Release data: J. Arif Verner – A Vision beyond Light CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1996 Multi-instrumentalist, J. (John) Arif Verner, one of the many accomplished musicians within the Spotted Peccary stall, published his debut album “Clear Colors” in 1988. His “A Vision beyond Light” blends acoustic and electronic music with MIDI guitar synthesis, a rather unusual and specialized form…
Release data: Robert Rich – What we left behind CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2016 “What We Left Behind” is concept album labeled as a dreamy travelogue across the Earth long after we humans are extinct. At he same time, the Robert Rich coined it as a celebration of life’s resilience and a meditation on the consequences of human’s heavy footsteps.…
Release data: Vanderson – Vandisphere CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music, 2016 Vanderson belongs to the league of musicians delivering attractive and accessible electronic music. The outcome of “Vandisphere” (awful title by the way) is no exception, this time though sounding more easy-going, contemporary and groovier than before. Deep bass grooves, sax and vocal samples fly are present on the biggest part…
Release data: Electronic Sound Project (ESP)- The Chernobyl Disaster DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 This 45-minute concept recording commemorates the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster that took place in 1986, its global impact and the many victims of the devastating incident. Dutch recreational music composer and graphic designer Marc van Oers, aka Electronic Sound Project (ESP), has constructed a nearly continuous narrative…
Release data: The Gateless Gate – Sibir CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Offshoot/Psychonavigation , 2014 Here’s another album by the Canadian duo Allister Thompson and Teri-Lynn Janveau commited to cold weather environments, this time on the wild land- and seascapes of Siberia. While the cover art of the 60-minute “Sibir” strongly resembles those of the Glacial Movements label and its sonic content also…
Release data: Syn – The Glass Bridge DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/CD-R, Private Release/SynGate, 2001/2013 Syn’s album “The Glass Bridge” contains three long cosmic pieces from 2001, all featuring those lovely and captivating sounds that are characteristic for and so much appreciated from the classic Berlin School style and classic Vangelis. Next to some fine sequences on the title piece, Scottish composer David…
Release data: J. Arif Verner – Through the Timeless CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2000 “Through the Timeless” is the second album from this American ambient-composer turning out even better than his much acclaimed “A Vision beyond Light” also published by Spotted Peccary. Arif composed and produced all the music himself, but asked some help from fellow-musicians on a few…
Release data: Graham Getty & Stephan Whitlan – Even Higher Green Session CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Retrochet Records , 2016 This 71-minute follow-up to the duos “Higher Green Session”, created on the fly during various sessions on December 30, 2015, still takes its inspiration from the classic Berlin School sound. This time around, spicy sequencer patterns though are a far less important…
Release data: Steve Roach & Robert Logan – Second Nature CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2016 “Second Nature”, a work of processed grand piano and synth textures, was released simultaneously with the duo’s “BioSonic”. Sonically, it’s a totally different story though as the four tracks feature calming, ethereal ambient travelling into introspective, melancholic and mysterious territory. Lots of reverb and subtle…
Release data: Steve Roach & Robert Logan – Biosonic CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2016 “BioSonic” puts a new branch onto the long list of collaborations Steve Roach did in his long career, this time meeting up with UK-musician Robert Logan. I learned the hi-tech music has been in the works for a couple of years, first through online collaboration and…
Release data: Jim Ottaway – Southern Cross CD, Private Release, 2016 Jim Ottaway is a composer, producer and studio performer residing at the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia who has have released 23 independent albums in his homeland. The concept album “Southern Cross”, his ninth international release, is a work containing six lengthy compositions of cosmic ambient music made…
Release data: Serge Devadder – Cambrian CD, Private Release, 2014 Spacious ambient textures, loops, minimalist patterns, subtle sequencing and some treated guitar are the elements making up “Cambrian”, the first full-length album by Belgium sound artist Serge Devadder, who now resides in Germany. The opening piece with its positive, soft sparkling atmosphere immediately made me think of Erik Wollo, a…
