Release data: Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo – EC12 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2014 “EC12” is a download-only release containing the music played live at the Electronic Circus festival in the autumn of 2012. The album though starts out with three tracks containing all new material (30 minutes in total) fitting in similar sound design as encountered on the duos fine…
Release data: Vangelis – Antarctica OST LP/CD, Polydor , 1983 An impressive and emotive sonic painting of vast landscapes of snow and ice, that’s what found on the Vangelis recording “Antarctica”. The latter is the 45-minute soundtrack to the 1983 Japanese film “Antarctica” (“Nankyoku Monogatari”) by Koreyoshi Kurahara, on which the Greek composer offers symphonic and lyrical music mixed with…
Release data: Amethystium – Transcience DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ramfjord Music, 2014 One of the first things that become clear on “Transience” is the melodic outcome sounds less electronic, as it made a sure shift into the neo-classical realm. The album contains 11 tracks of feel-good instrumental music still clinging to the lyrical and enchanting while spreading a positive, emotive aura as…
Release data: Gandalf – Journey to an Imaginary Land LP/CD, WEA Records, 1980 Here’s another journey down memory lane. “Journey to an Imaginary Land” is the fine instrumental debut by Austrian multi-instrumentalist Heinz Strobl (aka Gandalf) that would kick-off a whole series of dreamy and fantasy-inspired releases. As a person, Mr Strobl has been very interested in philosophy and different…
Release data: Richard Bone – Vertical Life CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Quirkwork Laboratories, 2014 Every album of Richard Bone is an adventure into new, ambient aural and out of the ordinary sound worlds and composing styles. “Vertical Life”, melodic surreal ambience for contemplation and flying carpets, is no exception. The ten tracks of sonic ambience incorporate rhythmic, groovy, exotic and introspective/meditative elements,…
Release data: Cell – Live at Kumharas – Ibiza DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2007 This album contains a dj-set which Lyon-based Cell (aka Alex Scheffer) performed during sunset in Ibiza’s chill-out bar/restaurant Kumharas. On the occasion, he presented improvised and remixed versions of some of his best tracks, weaving a most pleasant and relaxed sound current of floating (down-tempo) atmospheres…
Release data: Ethernet – Tanuki Dreams CD, Gterma, 2014 Ethernet is a project by Portland-based sound designer Tim Gray. Most of the hypnotizing, atmospheric and spacious outcome of “Tanuki Dreams” has been collected from the best tracks that appeared previously on several EP’s released through Bandcamp, plus a track done for a compilation (the dub-ish “Kamo River”) and a previously…
Release data: Dan Pound – Eros Thanatos CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The ambient sonic art displayed on Eros has maintained the improvements already notable on Dan’s previous album “Spherical”. According the press-info, the outcome on “Eros Thanatos” is based mostly on guitar soundscapes effects, complemented by analogue and digital synths, while applying deep layers of reverb in the whole…
Release data: Karl Bartos – Communication CD, Home Records, 2003 “Communication” is the debut solo album under his own name by ex. Kraftwerk-member Karl Bartos, although he released several albums using the moniker Elektric Music previously. Sonically, the synth-pop of “Communication” fits in the same framework as we know from Kraftwerk’s best period by presenting the same kind of underlying…
Release data: Urenga – Mantha DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Retrospective Zoology, 2013 “Mantha” consists of two dub-ambient tracks of 12 and 14 minutes each, complemented by two remixes of the title track by German musician Adam Kroll and Columbia’s Coppice Halifax. Here, Hungarian composer Andras Kiss, aka Urenga, presents some vibrant but minimal-oriented electronics inspired by underwater sea life. The latter…
Release data: Steve Roach – Structures from Silence (30th Anniversary 3-CD) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 Like the Roach-album “Quiet Music”, “Structures from Silence” is a classic for any listener who wants to submerge in a world of synthetic velvet waves and meditative textures. Fans though might recall Projekt Records already re-released the original album in remastered form in 2001…
Release data: The Lab – Analysis Paralysis DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 Ten years after their debut album, the Spanish project The Lab (aka Miguel Lázaro & José Corredera) returns with the download-only “Analysis Paralysis”, an autobiographical 4-track EP putting an end to the duo’s hibernation artistically. Most of all, it has led to a different approach. “Analysis Paralysis” contains…
