of the concerts Cosmic Ground played at E-Live festival 2016 and Psychedelic Network Festival 2016. At both gigs, where Dirk Jan Müller was accompanied on stage by Horst “Sunhair” Porkert, improvised sets of music were played based or expanded upon the…
Release data: Steve Roach – The Passing CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2017 “The Passing” (a surprise birthday present from Steve to all his fans in February 2017) is a 60-minute contemplation on human life of which the first seeds go back to the late ‘90’s. It contains one longform piece of highly emotive ambient soundscapes and deep atmospheric textures where…