Release data: Hakobune – Tonight is Why CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Psychonavigation, 2013 One single 39-track is the content of “Tonight is why”, and aural drone work by Japanese artist Takahiro Yorifuji, aka Hakobune. Only applying an e-guitar and various effect pedals, Habokune’s dreamy tapestry of textures is a sombre and gentle resonating space where things rise, fall and evolve gradually and…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper – Terrelektra CD, Air Space Records, 2016 Accomplished US-synthesist Jeffrey Koepper, also known as Analogue Jeff, recalls “Terrelektra” was conceived as a far away planet of sound where the tracks all merge together like an electronic atmospheric journey through this world. In the process of creating the music for the 70-minute recording with analogue gear only…
Release data: Graham Getty – EMP3 CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Retrochet Records, 2009 “EMP 3” is an electronic sketchbook which sees UK synthesist Graham Getty playing around and learning the ins and outs of an acquired P3 sequencer. The 60-minute outcome presented on the six lengthy pieces is for those who have a knack for minimalist analogue sequencing paired with steady beats…
Release data: MoonSatellite – Whispers of the Moon CD-R, PWM Distribution, 2015 The reinterpretation and spirit of classic electronic music, especially those with a vintage Jarre-angle, is in good hands at French composer Marc Perbal, aka MoonSatellite. Although I thought “Low Life” less strong compared to his other works, the outcome on “Whispers of the Moon” is prove he’s back…
Release data: Rhea – Rhea@Cosmic Nights ft. Alien Voices CD-R, Rhea Music, 2014 “Rhea@CosmicNights ft. Alien Voices” comprises four lengthy live sets performed at the Cosmic Nights in 2013 & 2014. It sees Mark de Wit continue his exploration of cosmic environs through ambient and the quiet side of Berlin School-spiced sequencer music. The album kicks off with the 38-minute…
Release data: VoLt – A Day without Yesterday CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2016 The title of this album is an alternative name for the cosmic The Big Bang, while the actual track titles describe aspects of the event, especially when wondering whether there is a Black Hole at the other side of a Big Bang. Both are reflected in the…
Release data: Vanderson – Anything can happen CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SynGate, 2010 I can be brief about the set of cosmic music featured on “Anything can happen”, as the nine tracks are another example of Vanderson’s style where melodic contemporary electronics blend nicely with spiced and sequenced Berlin School ingredients. These are accompanied by up-tempo beats, some soloing and additional textural…
Release data: Transceive – Exit to Nowhere CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Alles Klar Productions, 2016 As far as I know, the previous Transceive-recording happened in 2011 when Steve Nelson released the digital ep “The Circe Complex”, of which the title track would be part of the soon to be released full-length “The Long Path to Nowhere” (which title now is the captivating…
Release data: Kloob – Solid Foundations CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2016 Making ambient soundscape music is one thing, but giving it captivating impact and emotional depth is another matter. Kloob, an ambient project founded in 2010 by Spanish composer Daniel Ferreira, is prove things can work out nicely and satisfying when the right ingredients amalgamate and are layered properly while…
Release data: Michael Stearns – The Soft Touch of Morning Light DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Earth Turtle Music, 2015 While being absorbed in many movie and documentary projects around the globe in the last couple of the years, sound artist Michael Stearns has found time to go through his large library of shelved and unpublished music. One of the rediscoveries is “The…
Release data: Dan Pound – Shadows of the Heart CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, PoundSounds, 2016 “Shadows of the Heart” is a recording of serene, nocturnal and overall dreamy textural ambiences derived from acoustic and electric sources to which composer Dan Pound applied techniques of repeated chord progression motifs. At first, the 7-track/55-minute outcome of drifting and introspective soundwaves seem to head toward…
Release data: Stratosphere – Rise CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Reecords, 2016 I must confess I was rather reluctant to check out this album as I knew Ronald Mariën was very into heavy, harsher sounding distorted guitar drone music and abstract sound design since a couple of years. Fortunately, “Rise” features seven thick layered textural pieces addressing ethereal, melancholic, shadowy and dreamlike…