Release data: Roger Eno – Between Tides LP/CD, Opal Records, 1988 The intimate moods found on Roger´s excellent debut “Voices” are continued on “Between Tides”, though it musically connects to contemporary chamber music simultaneously. While having Michael Brook producing the full record, the composer made it a collection of sparse, piano-only tracks (such as the title piece) along classical, more…
Release data: John Lyell – Reflection of Time CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The fact that Minneapolis-based composer John Lyell has decided to devote more time to write and record ambient music has led to a rather quick follow-up to his fine 2012-album “Eternity”. “Reflection of Time”, his third solo-release to date, is another nicely rendered album of cosmic space…
Robert Fox – The Fire and the Rose CD/Digital Download, Fx Music, 1992 “The Fire and the Rose” is the second official album by Robert Fox, and a great follow-up to his highly acclaimed debut “Asfafa”. It’s a special album is many aspects, sonically and thematically, as it followed in the same year when the composer experienced a period of…
Release data: Cosmic Ground – Cosmic Ground CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 With the project Cosmic Ground, German synthesist Dirk Jan Müller decided to return to the origin of pure electronic music like he’d done in the early ’90s. In the previous 22 years, he had been a member of the psychedelic/krautrock band Electric Orange, where vintage gear and assorted…
Release data: Sylvain Carel – Time and Tide CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 2014 With his second album “Time and Time”, Sylvain Carel again integrates a whole range of exotic/ethnic flavors in his synthesized, lush orchestrated music. This time though, his instrumental musings didn’t touch me as much as his debut. I think the use of violin and some flutes doesn’t…
Release data: Under the Dome – The Demon Haunted World CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Neu Harmony Records, 1998 UK-project Under the Dome is the brainchild of synthesist Grant Middleton, assisted by Colin Anderson on guitar and effects. The four tracks on their debut “The Demon Haunted World” (a title taken from a Carl Sagan book about debunking the paranormal world) is influenced…
Release data: Faber – Pictures CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2013 Faber, aka German synthesist Ronald Schmidt, is one of the composers of Bernd Scholl’s Mellowjet label, whose music I haven’t been able to investigate until now. “Pictures”, his third release to date, offers nine instrumental offerings inspired by pictures of his personal past life. Already on the first track it…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Clar0scuro CD, AD21 Music, 2014 Since quite some years, the piano has played an important part in the music of composer Bruno Sanfilippo. On “Clar0scuro”, he takes the next step in contemporary instrumental chamberrmusic, on which a violin-player and a violincelloplayer join him on a few tracks as Bruno once again returns to the mesmerizing…
Release data: Castleview – Artifacts DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 “Artifacts”, a compilation-release by South Louisiana-based composer Castleview, takes its listener on a quiet ambient trip where morphing and dense drone-spheres in a minimal fashion rule quite a bit. In addition, an experimental/abstract approach to the matter also becomes clear from the start, with an emphasis on an edgy (at…
Release data: Kitaro – Oasis CD, Pony Canon/Polydor/Domo Records, 1979 I’ve never been an avid Kitaro-fan, but have been quite fond of the releases Japanese composer Masanori Takahashi made at the end of the ‘70’s, “Oasis” being one of them. The biggest part of the album is a quiet, dreamy and harmonic sound painting with lots of Eastern flavors (bells,…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Sprook DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2002/2013 “Sprook” is an early concept recording by composer Matthew Florianz. It presents a cinematic work of sonic art while merging the dark, dense and the abstract. Its fictional storyline describes a land without light and ruled by an entity of darkness, arrogantly allowing the thought of light to seep…
Release data: Pascal Languirand – De Harmonia Universalia LP, Minos/Polydor, 1980 I personally feel “De Harmonia Universalia” is still the best album by Canadian/French composer Pascal Languirand before he would be drawn into New Age territory and wrapped-up in the world of digital gear in the ’90’s. The spiritual-infused music contained on this release is one of atmospheric and vibrant…
