Release data: Mike Andrews – Retrospective CD, Invisible Shadows, 2002 Composer Mike Andrews has released quite a bit of music on cd-r, but only found a home for them on two established labels as factory-pressed cds. This feels a bit awkward as his music is melodic and accessible, a fine blend of Vangelis and Jarre stylings along an own signature…
Release data: Robert Scott Thompson – Pale Blue Dot CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Anodize , 2015 Electro-acoustic ambient is a specialty of Robert Scott Thompson, who’s a professor of music composition at Atlanta’s Georgia State University, a genre which challenges him to reset the boundaries during his many releases. “Pale Blue Dot” curls up eight compositions where ethereal and lush atmospheric drift…
Release data: Irezumi – Thirty CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 Seven years after his impressive debut “Endurance”, the Em-scene sees the return of Paris-based musician Manuel Mesdag, aka Irezumi. “Thirty” –dedicated to his late brother – collects nine most personal and intimate ambient tracks dealing with emotions like depression, doubts, fears, mourning and resilience that affected Manuel’s life in various…
Release data: Vir Unis – Primary Space (Early Works Vol. 2) CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AtmoWorks, 2004 Following-up on “Dreamers at the Edge of Decaying Light”, this release offers a second batch of early soundscape music by John Strate-Hootman (aka Vir Unis), all made between 1992 and 2000. The 15 tracks on “Primary Space” all are pure atmospheres and drifting journeys fitting…
Release data: Steve Roach – Alive in the Vortex CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2015 “Alive in the Vortex” is another addition in the (ongoing?) series of live recordings which Steve Roach has (re-)discovered, this one focusing initially on expanded textural atmospherics with some high-tech sequencer stuff and tribal style coming alongside as the recording progresses. The album features eight lengthy,…
Release data: Cymphonic – Dimensionata CD, DataBloem, 2013 Since he started composing music, Dutchman Stanley Swinkels (aka Cymphonic) has found his own way in the genre of organic-spiced, minimal-flavoured and subtly moulded ambient music. The 11-track “Dimensionata” is a quieting journey in the otherworldly and surreal with occasional sequenced parts, unfolding rather complex and meticulously in layers. Soothing and sensual…
Release data: Simon Wilkinson – Cryosleep Dreams DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Simon Wilkinson is a UK-based composer for film, TV & documentary who composed a collection of atmospheric and imaginary space music for “Cryosleep Dream”. Being an avid fan of the genre for many years, I’ve been accustomed to some high and essential criteria to make this type of…
Release data: Paul Ellis – Breathing Space DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 “Breathing Space” features two long form pieces (“Breathing” and “Space”) which were created after Mr Ellis finished “Wrapped In Silence”. They were shelved as they were both too long for his cd releases until he rediscovered them one day, noticing how well they worked together. This made him…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Floating Music LP/CD, Innovative Communications/Racket Records, 1980 The cosmic music that was released in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s has a special significance and flavor to many. German composer Robert Schroeder jumped on that wagon around 1979 by introducing his highly acclaimed debut “Harmonic Ascendant”. For his music he applied custom-build electronic instruments along acoustic instruments…
Release data: Brian Parnham – See None, Hear None, Speak None CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Floating Point Records, 2011 US-composer Brian Parnham describes “See None, Hear None, Speak None” as an intense electro-acoustic-trance/ambient album with an edge. On my part I’d like to add the labels energetic, tribal and occasional minimalist-flavored. The 15 interconnected tracks don’t take on any melodic shape, being…
Release data: Perge – Green Dessert CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Where do you end up when you’re able to distil and do a re-interpretation of the essence of Tangerine Dream’s music laid down in the mid 70’s and early ’80’s? The answer is Perge, a fine collaboration founded in 2012 by UK-musicians Graham Getty and Matthew Stringer with the…
Release data: Chihei Hatakeyama & Dirk Serries – The Storm of Silence CD, Glacial Movements, 2016 “The Storm of Silence” is a soundscape recording by Chihei Hatakeyama, a Japanese sound artist and musician living on the outskirts of Tokyo, and Dirk Serries (known previously as vidnaObmana). In 40 freeform minutes, the duo sketches out four longform, isolationist and distant ambient…
Release data: Stefan Erbe & Steve Baltes – S-thetic CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Erbe Music, 2015 Intelligent, contemporary and energizing are the key words for “S-thetic”, a fine debut album by Stefan Erbe & Steve Baltes. The 70+ minute recording contains the music played in December 2014 at a concert in Planetarium Bochum. Quite danceable occasionally, the spatial sounding mood music is…
Release data: Phobos – An October Evening CD-R/DVD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLO, Private Release, 2015 Since I’ve been following the nicely crafted atmospheric works of Phobos, David Thompson has been offered several opportunities to perform at UK’s Awakenings festival. If I’m not mistaken, “An October Evening” is his third live album recorded at that venue, featuring his full gig of October 17, 2015.…
Release data: Various Artists – Digiseeds CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2015 “Digiseeds” is the first in a series of conceptual compilations compiled by Czech artist Lubos Cvrk aka Ambientium. The outcome is a 66-minute dreamscape and playground which sees 11 composers (established and new) from all around the world displaying their ambient craft. Helped by the excellent mastering of Vincent…
Release data: Kitaro – Daichi / (From the) Full Moon Story LP/CD, Zen/Polydor/Geffen, 1979 This album sees a further continuation of the cosmic space sound explored on the composer’s debut-release “Ten Kai/Astral Trip”. Present once more are tribal drums/percussion and repetitive melodic lines, as are an overall sweetness, tranquil nature sounds and Kitaro’s fusion of eastern sound worlds and those…
Release data: The Great Schizm – For the Ancient Ones DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cloud Hunter Records, 2015 As the composer states, this album is dedicated to the lost cultures of the world, and the fallen cities and ancient monuments they have left behind. The music that UK synthesist Anthony Bloxham (aka The Great Schizm) composed for “For the Ancient Ones” is…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Dream Access CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music, 2015 With “Dream Access”, Robert Schroeder stays close to his signature sound, playing lush solos and creating melodic/moody spheres without getting the least complicated. It’s nice though to see the composer try a few new things, such as the less structured, more atmospheric-oriented “SpacePort” featuring nice choir pads, a…
Release data: Navigator – Northern Consequence CD, Invisible Shadows, 2000 What got here is the debut album by the band Navigator (aka Tony Anderson, Kent Eskildsen and Jens Peschke, presenting their brand of energetic and spiralling electronic music. The spicy music found on the first half of “Northern Consequence” will be a treat for all who love to listen to…
Release data: The Roswell Incident – Adrift CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 This album is the start of a new series or trilogy featuring further highly atmospheric and cinematic music by the Belgium duo Koen and Jan Buytaert. The soundscape entrance of “Adrift” is beautiful and dense, leading the listener into a surreal, uncanny world existing somewhere beyond imagination. The…
Release data: Mank – Solipsism DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manky Music, 2015 Composer Ben Powell (aka Mank) told me some of the tracks on “Solipsism” have been around for a long time as he spent a long time getting the mix how he wanted it. As happened on previous Mank-releases, there is a definite two half thing going on: the first half…
Release data: Paul Ellis – Wrapped in Silence DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 For “Wrapped In Silence”, containing one 58-minute piece, Paul Ellis set up all his keyboards with various string pad sounds and dialed in every sound to fit together for the mood he wanted. He made sure each sound was to be distinct, but not clashing in any…
Release data: Numina – Dreamsleep CD-R, Private Release, 2000 The title of this album may suggest tranquil and relaxed music from start to end, but the start proves much more active and upfront sounding. “Dreamsleep” features 13 ambient tracks, kicking off with two pieces containing quite loud and heavy drums paired with layered soundscapes and ethereal pads. The next few…
Release data: René van der Wouden – Stargazer CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, REWO Records, 2015 It’s been a while since I reviewed an album by Dutch synthesist René van der Wouden, so I’m glad to investigate one of his recent endeavours. “Stargazer”, released in June 2015, is a smoothened-dynamic and melodic recording featuring nice sequencer/rhythmic underlayment paired with sound effects along classic…
Release data: Loren Nerell – Lilin Dewa CD, Side Effects, 1996 “Lilin Dewa”, the follow-up album of Loren Nerell’s 1986- release “Point of Arrival”, takes us on a deep sonic trip into the culture of Java and Bali. The 5-track outcome offers gamelan (an ensemble of instruments, mostly tuned percussion similar to xylophones) along loops and assorted field recordings, making…
Release data: Arcane – Black Knight DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Composed almost entirely with analogue and modular synthesizers, composer Paul Lawler hereby continues his journey through space environs. This time though, he has given the free form outcome a much darker, enigmatic and sometimes even abstract flavor. The slow-paced 4-track EP “Black Knight” contains a fine dose of choir…
Release data: Skoulaman – Andros Awakenings CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 In the week after his live performance at UK’s Awakenings festival in October 2015, Hans van Kroonenburg (aka Skoulaman) worked very hard to have this album done for E-Live 2015, as he was offered to play there as well. “Andros Awakenings” contains the 50-minute set played in the UK,…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Harmonic Currents CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2015 Travels to the coastlines of Southern Oregon and Northern California along the hypnagogic lure of the vast ocean were the inspiration for Gregory Kyryluk to create the music of “Harmonic Currents”. According further liner notes, the outcome was conceived on a very minimal arrangement of electronics,…
Release data: Altus – Komorebi DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 “Komorebi”, a Japanese word describing sunlight filtering through foliage, sees Altus return with another fine nature-inspired release for which he applied similar composition techniques from the Elements-series. The chosen concept though reminds me of the older albums by Thom Brennan, who also feels a strong connection with the natural beauty…
Release data: Mario Schönwälder – Traum & Trauma CD, Manikin Records, 2015 Berlin-based Mario Schönwälder, well-known as synthesist of the trio BKS, hereby present a new solo album after a lengthy pause of 19 years. I would rather call the outcome an Ep, as it contains only 40 minutes of music. The two-track “Traum & Trauma” though doesn’t stray that…
Release data: Edgar Froese – Pinnacles LP/CD, Virgin Records, 1983 Being fascinated by the outback found in Western Australia, Edgar Froese named his fifth album after strange stone figures found in Western Australia, north of Perth. Sonically, “Pinnacles” lines up nicely next to TD’s output made at the beginning of the ’80’s (“Hyperborea”, “White Eagle”), and the sampling techniques, sequencing…
Release data: The Grey Encounter – State of Decay CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Since 2013, The Grey Encounter (aka UK synthesists Xan Alexander and Phil Booth) starting building a nice collection of gloomy, spacious and dark sound collages, only suitable for the experienced ambient listener. The 75-minute “State of Decay” is dominated by strings of post-apocalyptic, dense, desolate and…
Release data: Stefan Erbe – 2Club Genetica CD, Erbe Music, 2015 This is an album for all who love contemporary electronic music incorporating slight influences of dance, chill-out and techno. Wandering through the vibrant and fresh 71-minute “2Club Genetica” (a follow-up to the 2008 “Club Genetica” release), I was reminded quite often of Schiller’s instrumental tracks. Mr Erbe’s music though…
Release data: Pyramaxx – Distance CD, Private Release, 2015 Well, what a surprise to see this joined project-release of Axel Stupplich and Andreas Morsch (aka Pyramid Peak) accompanied by Max Schiefele (Maxxess). All are known as respected, successful and talented Germany musicians for many years within and outside the EM-genre. “Distance”, referring to the traveling distance between the composers, sees…
Release data: Eddie Jobson – Theme of Secrets LP/CD, Private Music, 1985 When we have a look at ’80’s synth albums, Eddie Jobson’s “Theme of Secret” is a most interesting and creative one. The 40-minute release, composed solely on the polyphonic Synclavier synthesizer offering lots sampling techniques to the user, sees Mr Jobson exercise his great playing skills and explore…
Release data: Martin Nonstatic – Granite CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2015 I’ve encountered the name of German producer, sound designer and composer Martin Nonstatic (aka Martin van Rossum) on various compilation albums previously, but this is the first full-length release I get my teeth into. “Granite” is a 70-minute dub/down-tempo ambient album inspired by natural rock formations, featuring lots of…
Release data: Harold Budd – The Room LP/CD, Atlantic Records, 2000 The core inspiration for this quiet album was drawn from a painting of the same name LA-composer Harold Budd encountered in the late ’80s. “The Room” eventually ended up as a base and the start to explore the various aspects of what rooms can actually be or become, which…
Release data: Harold Budd – Lovely Thunder LP/CD, Editions Eg Records, 1986 Mr Budd’s aim to make his music as beautiful as possible at every moment is a firm understatement when it comes to the music found on this amazing recording, which lines up nicely to his collaborative effort “The Pearl” with soul mate Brian Eno. Composer and sound engineer…
Release data: Steve Roach – Ultra Immersion Concert CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Digital, 2007/2013 In the summer of 2007, Steve Roach performed a 12-hour nocturnal concert at his Epona Range for a selected audience. Of the full set, a 2,5 hour montage ended up on two cd-r’s (limited to 50 copies) that were given to the people who attended as part…
Release data: Gert Emmens – Triza CD, Groove Unlimited, 2015 Telling sonic narratives is something Gert Emmens is getting very good at when you look back on his output in recent years. The 73-minute “Triza” travels through a dark, mysterious and post-apocalyptic world, aptly depicted on the cd cover. Moreover, it deals with suffering in different aspects, which is also…
Release data: Simon Lomax – 5 Textures CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Council of Nine, 2015 Dissolving and immersion in the beckoning silence of a foggy world would be an appropriate description in a nutshell for Simon Lomax’s release “5 Textures”. The spacious, gentle evolving glide of emotive, cinematic-flavored and at times slightly blurred soundscapes on each of the six tracks merges the…
Release data: Erik Seifert & Josef Steinbüchel – Softlock USB-STICK, Pleasure Sound Music, 2014 “Softlock” a limited edition USB-stick (embedded in a card in the size of a credit card) which premiered at the Schallwelle Award on March 29th 2014 in Planetarium Bochum, Germany, where an outtake from the album was performed live in concert. Next to 90 minutes of…
Release data: Kitaro – Ten Kai/Astral Trip/Astral Voyage P/CD, Zen/Polydor/Geffen Records, 1978 After having joined the progressive Far East Family band, Kitaro decided to pursue a solo trip, starting with the spiritual, heavily synth-based “Ten Kai/Astral Voyage”. The latter proves a rather weird and trippy release featuring both calm and more dramatic passages that not yet connect to the stronger…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – The Stargazer’s Journey CD, New World Music, 2003 After too many cheesy, chill-out, feel-good and profound romantic albums I gave up hope Jonn Serrie would ever be able to release any new mature space music. Well,the 60-minute “The Stargazer’s Journey” is exactly that, a full-length release of traditional cosmic music with no weak spot. Words…
Release data: [‘ramp] Doombient.Two – A Declaration of War CD-R, Private Release, 2006 When we talk about menacing, intense and gloomy ambient music, the output of the German project [‘ramp] has always something special to offer. In this case it’s a live-set Stephen Parsick and Frank Makowski played at the German Emil EM festival 2003, accomplished under very hard circumstances…
Release data: The Circular Ruins – Confluence CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, In the Bubble Music/DataObscura, 2002 The Circular Ruins is one of the four projects that Canadian ambient musician Anthony Paul Kerby -alias APK- is involved with, yet The Circular Ruins seems to be the most important of them all. “Confluence” dates from June 2001 and was originally only available in…
Release data: Deborah Martin – Eye of the Wizard CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 More than once I’ve felt US-composer Deborah Martin was the female sonic equivalent of Austrian multi-instrumentalist Gandalf in a certain way. “The Eye of the Wizard”, an epic musical odyssey through a realm of wizardry and sacred alchemy, weaves an enchanting tapestry of sounds of…
Release data: Urenga – Pacific Depths CD, Gterma, 2015 This album, assembled from various recordings made between 2011 and 2013, extends on Urenga’s album “Mu”. Andras Kiss delivers another dedication to the beauty and wonders of the water element while expressing the exotic nature of the vast Pacific Ocean. The 73-minute spacious sounding and continuous outcome (including the two lengthy…
Release data: Michael Padilla – Atmospheres (Ambient Works Vol. One) LP + CD, Fruits de Mer Records/Strange Fish, 2016 What I got here is a beautiful designed 40-minute ambient album (strictly limited to 400 copies) by one Michael Padilla, who seems to be known as front man of various psych rock and pop bands. Released on a vinyl picture disc…
Release data: Uni Sphere – EndLess EndeavoR CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2015 What to expect from two accomplished musicians in their own right who decide to collaborate in a new project? Well, combining the sonic pathways of Eric van der Heijden and René Splinter under the Uni Sphere moniker has led to an emotive, sparkling and evocative outcome on their…
Release data: Skare – Solstice City CD, Glacial Movements, 2009 Assorted field recordings, found sounds and treated/manipulated instruments were the means used to create the narrative outcome of the 50 minute “Soltice City”, a project by Swedish trio Mathias Josefson, Fredrik Olofsson and Per Åhlund. The minimalist ambientdrone soundscapes delivered on the three tracks was inspired by their fascination of…
Release data: Mark Shreeve – Nocturne CD, Sonic Images, 1995 “Nocturne” -released on Chris Franke’s Sonic Images label- is the last solo album by British synthesist Mark Shreeve he would out out under his own name. Just a year after, he founded the notable band Redshift. The 15 tracks/65-minute “Nocturne” serves a varied meal: it ranges from melodic-, energetic, up-tempo…
Release data: Fryderyk Jona – Wind Experience CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synth Musik, 2014 Fryderyk Jona is a young Polish synthesist now living in Mainz, Germany, who hereby presents his debut album of contemporary, Berlin School-oriented electronic music. On the 56-minute overall mellow sounding “Wind Experience”, Mr Jona pairs smooth pulsating and sequenced music with textural spheres. Already on the opening (title)…