Release data: E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr – Tonwald MC/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sea State, 2016 With this album, Finnish quartet E-Gruppe Lux Ohr started to document live performances of their Kosmische Musik inspired work. “Tonwald”, a C-90 tape which has the same content on both sides along a code for the digital download, contains the 45 -minute one-off live performance played at the…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Pulse Dive EP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3Six Records, 2015 The ambient work of Dennis Huddleston has always been intriguing to my ears, which again proves to be the case for his EP “Pulse Dive”. The title track kicks things off rather energetically in a TD-like “Love on a real train” style, though less melodic. A closer listen…
Release data: Csillagköd – All the Time CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2016 “All the Time” sees a further extension and refinement of the nicely shaped cosmic and amorphous worlds explored on the Csillagköd-debut “Silent World”. To my ears, the spacious ambient soundscapes and drone tapestries making up each of the ten tracks (some were taken from EP’s released on…
Release data: Global Communication – Pentamerous Metamorphosis LP/CD, Dedicated, 1994 At the start of the ’90’s, UK creative minds and producers Tom Middelton en Mark Pritchard was offered the opportunity to remix Chapterhouse’s shoegazer album “Blood Music”. The chill-out result became their debut “Pentamerous Metamorphosis”, a great combo of warm textures, string tapestries and sampling techniques paired with captivating rhythms,…
Release data: Harald Grosskopf – Synthesist LP/CD, Sky Records, 1980 “Synthesist”, the debut by German composer Harald Grosskopf, is one of those cult releases from the golden synth era. It’s an accessible, melodic outing of early synth-pop songs with Mr Grosskopf’s steady drumming and a most pleasant airy, lush feel along an occasional mellow touch. Catchy, positive opener “So Weit,…
Release data: Aes Dana (feat. Miktek) – Far & Off CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2016 This album contains all tracks of the three previously released EP’s “Cut”, “Alkaline” and “The Unexpected Hours”. It started to take shape after a long period of detachment and isolation as a natural answer to nowadays hectic, overkill of information and stimuli surrounding French composer…
Release data: Laudanum – Laudanum (full album) CD, DataBloem, 2016 My wish for an extended version of Amir Baghiri’s & Rüdiger Gleisberg’s EP that saw the light of day in 2001 has finally come true. The original, quiet-atmospheric 21-minute recording of sacred minimalism has been expanded to an almost 77-minute aural work with more dynamics. It’s full of secret gothic…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Wasteland Signals DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 “Wasteland Signals” is a nine-track/low-volume ambient environment soundscape that addresses introspective spaces and is a perfect for headphone listening. The overall lush and gliding outcome, in development since 2012, takes the listener to a far-off place and inner core where organic along ethereal elements float around to expansive…
Release data: Heavenly Music Corporation – Consciousness III CD, Silent Records, 1994 Let’s journey back to the mid ‘90’s and the techno-ish/chill-out made then. On “Conciousness III”, composer Kim Cascone has found a way to blend chill-out with trance and electronics without sounding obtrusive. The albums mellow/circular and lush-minimalist sound design paired with vocal samples and steady beats and rhythms…
Release data: Rapoon – Song from the end of the World CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Glacial Movements, 2016 Environmental and lifethreatening issues have been the inspiration for several electronic music releases, such as “Annihilation on Earth” (Holle Mangler), “Atomkraft, nein danke!”(Earth Star), “To Another Horizon” (Gandalf) and “Ecotone (Altus) just to name some. The aural world of chilling and glacial ambient sketched…
Release data: David Parsons – Puja CD, Gterma, 2016 “Puja” (started by the composer with nothing particular in mind) is David Parsons’ first album using software synths only, as he decided purchasing a fine collection of soft-synths in years previously eventually making his studio now reside in a Mac Mini. The depth and versatility of a lot of current software…
Release data: Common Ground – Common Ground CD, FlowSpace Music, 2015 Common Ground is a new project founded in spring 2013 after Gary Johnson and Bill Olien (aka Resonant Drift) approached electronic space music synthesist Hollan Holmes to collaborate. From there they spend nearly a year and a half putting together two dozen or so musical song concepts. This proved…