Release data: Djen Ajakan Shean – Crows Heading For Point Blank CD-SINGLE, Amplexus, 1995 Djen Ajakan Shean is the pseudonym of a Belgium artist who contributed to the album “Parallel Flaming” of vidnaObmana (aka Dirk Serries), but who fell off the radar not long after release of this cd-single. I remember Mr Serries once saying he joined a community of…
Release data: Roger Eno – Voices CD, EG Records, 1985 “Voices” is an album containing 40 minutes of moody, intimate and delicate piano miniatures marking the debut by the brother of ambient pioneer Brian Eno. The latter though helped out on atmospheric treatments of the emotive pieces while Daniel Lanois was in charge of the albums production. Daniel and Brian…
Release data: Skorneg – Foehn CD, Malignant Records, 2014 Skorneg is a dark ambient project by Frederic Arbour known from the Cyclic Law label) and Montreal-based ambient/experimental artist Christian Corvellec (aka Skinwell). Their debut “Foehn” is filled with 42 minutes of massive, haunting dronescapes and in-your -ace atmospherics that connect to various cold northern elements such as fierce winds, glaciers,…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Paradise Edition 2014 CD, Spheric Music, 2014 For the biggest part of this release I’d like to refer to the one I did on the original 1983 release, as the “2014 Edition” was not newly recorded or remixed in order to preserve the authentic sphere of the orginal. It has been extended though with two…
Release data: David Tollefson – New Eyes on the Universe CD, Hypnos Recordings, 1998 US-based ambient guitarist, David Tollefson is one half of Viridian Sun, a project he started in the ‘90’s with Hypnos label-owner Mike Griffin. On his first solo album “New Eyes on the Universe”, Mr Tollefson uses lots of electronic treatments along heavily processed or distorted e-guitar…
Release data: Klaus Schulze & Günter Schickert – The Schulze-Schickert Session LP/CD, Mirumir Music Publishing, 2013 Despite the fact the music on this album is definitely classic electronic music in classic Schulze-tradition, I shelved it for quite a while after I bought it shortly after it was released. I gave it quite some spins with intervals inbetween to make up…
Release data: Tuu – Terma CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1998 The eclectic tribal ambient music (inspired by the hidden teachings of Tibetan Buddhism) that’s found on “Terma” is made by TUU’s Martin Franklin and trance flute master Nick Parkin, a project which seems to be about harmonising different but strong forces. Mr Parkin is primarily a solo performer who finds…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Atmospheres CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2014 It’s been about four years since the previous cd of New Zealand-based ambient composer Rudy Adrian was released. Those fond of his earlier textural releases “Desert Realms” or “Moonwater” will be pleased to find a progression of ethereal, highly cosmic soundscapes on “Atmospheres”. Just have a listen to…
Release data: Christopher Franke – Pacific Coast Highway CD, Virgin Records, 1991 This is the first full-length release by ex-Tangerine Dream member Christopher Franke after he left the band in 1988 and started his own music business in the US a few years later. The music on this album is what often has been described as female music, as Christopher…
Release data: Diatonis – Landscape of a Dream CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2003 Hypnotic, subtle, evocative and deeply meditative soundscape music is what “Landscape of a Dream” is all about. Stuart Kelley White, aka Diatonic, composed the music between 1984 and 1986 (a period in which the composer found himself involved in his own spiritual exploration), but remastered them for…
Release data: Zero Ohms – Process of Being CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Lotus Pike, 2014 This release might be a bit of a gamble for the label as it doesn’t really fit into its usual roster sonically, although there is a certain similarity to the delicately molded ambient of Rudy Adrian occasionally. Nonetheless, on “Process of Being” Richard J. Roberts (aka Zero…
Release data: Robert Rich & Lustmord – Stalker CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1995 This classic recording is for all those ambient listeners who have a knack for haunting and challenging ambient spaces. “Stalker” is a collaborative album between Robert Rich and Brian “Lustmord” Williams inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s same-titled unsettling movie. According to the albums liner notes, it´s a guide…