Release data: Netherworld – Alchemy of Ice CD, Glacial Movements, 2013 Here’s another piece of well-rendered arctic ambient, a 43-minute sonic endeavour created by Alessandro Tedeschi (also founder of the Italian label Glacial Movements). According the composer, the conceptual elements highlighted in this recording are Alchemy – a view from the metaphysical point in both spiritual development and liberation –…
Release data: As if – Havet CD, Gterma, 2015 “Havet” is the second full-length album by musician/visual artist Kenneth Werner (Jensen) on Johan Rehn’s Gterma label. The almost 80-minute outcome, melting dubtechno and ambient moods, was highly inspired by the vast ocean that surrounds the composer’s home island of Bornholm along the passing of the various seasons in the southern…
Release data: Redshift – Life to come CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Distant Sun Production, 2015 It’s been a while since the previous release, but this new chapter of the Redshift discography has been worth the wait. Fans still don’t need to worry as the big and fat sounding modular machinery again was treated by the very capable Mark Shreeve, who seems to…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Planetary Chronicles, Volume 1 CD, Miramar, 1992 This album is the first of two releases filled with a selection of Jonn’s earlier (commissioned) planetarium works along library music, all accomplished using analogue gear only. Such a recording gave Jonn an opportunity to put forth his deepest ideas about space and to experiment with new textures,…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Planetary Chronicles, Volume 2 CD, Miramar, 1994 As Jonn had more earlier planetarium work and library music shelved, I’m glad he has been given the free hand to collect and release a second batch focusing on his deep space excursions only. Coming with a much nicer cover than the first volume, the spatial outcome features…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Tingri CD, Miramar, 1990 On his third album “Tingri”, situated in a remote village in Tibet, composer Jonn Serrie started infusing spiritual, feel-good romantic flavors into parts of his music. While still sounding spacious and sticking to his signature sound, the album turns out far less “space” overall. On his later album “Midsummer Century”, Mr…
Release data: Bob Holroyd – Blueprint CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Real World Works, 2015 What I got here is a 46-minute album with 14 cyclical ambient tracks, in part inspired by work in therapy, and in part by the creative process itself. Moreover, each piece on Bob Holroyd’s “Blueprint” explores the relationship between repetition and progression where the music develops over time,…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Ixlandia CD, Miramar, 1995 “Ixlandia” is the sister album of “Midsummer Century”, following the poignant sense of romance of the previous album while its melodic, song-written music describes the environments and places of the classified story. Jonn again used soft romantic images and traditional songwriting techniques which were more common to everyone while introducing the…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Midsummer Century CD, Miramar, 1993 On this emotive recording, Jonn Serrie takes the mixing of romantic elements into his space music (as introduced previously on “Tingri”) to an even higher level while moulding it into narrative storytelling. “Midsummer Century” is the first of two concept albums where the composer unfolds a musical sf-story based on…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Tauern DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008/2015 When we look at imaginative and narrative ambient, the works of Matthew Florianz always stir a different pair of emotive strings for me that I find rather hard to pinpoint. The version of “Tauern” reviewed here is actually a re-release of the original 2008 album in a revised, 24-bit…
Release data: Paul Ellis – Listen Silent DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The words in the title of this release use the same letters as well as being descriptive of the overall mood the outcome generates. For “Listen Silent”, composer Paul Ellis had the idea to create some music that would generate a very gentle, quiet nature. The free form…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Flightpath CD, Miramar, 1989 For his second album “Flightpath”, Jonn Serrie didn’t want to repeat the concept of his debut-album “And the Stars go with you”. Instead, being an experienced pilot himself, he decided to return to his boyhood love for flying, aerospace and the various aspects of flight. He delivered six compositions commemorating the…
Release data: Jaja – Starlight CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cyan, 2015 The signature sound wrapped up in expansive freeform soundscapes as known from Jana Rockstroh’s previous album “Stellamare” are only present on “Starlight” to a certain degree. In 70+ minutes and four correlated chapters, the listener once more travels through vast and freeform galactic realms. This time around, the morphing trails of…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – And the Stars go with you CD, Miramar , 1988 I remember “And the Stars go with you” marked my introduction into the mesmerizing world of classic space music that started to spread slowly over Europe through distributors in the mid ’80’s. After nine years of shaping his skills and building quite an extensive library…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper – Konnektions CD, Air Space Records, 2015 After a hiatus of a couple of years, accomplished synthesist Jeffery Koepper returns with “Konnektions”. It’s an inspired release maintaining his connection to the pure emotional impact of pure analog sound firmly while putting Steve Roach at the helm regarding final assembly, enhancements and mastering to meet ends there…
Release data: Andrew Lahiff – Quiet Correlations DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Pocket Fields, 2012 Serene, lush and gently morphing are the keywords applying to the nature-inspired/related outcome featured on “Quiet Correlations”, coined by the label as high-level primeval innerspace deep ambient. The cosmic, meditative and reflective atmospheres filling the ten spacious soundscapes pass by as a comfortable glide, glistening smoothly as they…
Release data: Bryan Carrigan – Fall into Winter CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Peonies Music, 2015 The winter season has already inspired many electronic musicians to compose music, those in the ambient genre especially. With his sixth album “Fall into Winter”, accomplished American producer, engineer, and electronic composer Bryan Carrigan invested two years of production in refining and sculpting his creative output, coming…
Release data: Von Hallgath – Easterfield DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Private Release, 2015 von Hallgath is a side project of Jörg Erren and Jochen Schöttler, both members of the fine German quartet Erren-Fleissig-Schöttler-Steffen. “Easterfield” is a four-track EP with mature, Berlin School-inspired electronic music. At first glance, it takes on a bit more abstract approach on opener “Engine”, later shifting to…
Release data: Schiller – Die Einlassmusik 10 CD, Sleepingroom Musik, 2013 Schiller’s “Die Einlassmusik 10” is an eight-track album featuring music Christopher von Deylen composed to entertain his audience before the actual concert during his 2013 “Neue Klangwelten” tour. Contrary to his regular commercial releases, no vocals or melodic tunes are featured here. Instead one gets a selection of continuous…
Release data: Syn – Valles Marineris CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Cosmic music in the tradition of the ‘70’s German/Berlin style has seen many followers and faces. Syn, aka synthesist David T. Dewdney, gives things a go in a very engaging and evocative manner on “Valles “Marineris”. It already starts out tasty with the atmospheric title track (which appeared previously…
Release data: Jean Michel Jarre – Electronica 1: The Time Machine LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sony Music, 2015 This release, working title “E-Project”, has been rumored about long time before the actual release in October 2015. Prepared over a long period of time, “Electronica” is an ambitious project presented in two separate volumes in which 30 collaborators in total are involved, with…
Release data: Apocryphos, Kammarheit & Atrium Carceri – Onyx CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cryo Chamber, 2015 Dark ambient comes in various flavors, especially when it’s the result of a collaboration of talents. In case of “Onyx”, Apocryphos (aka Robert Kozletsky), Kammarheit (aka Pär Bostrom) & Atrium Carceri (aka Swedish composer Simon Heath) achieved something special in the deep dark realm which the…
Release data: Scott Lawlor – Daedalus DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Earth Mantra, 2015 The works of Scott Taylor fit the bill most satisfactory if you’re into imaginary and long form spacemusic. “Daedalus” is the soundtrack for a probe that was never build/designed despite initial ideas in the ’70’s, as it journeys for many years through the grand design of the interstellar void.…
Release data: Mindglide – Down the Light DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2007/2012 “Down the Light” is the debut-release of Spanish synthesist Rafael De Julián Garcia aka Mindglide, which has been re-released in extended and remastered form by the Altera Orbe label in 2012. Its music is inspired by the contemplation of landscapes where light writes the history of the universe…
Release data: Massergy – A Novel Sense of Calm DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2015 Massergy is an ambient project of Texas-based self-taught musician Eric Jensen who made his live debut at Finland’s Ambient Music Conference in June 2014, where he also launched his album “Beautiful Narcosis”. Listening to the 87-minute “With A Novel Sense of Calm” with a pair of…
Release data: Markus Reuter & Zero Ohms – From Worlds Unseen A Light Yet Streams A Sound Replete CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2015 Being a longtime fan of ambient space music I got to know and reviewed quite a lot of stuff in this genre. The collaborative work “From Worlds Unseen A Light Yet Streams A Sound Replete” is a…
Release data: Colin Rayment – Abstract Dimensions CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Syngate, 2015 On previous albums, London-based composer Colin Rayment already offered electronic music fans a fine collection of fresh, melodic and sequencer-flavored electronics of high quality. What’s unfolding on “Abstract Dimensions” is a personal ‘journey’, deriving its musical inspiration from some abstract thinking, while reflecting some of the positive feelings in…
Release data: Andrew Lahiff – Inner Worlds Returning CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2012 I’ve been following the soundscape music of Andrew Lahiff for many years, which fits in the league of Robert Carty, Altus, Thom Brennan and alike. “Inner Worlds Returning” contains assorted nature-inspired compositions made in different timeframes, but they are linked together most effectively, addressing the tranquil, cinematic…
Release data: Particle Image Velocimetry – Molecule Assembler DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, GerningsStedet Records, 2015 Danish label manager, dj and producer Michael Klit is the sole founder of the PsyChill project Particle Image Velocimetry. The projects music is inspired by “The sound of the Future” as created in the vintage ’70’s, featuring small self-contained sequenced parts along dark electronic chill-out. The outcome…
Release data: Paul Ellis – Moth in Flames CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 Upon request, Mr Ellis let me know the title of this release could mean several different things, from unrequited love to environmental problems. But the main thing he was actually thinking of with the phrase “Moth in Flames” is an artist becoming completely lost in the…
Release data: David Wright – Live at the London Planetarium CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 1996/2015 This release is actually the remastered version of the album David originally put out on cd in 1996. It features outtakes of music he played together with guitarist Nik Smith during two nights at the London Planetarium. The outcome is imaginary, dramatic and enchanting, releasing…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Echotides CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2015 The atmospheric/cinematic and overtly relaxed music which Mr Wøllo offers on the 43-minute EP “Echotides” will suit all who love Erik’s contemplative ambient style and expansive textural outings. The uplifting and positive approach already featured on the opening piece is one of pure delight, later on shifting to introspective,…
Release data: Audiometria – Submúltiplo CD-R, el Hombre Bala Records, 2015 The idea for this album emerged while Javi Cánovas and Miguel Justo were improvising at a couple of meetings. It made them realize they could actually record a full album almost in one go without losing the magic of music created in the moment. “Submúltiplo” ended up containing four…
Release data: Various Artists – Enfold 01 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2014 The free of charge compilation “Enfold”, a 24-bit studio master, celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Lyon-based Ultimae label, a collection of songs created with the idea of gentleness and chill. In ten winter ambience tracks, Lars Leonhard, I Awake, Fingers In the Noise, Scann-Tec, Asura, Miktek, Martin…
Release data: Chronotope Project – Dawn Treader CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 Judging the high quality of his previous releases it was just a matter of time before Jeffery Ericson Allen, aka Chronotope project, would be signed to a record label, giving full scope to his contemplative art music. According the composer, “Dawn Treader” (which is inspired by C.S.…
Release data: Solitaire – Nocturnes CD, Arya, 1997 “Noctures” sees a continuation of the minimal, tribal-infused ambient by the German duo Schulte/Gleisberg as known from previous works, but with a slightly livier vibe discernable between the Eastern-spiced drony tapestries and hypnotizing rhythms. The addition of female vocals evokes something ethereal, while the mood also shifts to psychedelic/gothic realms occasionally (“Simulation…
Release data: Justin Vanderberg – In Waking Moments CD-R, Hypnos Secret Sounds, 2007 My passion for gentle, well-rendered textural and highly emotive soundscape music made me track down this debut release by Justin Vanderberg, who left quite an impression on me with his 2011-release “Synthetic Memories”. Steve Roach was in charge of the mastering of “In Waking Moments”, a meditative…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – One ~ Source Quartet Volume 1 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/CD-R, Private Release, 2015 With his tenth album “One” (the first chapter in the Source Quartet-series), New Zealand-based composer and visual artist Andrew Forrest returns with a new sonic revelation. In essence it’s an energetic experience of shifting from tight contracted separateness to the expanded freedom from illusory…
Release data: Arcane – Landers DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Private Release, 2015 According to his Facebook page, a new synth and a good concept idea were the driving force for the 5 track/30 minute EP “Landers”, enabling Paul Lawler to finish all music in just four days start to end. Here’s no sign though of any downside to this quick working…
Release data: Romerium – Space Impressions CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 This time around, Romerium (aka Rene Montfoort) presents us a freeform, non-rhythmic album inspired by the massive space environs surrounding us. In 69-minutes and six tracks, he takes his listeners on a very relaxed cosmic trip through transparent nebula textures and expansive soundscape territory. Opening with a slow floating…
Release data: Vir Unis – Stand still like the Hummingbird CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AtmoWorks, 2009 The fractal groove creation, sophisticate percussive elements and progressive-atmospheric ambient sound design presented on “Stand still like the Hummingbird” all deliver a new chapter of imaginative, non-melodic sound paintings by John Strate-Hootman. The minimalist music extends further on earlier sonic excursions such as “Mercury and Plastic”…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Upon Contact Reworked CD, ad21 Music, 2015 It has been done quite often, releasing an album containing reworked versions by other composers derived from an original composition. For “Upon Contact Reworked”, Bruno Sanfilippo invited Francesco Giannico, Olan Mill, Leonardo Rosado, Jorge Haro, Quivion and Hior Chronik respectively to put their hands, insights and skills to…
Release data: Cosmic Ground – Cosmic Ground 2 CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 From the start of this album it becomes clear this is a well rendered effort of and homage to TD’s signature sound from the “Ricochet”/ “Encore” era, with occasional hints of “Rubicon” and “Phaedra” flying by. If you’re expecting a personal nod from the composer during this…
Release data: Adelbert von Deyen – Atmosphere LP/CD, Sky Records, 1980/1992 This might sound strange, but this is my first encounter with the classic music of German Em-composer Adelbert von Deyen. “Atmosphere”, his third album, is the only one from his back catalogue that made it to a factory-pressed cd next to a Best-of album. Although we’re talking about classic…
Release data: Janneh – Love Times Time CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 “Love Times Time” is a 52-minute album of contemporary, sequencer-based cosmic music with occasional Eastern elemens composed by Finnish composer Janne Hanhisuanto aka Janneh. The nine, rather mellow pieces all rely on song structure on which melody only plays a minor role. Though “Falling Star” displays a livelier,…
Release data: Steve Roach – Etheric Imprints CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2015 After the analogue sequencer-outing “Skeletion Keys”, Steve Roach hereby returns to deeply expansive, emotive and contemplative electronic music comprised into four minimalist low volume tracks. Lots of reverb is at play in these slow morphing, melancholic-infused textural waves, all focusing on the essential elements of sound: silence, tone,…
Release data: CosmoMoose – Cosmic Invasion DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 CosmoMoose is electronic music artist Chris Medway from Devon, UK. His song-oriented, melodic album “Cosmic Invasion” (a soundtrack for the mind, full of strong catchy themes to take the listener on an hour-long musical journey where the Cosmic comes to Earth) is a mostly beat-driven electronic affair with even…
Release data: Carbon Based Lifeforms – World of Sleepers CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2006 Those in search for a piece of sonic magic have come to the right place with CBL’s second album “World of Sleepers”. In almost 80 minutes, Johannes Hedberg and Daniel Ringström take their audience on a hypnotizing, gentle and easy-going journey through atmospheric down-tempo territory. As…
Release data: Distant System – Spiral Empire CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Celestial Dragon Records, 2008 Sonically, this actually could have been a release on the fine Ultimae label, lining up nicely next to some Aes Dana and Asura recordings over there. But it isn’t. Distant System is a project by US-composer Tyler Smith (also known as Androcell) who creates sonic textures and…
Release data: Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder – Green CD, Manikin Records, 2015 “Green” sees a further continuation of the band’s “color-series”, featuring music played live in concert at their Repelen-venue and during rehearsals in 2015. The 73-minute release merges classic Berlin School infused music and contemporary electronics into a melodic-oriented excursions where influences of trance, minimalist and atmospheric ambient shine…
Release data: Numina – Through the Gate to Nowhere CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2015 The continuous music contained on this evocative ambient recording is the culmination of material recorded over a two year timeframe, in which it was securely molded and shaped under the influenced of many events, introspective moments and emotion happening in the life of Jesse Sola, aka…
Release data: Optical Image – Moonchild CD, SoundArt Productions, 1998 “Moonchild” is an album continuing the signature sound of Dutch composer Tom Habes, aka Optical Image, has been developing of the years. The five pieces all have a positive air, on which Mr Habes displays fast-paced sequencers, smooth solos hovering over warm textures and synthetic drum. The opening title track…
