Release data: Constance Demby – Novus Magnificat, 30th anniversary edition CD/DIGIAL DOWNLOAD, Hearts of Space/Valley Entertainment, 1986/2017 For the description and impact of this modern-classic monument, building a bridge between classical and choral music by means of orchestral expressions and symphonic space music I refer to the text I wrote on the original. The 30th anniversary edition of this contemporary…
Release data: Nothing but Noise – eXistence Oscillation PrEsent CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wool E-Discs, 2017 Whereas “eXistence Oscillation pAst” contained music created in the three years after the duo’s fine debut “Not Bleeding Red”, the 48-minute “eXistence Oscillation prEsent” offers all new material written and produced by Dirk Bergen and Daniel Bressanutti. From the start it’s clear the outcome builds stronger…
Release data: Jaja – Milky Way CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cyan Music, 2016 Sonically, things continue on “Milky Way” as we know from Jaja’s previous albums with the immense galaxy and Milky Way still as the core inspiration for deep cosmic journeying. This time around Jana Rockstroh delivered a double album with three extended textural drone tracks (Part I – Under the…
Release data: Mario Konrad – Spirit Cave CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2007 Mario Konrad’s second solo album “Spirit Cave” is a tribal-ambient recording that sounds like a light-version of Suspended Memories or a collaborative work by Steve Roach The 54-minute recording contains six atmospheric, rhythm-spiced pieces with a certain darker veil presenting itself only occasionally taking the listener into a…
Release data: Ian Boddy – As Above So Below LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2016 It seems to me things have come to rest and return to a harmonic state on the Ian Boddy’s rather neo-classical oriented, symphonic infused “As Above so Below”. The smooth swirling electronic music structures featured on the 39-minute/6-track album all carry a cinematic, reflective, organic-infused and library-music…
Release data: Red Planet Orchestra – The Human DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Path of Action Productions, 2017 “The Human” is quite a massive release by UK-duo Vincent Rees and Pete Smith, aka Red Planet Orchestra. It features 160 minutes of highly emotive, strong symphonic-flavored and contemporary-classical cosmic music painting a grand picture before the listener’s ears. The sonic content found in each…
Release data: Various Artists – Winter-Light … That First Season CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Winter-Light, 2017 What I got here is an ambient compilation released by Dutch Winter-Light containing 16 exclusive, unreleased tracks by skilled composers hailing from all corners of the globe. The 140-minute double album “Winter-Light…That First Season” (mastered by the notable Simon Heath) actually offers ambient aficionados the opportunity…
Release data: Synchronized – Galaxy CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2017 “Galaxy” by Dutch synthesist Francois ten Have (aka Synchronized) marks the fifth release in Groove’s GR1000 cd series. The 64-minute album consists of eight accessible, melodic, sequencer-spiced and rhythmic tracks inspired by and addressing the cosmic theme. On various passages, with the exception of the rather superficial, too easy-going sixth…
Release data: ASC – Truth be Told CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silent Season , 2014 The fully beatless “Truth be Told”, the follow-up to James Clements excellent effort “Time heals all”, builds and expands slightly upon the themes and ideas explored on the previous album while trying to retain everything that made the earlier one so special. It has led to a…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Nocturnes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silentsun, 2017 “Nocturnes” (the debut release on Max’s own label Silentsun, created exclusively for his solo albums from now on) is the first episode of a trilogy with night landscapes as a theme. The long hours lived on many night-time excursions and capturing the places visited in great photos (see the albums…
Release data: Altus – Sleep Theory Volume 3 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 This third installment in Altus’ Sleep Theory series (published about four years after the previous volume) contains the extended sessions 7, 8 and 9, all carefully molded and shaped sonic companions to help the listener explore what happens while you sleep. The freeform music featured on each…
Release data: Kevin Braheny – Lullaby for the Hearts of Space MC/CD, Hearts of Space/Valley Entertainment, 1980/1991 For the first time ever on cd, “Lullaby for the Hearts of Space” is commercially available for the first time since its cassette-release on the same label in 1991. The album’s title music, a 35-minute improvisation performed and recorded live for the legendary…