Release data: Frédéric Wurtz – Sequence Time MC, Private Release, 1990 Fans of sequencer-driven, highly TD-influenced electronic music from the late ‘70’s and mid ‘80’s should be pleased with Frédéric Wurtz’s album “Sequence Time”. Better known as AEM – Antike Elektronische Musik in later years, Mr Wurtz has compiled 10 vibrant and melodic instrumentals made between 1987 and 1990 that…
Release data: Various Artists – Sounds of a Universe Overheard CD, Hypnos Recordings , 2007 The music released on the Hypnos label isn’t the usual cup of ambient, as it most often features rather abstract, psychedelic and experimental-angled works not that easy at hand. Their compilations though are nice opportunities to get a bigger scope on what’s happening in the…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Livescapes_3 Sono Luminarium CD-R, Ambient Sound Projects, 2015 The 60-minute composition making up “Livescapes_3 Sono Luminarium” is a commissioned piece for the “Arboria” Luminarium by the architects of air, Nottingham, May 2015. The outcome is a most calming, slowly transforming and evolving string of freeform ambient spheres and pastel aural colors all addressing the ethereal…
Release data: Mike Griffin & Dave Fulton – The Most Distant Point Known CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2000 The 66-minute “The Most Distant Point Known” is an analogue/digital frenzy composed by Mike Griffin (founder of the Hypnos label and member of Viridian Sun) and Dave Fulton (member of Dweller Of The Threshold). The transcendence into the immensity of the cosmic deep…
Release data: Hemisphere – Intruders CD, Cue Records NL, 1995 The first impressions of the cd artwork and the sonic content of “Intruders” are rather dark but not uninviting. The 70-minute instrumental journey features narrative compositions that address gothic flavoured spheres occasionally along three more symphonic/melodic- pieces made in collaboration with Christina Fester. Despite the various darker lands and corners…
Release data: The Ministry of Inside Things – Everlasting Moment CD, Synkronos Music, 2003 This album is my first encounter with The Ministry of Inside Things, aka Chuck van Zyl (synths) and Art Cohen (guitars), although I’m familiar with Chuck’s solo-work. Well, this double cd offers music which is rooted in the vintage music of the early ’70, offering electronic…
Release data: Syn – Remnants CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 The music on “Remnants”, a compilation of session recordings David T. Dewdney made between the albums “Aqueous” and “Valles Marineris”, is a pleasant trip down memory lane and a worthy dedication to TD’s atmospheric “Phaedra” plus all who love sequences, mellotron flutes and retro textures. The four tracks (all made…
Release data: The Ministry of Inside Things – Contact Point CD, Synkronos Music, 2006 On “Contact Point”, synthesist Chuck van Zyl and guitarist Art Cohen, aka The Ministry of Inside Things, have come closer to cosmic-themed music. Still relying on live-improvisation, the seven tracks aren’t always that easy at hand. “Serenity Cove” makes a nice entrance, but that doesn’t apply…
Release data: Von Hallgath – Intersection CD-R EP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 German composers Jörg Erren and Jochen Schöttler founded von Hallgath in Spring 2013 as a side project next to Erren-Fleissig-Schöttler-Steffen for their live and improvised music. The 37-minute “Intersection” features five compositions of well-tempered analogue electronics made with a fine collection of modular racks with only a few…
Release data: Michael Meara – Zymal DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Aural Films, 2015 The three tracks featured on “Zymal” are long-form psychedelic guitar drone exercises inspired by Pluto’s moon system meant for low level playback on headphones. The atmospheres addressed here are dark, foreboding and dense, sketching an abstract-minimal aural landscape throughout. Desolation and cold radiate from the slow morphing textures, making…
Release data: Schiller – Tal des Himmels CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Universal, 2016 While he stayed at Sky Valley, California, German musician Schiller composed an additional album for the Ultra-Deluxe-Edition of “Future”, which is inspired by and dedicated to the power of nature. “Tal des Himmels” is a fully instrumental electronic music release presented in seven parts sounding completely different from the…
Release data: Zanov – Open Worlds CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zanov Music, 2016 It is not unusual to put an idea or project on hold with the intent of returning, but when the gap is a three decades long musical hiatus there is no set formula on how to restart the musical journey. For Zanov, the bridging link came in the form…