Release data: Peter Challoner –Peter Challoner – Livescapes_Inception CD-R, Ambient Sound Projects, 2013 “Livescapes_Inception” contains two interconnected lengthy sonic innerscapes of 30 and 34 minutes each. Each ambient piece is a constellation of uninterrupted, slow morphing soundscapes that trigger the imagination while staying overtly relaxing as it unfolds gently wave after wave. The first part is a bit more abstract-oriented,…
Release data: Troika – Shaman CD, Enso Records, 2000 Subtitled as the “mystical, powerful world of spirit healers”, “Shaman” sets out on a 47-minute harmonic journey. This time, David Arkenstone offers no smooth synthesizer orchestration anymore but an assortment of native/shamanic rhythms, chants and native flutes with just a slight breeze of melodic synthesizer to accompany them. It makes for…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Void Dance CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3Six Records, 2015 It’s time for change, as Dennis Huddleston (aka 36) has tried his hand on incorporating more melodic flavors and a slight song-like approach in the ambient and symphonic atmospheres of “Void Dance”. ” The emotive and soaring already kick in beautifully on opener “Hold On”, leading into an…
Release data: Steve Roach & Vidna Obmana – InnerZone CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2002 On both “Well of Souls” and “Ascension of Shadows”, the duo Steve Roach and vidnaObmana made clear they are an accomplished and powerful combo in exploring deeper sound worlds while applying a large assortment of acoustic and electronic instruments. The 73-minute “InnerZone”, an expansive ride balancing…
Release data: Steve Roach & Vidna Obmana – Well of Souls CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 1995 “Well of Souls”, actually the first fully-realized duo project by Steve Roach and Vidna Obmana (aka Belgium-based composer Dirk Serries), lines up perfectly when talking about expansive ethno-electronic music, sketching out an abundance of tribal , mysterious and groovy (under)currents coloring the nebulous atmospheres.…
Release data: Various Artists – Subtextures CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Interchill, 2015 If you look for any regular names of the Interchill stall, you will look in vain for them on this compilation which introduces a brand new league of contemporary musicians and bands. What you get though are 14 tracks of experimental and break beats, intelligent dubstep, bass IDM and down/tempo…
Release data: Steve Roach & Roger King – Dust to Dust CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 1998 “Dust to Dust” is a 61-minute trip into sonic desert terrain, a concept album about people who decided to go west, travel though the vast and remorseless desert and the mythology of the the west both now and a hundred years ago. It sees…
Release data: Hemisphere – From Inside the Cyclone CD, Groove Unlimited, 1997 Despite a few contemporary, melodic-oriented rhythmic tracks opener “Zombie Attack” is one of them), there is a mellow/dark current on the 72-minute “From Inside the Cyclone”. That flavour is felt well on the gloomy “Galaxy of Terror”, which resembles the in-depth air of previously released Hemisphere long-tracks. Still…
Release data: Stellardrone – Light Years DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Energostatic records, 2013 In my ongoing search for interesting ambient space music I ran into the music of Lithuanan composer Edgaras Žakevičius and his 6th album “Light Years”. On the menu are ten tracks ranging from lush, harmonic and warm ambientspace soundscapes to symphonic-oriented, sequencer-rhythmic spiced excursions with a gentle dose of…
Release data: AirSculpture – Vanishing Point Volume One CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 The UK-trio AirSculpture is at their element when they perform live, improvised and in the moment, which has been documented by several releases by now. “Vanishing Point Vol. 1” contains almost 80 minutes of music played on radio (Star’s End, Secret Music) and concert performances (One Thousand…
Release data: Chad Kettering – Pathways CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soniclayers Music, 2015 The third album by Chad Kettering, which took three years in the making, takes on a new sonic approach. It fuses the world of orchestral instrumentation with the world of electronics heard on his previous releases “Into The Infinite” and “Voices of the Ancients”, thereby exploring a much larger…
Release data: Vauxia Errante – Cambrian Spirits DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2012 Vauxia Errante is a Spanish composer who was signed to the Altera Orbe label in the second half of 2012. His debut release “Cambrian Spirits” (on which he received assistance by Ran Kirlian on synths, flutes and tribal groove creation) is a deep organic soundtrip into subterranean landscapes…
Release data: Jaja – Stellamare CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, CYAN Music, 2015 “Stellamare” (Sea of Stars) is the first physical release by Jana Rockstroh, who put herself on the map as accomplished space music composer since a couple of years. Similar to previous albums, she again sticks to lengthy tracks, allowing the free form textural soundscapes to wander along while evolving in…
Release data: Frore & Shane Morris – Blood Moon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music , 2015 Next to Steve Roach, the US-duo Frore (aka Paul Casper) and Shane Morris were also attracted and inspired by the solar eclipse, which led to this tribal-ambient release featuring a trance-inducing, ingenious melt of electronic and acoustic instruments. In there are five rhythm-oriented rides…
Release data: Time Being – A Place to Belong CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 Launched as a theme-continuation from their previous album, the music featured on “A Place to Belong” takes the next step into deep exploration of ambient sounds and design. The eight free form tracks further extend on timeless, deep-drifting ambient atmospheres and textural land/farscapes, addressing cosmic,…
Release data: Bertrand Loreau – From Past to Past CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music, 2015 According to Mr Loreau’s liner notes in the booklet, the outcome of 60-minute “From Past to Past” is his best effort to date to express his love and admiration for the Berlin School style, but now applied to lengthy cosmic improvisations. In addition, this should sound…
Release data: Kristoffer Oustad – Filth Haven CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Malignant Records, 2015 Haunting, dark, machine-like and slightly doomsday ambient dronescapes are what the listener is receiving on the rather analogue sounding “Filth Haven” by Norwegian composer Kristoffer Oustad. The first half (the first three pieces to be more accurate) of the 49-minute outcome are a spiralling procession of grimy and…
Release data: Rene de Bakker – Returning Winds CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 On your search for well-tempered Berlin School music the works by Rene de Bakker will surely please quite an audience, as it is well composed and structured. Did his self-titled first album still need a bit of work on various fronts, the 66-minute “Returning Winds” (Rene’s third…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Earthen CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Anodize, 2015 On “Earthen”, Gregory Kyryluk has somehow been able to collect the best ingredients from his output as Alpha Wave Movement, blending his trademark of evocative ambient atmospherics and contemporary electronic sounds together with flares of Berlin School. The beautiful opener “Immerse” already illustrates smooth spacescapes intwine perfectly with gentle,…
Release data: Akikaze – Blue Sky Events CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Criminal Records, 2014 Dutch composer Pepijn Courant, aka Akikaze, has been around in the electronic music scene for a very long time, 25 years if I’m not mistaken. Some might even have his early cassettes or cherish contributions to samplers such as his fine track “The Master and the Apprentice” to…
Release data: Damián Anache – Capturas del Único Camino CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Concepto Cero & Inkilino Records, 2014 For this peculiar album we travel to Argentina, homeland of experimental composer Damián Anache. The latter constructed so called generative “landscape” ambient using an algorithm applied to the sounds of a large range of instruments, field recordings and voice. The 58-minute “Capturas del…
Release data: Yen Pox – Between the Horizon and the Abyss CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Malignant Records, 2015 Massive distorted sounds and textures along a great sense of discomfort are at play on the 73-minute “Between the Horizon and the Abyss”, a maelstrom of dark ambient where quite a lot of industrial and abstract influences kick in. The unforgiving and harsh apocalyptic…
Release data: Ishvara – Under A Hexagon Sky CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Virtual World, 2012 Intelligent electronic space lounge is a description that flew through my mind while I was digging Ishvara’s album “Under A Hexagon Sky”, “an album of futuristic prismatic soundscapes and flowing musical pieces inspired by sci fi imagery and dedicated to all those who have wandered under liquid…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Spirits of the Voyage CD, Earth Turtle Music, 2000 “Spirits of the Voyage”, soundtrack music from the same-titled documentary, features exotic, at times slightly mysterious-infused ambient music weaving native island songs and navigator chants from Micronesia with lush instrumental pieces. The 63-minute recording goes by as an unhurried dreamy trip on which I especially fell…
Release data: Steve Roach & Elmar Schulte – Ritual Ground CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silent/Relic/Projekt Archive, 1993/2000 The electro-acoustic alchemy that ended up on “Ritual Ground” (originally released on the Silent-label in 1993 under the nom-de-plum Solitaire) was created in the period when Steve Roach travelled to Europe to play on festivals in The Netherlands and Germany. The 56-minutes of atmospheric, tribal-inspired…
Release data: Numina & Zero Ohms – Broken Stars Through Brilliant Clouds CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 “Broken Stars Through Brilliant Clouds” is the first full-length collaboration of Jesse Sola (aka Numina) and Richard J. Roberts (aka Zero Ohms) which sees both composers journey into the wonders and depths of the galaxy. The five-track/59-minute recording features textural chord and…
Release data: AirSculpture – Graveyard Shift CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 This music on this 64-minute album hails back to 2006 when AirSculpture were over the pond visiting Philadelphia to play at The Gatherings concert series. The recording found here though is from the gig played at Chuck van Zyl’s Stars End radio show. Their they played their distinctive style…
Release data: Parallel Worlds & Self Oscillate – World Adapter CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2015 “World Adapter” contains 10 modular improvisations taking the experienced ambient listener into the lands of electronic futurism and mellow IDM with a dash of controlled experimentalism thrown in. Having collaborated previously as Interconnected, Ingo Zobel (Self Oscillate) and Bakis Sirros (Parallel Worlds), both musicians hereby extend…
Release data: Filter-Kaffee – 102 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manikin Records, 2015 Filter-Kaffee’s second album “102” came out on E-Day 2015, on which the duo Frank Rothe and Mario Schönwälder also performed parts of it live in concert. The tasty but short “Intro” hails back to TD’s begin/mid ‘70’s retro-days, followed by the halucinogenic atmospherics, lush mellotron textures and vintage sequencing of…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Concept of Motion CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1998 Although AWM’s third album opens much more energetic, rhythmic and sequencer-driven on the first two pieces, the sophisticate soundscape ambient style heard on his previous releases comes forward on the lovely “Sanctuary”. This tranquil, introspective approach also blooms on “Gaia’s Heartbeat”, the melodic/percussive waves of “Ocean…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Return to the North DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wayfarer Records, 2015 Composing cinematic music giving a voice to and feel of cold, hostile but beautiful places is something Boreal Taiga has become very good at. On “Return to the North”, JimD’s contemporary, occasionally minimalist ambient compositions are captivating, quieting, dreamy and mesmerizing. Airy, slow curling and evolving…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Flavour of the Past CD, Spheric Music, 2015 Now here’s an album that put a slight smile on my face, as it comprises various single and/or commissioned tracks from Mr Schroeder that ended up on samplers, including those he delivered for concept albums of IC and Cue Records. Some of these pieces on “Flavour of…
Release data: Steve Roach – The Desert Collection Volume 1 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2014 In a way, this 74-minute album (that started as a collection of desert-themed tracks sequenced for summer road trips between Arizona and California) is a kind of deserted island collection of ambient pieces, but now derived solely from the composers own works made within the…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Echoes From Future Memories CD, Groove Unlimited, 2015 After their beautiful excursion into the textural domain on “Signs”, the Dutch duo Emmens/Heij shifts back to the analogue, sequencer-driven soundworlds on “Echoes from Future Memories”. In four lengthy, structured pieces, they once again venture into far-off lands with great combos of sequencer patterns,…
Release data: SiJ & Sergey Gabbasov – Zhang Zhung CD, Gterma, 2015 What I got here is a Himalayan-inspired, slow evolving and grand sounding soundscape meticulously put together by Ukraine composer Vladislav Sikach (aka SiJ) and ethnomusicologist Sergey Gabbasov. The two have come up with a captivating 80-minute tapestry of assorted sounds, textures and environmental recordings that’s most cinematic, enchanting…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Splendid Labyrinths CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, ad 21 music, 2015 Since he started out releasing music in 1999, accomplished composer Max Corbacho had delivered the ambient community a very nice and consistent collection of highly spherical ambiences. “Splendid Labyrinths” (following right after his download-only dark ambient recording “Future Terrain”) is a next chapter in his what Max…
Release data: Jorge Reyes – Bajo El Sol Jaguar CD, Opcion Sonica/Mexican Records/No-CD Records/Musiqu, 1991 “Bajo El Sol Jaguar” (Under the Sun of the Jaguar) is a key ethno-ambient release by Mexican multi-instrumentalist Jorge Reyes, who later on would team up with Suso Saiz and Steve Roach to found Suspended Memories. It’s a concept album addressing ancient mythology of the…
Release data: Dan Pound – Change Of Weather CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 With “Change of Weather”, US-composer Dan Pound had delivered another intense and quite enjoyable ambient recording. A captivating atmosphere is already set by the two-part opener “Through the Fog”, aptly weaving thick and lush textural waves with a slight melodic line and even a high-tech touch. “After…
Release data: Sean Washburn – Wave Mantra CD, Gterma, 2000/2015 “Wave Mantra” was originally released privately by the composer in 2000, but has been out-of-print for a long time and been sought after by many. This reissue (with new art work) has been gently remastered by Anders Peterson (A.P.). For a review of the music (a sonic journey through an…
Release data: John Christian – Sol Invictus CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 On his fourth album “Sol Invictus”, Airsculpture-member John Christian invites his listeners to join him on a trip that features a good bunch of heavy sequencers. In the process of creation, John experimented with tracks that would slowly alter their mix or sounds to keep the very prominent…
Release data: Circular – Nanotopia CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Origo Sound, 2007 What I got here is the debut album by the Norwegian project Circular, which was established two years earlier. Influenced by the sound that was to be known as arctic ambient (see Biosphere and alike), Bjarte Andreassen and Jostein Dahl Gjelsvik decided to explore a wider and even unfamiliar sound…
Release data: Yagya – The Inescapable Decay Of My Heart CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Kilk Records, 2012 It came as a bit of a surprise to find out accomplished Icelandic dub techno and ambient producer Aðalsteinn Guðmundsson (aka Yagya) hereby presents a record with upfront vocals, as all his previous recordings offered exquisite ambient-techno pieces with none of these. Fortunately, “The Inescapable…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Mala Kunia CD-EP, Eastgate, 2014 This long-run cupdisc, the first (and also last release I reckon) in “The Quantum Years” was made available on the occasion of TD’s live performances in Australia in the last quarter of 2014, but was recorded upfront. There also was a new band line-up featuring the talented IDM-musician Ulrich Schnauss…
Release data: Steve Roach – Skeleton Keys LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2015 “Skeleton Keys” is a labour of love for the analogue synth domain and one Steve Roach has been attracted to since he started composing in the late ’70’s. As a matter of fact, he never could resist the urge and growing desire to explore the “essence of the…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Music for the Dome DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Earth Turtle Music, 2016 This release containing selections from planetarium scores recorded over the last several years, had a long time coming. The outcome, all written to picture initially, has been in the works for several years. “Music for the Dome” originally clocked over 70 minutes but felt too…
Release data: Under the Dome – The Heavens CD-R, Cochlear Vision Records, 1997 “The Heavens” was the first cd-r of synthesist Grant Middleton as Under the Dome. It was originally recorded in 1990 on a Fostex X-26 four-track cassette. “The Aeon’s Day” was made with Pro-One, Ensoniq ESQ-1 and Yamaha TX-7 (a DX-7 in a rack). By the time it…
Release data: K2Project – K2Project CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fairy Nuff Music, 1999 K2Project is a fun electronic music collaboration established in 1999 featuring Stephen Whitlan with local musician Keith Corbett (who he’d met on a community Arts program) while still living in Ireland. The album was actually the result of Stephen re-assembling his studio (which contains lots of analogue goodies) after…
Release data: Zanov – Virtual Future CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zanov Music, 2014 The fans of vintage electronic music may be in for a surprise to find out legendary French synthesist Zanov, aka Pierre Salkazanov, has resurfaced recently after “disappearing” 30 years ago. Much has change since, but the pioneering/progressive electronic composer of the old days once made a promise to himself…
Release data: Steve Roach – Michael Stearns – Ron Sunsinger – Kiva CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1995 “Kiva” (representing the unbroken circle of the earth, according the album cover notes) is a tribal-ambient release full of sound archaeology which involved Native American singers and Native American ceremonial artists. In its own way, the deep sound current connects to the artists…
Release data: Zanov – In Course of Time LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1983/2015 Enigmatic, surreal, futuristic and deep mysterious are the keywords to best describe Zanov’s third album “In Course Of Time”. Legendary French synthesist Zanov, aka Pierre Salkazanov, already started work on this landmark album before his last concert in Villebon (near Paris) in June 1978, followed by some…
Release data: Solitaire – Fearless CD, Recycle or Die, 1995 At the time of release, this album was presented as ambient music shifting between various cultures and ages. Sonically, Solitaire’s album “Fearless” sees a switch to more progressive-oriented electronic music with a minimal edge. As a whole though, it’s quite weird and halucinogenic listening experience. Distorted guitar textures already fly…
Release data: Tim Story – Abridged (Selected Miniatures 1979-1988) CD, Hearts of Space, 1991 One of the goals set by Tim Story is to evoke things in the listener that connect them to their own imagery and emotion. His music simply speaks its own language, with its own insinuations and its own life. The 73-minute “Abridged” offers an overview of…