Release data: MoonSatellite – Sessions DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 According the liner notes to this album it appears MoonSatellite has come to a turning point in his musical career, adding one more chapter to his previous releases but also marking the end of cycle simultaneously. The one hour “Sessions” compiles six shelved, none-linked recordings (read: lost tapes) done between…
Release data: Ryuichi Sakamoto – async LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Q-rious Music/Warner Music, 2017 The analog and synthetic “async” (conceived as a soundtrack to an imaginary Andrei Tarkovsky movie) marks Ryuichi Sakamoto’s first solo effort in about eight years, a period in which he was also diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and overcoming the disease. In that respect, the album is…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Tomorrow’s Explorers EP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3Six Recordings, 2017 The four-track “Tomorrow’s Explorers”, the follow-up to 36’s 2015 Ep “Sine Dust”, again draws inspiration from the endless themes of space while giving a beautiful free form ambient voice to its overwhelming, intriguing expansiveness and splendor. This time around the enveloping, gentle morphing walls of sound of synths…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Sequencer Rarities CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2017 “Sequencer Rarities” is a collection of six lone and special tracks composed between 2000 and 2007 that (unfortunately) never made it to any of the albums released by Groove Unlimited. Those familiar and fond of the driving rhythmic Berlin school sequencing on Rudy’s “Sequencer Sketches” album series or…
Release data: Between Interval – Legacy CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 “Legacy”, Between Interval’s fifth chapter in something that was started with “Radio Silence” around 2003/2004, appears after almost eight years of silence. Life caught up with Swedish composer Stefan Strand, leaving him very little time to create new music and compositions for which he needs to immersive totally…
Release data: Darshan Ambient – Skyful of Bliss CD-R, Private Release, 1998 “Skyful of Bliss” is one of the early recordings by Michael Allison, aka Darshan, before he would end up on James Johnson’s Zero Music label. The release contains three long pieces and one short composition of ambient music, all made between 1996 and 1998. The almost 22-minute title…
Release data: James Johnson – The Butterfly Chamber CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2002 The actual release of “The Butterfly Chamber”, James Johnson’s second album for Mike Griffin’s Hypnos label was postponed for one year in favor of Mr. Johnson’s collaborative album “Seed” with MaJaLe. A pallet of self-generating soundscapes form the basic building blocks of “The Butterfly Chamber” to which James…
Release data: Chris Russell – Labyrinth CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 Meant as an audio soundtrack for circling to the center of oneself, the spacious, slow evolving, subtle shapeshifting and overtly subdued soundscapes making up each of the six freeform tracks on “Labyrinth”, Mr. Russell’s debut solo on the Spotted Peccary label, represent different twists and turns on the…
Release data: Gandalf – Visions 2001 CD, Sony Music , 2000 It was somewhere in the year 2000, Austrian sound magician and multi-instrumentalist Heinz Strobl (aka Gandalf) looked back on 20 years as a recording artist and decided to record a special album to celebrate this 20th anniversary. He imagined it to be a kind of a homage to J.R.R…
Release data: John Kerr – Embracing the Inevitable CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2016 Facing a life-threatening disease and suffering from the severe physical and mental consequences of it has been what John Kerr’s life has been all about the last few years. In its own way, “Embracing the Inevitable” celebrates the beauty of life along focusing on the positive side…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Cerulean Skies CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2017 From Gregory Kyryluk I learned the fundamentals and framework for “Cerulean Skies” were already laid out somewhere in the later 1990s. Most of the albums music, inspired by the beauty of the ever changing sky, was improvised using loops, minimal hardware and no computer sequencing, while…
Release data: Martin Peters – Angels of Nowhere CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited , 2016 With “Angels of Nowhere”, Dutch synthesist Martin Peters (also one half of Beyond Berlin), presents a fine and moody debut album. The nine track outcome, although inspired by and rooted firmly in the Berlin School territory, vents is own style, sounding overall mellow and emotive while…