Release data: Phillip Wilkerson – Ways of Forgetting DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Private Release, 2014 Slow, introspective soundscapes seem to have become the trademark of Phillip Wilkerson, who has work hard the last few years to further define and sculpture his ambient music quite a bit. “Ways of Forgetting” (improvised and recorded using the ‘daybook’ patch on the Virus TI synth…
Release data: Brendan Pollard & More – Collection Volume Three CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Acoustic Wave Records, 2013 The range of music found on this album is quite similar to those on “Collection Volume Two”. Again, the lengthier pieces on it are the best, with cracking pieces such as the opener “Space Junk” and the vibrant and tasty “Analogue Satourn” that graced…
Release data: Suspended Memories – Earth Island CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1994 “Earth Island” is the second and also last release by the trio Roach,Reyes and Saiz, which sonically complements its predecessor with another 50 minutes of dreamy and overall mystical ambient that oncemore carries Prehispanic and Mexican shamanic influences. The eight tracks making up the release were recorded between…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Celestial Chronicles CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2014 Despite a high speed schedule of new releases in recent years under various aliases, Mr Kyryluk always established to secure quality in there. “Celestial Chronicles” takes its listeners into the deeper voids of space, time and audio permutations, painting imaginary landscapes of distant cosmic horizons and…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Timelines CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 More than on any of his latest albums, Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Erik Wøllo here attempts to combine acoustic elements with electronic elements sophisticatedly, while arranging the outcome in a cinematic, orchestral way. In the process of creating the music for his 18th solo album “Timelines” (on which work started around…
Release data: Lars Leonhard – Burning Clouds DIGITAL EP, Ultimae Records, 2014 “Burning Clouds” by Lars Leonard is the second chapter in Ultimae’s series of digital only- EP’s. The three-track outcome by this German composer reveals a different side compared to what’s found on the track he delivered to the Ultimae-compilation “Oxycanta III”. “Burning Clouds” is what I would describe…
Release data: Banco de Gaia – Maya (20th Anniversary Edition) CD, Disco Gecko Records, 1994/2014 What I got here is an anniversary special edition of the first studio album “Maya” by Banco de Gaia, aka Toby Marks. It came out in 1994 originally, and (according to the press info) reached No.1 in the Independent Album charts and was nominated for…
Release data: Stratosphere with Dirk Serries – In A Place Of Mutual Understanding CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2013 “In A Place Of Mutual Understanding” is a collaborative ambient project by two Belgium composers who’ve know each for over two decades. Personally I think it was a question of time and opportunity as Ronald Mariën (aka Stratosphere) is Serries’ long-time sound…
Release data: I Awake – Tierra DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Ultimae Records, 2014 “Tierra” is the first in a series of digital-Ep releases from the Lyon-based Ultimae-label that will see the light of day in 2014. This 3-track album by Swedish composer Thomas Huttenlocher (aka I Awake) follows up on his debut album “The Core”. Sonically, we’re landing in down-tempo/IDM territory…
Release data: Ash Ra Tempel – Friendship CD, Manikin Records, 2000 In the year 2000, Manikin label-owner Mario Schönwälder released this fine, fully instrumental album. Klaus Schulze and his Ashra Tempel band mate Manuel Göttsching go back a long way, belonging to the league that started the so-called Kosmische, Kraut and Prog-Rock wave in Germany. Three long, slowly evolving tracks…
Release data: Vidna Obmana – Echoing Delight CD, Extreme, 1993 For this ambient recording, released on the Australian Extreme label, we have to travel back to the first half of the ’90’s, to 1993 to exact. What still strikes me on “Echoing Delight” until this very day is the trail of tranquil splendour and its breathe of full introspection. On…
Release data: Brendan Pollard & More – Collection Volume Two CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Acoustic Wave Records, 2013 This is the second instalment on which Mr Pollard has assembled loose tracks which appeared in previous years on various samplers (such as the Awakenings samplers) along a few short intros for radio shows and the tasty track “A Different Sky” delivered for the…