Release data: Something Completely Different – Megacatz CD, Invisible Shadows, 2001 “Megacatz”, the debut cd by Boele Gerkes, is a compilation cd featuring music made in previous years. The 53-minute outcome is a mixed bag offering 14 melodic songs which are not as sophisticated as the ones found on Boele’s next to albums “The Last Gate” and “Book of Love”,…
Release data: Michael Stearns – The Middle of Time CD, Earth Turtle Music, 2000 Sound artist Michael Stearns is an expert in composing ambient soundscapes that imagine the travel through time and space. On the 49-minute “The Middle of Time”, the soundtrack to the PBS documentary The Mystery of Chaco Canyon”, afficionados of space-ambient that incorporates a node of world…
Release data: Hollan Holmes – Incandescent CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 With “Incandescent”, composer Hollan Holmes has delivered an excellent album that even beats his previous gem “The Spirits of Starlight”. Mr. Holmes dedicated the album to the late Richard Burmer, who he admits had a profound influence on musical road taken since entering the electronic music domain in 2010…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Blue Radiance CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2015 From the first notes on this recording its clear Erik’s characteristic sound design has stayed the same, lining up easily next to the emotive instrumental music of e-guitars, assorted rhythms and synths we’ve accustomed to in previous years. Imaginative, sparkling and with an eye to detail are keywords…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Future Terrain DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/CD, ad21 Music/GSP, 2015 In April 2015, Spanish synthesist Max Cobacho announced two new releases. One of them is download-only album “Future Terrain”. Created alongside the factory-pressed cd “Splendid Labyrinths”, Max imagined the outcome a remote sci-fi futuristic landscape, a dark background filling the space in slow motion. Well, the 58-minute outcome…
Release data: The Lonely Bell – The Lonely Bell DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Private Release, 2015 The Lonely Bell is an isolation ambient project initiated by Scottish/Isle Of Lewis-based musician Ali Murray, merging elements of post-rock and shoegazer in the 30-minute instrumental outcome. Dense, minimalist and dark-atmospheric drone tapestries make up the opening title piece, in which the sound of chimes…
Release data: Vir Unis – Dreamers at the Edge of Decaying Light CD-R, Private Release, 2001 This is the first album on John Strate-Hootman’s own label In the Bubble comprising a collection of atmospheric and ethereal music made in the late ’80’s, early ’90’s and into 2001. The music on the 70+ minute release is based in a more experimental…
Release data: Steve Roach – Dave Hudson – Sarah Hopkins – Australia: Sound of the Earth CD/MC, Fortuna Records, 1990 This tribal album is a spin-off from Steve’s second journey to Down Under, which led earlier to his masterpiece “Dreamtime Return”. Next to Steve Roach, the 63-minute sonic document “Australia: Sound of the Earth” also features experienced didgeridoo player David…
Release data: Mark Mercury – The Art of Space CD, Private Release, 1991 “The Art of Space”, the second release by Pasadena-based composer Mark Mercury, is a 60-minute suite of contemporary and classical/symphonic electronic music, including five tracks containing the spoken verse by actors of poets addressing space themes. The poetry chronicles the thoughts and emotions of a lone space…
Release data: Steve Roach – Kevin Braheny – Western Spaces CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fortuna Records/IC, 1987 A special article on this album can be found in Ultimate Desert Soundtracks: Western Spaces & Desert Solitaire Website: www.steveroach.com You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny artist pages Sonic Immersion
Release data: Steve Roach – Kevin Braheny – Michael Stearns – Desert Solitaire CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fortuna Records, 1989 A special article on this album can be found in Ultimate Desert Soundtracks: Western Spaces & Desert Solitaire Website: www.steveroach.com You can see what reviews I have done of these artists on the Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny, Michael Stearns artist pages Sonic…
Release data: Steve Roach – Dreamtime Return CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fortuna Records, 1988 A special article on this album can be found at “Steve Roach: Dreamtime “Revisited” Website: www.steveroach.com You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Steve Roach artist page Sonic Immersion
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Heather Spa DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2013 This is a concept album centered round the moorland area on the edge of the UK’s Yorkshire Dales National Park, which served as both a place of escape and inspiration for composer Dennis Huddleston aka 36. The 40-minute “Heather Spa”, which was the catalyst for the…
Release data: Steve Roach – The Dream Circle CD, Soundquest/Timeroom Editions, 1994 “The Dream Circle” is the first recording in an ongoing series of 70+ minutes recordings intended for infinite playback. According to Steve website, the music was first experienced as an atmosphere playing before and after the concerts in the early 90’s. Well, the continuous 74-minute outcome is a…
Release data: Steve Roach & Michael Shrieve – The Leaving Time MC/LP/CD, RCA, 1988 In the same time Roach’s ambient masterpiece “Dreamtime Return” was released, the rather forgotten “The Leaving Time” (referring to Steve’s trip to Down Under) saw the light of day. This collaborative album with Santana percussionist/drummer Michael Shrieve though always stayed in the far shadows and is…
Release data: Steve Roach – World’s Edge CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fortuna Records/Timeroom Editions, 1992 The double album “World’s Edge” is a transitional work of inspired ambient music, also Steve’s first solo project created after his move to Tucson, Arizona in 1990. It’s an in-depth and intense journey merging the expansive soundscape delights from “Dreamtime Return” and “The Magnificent Void”, while also…
Release data: Leila Abdul-Rauf – Insomnia CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Malignant/Antibody, 2015 Isolationist drone music comes in various forms, but receives an even different treatment on the environmental ambient effort “Insomnia” by San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist Leila Abdul-Rauf. The latter incorporates her ethereal voice pads (which remind slightly of the gothic vibe of Lisa Gerard and het DCD-project) with fluid brass textures, synths…
Release data: Troika – Faeries CD, Enso Records, 1999 “Faeries” welcomes the listener in a dreamy, pastel-coloured world of New Age mood music evoking a realm of magic and enchantment. David Arkenstone and co. have created another album of overtly soothing, romantic and relaxing musings where Gaelic, Native-American, Japanese and Indian flavours fly by. The joyful, uplifting and sweet all…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Gongland CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2000 Being an avid fan of ethereal ambient music, the smooth shifting atmospheres and exotic-flavored textures found on Forrest Fang’s classic album “Gongland” is still a release to cherish in this genre. The eclectic outcome of hypnotizing, slow morphing soundscapes with world music elements is poured into 13 vaporous tracks,…
Release data: Sphäre Sechs – Enceladus CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Malignant Records, 2015 It’s time for another stride through the galactic netherworld where the darker elements meet, one solely created on analogue gear without the use of computers. The continuous 53-minute aural alchemy of drifting synth drone tapestries and morphing atmospheres mapped out on “Enceladus” by Sphäre Sechs -aka Martin Stürtzer (Phelios)…
Release data: Sayer – Time Travelers DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 For this album, Sayer Seely spent a lot of effort in creating a work covered with a range of retro sounds referring to different periods in time. “Time Travelers” ended up eventually as a straightforward, sequencer-driven release where a range of infectious melodies and spheres merge. Well, the music…
Release data: The Gateless Gate – Landslag Norður Íslands (The Landscape of North Iceland) DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Like many other ambient releases, this is an album trying to capture the feel, wonder and hidden power of the landscapes found in the Northern hemisphere of our globe. The focus here is on the coastal region and the living earth…
Release data: Ishq – Seascapes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Virtual, 2014 Here’s another fine album meant for low-volume listening. For the 7-track album “Seascapes”, Matt Hillier (aka Ishq) has come up with a set of imaginative and textural soundscapes backed by subtle environmental recordings, all based and inspired by the winter seas in Cornwall and written as a series of seascape paintings…
Release data: Sensory ++ – Planet CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Sensory++ is a Belgium electronic music project by Joost Egelie, who releases various albums under his own name previously. “Planet” is a concept album about the fragile relationship between Human and Nature, and how in the end the two find their own way in a far, far future. To…
Release data: Valley Forge – Leaving to Nothing CD, Private Release, 1995 From time to time, there’s electronic music that sounds highly original and rather weird at the same time. In my view, the Valley Forge debut album “Leaving to Nothing” belongs to that category, featuring psychedelic electronic (post)rock with occasional symphonic elements made with analog synthesizers, electronic/acoustic drums and…
Release data: Optical Image – Interference CD, Soundart Productions, 1994 The instrumental synth-orchestral music featured on Tom Habes second album as “Optical Image” shows the same sound signature as his debut album, but delivered in a more thoughtful and better composed manner. Symphonic and cinematic airs fly by in the 59-minute melodic outing, which again is pushed forward by rhythms,…
Release data: Australis – Adrift CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Essential Noises, 2014 All Australis albums I’ve heard until now have been graced with many emotive components and a core that celebrates the wonders of life. “Adrift” though took shape in a period of the composer’s life where he endured many hardships which affected his personal life deeply and without remorse. Despite the…
Release data: Sequentia Legenda – Blue Dream DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The inspiration and sound of the classic ’70’s, more specific those of Klaus Schulze and the Berlin School, has found another fine outlet by the means of Sequentia Legenda. The latter is a French musician from Mulhouse, who has established a tour-de-force with his range of hardware synths…
Release data: Howard Givens & Craig Padilla – Life Flows Water CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 “Life Flows Water” was performed one week after Craig Padilla gave several solo performances in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Seattle, Washington. All these occasions provided a lot of music within a matter of weeks. However, the live performance with Howard Givens (founder of…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Letters to the Farthest Star CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2015 One of the great things about the music of the skilled composer Forrest Fang is his ability to incorporate world music influences from Asia (focusing on stringed and percussion instruments most notably) with mesmerizing electronic textures into his ambient minimalist style in a most sophisticated…
Release data: Alio Die & Lorenzo Montanà – Holographic Codex CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2015 “Holographic Codex” is a peculiar sonic breed which sees introspective, moody ambient landscapes paired with IDM sequences and psybient textures. Moreover, the cross-pollination of the styles of the two ltalian composers has led to a progressive electronic amalgam of ritualistic soundscapes and technogenic aural landscapes…
Release data: Ovod – Between the Days DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 If you’re into ambient/cinematic music, the energetic but darker-shaded sonic ride making up “Between the Days” may be worth checking out sometime. It’s composed by Russian musician Ivan Lavrov, who came up with eight tracks which incorporate atmospheric density, glowing and mysterious (under)currents along a nocturnal-like feel. The…
Release data: Simon Slator – Magellan DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 “Magellan” is a 30-minute concept album inspired by the Arthur C. Clarke’s book “The Songs of Distant Earth” and the album of the same name by Mike Oldfield (along the composer’s own love of science fiction). The outcome delivers two 15-minute tracks of imaginary ambient space music with a…
Release data: Alex Farhoud – (A + M)² CD, Audiogram, 1988 Compared to “Nosso Nosso”, I characterize the music on Faroud’s album “(A + M)²” as a totally different sonic breed. The ten easy-going tracks feature a very light and faceless style of music that can line up next to muzak and new age without effort. Next to a low…
Release data: Todd Fletcher – Star CD, Arya, 1996 A lot of quality stuff can be found in the genre of ambient soundscape music next to loads of mediocre and amateurish work. This 1996 release by Arizona-based composer Todd Fletcher is one of the few from his catalogue that made it to a factory-pressed cd. Although “Star”, a fine aural…
Release data: Todd Fletcher – Byzantium CD/CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 1994/2002 “Byzantium” was originally put out as a real cd, and saw a re-release as the fourth cd-r album on the Mr Fletchers own Microrelease label (which appears defunct now). “Byzantium” is a 69-minute instrumental album clearly reflecting the composers growing fascination with Middle Eastern music. Singular sound atmospheres, samples…
Release data: Soundician – Wise Trees DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Private Release, 2015 Since the beginning of 2000, the UK-duo Soundician writes and produces their own style of electronic music, a perculiar as eclectic mix of electronic minimalism and experimental/classical alongside a touch of ambient/space and lush melodic EM. According to the liner notes, the EP “Wise Trees” is a sonic…
Release data: Lambert – Drachenreise CD, Spheric Music, 2015 When you’re a fan of general-melodic, highly accessible synth music, Lambert’s newbie “Drachenreise” (his first new album after almost 20 years) will most surely be of your liking. The composer considers his music an outlet to express his personal life and feelings, an inner flight within two worlds: the one on…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – System A CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2015 The beauty, mystery, grandness and awe of the solar system have been an inspiration for many albums by Gregory Kyryluk’s project Alpha Wave Movement, founded in 1992. “System A”, influenced by enigmatic cosmology, adds another fine chapter to the journey in these ever fascinating environs. The…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Inside Life CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ad21 Music, 2015 “Inside Life” is a contemporary classical work of art built upon piano and strings, which see Bruno Sanfilippo continue his quest through the quiet sonic landscape of minimalist piano and electro-acoustic music. Piano, cello, treatments and voice (on two tracks) form the heart of the 44-minute recording, a…
Release data: Jamacaru – Nebelland DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 I became aware of this album through the site of Johannes Schmoelling, which mentioned German visual artist Peter Uhlig (known for the pictures on the cover of Johannes “Instant City”) had released his debut album of electronic music using the moniker JamaCaru (named after a type of cactus). In the…
Release data: Audiometria – Somewhere CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Audiometría is the synth-duo Javi Cánovas and Miguel Justo. Both musicians already know each other since the mid ‘80s, but it took until spring 2014 before they founded Audiometria eventually. The project incorporates the philosophy and spirit of the Berlin School and was created with the aim to fill a…
Release data: Alio Die & Parallel Worlds – Elusive Metaphor CD, Hic Sunt Leones, 2015 Compared to the duos previous recording “Circo Divino”, the listener will run into a much more ambient-oriented outcome on “Elusive Metaphor”. Then again, the sonic outcome of their previous effort wasn’t really matching my taste, proving quite a challenge to listen to and find appreciation…
Release data: Johan Agebjörn – Notes LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Paper Bag Records, 2015 Those who know the previous music of Johan Agebjörn (Swedish songwriter and producer of Sally Shapiro) will hear a different sound on “Notes”. The almost drumless 47-minute album, that heavily features the Casio MT-52 electric piano along other sounds, opens with the joyful and melodic “The Right to…
Release data: Dave Bessell – Black Horses Of The Sun CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2015 The title of Mr Bessell’s second album comes from a Navaho myth about the sun: each day the sun rides across the sky on a horse, on a clear sunny day the horse would be blue, on a cloudy day white, and on a stormy day…
Release data: Erren – Fleissig – Schöttler – Steffen – Ouddorp Tapes CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 This debut release of the German quartet started the journey of alchemy where good old Berlin School style was executed and graced with new, unusual sonic splendor. The 79-minute outcome happened in November 2010 when Jorg Erren, Bert Fleissig, Jochen Schöttler and Christian…
Release data: Phillip Wilkerson – Wondrous Encounters CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 “Wondrous Encounters” invites you to an imminent world of gentle sonic streams offering a collection of space music, atmospheres, and soundscapes suitable for stargazing, cosmic sightseeing or cloud watching. Imagine calm, freeform and overtly drifting textures, swelling smoothly and carrying on to occasional elevating effect. This is what…
Release data: Robert Rich – Filaments CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2015 “Filaments” is an album roaming in the same league as Robert’s sonic endeavors “Electric Ladder” or “Geometry”, where he explores some of the cyclic interlocking patterns he always has been intrigued about since. The 60-minute ambient effort seems an attempt to get closer to some of the language of…
Release data: Arcane – Revenants DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Cinematic and progressive retro-power is just one of the thoughts that crossed my mind when I sat down and had a focused listen to the sonic narrative “Revenants”, Mr Lawler’s last album for the year 2014. Not sure if the album’s music is inspired by the same-titled French and US…
Release data: Node – Node 2 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2014 It’s been a very long wait, but what a joy it is to finally see a new release by the legendary vintage collective Node since its debut in 1995. “Node 2” is the culmination of two recording sessions of Ed Buller, Flood (aka Mark Ellis), Dave Bessell and new member…
Release data: Steve Roach – Invisible CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Released on Bandcamp the first day of 2015, “Invisible” is Steve’s New Year’s gift and gesture to his loyal fanbase. Created in the last week of 2014 during a few cold and rain infused days, Mr Roach came up with a continuous 58-minute longform piece. The latter is a…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Eunomia DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Canary Islands based synthesist Javi Cánovas kicks off 2015 with a work of sonic art showing resemblances of his 2009 release “In this moment, in this place”. Four long tracks, culminating in 70-minutes of accessible and contemporary e-music, open with atmospheric intros, later replaced by dynamic, multi-layered sequencer patterns,…
Release data: Ron Boots – Standing in the Rain CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 From the beginning, movies, tv series and books have always been an important source of inspiration for the music of Ron Boots. Just check out “Bookworks” or “The X-Files”-series, while almost all other solo albums contain a few cinematic tracks of their own. “Standing in the Rain”…