Release data: Gandalf – Visions LP/CD, WEA, 1981 “Visions”, Gandalf’s second album, extends further on the moods of fantasy through sound introduced on his debut album “Journey to an Imaginary Land”, painting another sonic narrative inspired by Tolkien’s writings. The entirely instrumental 48-minute outcome offers dreamy and atmospheric, yet melodic compositions with a recurring musical guiding theme which sees Heinz…
Release data: Philippe Emmanuel Gueble – 9 Memories – Tracks DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Besides a continuous search for sonorous beauty and a pursuit for silence in music, the outcome of “9 Memories-Tracks” (which contains two tracks with accomplished zither-player Laraaji) also looks for different perspectives and introspection in the ordinary world of life. Similar to “Fire & Remembrance”,…
Release data: James Johnson & Stephen Philips – Lost at Dunn’s Lake CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zero Music, 2001 Created for continuous playback, “Lost at Dunn’s Lake” contains one 62-minute ambient sojourn James Johnson made with Dark Duck label-owner Stephen Philips. It’s a contemplative but also slightly mysterious flavoured aural affair blending sustained glacier bell sounds, soft piano and slow unwinding, overtly…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Exile DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 The four-track “Exile” is a jolly nice and solid album full of spatial, multi-layered sequential electronics accompanied by vintage textures. The musics dynamic and lovely pulsating yet circular patterns along some moody textural parts sketched out here create a recurring tantalizing effect on each piece. This works out especially…
Release data: James Johnson & Robert Scott Thompson – Forgotten Places CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zero Music, 2001 Next to his solo releases, ambient composer James Johnson also collaborated with several other musicians (such as Vir Unis and Stephen Philips) which resulted in some beautiful results. The 60-minute “Forgotten Places” is a slightly bit harder to chew, as the accompanying musician this…
Release data: Betzler & Brückner – Triplet CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2016 The 76-minute “Triplet” is a collaborative project by Tommy Betzler (drums) and Michael Brückner (synths) joined by Sammy David (e-guitar) on most tracks and Fryderyk Jona (Moog synth) on a few of them. The first three pieces, all clocking between 16 and 22 minutes, are in the same…
Release data: Johan Agebjörn & Mikael Ögren – We Never Came To The White Sea CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 “We Never Came to the White Sea” is a soundtrack and (the first) concept album by Johan Agebjörn and his friend/neighbour/collaborator Mikael Ögren to an unreleased (and unedited) road movie filmed in Russian Karelia, where Mr. Agebjörn’s grandfather was…
Release data: Gandalf – Tale From A Long Forgotten Kingdom LP/CD, WEA, 1984 This narrative and emotive album extends on the enchanting, fairytale-like music of its predecessors, especially his debut “Journey to an Imaginary Land” comes to mind on various passages. Moreover “Tale from a long forgotten Kingdom” focuses on calming atmospheres and sacred/dreamy moods than on creating melodies. Accomplished…
Release data: Owann – Eternal Return CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wool-E Discs, 2016 The 76-minute “Eternal Return”, the second release in Wool-E’s series of Belgian NeuMusik, by Belgium composer Johan De Paepe (aka Owann) is a concept album inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s hypothesis of Eternal Return. Lush and light sequences along a subtle melodic line fill the space on the opener “Return…
Release data: Van Zyl, Gulch & Rath – The Sound Museum CD, Groove Unlimited , 2001 The classic electronic and Berlin School-based music featured on the 74-minute “The Sound Museum” hails back to the late ‘80’s when Chuck Van Zyl, Peter D. Gulch and Andrew Rath were making music as Xisle. As the latter they released a double cassette in…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Velocity CD, Spheric Music, 2017 Although “Velocity” is a release of contemporary and general-melodic instrumental electronics, it also sees Robert wander back to several of his classic roots that marked the start of his EM-career back in 1979. Besides some catchy melodies and a few mellow sounding solos, the 64-minute “Velocity” features seven sequencer-driven and…
Release data: Various Artists – Greenosophy chapter II CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2017 Here’s a second batch of minimal, contemporary, progressive trance and hypnotic electronics by various artists compiled by Swiss dj Mizoo aka Cyril Miserez. What starts out in a lovely tranquil, reflective and dreamy vein by OM and Claudio PRC slowly evolves in a few throbbing rhythmic pieces…