Release data: Audiometria – Cave Session CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 The idea for this recording came from a cave in Miguel’s house where a comfortable space for approximately 60 people was created along a stage built of a wall of speakers that had been collected over the years. Javi Cánovas and Miguel Justo simply started playing on the fly,…
Release data: Steve Roach – Emotions Revealed CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt, 2016 The music on “Emotions Revealed” is actually “lost” music from the early ‘80s, made just prior to “Structures from Silence”. During that period, Mr Roach was still finding his way, composing both European-oriented melodic/sequencer music with melody along quiet/atmospheric works. The first style applies to the almost 25-minute title…
Release data: Matthew Florianz –Nocturne – Soundtrack for science briefings DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 “Nocturne” is the first in a series of specials on science’s unsolved mysteries for which the composer remixed and re-sequenced the music from documentary soundtrack. Opening piece “Why does Time Pass?” proves weary, a bit harsh and abstract to my ears as it evolves. It’s…
Release data: Bouvetøya – Interstellarphonic CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SynGate, 2014 From Ireland hails another aural vehicle inspired by vintage ‘70’s electronic music. Bouvetøya is the brainchild of one Michael Jones who says he creates his art live in the studio, working with both analogue and digital equipment but applying no VST or any samples. “Interstellarphonic” offers a 60-minute cosmic journey presented…
Release data: Andre Alvarez – Luna MC, Private Release, 1995 Music created in the moment using no computer, sequencer, tapes nor any form of Midi technology. All this applies to the debut album “Luna” of German composer Andre Alvarez, who passed away in July 2008. What you get is a vibrant and melodic album full of classic electronic music and…
Release data: Suzanne Ciani – The Velocity of Love LP/MC/CD, RCA/Private Music/Seventh Wave, 1986 Created during the formative years of adult contemporary instrumental music, Ciani’s second release “The Velocity Of Love” is a example of gentle melodic and classical arrangements among new age flavors, all paired with a feminine approach. Like the outcome on her debut, Suzanne considered the compositions…
Release data: John Sobocan – A Soft Circle CD, DataBloem, 2012 When talking about secluded, Eno-esque ambient soundscapes, John Sobocan’s “A Soft Circle” fits that description very well. The quiet and gently blended textural musings encountered on all 12 tracks by this Toronto-based composer (who also goes by the the moniker Bubble) enter an overall minimal and contemplative underworld while…
Release data: Jaja – Sparkles CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cyan Music, 2016 Jana Rockstroh’s 46-minute “Sparkles” sees a continuation of quiet and sensitive soundscapes inspired by the cosmos. The trail of mystery and wonder as well as the huge distances encountered in these environs all find a voice in the ten gently unfolding, drone-based compositions that also address certain contemplativeness occasionally. “Sparkles”…
Release data: Erez Yaary – Signal CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2013 From the beginning of this album I felt there’s something’s dearly missing in Mr Yaary’s general melodic, minimal-sequencer oriented and technological-sounding electronic music: it’s emotion. The soaring string parts or the Jarre-ish sound pads used occasionally can’t erase that in any of the six tunes that make up “Signal”…
Release data: Forrest Fang – The Sleepwalker´s Ocean CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt, 2016 With his double album “The Sleepwalker’s Ocean”, that received some beautiful cover art, US-musician Forrest Fang has delivered a most mesmerizing and emotive ambient recording with hypnotizing minimalist elements. Compared to the works of Loren Nerell, Mr Fang’s implementation and use of Indonesian acoustic instruments and the realm…
Release data: Numina & Stephen Philips – Outward Appearance CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Dark Duck Records, 2003 “Outward Appearance” (Stephen Philips and Jesse Sola’s second collaboration) features four expansive electronic vignettes made up of deep soaring textures and enigmatic ambient soundscapes. It all kicks off pretty strong with the atmospheric, slumbering “A Deeper Calling”. “Chain Reaction” is enhanced with mechanical industrial sounds,…
Release data: Matthew Stringer – The Second Sun CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 “The Second Sun” is the second album by UK-synthesist Matthew Stringer, who some might know from his well-rendered collaborations and albums as Perge with countryman Graham Getty. This follow-up to his 2009 efffort “Your World is but One” again was inspired by the idea of order or…