Release data: Polaris – Way Out CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ricochet Dream, 2014 The 55-minute album “Way Out” contains tracks which aka Polaris (aka Polish synthesist Jakub Kmieć) recorded between 2009 and 2013. The energetic, in-your-face “Entrance” already makes a great kick-off with its massive bass line and slight ’80’s TD-flavor. The groovy-oriented feel continues on the next, always bright and transparent…
Release data: Ian Boddy – Slide CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2008 The electronic music found on the upbeat, abstract-oriented “Slide” is pure and definitely of analogue origin, featuring the usual gear-suspects like the massive Roland 100-M and Doepfler A-100 systems. One should not be put off by the ghostly spheres of the experimental opening piece “The Probability of Doubt”, as what…
Release data: Spyra – Staub CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Butterfly Collectors, 2014 With his 16th album “Staub”, Wolfram Spyra presents the electronic community a different yet daring sonic experiment. What initially started out as something organized, logical and back-to-basics ended up more and more chaotic, deranged and unpredictable as the project evolved. There’s no sign of compromise on anything on the 50-minute…
Release data: Deborah Martin – Under the Moon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1995 Deborah Martin is one of the talents within the Spotted Peccary community who would create an atmospheric ambient world of her own in later years. Previous to this debut-album, which further expresses her ongoing passion to visualize and create music that takes each listener on a…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – The Edge of Infinity CD, Groove Unlimited, 1997 Thoughtful yet subtle ambient with a distinct mysterious angle would be a appropriate description in a nutshell for the music making up “The Edge of Infinity”, the second album by Gregory Kyryluk, aka Alpha Wave Movement. Compared to his debut “Transcendence”, the music has matured a…
Release data: Llyn Y Cwn – III: Ka DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Manky Music, 2015 Since I ran into the environmental ambient by Welsh composer Ben Powell (aka Llyn Y Cwn), I’ve become quite fascinated by the in-depth outcome he delivers each time. The aim of the Llyn Y Cwn-project is to try and emulate the type of environment encountered at…
Release data: Spacecraft – Hummel CD, Lektronik Soundscapes, 1998 On “Hummel”, Tony Gerber, Diane Timmons and John Rose (aka Spacecraft) persue their journey through the fantastic and the cosmic, clinging to improvised, unstructured space music with psychedelic, rough edges. The 70-minute recording is the outcome of a live performance at the Hummel Planetarium at Eastern Kentucky University, USA, firmly addressing…
Release data: Simon Slator – The Lake DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 “The Lake” is the first brand new release by UK composer Simon Slator (who some might know as Cold Sun) after an 8-year break.The digital-only ambient release contains three tracks dealing with solitude/isolation from two different points of view, yet addressing an ultimately positive view upon it. The…
Release data: Radio Massacre International – Frozen North CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Centaur Records, 1995 “Frozen North” is the (still) amazing debut official album by synthesists Duncan Goddard, Steve Dinsdale and guitarist Gary Houghton aka Radio Massacre International (RMI), who were at the forfront of the EM retro-revival in the ’90’s together with Airsculpture and Node. The band’s name and music both…
Release data: Brian Eno – The Shutov Assembly CD, Opal Records, 1992 Dedicated to Russian artist Sergei Shutov and his fine art installations, the outcome on this album hails back to Eno’s thoughtful ambient explorations from the mid ’70’s. On “The Shutov Assembly”, a lush and elusive charm is key in each of the ten slightly experimental flavoured and quite…
Release data: Darshan Ambient – Songs from the Deep Field CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2014 Inspired by one of the most famous images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, “Songs From The Deep Field” ranges from pure space to kinetic free fall – from weightless drift to rhythmic power, and the result is a heavenly blend of ambient synth…
Release data: Altus – The Time Collection CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 With “The Time Collection”, Mike Carss (aka Canadian composer Altus) has delivered another monumental ambient work with narrative soundscape music travelling far into distant lands, the heavens and beyond. The two-disc release (part I: “Ghost of Time”, part II: “Time Forgotten”) is an arc of grand, lush, highly…
Release data: Hemisphere – Early Reflection 1980 – 1990 CD, Cue Records, 1997 This album of previously unreleased material came out in a period a lot of retrospective recordings by others saw the light of day. Still, I find it most interesting to dig into the sonic origins of a musician, in this case the first steps by Ralf-Knappe Heinbockel…
Release data: Gert Emmens – Outland CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 An assortment of typical Emmens-sounds makes up the sound pallet of “Outland”, an album which excels especially when it comes to sequencing. Although there are some melodic passages present on the 78-minute sonic narrative, the accessible outcome is far less song-structured while it contains lots of interesting, fresh details. Moreover,…
Release data: Andy Pickford & Paul Nagle – S.T.D.M. – Ramayana CD, Neu Harmony , 2002 UK’s Jodrell Bank Planetarium has been a venue where quite some electronic music live concerts have taken place in the last few decades. It’s also the spot where the music of “Ramayana” was played live in concert in May 2002 by Andy Pickford &…
Release data: Ian Boddy – Continuum CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Something Else Records , 1996 “Ian Boddy goes ambient” could have been an appropriate subtitle for this album, which contains a selection of a continuous 7-hour improvised ambient performance at the Comic Art Festival, Newcastle in June 1996. The long string of quiet and slow evolving spherics on the 140-minute recording gives…
Release data: Dedast – Banished From The Realm DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cosmicleaf Records, 2013 “Banished From The Realm” is a relaxed trip into emotive ambient music, revealing a range of minimalist and neo-classical elements along cinematic farscapes.The contemporary, overtly transparent sound design constructed by Vasilis Miamis (aka Dedast) also features some hints of down-tempo, while the piano notes add a sense…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Josephine the Mouse Singer CD-EP, Eastgate, 2014 I’m not a follower of the big names anymore since 1,5 decade or so, but now and then try to scratch the surface on a few releases here and there to keep an eye on what’s happening. The 33-minute cupdisc “Josephine the Mouse Singer” is a limited edition…
Release data: Jaja – Endless DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, CYAN Music, 2014 Jaja is Germany female synthesist Jana Rockstroh, who plays, arranges and records all her inspired ambient space music live in the moment. The outcome always consists of emotive sound worlds with deep currents and stream, with the peaceful result making up “Endless” adding a nice and moody addition to…
Release data: Radiant Mind – Strands CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Steve Roach.com, 2014 Radiant Mind is an American synthesist who chooses to work in anonymity with Steve Roach as his sole producer and interface to the world. Over time, Steve encourages him and helps with the creative process. Once he has a collection of pieces he trusts Steve to take the raw…
Release data: Phillip Wilkerson & Chris Russell – Vague Traces CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2014 Harmonic and multi-dimensional music roaming gently through vaporous, tranquil spheres is an apt description for this album by synthesists Chris Russell and Phillip Wilkerson. The free form textural outcome on “Vague Traces” is a kind of stress-relief but non-meditative music addressing the intimate and…
Release data: Dweller at the Threshold – Full Boundary Condition CD, Quantum Records, 2004 All who missed out on the original DATT’s albums “No Boundary Condition” (1996) and “Generation-Transmission-Illumination” (1998) can simply catch up by buying the 3-cd set “Full Boundary Condition”. Next to the already mentioned albums (but now presented in full glory as 24-bit remasters) comes a third…
Release data: Ambientium – Life DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Private Release/Kahvi Collective, 2013 “Life” is an Ep by the Lubomir and Lucie Cyrk, aka Ambientium, offering nicely chilled and atmospheric music complementing their predecessor “Fractal Philosophy”, although turning out less ambient. To a certain degree, a comparison with the sophisticated down-tempo released by the French Ultimae label again comes to mind,…
Release data: Rene de Bakker – Rene de Bakker CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2012 Rene is a previous member of the band AKS and currently one half of the Dutch EM retro project Beyond Berlin. It won’t be a surprise his 78-minute debut contains Berlin School inspired instrumental EM, featuring lush pads and textures along slow-paced, nicely interlocking sequencer lines.…
Release data: Michael Daniel – Henglers Circus CD, English Electronic Music Company, 2014 What I got here is a firm piece of energetic progressive rock solely made and played by Michael Daniel, one of the members of the EM-retro project Pollard-Daniel-Booth. The 58-minute “Henglers Circus” -presented as a mini gatefold album- is a vibrant melting pot of music featuring many…
Release data: Mark Isham – Tibet LP/CD, Windham Hill, 1989 “Tibet” belongs to those albums that I have overlooked at the time it was initially released, and also never tracked down in the decades thereafter. It’s a majestic 48-minute soundtrack in five parts for the Windham Hill video of the same name, which provides a look at the place that’s…
Release data: Carola Kassner – Planetary Voyage CD, Orion Productions, 1994 “Planetary Voyage (a voyage through the solar system – and beyond)” is a 66-minute live recording by German visual artist and composer Carola Kassner at Zeiss Planetarium Berlin in December 1994. Although sounding quite a bit compressed and not too bright, the 18-track solar voyage pairs a distinct New…
Release data: Dweller at the Threshold – Generation – Transmission – Illumination CD, Eurock , 1998 On their debut album “No Boundary Condition”, Dweller at the Threshold (DATT) already proved they could expand very nicely on the classic analogue music made in Germany’s ‘70’s by TD, Schulze and the likes, carefully avoiding the trap of being a copy-cat. “Generation-Transmission-Illumination” shifts…
Release data: BySenses – Frigments-Fragments CD, Private Release, 2014 “Frigments-Fragments” is the full-length debut by Belgium synthesist Didier DeWachtere, aka BySenses, whom I also know due to his longtime passion for EM. The 77-minute recording is a solid effort, showing a lot of guts, presenting a sensitive mix of evocative ambient and contemporary, occasional sequencer-driven EM. The latter is already…
Release data: Csillagköd – Silent World CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2014 Csillagköd, Hungarian for Nebula, is an ambient-space project started by Olivér Dombi in 2011 with the aim to transfer his profound interest in the philosophical side of time, space and the cosmos into soundscape music. On “Silent World”, we hear slow morphing and broadening drone-based textures roaming through…
Release data: Berlin Heritage – Phoenix DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Berlin Heritage is Berlin-based musician Robert Sigmuntowski, who some may know from his 2012 cd-release “Land of the Rising Sun”. The download only album “Phoenix” features three long tracks of which the still Berlin School-flavored music came about after lots of travels by train between Hannover and Berlin, eventually…
Release data: Chris Russell & Eyes Cast Down – Memory Palace CD-R, Void Music/Kalindi Music, 2014 The origins for “Memory Palace” go back to Christmas 2010, when Greg Moorcroft (aka Eyes Cast Down) approached Chris Russell with the idea of starting a groove-based collaboration. Greg would take are of the rhythmic side of things while Mr Russell would be in…
Release data: Dilate – Octagon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hypnotic Records, 1997 Dilate’s fine space/ambient effort “Cyclos” already made quite an impression on me, so what a surprise to learn Victor Wulf was able to raise the quality bar even higher with the follow-up “Octagon”. The spacious and meticulously mastered/produced yet entrancing soundtrack to the mind pairs ambient blissfulness with repetitive synth-chord…
Release data: Steve Roach & Jorge Reyes – The Ancestor Circle CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 Here’s a shamanic recording from the vaults using material recorded before Reyes’ death in 2009, sonically hailing back to the times of Suspended Memories, the tribal trio Roach/Reyes/Saiz and the organic period of Mr Roach. “The Ancestor Circle”, also the first recording from Roach…
Release data: Synaesthesia – Embody CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cleopatra Records/Zoth Ommog, 1995 “Embody” is the debut-album of the Canadian project Synaesthesia (aka Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber) introducing ethno-rhythmic-driven ambient featuring lots of (world music) samples and weird klangspielerei, all executed and molded into an almost 60-minute eclectic form. The duo’s darker-shaded sci-fi/cinematic electronics contain groovy bass notes and occasional dance-like…
Release data: Rainbow Serpent – The 8th Nerve CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manikin Records, 2005 For “The 8th Nerve”, Frank Specht and Gerd Wienekamp (aka Rainbow Serpent) have created a very fine sonic alchemy of exiting contemporary electronics, featuring a great pulse and drive in its core. The almost 79-minute versatile recording stands out due to beautiful emotive atmospheres, sophisticated effects, samples,…
Release data: Front Line Assembly – Airmech CD, Metropolis Records, 2012 What I got here is the fully instrumental soundtrack to the real-time strategy videogame “Airmech” created by Bill Leeb (Skinny Puppy, Noise Unit, Delerium, Synaesthesia), assisted by a bunch of trusted musicians. The outcome is solid, contemporary, cool and stark electronic music with a darker edge. Think in-your-face electro-industrial…
Release data: Dilate – Cyclos CD, Cleopatra Records, 1996 Dilate is an ambient project by musician and sound explorer Victor Wulf, who previously collaborated in the experimental/industrial project Vampire Rodents. His 77-minute debut “Cyclos” (quite a rare find these days) tells a different story though, as it immerses the listener in a vast and deep spacious realm. Drawn from his…
Release data: Asura – Radio Universe CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2014 According to Ultimae’s press release, the 78-minute “Radio Universe” is as a musical odyssey that presents a renewed vision of the seventies space music legacy. I agree to that, as the ambient project by French composer Charles Farewell (aka Asura) tells a narrative story while taking the listener into…
Release data: Skoulaman – Dreaming of the Future reflecting the Past CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The aftermath of leaving the Dutch Berliner School-trio AKS was a very hard and frustrating period for Hans “Skoulaman” van Kroonenburg. Most importantly, he had to make up his mind how to continue while not losing faith in what he was capable of and…
Release data: Lamp – Scales of Fortune CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 Both Michael Shipway and his musical partner Garth Jones were quite amazed by the many positive and enthusiastic responses on their Lamp-debut “The Three Towers”, so it was just a matter of time before a follow-up would materialize. The outcome became “Scales of Fortune (Tales from Bernodine – Volume…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Axiom DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 In the process of shaping and composing the music for “Axiom”, Javi Cánovas eventually ended up with 14 shorter pieces, all offering a variety of pads and sequencers spreading a ray of sonic colors. At first, the multi-layered, sequencers-driven outcome reminds of Jarre’s “Arpegiattor” on the first two tracks,…
Release data: Erik Wøllo & Bernhard Wöstheinrich – Weltenuhr CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2014 This album is the duos second collaborative effort that contains lots of “Wøllo characteristics” if I may say so. The 11-track release offers mellow, groovy oriented music (marrying the ethereal with nicely paced, sometimes ethno-flavored, rhythms and lush melodies along a few spherical, free form pieces entering…
Release data: Jason Sloan – Deluge CD, Gterma, 2011/2014 Jason Sloan is a US-based new media & sound artist, electronic musician, composer whose sonic creations explores immateriality and its connection in memory, systems and the virtual world. “Deluge” contains his performance, which was originally streamed live on Stillstream’s Sadayatana program August 2011, which intended to capture the aftermath of our…
Release data: René Splinter – Frames CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 After listening to “Frames”, I’m impressed by the confident attitude and the solid way this Dutch composer has accomplished this nice follow-up on his very strong and successful album “Modern Ruins”. Most of all, the 57-minute/8-track sonic canvas stays true to the artist’s beliefs and vision, not hiding the influence…
Release data: Ashra – @shra & @shra vol. 2 CD, MG.Art, 2008 This double-cd features remastered versions of the original albums “@shra” (1998) and “@shra vol. 2” (2002). These contain the dynamic live performance by Manuel Göttsching and his trusted companions Steve Baltes, Harald Grosskopf and Lutz Ulbrich on February 11 (Osaka) and 12 (Tokyo) 1997, Japan. The progressive instrumental…
Release data: Rhea – November Stars CD-R, Rhea Music, 2006/2013 Here’s another archival recording of analogue-oriented harmonic cosmic music composed by Mark de Wit, which sonically lines up very nicely to his other releases despite its more rhythmic, pulsating character. The listener immerses easily in the atmospheric depths and expansiveness of space encountered in the 77-minute vintage sounding outcome, which…
Release data: Project Andrew Rotten – En Passant CD, Private Release, 2005 The musician behind Project Andrew Rotten (not an attractive name for a band if you ask me) is German synthesist Andreas Morsch, who some will know as one of the members the fine collective Pyramid Peak. “En Passant” (mastered properly by Rainbow Serpent’s Gerd Wienekamp) is an energetic…
Release data: Coral Cave – Panorama CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Accessible, melodic and typical German electronic music. At first glance, these words (still) come to mind when putting on the 70-minute “Panorama”, the first studio album by Tilo Voigthaus and Erik Matheisen since 1996. Their sequencer-driven (at times still slightly TD-angled) output sounds bright and straightforward and is in…
Release data: MorPheuSz – Tantalizing Thoughts at the Dawn of Dreams (Chapter Two) CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 With their album “Tantalizing Thoughts at the Dawn of Dreams”, the four experienced musicians making up MorPheuSz have added a strong and upfront release to their discography. The project is an outlet of new ideas and electronic free style that wouldn’t really fit…
Release data: Anomalous Disturbances – Archive One CD-R, Private Release, 2004 “Archive One” is the first in a series of unreleased works from Anomalous Disturbances, aka the Vancouver-based ambient artist Terry O’Brien. The collected nine tracks of floating ambient soundscapes have been composed using sound processors and looping devices, in which occasionally some e-guitar shows up. “Languorous Liaisons” sets the…
Release data: Steve Roach – Bloodmoon Rising DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The online-exclusive “Bloodmoon Rising” consists of a series of new pieces specially created in the last few days leading up to the second lunar eclipse in 2014 on October 8th. The 70-minute longform meditation makes a beautiful aural headphone journey where spiraling, smooth shifting currents of tranquility, mystery,…
Release data: Seetyca – Lieder Zum Summen CD, Gterma, 2014 The ambient music I’ve heard so far from German soundartist Seetyca has always fitted in the darker, mysterious category, so what a surprise to see him explore the lighter, uplifting and more contemplative side on “Lieder Zum Summen” (Songs for Humming). The 70-minute textural soundscape (dedicated to the late Peter…