Release data: Red Planet Orchestra – We Breathe Together DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Path of Action Productions, 2014 Those familiar with the gentle and immersive cosmic music on the albums “Aurora Symphony” and “Secrets of Eternity” by the UK-project Red Planet Orchestra will find a further extension of it on their third release “We Breathe Together”. The five textural compositions are uplifting,…
Release data: Patrick O´Hearn – Trust CD, Deep Cave Records, 1995 Patrick O’Hearn’s album “Trust” followed after a four-year absence of solo album recording, a period in which he moved from California to North Carolina and was wrapped-up in composing film scores. The album (which earned Mr O’Hearn his first Grammy nomination) was initially released on his own label Deep…
Release data: Otarion – Out of Eden CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2013 After a break of nearly 10 years, synthesist Reiner Klein (aka Otarion) resurfaces with “Out of Eden”, his fifth release to date. Compared to his previous music the composer presents an emotive collage of sounds with a bit softer impact on the first few pieces. The music though…
Release data: Krusseldorf – Fractal World DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 If you like to try something out of the ordinary within the ambient genre, try digging the profound and overtly peculiar psychedelic ambient musings making up the fourth album by Krusseldorf, aka Stockholm-based producer/composer Simon Health. Although Mr Heath has made music under various alias and project names, I…
Release data: Lightwave – Mundus Subterraneus CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom , 1995 “Mundus Subterraneus” is inspired by the life and times of the 16th century Danish astronomer and Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher. On their second album for the HOS/Fathom label, Christoph Harbonnier and Christian Wittman continue their journey into psychedelic, tonal ambient spheres, presenting 65 minutes of overtly strange, experimental-flavored…
Release data: Vanderson – Another Day in Future CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2013 Until now, none of the solo-releases by Polish synthesist Vanderson has been the least disappointing, which also goes for “Another Day in Future”. Mr Wierzchowski’s evolving vintage sound design and excellent sequencer patterns make up the heart of his long form music. More to the point, it’s…
Release data: Olivier Briand & Bertrand Loreau – Interférences CD, Spheric Music, 2013 Now this is an example of two musicians trying to extend on the vintage BS-style, but failing rather big time. Coming up with a nice retro sequence (quite often lining up next to late ’70’s Schulze) and some spherical pads is one thing, but the pointless, bland…
Release data: William Gregg – Epiphenomenon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resources, 2013 Compared to Gregg’s previous album “Source of the Hardware”, the music on “Epiphenomenon” is a different story. The twelve tracks on the electro-acoustic outcome (all recorded during a four hour session) is gentle, beatless and soft space music which sees the composer mix drifting and soaring textures with electric…
Release data: The Roswell Incident – Hunted CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 “Hunted”, presented at the Belgium B-Wave Festival in December 2013, is the second chapter of the trilogy which started with “The Crash” in 2010. While its cover is kept in the same style, its sonic narrative extends beautifully on the mysterious/darker-flavoured spheres, vibrant Berliner School sequencing and various…
Release data: Secondface – Changes DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Cold Fiction, 2014 Fans of dub-style ambient will be much pleased with this second EP of Frank Vilbæk Jensen aka SecondFace, released as free download on the Cold Fiction netlabel. The four tracks on “Changes” create comfortable, deep spheres while minimal sequencers and beats lead things forward in a gentle, unaccomplished and…
Release data: Steve Roach & Kelly David – The Long Night CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 Ambient composer Kelly David has been one of the kindred spirits of Steve Roach, who helped him out on the spacious and detailed sound design of his two solo releases. “The Long Night” is a 60-minute non-melodic, nocturnal soundscape offering with hardly any rhythm.…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Glacia Form DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wayfarer Records, 2014 Compared to his previous releases, JimDe hereby presents of his deeper ambient endeavors, taking his listeners into the icy splendor of slow moving glaciers. The concept album was set in motion when Jim came face to face with the Yentna glacier, found in Alaska’s Denali National Park, which…