Release data: John Lyell – Planetary Artifacts CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 Although just started, the year 2017 has already seen a few space music releases. With his fourth album “Planetary Artifacts”, mastered by Robert Rich, John Lyell presents his listeners nine atmospheric soundscape pieces that dwell in freeform along sequenced and gentle pulsating cosmic territory for 53-minutes. Mystery, alienation…
Release data: James Johnson – Linger CD-R, Mp3.com/AtmoWorks, 2000 “Linger” contains the live performance of James Johnson as played at The Ambient Ping 2000. This purveyor of tranquil ambient performed some great mood music, taking the whole concept to a new, soft glowing level. The 13-minute highly atmospheric title track kicking things off contains some sounds of thunder and rain.…
Release data: James Johnson – Entering Twilight CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2000 At the time this album came out, the music of the Mike Griffin’s Hypnos label featured quite a lot of dark, abstract and sometimes even experimental-oriented releases. The sonic content of “Entering Twilight” is a completely different story as it features one 66-minute track which follows through on the…
< Release data: Hollan Holmes – Prayer to the Energy CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 In regard to the quality of his previous releases I think it most exciting when a new release from the very talented Texas-based composer Hollan Holmes hits the streets. In Hollan’s words, the double album “Prayer to the Energy” has easily been the most challenging…
Release data: James Johnson – Unity CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zero Music, 1998/2016 “Unity” is the debut album by ambient composer James Johnson, of which the music at the time of its initial release was compared with Steve Roach’s releases “Quiet Music” and “Structures from Silence”. This certainly applies to the first track “Forward”, a beautiful exercise in tranquil, gentle lingering and…
Release data: James Johnson – Surrender CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zero Music, 1999 With his second album “Surrender”, ambient composer James Johnson presents an even smoother sound compared to his debut “Unity”. The outcome is a nice introspective album that combines elements of Liquid Mind, Brian Eno, Jeff Pearce and kindred spirits. “Surrender” takes the listener into a quiet environment of somewhat…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Following the Ether Sun CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projektt, 2017 Besides synthesizer, violin and an assortment of hand-based percussion instruments, Chinese-American sound-sculptor Forrest Fang also plays some far lesser known and uncommon stringed instruments on “Following the Ether Sun”, once more blending a refined hybrid of Western and Eastern influences. This time around though (and contrary to…
Release data: Synestem – From Spaceports 3 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Through the years there have been several musicians, who’ve expressed their inspiration for or tried to mimic the sound, mood and feel of Jarre’s “Oxygene” and “Equinoxe”. The most amazing one until now, and a real discovery is Germany’s Synestem, aka Gerald Wirtz, who’s also an artist of…
Release data: Silentwave – Kilauea CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hiss Noise Records, 2017 On the 31-minute dronescape “Kilauea” (the youngest and most active Hawaiian shield volcano), Yoshinori Noguchi expresses the beauty of nature in the first half while the second one reflects on the scarier side of nature. The improvised outcome starts out as an overall smooth, drifting affair of gentle evolving…
Release data: Kai Harster – Return to Nature & Other Delights LP/CD-R, Private Release, 1985/2011 The self-produced “Return to Nature & other Delights” by German composer/painter/lyricist Kai Harster (which received some critical acclaim from Hubert Bognermayer of Erdenklang fame) welcomes its listeners to a strange world of collected acoustic visions. In the distance, some of the meditative/avant-garde and rather psychedelic…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Particles CD-EP, Eastgate, 2016 “Particles”, the third release in The Quantum Years series, contains two cupdiscs in cardboard sleeve featuring a mixture of previously unreleased studio (Muon; 52 minutes) and live material (Tau; 36 minutes). “Muon” kicks off nicely with the fully improvised and edgy sounding 29-minute “4.00pm Session” which sees Thorsten Quaeschning, Ulrich Schnauss…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Urban Decay CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2014/2016 The six tracks Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij created for “Urban Decay” were mainly based on and inspired by their well-accomplished performance at the Dutch E-live Festival in 2012 and completed in February 2013. Due to a change in their style of music (ambient atmospherics…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – The Sentinel CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, New World Music, 2017 The six deep space “paintings” making up “The Sentinel” are based on and inspired by Steven Caldwell’s (aka Stewart Cowley) Terran Trade Authority book series published between 1978 and 1980. These (as it seems) were highly influential art /sci-fi story combinations for folks interested in hardware oriented…