Release data: Vidna Obmana – Passage in Beauty CD, Decade/Relic, 1991/1995 “Passage in Beauty” is one of the privately released limited edition albums by Dirk Serries (aka vidnaObmana) that saw the light of day at the start of the ’90’s. It saw a physical (remastered) re-release on the same medium in 1995 on the Relic label and in 2013 on…
Release data: Riechmann – Wunderbar LP/CD, Sky Records, 1978 “Wunderbar” is the one and only solo album of the late German synthesist Wolfgang Riechmann, who’s known best for his collaborations in the bands Phönix, Neu!, and Streetmark. Influences of the symphonic genre, the Krautrock scene and a slice of what we later on would call synth pop all find their…
Release data: Phrozenlight – Starlight CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ambientlive Records, 2007 “Starlight” is my first encounter with the ambient music of Dutch composer Bert Hulshoff aka Phrozenlight, although the latter has established quite a lengthy catalogue by now, solo and in collaboration with others. The album, best heard with headphones and eyes closed, features one continuous free form 65-minute piece setting…
Release data: Scott Lawlor – Neptune DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, earthMANTRA, 2014 During the years, the fine earthMANTRA netlabel has already brought lots of interesting ambient/space artists to my attention. “Neptune”, subtitled “the Mystical Blue World”, is the second release on this netlabel by Texas-based composer Scott Lawlor, who hereby present six nicely molded pieces of uplifting, graceful cosmic music with symphonic…
Release data: Unique – Boat People CD, Nocturne Records, 1994 Here’s another trip down memory lane. This release is a “forgotten” recording, being part of large distribution catalogue of Cue Records NL in the EM heydays of the ’90’s, I still have fond memories of. There’s some emotive and moody instrumental music found on the 47-minute “Boat People”, ranging from…
Release data: Anomalous Disturbances – Archive Three CD-R, Private Release, 2014 “Archive Three” is a 60-minute collection of previously unreleased ambient-drone soundscapes realized during a series of recording sessions throughout 2007 and 2008. Canadian sound artist Terry O’Brien (aka Anomalous Disturbances) performed the five freeform compositions on guitar with Ebow, guitar synths and effects exclusively. The floating outcome travels through…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Backspace CD, Spheric Music , 2014 According the liner notes, “Backspace” is an album filled with electronic music for the flight through the universe of fantasies and emotions which could even be on top of Mr Schroeders 2007-recording “SphereWare”. Well, expect 10 tracks/73 minutes of good mood, emotive and highly accessible electronics with assorted percussion…
Release data: Liquid Mind – Relaxing Rain & Ocean Mixes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Real Music , 2014 Those of you out there familiar with the previous releases of Chuck Wild, aka Liquid Mind, know his output fits into the new age and ultimate relaxation modus. No new music on this release though, but six tracks (taken from the albums “Meditation”, “Spirit”…
Release data: Andrew Heath – The Silent Cartographer CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Disco Gecko Records, 2014 The sonic quest of UK-composer Andrew focuses on immersive ambient music evolving in a drifting, quiet realm. In his own words, Andrew seeks out the random, juxtaposition of tiny noises and then set them against sustained piano notes that drift in and out of phase, or…
Release data: Mank – Gutta-Percha DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manky Music, 2013 In the notes to 52-minute “Gutta-Percha”, composer Ben Powell (aka Mank) states the majority of the ambient music was written on a Canadian icebreaker on the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, where he performs oceanographic measurements as a day job. With his trance-inducing, rhythmic-driven and mellow music, Powell attempts to…
Release data: Nemesis – Xenopus CD, Retroduction, 2014 “Xenopus”, released at the end June at the Scandinavian ambient music conference Ambicon 2014, features shorter compositions compared to the previous album “Living Statues”. Fans of the band need not to worry though as it still celebrates the vibe, sphere and moods which make the bands output special. The nine tracks range…
Release data: Amongst Myselves – The Past is Another Country CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 “Compared to the previous releases of Amongst Myselves, the 59-minutes of ambient music contained on “The Past is Another Country” offers the next level into further abstract/experimental and overtly dark ambient spaces journeying inward. The seven organic-spiced, contrasting electronic and natural ambient/drone compositions carve through…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – In the Season of Fading Light DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2012 “In the Season of Fading Light” by Indiana-based composer Jeff Pearce is a collection of singles (of which part of the proceeds is donated to charity) plus one new track. Four of the singles, however, were re-recorded for the sake of making them fit…
Release data: Cousin Silas – The Sound of Silas CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, WAAG, 2014 Cousin Silas is the nom de plume of UK-composer, producer and self-proclaimed “sound alchemist” David Hughes. He has describes his music (which he has created since 1996) as “audio photographs” or “moodscapes”. Within the creative process, he seems to draw inspiration from such diverse sources as writer…
Release data: Dirk Serries – The Origin Reversal CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 A Gibson Les Paul custom guitar and a few pedals. These were the tools Dirk Serries applied solely in creating the music for “The Origin Reversal”. The music of the latter attempts to hail back to the sound of the vidnaObmana releases from the end of the…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Horizons CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2014 According to the composer, the music on the contemporary instrumental album “Horizons” was recorded over a period of years and then assembled into a much more fluid track order. Well, the six accessible, more song-structured compositions again give a true voice to the fine sonic craftsmanship of…
Release data: Troika – Troika II Dream Palace CD, Enso Records, 1997 The fantasy/fairytale and dreamy instrumental music known from Troika’s fine debut album “Goddess” sees a nice continuation on David Arkenstone & companion’s second effort “Dream Palace”. Form and structure are still kept simple, with bits of world music and slices of drama noticeable during the ride. The tranquil…
Release data: Dan Pound – Life Giving CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, PoundSounds, 2014 “Life Giving” (coined as nocturnal space music by the composer) is a release filled with lush, tranquil, smooth soaring and drifting ambient music centred on the living spheres. The 73-minute gentle spiral of warm textural soundscapes and effects is accompanied by subtle pulsations pushing things slowly onward. The overall…
Release data: Kevin Braheny & Tim Clark – The Spell CD, Hearts of Space Records, 1996 “The Spell” is the second and last album by Kevin Braheny (Fortune) and Tim Clark, containing so-called imaginative and magic-coined instrumental music. The downside here though is a cheesy, strong new-age side to the 51-minute recording, which also features Kevin’s EWI Woodwind prominently on…
Release data: Bryan Carrigan – Inspired CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Peonies Music, 2014 The sonic trail running smoothly through Bryan Carrigan’s fifth album “Inspired” radiates a positive and uplifting message. The latter refers to finding inspiration in everyday life, go with the flow, finding balance and being more appreciative to the tides and times as life unfolds. The emotive, more mainstream-oriented instrumentals…
Release data: Phobos – Sector Four DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Fans of the music of Phobos don’t have to worry about the character and mood of the music contained on his fifth album, as “Sector Four” sees a nice continuation of the vast, intense dronescapes of Mr Thompson’s excellent effort “This Desolate Place” (although it might also be a…
Release data: Nord – Berlin DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 Now here’s a guy from Romania, Sztakics István Attila aka Nord, who has composed a fine album of Berliner School inspired EM with an occasional dash of the symphonic. “Berlin” clocks at 1,5 hours of music, featuring upfront sequencing and quite a bunch of tweaked solo voices and sound effects.…
Release data: Vangelis – Rapsodies LP/CD, Polydor Greece, 1986 “Rapsodies” is the second full-length album by Vangelis and Greek actress Irene Papas, of which a large part of the music was recorded around 1982 in Vangelis’ famous Nemo (home) studio in London. The at times quite minimal and majestic music is a celebration (and electronic rendition) of seven Byzantine liturgical…
Release data: Vidna Obmana – The Spiritual Bonding CD, Extreme Records, 1994 As stated in the cd-booklet, the album title highlights the gathering and spiritual communication between the various musicians involved in the outcome: Steve Roach (who also did the production of the whole recording), Djen Ajakan Shean, Alio Die and Robert Rich. The tribal-organic, deep and darkening ambient music…
Release data: Tuu – The Frozen Lands CD-EP, Amplexus, 1999 The 20-minute cd-ep “The Frozen Lands” contains a set of three solo pieces using gongs, metal instruments and electronic processing and sampling of their sounds. The 8-minute title track kicking things off offers the central theme of the whole recording, and stems from music which was made to accompany an…
Release data: Jason Sloan – To Cross the River of Light CD-R, Grey Area/Zero Music, 2001 I came to know this American ambient musician though the (now deceased?) Zero Music label of James Johnson. The packaging makes one think of the Italian Amplexus releases, containing four sheets with art and info. The EP “To cross the River of Light” appears…
Release data: Vidna Obmana – Tremor CD, Relapse Records, 2001 When ambient composer Dirk Serries entered the 2000’s, the music he made as vidnaObmana started to head into new directions. “Tremor” is the first part of a trilogy inspired by Dante’s poem “Inferno”, featuring a much more tribal/industrial mélange of sounds along minimal techno-tribal rhythms. Sonically, we’re entering a darker,…
Release data: Erren – Fleissig – Schöttler – Steffen – Night on Ouddorp CD, Private Release , 2014 Back in November 2010, German musicians Jörg Erren, Bert Fleißig, Jochen Schöttler and Christian Steffen recorded their first set of improvised recordings together, of which an excerpt would end up on the cd-r “Ouddorp Tapes”. In 2012, this release would be followed…
Release data: Shane Morris & Mystified – Evolution CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2014 What I got here is the second installment of the “Inspired Evolution” , a triple concept-release about prehistoric time and evolution. As can be expected, the highly atmospheric, free form and organic ambient music takes up the trail where its predecessor “Epoc” left us. In this…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Dream Tempest CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3Six Records, 2014 The intrinsic drone world of textures and soundscapes found on the first half of 36’s sixth album “Dream Tempest” offers a lighter (or maybe brighter might suit better) tone without losing that beautiful sense of glowing melancholy that graced the previous releases. In addition, the introspective as emotive…
Release data: Optical Image – Another Treasure Point CD, SoundArt Productions, 1997 With this album, Tom Habes reflects on the music of his successful debut “Treasure Point”, delivering a fine melodic outcome. While sticking close to and re-interpreting the original compositions, Mr Habes enriched the contemporary instrumentals with a further pleasant layer and cinematic drive. It’s great to hear it…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Jaren CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, H/S Recordings, 2006 Here’s a fine ambient recording celebrating the beauty, momentum and special meaning of each of the four seasons taking place during the year cycle. “Jaren” was released in 2006 as a limited edition bonus cd-r to pre-orders of the cd release of Mr Florianz’s “Niemandsland”, and originally presented the…
Release data: Hemisphere – Outdoors CD, Cue Records, 1994 On his third album “Outdoors”, Ralph Knappe-Heinbockel (aka Hemisphere) presents both rhythmic-driven, melodic pieces along free form ambient compositions. Once again, I feel Ralph is at his best on his non-rhythmic soundscape pieces such as the delightful “Backwoods Echo”, or the smooth but intense textural breezes of “Arctic Circle” and “Quiet…
Release data: Synaesthesia – Desideratum CD, Hypnotic/Cleopatra, 1995 What I got here is the second album of the duo Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, aka Synaesthesia, offering a massive 140 minute work of sonic art. Although it starts out cool and trance-upbeat with “Andromedia”, the music thereafter unfolds in much slower pace and textural spacious manner. It features a nice…
Release data: William Linton – Wayfarer CD-R, Space for Music , 2000 Here’s another (again short) album of lush ambient/space music by William Linton who once more invites his listeners on a journey through imaginary and impressionistic musical landscapes. Sonically, things are kept simple on “Wayfarer” with an occasional sparkle, while creating a comfortable atmospheric/new-age state. Just take pieces like…
Release data: Robert Fox – Blue Mountains Suite CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fx Music, 1993 The sweeping and majestic music making up “Blue Mountains Suite”, the third album by UK-synthesist Robert Fox, takes its inspiration from a three week journey to Australia in the winter of 1991. On the 60-minute release, the symphonic and atmospheric along a range of captivating melodic lines…
Release data: Temps Perdu? – Earth Story CD, Amplexus, 2000 According to the electro-organic outcome of their previous albums “Athanor” and “Terra Incognita”, depicting the mysterious, the remote, the fascinating (and the even surreal) impact of desert ambiences has become the trademark of French/German duo Dirk and Catherine Ledit-Grützmann, aka Temps Perdu?. The tribal-infused music on “Earth Story” (clocking at…
Release data: Michael Stearns & Ron Sunsinger – Singing Stones CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1994 Those having a knack for deep, organic and tribal ambient music will find much of their liking on “Singing Stones”, which has a way of awakening the senses. This concept album happened around the same time as “Kiva” (on which Steve Roach joined them), and…
Release data: Christopher Franke – The London Concert CD, Varese Sarabande/Sonic Images, 1993 “The London Concert” by ex-TD member Chris Franke features his one and only live performance after he left Tangerine Dream. On the occasion in October 1991, Mr Franke was assisted on stage by his trusted engineer Edgar Rothermich (aka Richard E. Roth). The 47-minute recording kicks off…
Release data: Dedast – Soft Landing DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cosmicleaf Records, 2012 Dedast is Greek producer and composer Vasilis Miamis, previously operating under the moniker Will-o’-the-wisp. His album “Loft Landing” features instrumental contemporary ambient with occasional down-tempo flavours, sounding versatile, open and transparent. Next to a feel of ambient chill-out, the nine moody, sometimes rather minimal shaped tracks contain mellow melodies…
Release data: Robert Rich & Lisa Moskow – Yearning CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1995 After her contribution to one track on “Propagation”, Robert Rich invited American sarod-player Lisa Moscow for his full-length “Yearning”. Most of the sounds on “Yearning” are acoustic in origin and then radically processed via electronics, exploring the most intense, introspective elements in a contemporary electroacoustic…
Release data: Nacht Plank – Echo Ark CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, …txt Recordings, 2014 Nacht Plank, one of the monikers of Lee Anthony Norris, explores the deeper end of the ambient genre. “Echo Arc” is a work of sonic art filled with dense textural landscapes, drones and sustained beats evoking quite a metaphysical mood and feel, while there’s also a psychedelic, surreal…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Tundra CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 The atmospheric music on the 5-track/30-minute EP “Tundra” lines up to the contemporary sounding outcome featured on Erik’s full-length “Timelines”. At the same time though, it incorporates traditional world music elements by blending it with sound samples, chants and throat singing from Arctic indigenous people. It lends a pleasant…
Release data: Analog Sweden – Moments Lost (music and art inspired by the movie Blade Runner) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/LP, Private Release, 2014 Analog Sweden is a Swedish duo with Fredrik Segerfalk and Per Ronge at the helm. Through crowd funding they started raising money to establish and release the concept album “Moments Lost”, music and art inspired by the movie “Blade…
Release data: Can Atilla – Concorde CD, Groove Unlimited, 2005 With the 79-minute “Concorde”, Turkish composer Can Atilla brings another fine collection of vibrant and melodic music. It’s inspired by the legendary Concorde airplane and the critically acclaimed contemporary works of Tangerine Dream of the ‘80s and ‘90s along a dash of the ‘70’s. The sounds, the sequencing and the…
Release data: Simon Lomax – A Glimmer of Memory CD/LP, Txt Recordings/Private Release, 2014 First a few words of the composer on this ambient work of art, taken from his website/SoundCloud page: “I’ve often thought about the way that we perceive memories. It was one early morning when I was out running in the Somerset countryside seeing a few rays…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Livescape_2 Alternating Frequencies CD-R, Ambient Sound Projects, 2014 The second installment in the Livescape series was recorded live in the studio in real time in February 2014 with no additional overdubs. The nine interlocking tracks, featuring subtle environmental sounds occasionally, is a world of tranquility and slow drifting textures along very gentle sequence-patterns and rhythms…
Release data: Ishq – Blue Infinity CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Virtual, 2014 Matt Hillier’s “Blue Infinity” is an ambient concept album inspired by the story of Peter Lanyon, the painter and glider pilot based in Cornwall, who painted landscapes of the West Cornwall peninsula from a gliders perspective. In a sense, the album’s music is an imagined flight in a glider across…
Release data: Józef Skrzek & Przemysław Rudź – The Stratomusica Suite CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Generator.pl, 2014 This concept album between progrock musician Józef Skrzek and Mr Rudź contains the music especially composed for The Balloon Mission to the Edge of Outer Space. Although the cd-cover lists six different parts, the 56-minute outcome is presented in one go without track indexes. After…
Release data: Robert Rich – Propagation CD, Hearts of Space, 1994 “Propagation” is a concept album about biology and the many elements of life, a sonic metaphor for “the miraculous process of living”, the spreading of genetic material across the planet in a brilliant, perpetually evolving dance of chemical, biological, and spiritual ecstasy. The cross-cultural, electro-acoustic and organic sound filling…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Sacred Site CD/MC, Hearts of Space, 1993 Capturing the power, beauty and magic from all kind of inspiring places around the world into compelling music has always been the cornerstone of accomplished US-composer Michael Stearns. The almost 60-minute “Sacred Site” compiles some of his fine soundtrack music along assorted compositions made between 1983 and 1993,…
Release data: Eric G – Visions CD, Elmuced Records, 2011 “Visions” is my second encounter with the music of Swedish composer Eric G (although it seems to be his third album by now), which features four lengthy compositions made between 1982 and 2010. The vintage melodic output again connect to and is inspired by the Berliner School style, most notably…
Release data: Pertti Grönholm – Winterplanet CD, Orogo Sound, 2013 “Winterplanet” is an intimate electro-acoustic and seasonal travelogue into the extreme cold weather conditions encountered in subarctic environments, in this case the homeland of Finnish composer Pertti Grönholm. Between 1997 and 2003, Pertii reworked, remixed and expanded upon the sonic impressions he originally put down on analogue tape between 1984…
Release data: Deepernet – Impossible Landscapes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music/OE3, 2014 Entirely created in Cubase, the cross-genre “Impossible Landscapes” is Andrew Miles’ second album for the Spotted Peccary label, which (fortunately) is a tad less energetic compared to “One”. The contemporary outcome features the dream-like vocals of guest-artist Zefora on two ambient pieces, while the others are a mix…
Release data: Steve Roach – The Delicate Forever CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 Composing ambient music depicting a desert environment is one of the specialties fitting under the belt of Steve Roach for many years. For “The Delicate Forever”, Roach used analogue equipment primarily in sculpturing the tranquil 74-minute/five track sound meditations. This gently morphing, smooth spiraling current of etheric…
Release data: Twofish – Zero Crossing CD-R, Twofish Music, 2014 It’s again time for something out of the ordinary. The cover-design of this album might make you think “Zero Crossing” is a release by Mr Boddy’s DiN-label, but it’s not. Twofish, formed in 2000, is a UK intelligent ambient techno trio consisting of Charlie Humble, guitarist and chief synth fetishist…
Release data: Within Reason – Farshadow CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Periphery/Anodize, 2014 “Farshadow” will be last release for Gregory Kyruluk in 2014 after quite a list of releases under his monikers Within Reason or Alpha Wave Movement in recent times. His sonic journey into instrumental dub-techno ambient on “Farshadow” again proves another moody, atmospheric affair wrapped in slow motion mode. Once more,…
Release data: E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr – Spiralo LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Svart Records, 2014 The sonic content of Spiralo extends on the German Kosmische Musik which already inspired their album “Kometenbahn”. What started as an improvised live set that Pertti Grönholm, Jaakko Penttinen, Kimi Kärki and Ismo Virta played at various concerts in late 2011 and early 2012 was later on recreated…
Release data: The Amnis Initiative – Sanctuary Rising DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 With “Sanctuary Rising”, Dutch synthesist Dennis Lodewijks (aka The Amnis Initiative) brings his listeners a new concept album with electronic music, which this time explores what happens when a group of people has been forced to make a new beginning in a world that is entirely new…
Release data: Various Artists – Phra Rahu CD, Gterma , 2014 Due to the persistence of label owner Johan Rehn, the beautifully designed compilation album “Phra Rahu” (the mythical god of darkness) has made the light of day after quite a bit of delay. As usual, Anders Peterson was in charge of putting a delicate mastering touch to it all,…
Release data: Alpha Lyra & MoonSatellite – Live in Nancy 2013 CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, PWM Distribution, 2014 What I got here is a double album comprising two concerts that took place on March 9 and 10 2013 in Nancy, France, performed by Christian Piednoir (aka Alpha Lyra) and Marc Perbal (aka MoonSatellite) respectively. Alpha Lyra fills the first cd with an…
Release data: Hollan Holmes – The Spirits of Starlight CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Like many musicians, US-composer Hollan Holmes also experienced a growing challenge when starting work on a new album, with the goal to make the outcome different if not better than the previous one. This formed the driving force behind “The Spirits Of Starlight”, and kept him…
Release data: Rüdiger Gleisberg & Mathias Grassow – Ad Lucem CD, Gterma , 2014 German composers Rüdiger Gleisberg and Mathias Grassow have been friends for over 25 years. Besides having their own solo careers, they also joined forces in various musical projects such as Arcanum, Nostalgia and Karmacosmic. But they also planned to produce a recording that would feature music…
Release data: Circular – Moon Pool CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2014 With “Moon Pool”, Circular (aka Bjarte Andreassen and Jostein Dahl Gjelsvik) have delivered another fine chilled-out ambient journey to please the ears. By the means of contemporary electronics and cross-over ingredients, they’ve molded a spacious sonic environment of beatless soundscapes alongside more spiced down-tempo elements, smooth sequencer-lines and environmental…
Release data: Purfoze – Songs of the Stars (Sterrenstukken) CD-R, Rhea Music, 1985/2013 “Songs of the Stars” is the second full-length space music album by the Belgium project Purfoze that was originally released on a privately-released cassette in 1985. After the re-release of their classic “Songs of the Earth” on cd-r, it was just a matter of time before this…
Release data: Bernd Kistenmacher – Utopia CD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 For the project “Utopia”, Mr Kistenmacher invited four different artists (most notably Thorsten Quaeschning on guitar) to establish the outcome. The recording is a different cup of tea compared to his previous work, already ending up in a inconsistent jam session of keys, guitar and violin on the 24-minute opener…
Release data: Urenga – Mu (The Lost Continent) CD, Gterma , 2014 “Mu” (dedicated to the great unknown of the Pacific Ocean, strongly refusing to be charted and explained) is a sonic travelogue by Andras Kiss (aka Urenga). It features a 66-minute journey of minimal but always spacious sounding ambient dub music. From the start it creates a pleasant, hypnotizing,…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Day Star CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, New World Music, 2014 “Day Star” is the follow-up to the 2009 space music poem “Thousand Star”, on which Jon Serrie continues combining space music and the romantic: he takes the whole vision of space and instead of being cold and technical — exploding stars and black holes – he softens/feminizes…
Release data: North Atlantic Drift / Northumbria – Split DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Polar Seas Recordings, 2014 What I got here is a split 36-minute sonic canvas featuring music by the Toronto-based ambient metal duo Northumbria (aka Dorian Williamson and Andy Field) and the project North Atlantic Drift (Mike Abercrombie & Brad Deschamps). From the look and feel, the recording could be…
Release data: Craig Padilla – Sonar LP, Fruits de Mer Records, 2014 “Sonar” is Craig Padilla’s the second album for the Fruit de Mer label, released as limited edition double LP colored vinyl. It’s a compilation of recordings by Craig from 1996 onwards, none of which have appeared on cd or vinyl before. Sonically, the outcome is a real heads-up…
Release data: Loren Nerell & Mark Seelig – Tree of Life CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 All who love in-depth ambient journeys through sound with a profound sense of world music will probably know some individual works of Loren Nerell and Mark Seelig. These two accomplished composers decided to start collaborating after a fruitful and most satisfying meeting at Steve…
Release data: Arc – Umbra CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2014 All who saw Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve (aka Arc) in the flesh live on stage at E-Live 2013 will be much pleased with the release of “Umbra”. The latter is a 6-track album capturing the tantalizing live atmosphere of the concert (the duo decides to include the enthusiastic audience reaction…
Release data: Rooms Delayed – Nothing Lighter DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Monkey Records, 2013 Rooms Delayed is an ambient sound project by Italian composer Vicenzo Nazzaro. Executed in a shoe-gazer kindred style, the soundscape music contained on the five-track Ep “Nothing Lighter” paints sensitive and imaginary ambient narratives using guitars, e-bow, delay, reverbs, field recordings and, sometimes, vocals. In a quiet…
Release data: Fanger & Schönwälder – Analog Overdose 5 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manikin Records, 2014 For the music on the 77-minute “Analog Overdose 5” (a kind of cityscapes caught in electronic music) the duo Fanger & Schönwälder has teamed up with Lutz (Lüül) Graf-Ulbrich The latter also joined them on the first volume back in 2001, and hereby delivers some atmospheric…
Release data: Derelict Thoughts – Autumn Moon CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 What I got here is the second full-length ambient project by Ron Boots after “Too Many Secrets”, but released under a new moniker: Derelict Thoughts. All who know Ron’s extensive release catalogue know he always has thrown in a couple of fine ambient compositions on every album along his…
Release data: Enterphase – Solar Promenades CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 2004 When we talk about fine space music from the USA, we should now forget about the cosmic voyages undertaken by Fred Becker and Jeff Filbert, aka Enterphase. Ten years previous to this album, they produced their first effort “Phase One”, followed by “Phase 2” in 1998. For the 66-minute…
Release data: Sverre Knut Johansen – Planets CD, Origo Sound, 2012 With such a title one expects (and gets) an album of cosmic-inspired instrumental music taking on a melodic and cinematic approach. Scandinavian multi-instrumentalist and composer Sverre Knut Johansen spent two years in crafting the 70-minute outcome, giving his own voice to a mix of melodic, spacy and ambient electronics…
Release data: Earthstar – French Skyline LP/CD, Sky Records/MI Records, 1979 “French Skyline” is one of those EM classics that should not remain unmentioned on my site. It came out on the legendary Sky Records label but after twenty years or so it also resurfaced on cd through Bernd Kistenmacher’s MI-Records in digitally remastered form. Back in 1979, a guy…
Release data: Thorsten Quaeschning’s Picture Palace Music – Remnants CD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 What I got here is the 60-minute original soundtrack album Mr Quaeschning made for the “Remnants” (a beautifully shot documentary of time lapse cine photography about the rise and fall of the Neolithic civilization of Britain) by accomplished UK- cinematographer Grant Wakefield. As many have also experienced…
Release data: Uwe Reckzeh – Mirror Images CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2012 Since I discovered the music of German composer Uwe Reckzeh, I have come to the conclusion the sequencer-driven outcome of this talented musician is certainly worth a listen. Although sonically following another path as his Spanish collegue Javi Canovas, both form a special league of talent in contemporary…
Release data: Peter Mergener – Creatures 2020 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, BSC/Prudence, 2014 “Creatures 2012” is a limited edition double cd, featuring the music contained on the albums “Creatures” (1991) and “Let There Me More Light (Creatures II)” (1994). For the occasion, all this material has been fully remastered, remixed. In addition, Mr Mergener has expanded both outcomes a bit, as he…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Signs CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 I think it always great and exciting to see people step out of the ordinary and do something different. The latter applies to “Signs” (a concept album inspired by large radio telescopes) by the Dutch duo Gert Emmens and Ruud Heij, who decided to do a…
Release data: Altus – Excursion Three DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Earth Mantra , 2014 This recording, originally planned for release in 2011, marks the final chapter in Mike Carss fine “Excursion”-series. “Excursion Three” contains three sonic journeys with lush, melodic, slowly moving yet progressive-flavored electronic music. The free form, pastel-colored sonic landscape laid out here complements the previous recordings beautifully, painting velvet…
Release data: The Roswell Incident – Escape CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The 56-minute “Escape” (the closing section of the duos trilogy) was recorded live in concert at the Belgium B-Wave Festival in December 2013. The album starts out in a moody ambient fashion, continuing the beautiful sonic narrative nicely as found on the previous recordings “The Crash” and “Hunted”,…
Release data: Geoffrey Downes – The Light Program LP/CD, Geffen Records , 1986 Being a fan of quite some symphonic/rock music as well, I thought it a good idea to reflect a bit on this album, which the composer released as The New Dance Orchestra. “The Light Program” (this title actually pays homage to early radio days in Mr Downes…
Release data: Pillion – Centillion CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 In 2010, I already wrote a review of a digital download-only album by almost the same name (“Centillion 303”) which was released by Walter Christian Rothe & Friends. At that time, I already knew the music on that album was composed in 2008 and featured a concept composition in various parts,…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Hidden Path CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 I for one think it great to see a Cánovas-album again as a factory-pressed cd after a large list of digital-download only and cd-r releases. On this 70-minute/six track newbie, Mr Cánovas doesn’t stray far from his trademark of classic, sequencer-driven music, though here sticking to rather concise pieces…
Release data: The Cosmic Arc – Feed your Head DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 “Feed your Head” is an electronic krautrock release by Munich-based German composer Tibor Fredmann, who goes by the name The Cosmic Arc. The trippy outcome is a peculiar melange of cosmic and psychedelic space music inspired by the pioneers of German electronic music, applying a kaleidoscope…
Release data: Michel Genest – Crystal Fantasy LP/CD, Sona Gaia Productions, 1984 “Crystal Fantasy” is the first album by French-born musician Michel Genest (but living in the USA now), labelled as visionary synthesizer music. The 45-minute outcome is overall soothing, magical and relaxing while being graced with warm textures, Kitaro-esque sequencing and solo leads. Similar to the Japanese composer, Michel…
Release data: Simon Slator – Piano in the Rain DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Webbed Hand Records, 2014 “Piano in the Rain” is a long form piece based on a composition of the same name which the Simon Slator (known previously as Cold Sun) made almost ten years before. It’s been transformed from a 7-minute New Age piece, into a euphoric 48-minute ambient…
Release data: Gandalf – To Another Horizon LP/CD, WEA Records, 1982 For the music on the 48-minute release “To Another Horizon”, Heinz Strobl has assembled a fine selection of skilled musicians (on bass, drums, flute and grand piano/organ) to accompany him on this fantastic journey through imaginary landscapes. Gandalf himself still plays a rich set of instruments, most notably the…
Release data: Evan Marc – Emotional Ecology CD, Psybooty Records, 2007 “Emotional Ecology” is the debut by Evan Bartholomew using the Evan Marc moniker for this tech-house recording of melodic dub Its goal is to bring a sense of the sacred to the people on the dance floor, to let themselves go and experience magic through movement along a certain…
Release data: Green Isac – Passengers CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music , 2014 “Passengers” is the long-awaited ethno-electronic sound world release by the Norwegian band Green Isac, aka multi-instrumentalist Morten Lund and percussionist Andreas Eriksen, seeing the light of day after over a ten year hiatus. The album itself is in fact a completely realized triptych, as it combines three…
Release data: Pete Namlook & Tetsu Inoue – Shades of Orion CD, Fax, 1993 “Shades of Orion” (which would see another two volumes) may be a good starting point when you’re in the mood of some trippy ambient electronics. The 24-minute cosmic outing “Biotrip” offers long sliding soundscapes, beats and throbbing effects, all executed in a groovy/trancy and overall minimal…
Release data: Ulrich Schnauss – A Strangely Isolated Place CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, City Centre Offices/Domino, 2003 This album is the follow-up to Ulrich’s excellent “Far Away Trains Passing By”. It’s a release with a bittersweat current of melancholy sweeping between the notes and some very nicely executed danceable moves. “Gone Forever”, “Monday Paracetamol” or “Blumenthal” are just a few cues of…
Release data: RON BOOTS Derby! CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 “Dharma Rain” further extends on the already impressive journey through sensuous ambient music started on the previous three Chronotope Project releases. Although not as lengthy as the previous ones, the three track/38-minute “Dharma Rain” features a myriad of highly emotive music reflecting elements from Buddhist teachings, physics and cosmology seamlessly. Moreover,…
Release data: Terra Sancta – Exile CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Malignant Records, 2014 Terra Sancta is the alias of Australian dark ambient Greg Wood, who hereby delivers his second full-length album on Malignant Records after an eight year hiatus. The 58-minute freeform outcome is a constellation of massive, sweeping soundscape drones paired with windswept textures that paint a vast horizon of intense…
Release data: Under the Dome – Dome Roots Collection CD-R, Cochlear Vision Records, 2003 This special cd contains eight tracks of which five have already been released on the limited edition UTD cd-r “The Earth”. The focal point on this album –like on previous cds- is the output of the Roland M100, so sound wise you’re automatically entering Redshift territory…
Release data: Robert Rich – Gaudi CD, Hearts of Space Records, 1991 This album is inspired by and a tribute to the magnificent and awe-inspiring architecture of Antonio Gaudí. Moreover, it gives a spacious voice to its organic, mathematical and life affirming architecture which conceals a subtle geometry. Using synths, woodwinds, and mallet percussion, the composer has fabricated a kaleidoscope…
Release data: Various Artists – Passages CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2014 With the futuristic sounding “Passages”, the French Ultimae-label adds a new chapter to their existing list of tasty and well-sorted out compilations. It’s the third compiled by Nova, aka Massimo Terranova, offering an elegant evolving inner trip through a spacious and rich flavored ambient world of glitch, minimal dub…
Release data: Far East Family Band – Parallel World LP/CD, Nippon Columbia, 1976 In the discography of this band, “Parallel World” is exceptional album, not only as Masanori Takahashi (aka Kitaro) was part of this psychedelic/prog band, but also due to involvement of Klaus Schulze as producer and mixer of the whole release. There are lots of fine Moog sounds…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Quinoa CD-EP, VOLT Records, 1992 “Quinoa” is a 28-minute Ep by Tangerine Dream that initially came out in 1992 on VOLT Records as a limited edition of 1000 copies issued by the TD International Fan Club. The transitional release contains one continuous piece featuring previously unreleased material by Edgar and Jerome Froese. Although the melodic…
Release data: Under the Dome – Bellerophon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Neu Harmony, 2002 It would take four years after their stellar debut “The Demon Haunted World” before Under the Dome’s launched their second studio-album “Bellerophon” (Electronic Tonalities). The latter, launched on UK’s Hampshire Jam II, presents 55 minutes of (further matured) new and tasty EM-goodies inspired by ’70 Berliner School cosmic…
Release data: Bertrand Loreau – Spiral Lights CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music , 2014 The music compiled on “Spiral Lights” reflects on the so-called “Sequences” compositions which Bertrand Loreau used as musical background during live performances. Sonically, the eights nostalgic and analogue sounding tracks shine a news light as they have been carefully re-worked, a process in which new melodic lines,…
Release data: Christopher Franke – Klemania CD, Sonic Images, 1993 All those that experienced a huge disappointment after hearing the soothing, new-age musings on Franke first solo-album “Pacific Coast Highway” can rest assured on what’s on “Klemania”. On the latter, Christopher returns to traditional electronic music in TD-style, offering some powerful synth-textures and tantalizing sequencer patterns already kicking in fiercely…