Release data: Lav & Purl – A State of Becoming LP/CD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2017 Aficionados of tranquil, spacious and smooth glistening ambiences dressed with environmental/nature recordings, piano and carefully measured beats will be fond of “A State of Becoming”, a collaborative project by Lav (aka Christopher Landin) and Purl (aka Ludvig Cimbrelius). The 57-minute outcome slowly unfolds its…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Polar Reflections DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wayfarer Records, 2016 Here’s (finally!) a very nice opportunity for all ambient fans out there get to know Norwegian’s Boreal Taiga’s sophisticated sound art whose work is dedicated or inspired by the great white outdoors, frozen oceanic environments, (Ant)arctic natural splendor and ancient populations still living in those remote places. “Polar…
Release data: F.D. Project – Timeless II CD, Private Release, 2016 “Timeless II” (which actually has a loud sound level) saw the light of day exactly 10 years after the first album from 2006. This second chapter features a lot of sounds created back then (check “Return of O..part V”) along some infectious sequencing/drums parts and melodic lines. In addition,…
Release data: Brian Eno – Reflection CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Warp Records, 2017 It’s time to submerge in some tranquil soundscapes again. Fans that enjoyed Mr Eno’s long form ambient bliss such as “Thursday Afternoon” and “Neroli” will encounter a similar aural excursion on the 54-minute “Reflection”, Brian’s 19th studio album to date. The thoughtful, patiently crafted one track composition sounds overtly…
Release data: Altus – Below the Root DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 Since I got to know the music of Altus it’s been evident for me many -if not all- of his releases feature a lovely cinematic, imaginary and deeper quality that one enjoys best with quality headphones. To achieve this properly and satisfactory it’s important to dedicate enough time…
Release data: Ashen Simian – Momentum DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Retroduction, 2016 “Momentum”, released a few days before Christmas 2016, was realized using an Ipad along modern desktop synths apart from the usual Ensoniq Fizmo and Korg O1W/fd which Ami Hassinen uses a lot in his music and those of Nemesis. Compared to his previous album “New Horizons”, the character of most…
Release data: Steve Roach – Spiral Revelation CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2016 Since a couple of years I’ve found it very hard and too demanding to keep up with the high speed of Steve’s releases. Besides serious time constraints to investigate them properly, also the quality of some I listened to didn’t appear as solid and captivating anymore. “Spiral Revelation”…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – The Following Rain DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 Javi’s personal emotions and memories of the first rain in autumn formed the inspiration for the music of “The Following Rain”. The 70-minute outcome delivers a driving and powerful statement of spatial Berlin School sequencers which are tweaked almost constantly along psychedelic-ish soundscapes swirling around them. The…
Release data: Hecq – Night Falls CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hymen/Ant-Zen, 2008/2016 This deep listening recording is not for the faint of heart. Nocturnal, neo-classical, semi-orchestral and dark cinematic mood music (including a passage with abstract/experimental hooks on “Dis”) is on the menu on Hecq’s fifth album “Night Falls”, a side-project by Berlin-based composer, producer and sound designer Ben Lukas Boysen. Marked…
Release data: Atmosphere Factory – Atmosphere Factory CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Dakini Records, 2016 Here’s another nice find I was pointed at by a good friend from Down Under. The contemporary electronic “Atmosphere Factory” proves another addition of sophisticated, flowing, tranquil but also quite spellbinding ambient music. Its mesmerizing yet hypnotic outcome features eight pieces of music that have been split into…
Release data: Steve Hauschildt – Strands LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Kranky, 2016 With “Strands”, Cleveland-based composer Steve Hauschildt presents his listeners a fascinating analogue trip into spacey and surreal ambient landscapes without wandering in darker territory. The album is a song cycle about cosmogony and creation/destruction myths, its title alludes to the structural constitution of ropes as the artist wanted to approach…