Release data: The Gateless Gate – Near North DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The sonic travelogue “Near North” is a 70-minute release by Ontario-based composers Allister Thompson and Teri-Lynn Janveau. The goal of the narrative music is to sonically express the beauty of the wilderness, people and fauna found in Central and Northern Ontario, Canada. Don’t judge the album only…
Release data: Robert Rich & Alio Die – Fissures CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1997 The sonic content captured on “Fissures” is a doorway to an inner world filled with mesmerizing, at times even dreamful textural soundscapes and acoustic instruments pictured before an overall melancholic backdrop dressed with intriguing samples and many nice, intense “perceptual cracks”. On “Fissures”, Stefano Musso (aka…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Archaic Frontiers CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2014 The cover of this album depicts a similar environment and sphere as the one Chad Kettering used for his last release. But when it comes down to music, the outcome clearly reveals the fine musicianship all fans of Alpha Wave Movement have accustomed to since quite…
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…
“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 great loss as his beloved wife Gillian died from cancer. As a work…
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…
Release data: Liveform – Take One, Volume 2 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 Here’s the second chapter of archival recordings, nicely complementing the previously released volume 1. From the first track on it is clear the band’s melodic/sequenced music (still 100% improvisation with no overdubs) has further evolved, while the WaveStation synth is still found at the centre of the…
Release data: Suspended Memories – Forgotten Gods CD, Hearts of Space, 1992/1993 For this release we have to travel back in time, to 1993 to be precise. Suspended Memories is a tribal ambient/shaman music project by Steve Roach, Jorge Reyes und Suso Saiz. Its seed was planted in the days when the three musicians met each other during a grand…
Release data: Dwight Ashley & Tim Story – Drop CD, Lektronic Soundscapes, 1997 I must say the front cover of the cd-booklet coming with “Drop” is quite alarming, showing a figure falling from a high building. It already sets the mood for a darker-shaded recording by sound sculpture Dwight Ashley and multi instrumentalist Tim Story. The introspective sonic outcome is…
Release data: Pascal Languirand – Ishtar CD, Aspa Records, 1993 Many will know Canadian composer and producer Pascal Languirand of his well-known techno-project Trans-X or -even better- his classic EM-albums “Minos” and “De Harmonia Universalia”. “Ishtar” is his fifth solo- release, featuring instrumental electronic music with occasional symphonic/orchestral hints and choir pads along some distinct exotic flavours. Although the music…
Release data: Beyond Berlin – Music for Cosmic Nights 2013 CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 Beyond Berlin is Martin Peters (on YouTube known as KeesVangelis) and Rene de Bakker (aka Attorks), who previously formed the Dutch trio AKS with a third member. The two played a live-set of Berliner School inspired music at the Cosmic Nights event in Planetarium Brussels…
Release data: Sigma – Between Here and There DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2009 From the cd-sleeve I learned this concept-recording was originally recorded for the Finnish radio program Aaniversumi. The spatial outcome, referred to as a soundtrack for an imaginary movie, is a 59-minute continuous soundscape containing lots of sampled, looped and processed effects for which the SCI Prophet VS…
Release data: Brendan Pollard & More – Collection Volume One CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Acoustic Wave Records, 2013 British synthesist Brendan Pollard did quite some efforts looking through music that had been shelved for the last decade by whatever reason. This is the first result in a series of three discs, filled with 12 tracks (demos and tracks for radio programmes) along…
Release data: Hakobune – If it were to fade CD, Gterma , 2013 Hakobune is the alias of Kyoto-based musician Takahiro Yorifuji, who has quite a list of albums under his belt. The almost 79-minute “If it were to fade” is based on Mr Takahiro’s cassette-release “Evergreen/Faraway”, and features three long-form ambient compositions generated by processed guitar improvisations. We’re talking…
Release data: Can Atilla – Hi Story CD, Groove Unlimited, 2011 I don’t know that many albums by Turkish musician Can Atilla, but I found out this one came out about six years after “Concorde”, his previous album on Groove Unlimited. I must say this newbie is filled with accessible and catchy electronic music, making it a most attractive collection…
Release data: Robert Carty – In Neptune’s Wake DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 Gentle, drifting and at times even enchanting and magical. All these are key descriptions that apply to the harmonic ambient space music of Robert Carty, nor has he ever strolled far from these since he started composing. The six free form soundscape compositions making up “In Neptune’s…
Release data: Steve Roach – At the Edge of Everything CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 The live-album “At the Edge of Everything” travels back to the Dutch E-Live festival 2000, where Steve Roach performed (what he likes to refer to as) the zenith of a period in his deep organic / tribal ambient sound. At the occasion, Mr Roach was…
Release data: Vanderson & Rudź – Remote Sessions CD, Generator.Pl, 2014 Many who love the school of classic electronic music will probably be familiar with the highly attractive and successful works of Polish synthesist Vanderson (aka Maciej Wierzchowski), which is hereby paired with the progressive (rock) and a bit more modern approach found on the releases of fellow-countryman Przemyslaw Rudź.…
Release data: Gert Emmens – The Day After CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 Although “The Day After” still carries the distinct “Emmens signature”, it also reveals a new sonic approach of this talented Dutch synthesist. Still firmly founded and inspired by vintage electronics, the melodic, sequencer-driven music on the concept album enters a profoundly melancholic and mournful world of sound…
Release data: Ran Kirlian & Jaja – Cosmos Vol. 1 CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2013 “Cosmos Vol. 1” (the first album in a series of electronic space-ambient dedicated to the magnificence of the universe and one of its biggest explorers: Carl Sagan) marks the debut collaborative work by Spanish ambient composer Ran Kirlian and his German soul mate Jana Rockstroh…
Release data: Nisus – Electronic Medication CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2012 Belgium has seen quite some new electronic music talents the last couple of years. One of them is Nisus, aka Evert Vandenberghe, who calls himself an architect of electronic cathedrals, sacred sounds, symphonic sketches, sequential spaces & acoustic novels. In addition, this guy was the ‘Best Newcomer 2012’ of…
Release data: Aqua Dorsa – The November Earth CD, Gterma, 2013 Listening to the dark ambient music on “The November Earth” is like entering an infinite world of shadows and deep caverns. Along the journey, lots of foreboding, organic and remote undercurrents fly by. If you’re looking for a kind of polished ambient, you won’t find it here as the…
Release data: Rhea – The True Color of Titan’s Lakes CD-R, Rhea Music, 2008/2013 One’s at the right spot here if you’re an avid fan of ambient space music like I. A few decades ago, synthesist Mark de Wit already contributed his two cents when he was part of Purfoze. Since a couple of years though, he pursues a solo…
Release data: Alexander Saykov – Cold Front DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Spaceal Orbeats Records, 2013 I received word about Mr Saykov’s EP “Cold Front” through the Gterma weblog, and was more than keen too investigate it as his album “Mistral” made quite an impression on me. The release contains three parts, complemented by various remixes of the track by other artists.…
Release data: Uwe Reckzeh – Virtual Minds CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2013 On the 78-minute recording “Virtual Minds”, talented German composer Uwe Reckzeh moves closer to TD’s melodic, sequencer-driven music from the ‘80’s. His Berliner-School spiced album also features lots of engaging melodic lines, which –in combination with the already mentioned sequencing – explain why his infectious and well-structured music…
Release data: Graham Getty & Stephan Whitlan – Higher Green Session CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Retrochet Records, 2013 Many might know UK-synthesist Graham Getty from quite a list of solo and collaborative recordings, most often inspired by the German vintage electronics of the ’70’s. His collaboration with Mr Whitlan adds a new flavour to the aforementioned, as not leaning on the melodic…
Release data: Tim Gerwing – Scorpius Rising CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Lascaux21, 2013 It’s about ten years ago since I reviewed an album by Canadian composer Tim Gerwing. His fifth album “Scorpius Rising” (subtitled Music for the inner listener 5) is an album with versatile Arabic world, electronic and ambient flavours. According to Mr Gerwing, the outcome provides a sort of inner…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – Six CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, English Electronic Music Company, 2013 The Berliner School music on “Six” is compiled from various studio sessions in 2009 and 2010, which saw the trio Pollard/Daniel/Booth having lots of fun with the large assortment of analogue gear which Mr Pollard had to let go some time later on. Three lengthy tracks (all clocking…
Release data: Phobos – One Moment Live DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 Like the previous Phobos-release, “One Moment Live” a live album recorded at UK’s Awakenings all dayer festival, but now the 12th October 2013 edition. This time though it’s a digital-only release featuring the full 46-minute performance but without any audience noise. David Thompson here attempts to suck his…
Release data: Bryan Carrigan – Below Zero CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Peonies Music, 2013 Listening and reviewing music is all about discovery and (re)interpretation. With his fourth album “Below Zero”, accomplished US-composer Bryan Carrigan takes his instrumental eclectic/hybrid music into the territory of chill out and down-tempo styles with groovy bass lines, beats and exotic electronic soundscapes along pleasant gentle melodies. In…
Release data: David Parsons – Stupa CD, Gterma , 2013 It’s almost four years since the EM-community saw the last album of New-Zealand based composer David Parsons, which was due to circumstances at his former label. In the meantime, David didn’t stop molding new sonic creations where ambient and Indian classical music neatly converge. He started using different electronic instruments,…
Release data: Venja – Mode Zen CD/Digital Download, B-Wave, 2013 After a long break, 2013 saw the tenth release of Belgium-based composer Venja, aka Johan Geens, also the first album on the newly founded B-Wave label. The music (recorded between 1997 and 2012) draws from rather simple melodic formulae, and stays close to the sound we know from IC-records: moody,…
Release data: Ashen Simian – Spinal Staircase CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Retroduction, 2013 This second solo-instalment by Ami Hassinen is a very nice surprise, introducing its listeners to more rhythmic-oriented music with more sparse arrangements than heard from his band Nemesis. Presented in a modern, stylish 6-panel digi-pack, “Spinal Staircase” offers a very clear and transparent sound design where heavy bass lines…
Release data: Steve Roach – Spiral Meditations CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2013 The title of this release implies an introspective journey into ambient music, and that’s exactly what the listener receives: a sequencer-based, slow morphing and highly minimal long form piece. While listening to “Spiral Meditations”, the thought of Steve’s track “Destination Horizon” passed my mind more than once. The…
Release data: Thought Guild – Electric Curios DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2013 Although “Third Voyage” was the last complete Thought Guild album, Gregory Kyryluk decided to release another TG-album in November 2013: “Electric Curios” is a compilation of lost and very early music predating the debut “Context”. It was never to be released but since Christopher Cameron is no…
Release data: Loom – The Tree Hates The Forest CD, Viktoriapark, 2013 After two three live concerts, two Ep’s and a stunning live cd, it was just a matter of time before the first full-length album of Loom would surface. The wait is over with the cracking “The Tree Hates The Forest”, which sees the trio Johannes Schmoelling, Jerome Froese…
Release data: Altus – Sleep Theory Volume 2 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 After a break of about a year, Canadian musician Mike Carss returns with the second volume in the Sleep Theory series, bringing his listeners another chapter of low volume soundscape ambient music. The album contains three long form sessions (Session 4-6) of velvet, carefully molded textural worlds…
Release data: Alexander Saykov – Mistral CD, Gterma, 2013 “Mistral” was originally released as a digital-only album on Cold Tear Records in October 2012, but now received a proper factory-pressed cd release of which the content has been continuously mixed and expanded upon. The almost 80-minute outcome was made by Moscow-based composer Alexander Saykov, who hereby presents a meticulous collection…
Release data: Alpha Lyra – From Berlin to Paris CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, PWM Distribution, 2013 Alpha Lyra is an electronic music project by French composer Christian Piednoir, who performs at concerts in France next to MoonSatellite. At first, the opening piece “Berlin 600 AM” remained a kind of an outsider track for me, but after several spins it started to grow…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Slow Motion CD, Spheric Music, 2013 Since I started reviewing electronic music a long time ago, I also visited a fair share of music for the slow lane as counterpoint for the continuous rush time surrounding modern life. With “Slow Motion”, German synthesist Robert Schroeder delivers his own contribution of melodic-oriented music fitting in the…
Release data: Robert Rich – Morphology CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Anodize, 2013 “Morphology” is a live album recorded during Darren Bergstein’s home concert series One Thousand Pulses on May 15, 2010. It’s been a while since I listened or reviewed any live music from the most talented Robert Rich, but it’s again a joy to dig this 70-minute electronic & electro-acoustic release,…
Release data: MoonSatellite – Low Life CD-R, PWM Distribution, 2013 With the album “Low Life”, presented as one overture and six parts, we enter a vibrant world of classic electronic music for 65-minutes. While still echoing some of the vintage work of Jarre, Marc Perbal has come up with a most attractive assortment of layered sequencer patterns and highly spherical…
Release data: Odyssey & We Are The Hunters – Odyssey & We Are The Hunters CD, Generator.pl, 2013 This release features Odyssey, aka Tomasz Pauszek (also known as RND) and We are the Hunters (aka the – Spanish? – duo Sentionaut and Synthembryo). Both have delivered one lengthy composition that is dedicated to or inspired by the legendary cosmic music…
Release data: Mathias Grassow – Tamanoshima CD, Gterma, 2013 The almost 80-minute “Tamanoshima” follows in the footsteps of Mathias previous releases on Gterma, again travelling into deep, uncharted but still lengthy sonic environment. The meticulously crafted continuous waves and drone fields remain intense and mysterious, smoothly shifting color and shape in most subtle manners. Listening to these slightly mind bending…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – 5 CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, English Electronic Music Company, 2013 What I got here is another analogue extravaganza containing the three-part “Sphere of Influence” along the 9-minute encore from the trio’s live-gig at “E-Live 2009” (which didn’t fit on PDB – “3”). The triptych is a 60-minute journey through the vintage years of the early and mid ‘70’s,…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Presence (Harmonics Trilogy Vol. 3) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 With “Presence”, Andrew’s ninth release to date, we get to the closing part of the Harmonics Trilogy. Like its predecessors, it contains three expansive movements meant for sonic, long-time discovery along relaxation and introspection. The outcome took the composer nine months of composing, involved 90…
Release data: Synthex – Mirrorland CD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 In my opinion, it was just a matter of time before this youngster would come up with his first mature, factory-pressed release, having heard his remarkable first steps that made up “Pythagoras”. “Mirrorland” contains 55 minutes of highly accessible melodic music, which is joyfull, warm, uplifting and dreamy. Jeffrey Haster shows…
Release data: F.D. Project – Moments of Life CD, Private Release, 2013 One of the many things that always fascinated me on the accessible releases of Frank Dorittke, aka F.D. project, are its freshness and vibrant feel paired with a contemporary sounds design that takes its own bits and pieces of inspiration from old school German electronics. On the 60-minute…
Release data: Picture Palace Music – Somnambulistic Tunes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manikin Records, 2004/2007 For this release, Thorsten Quaeschning has chosen to compose a neo/classical work of cinematic music, all inspired by Robert Wienes (over 80 years old) silent vintage movie “Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari”. Still, there’s quite a bunch of electronics involved in the creation of “Somnabulistic Tunes”, for…
Release data: Pyramid Peak – Anatomy CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 With their album “Anatomy”, the trio Pyramid Peak (aka Axel Stüpplich, Andreas Morsch & Uwe Denzer) show cast once more they still belong to Germany’s headliners of today’s contemporary electronic music circle. While re-interpreting and redefining the Berliner School sound as reference, these guys have a knack for coming…
Release data: Chronotope Project – Event Horizon CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2013 On the previous two albums of Chronotope Project, aka composer Jeffrey Ericson Allen, I already discovered some beautifully crafted ambient art work. The 58-minute “Event Horizon” is by no means an exception to this, as once again organic-founded material is blended sophistically with atmospheric pads, electronic drone textures,…
Release data: Erren – Fleissig – Schöttler – Steffen – Ouddorp Takes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 Word about this album has been floating around in electronic music circles for a short while, as it seems to contain some nicely rendered old-school electronic music made with a fine assortment of vintage hardware. Investigating the recording with my own ears turned…
Release data: Rhea – Crescent CD-R/LP, Rhea Music, 2013 Rhea is a project of Belgian synthesist Mark de Wit, who some might know as one half of Purfoze or as one of the founding members of B-Wave, the Belgian electronic music community. “Crescent Rhea”, presented in a beautifully designed origami-style digipack, offers 50 minutes of otherworldly space-ambient. The album contains…
Release data: Colin Rayment – Acclimation CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 “Acclimation”, the process of adapting to a new climate, covers a number of personal experiences and thoughts of UK composer Colin Rayment covering areas of personal snap shots that derive their name from various geographical experiences and their adaptations to some extreme (weather) conditions. In the process of creation,…
Release data: Steve Smith & The Tylas Cyndrome – Pools of Diversity CD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 This trio gave a very nice act-de-presence at E-Live 2013, being part of the ViTaL concert (ViTaL is VoLt including Tylas Cyndrome and Lamp), which als marked the release of the band’s second album “Pools of Diversity”. The accessible 62-minute outcome presents some catchy…
Release data: Robert Carty – Spore DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Deep Sky Music, 2013 The six-track album Spore” kicks-off with the vibrant sound design and dancing sequencer patterns of the lush “Beginning”, later on winding down into calming, cosmic/new age soundscaping. A magical, soft-soaring sound current comes to the surface on the freeform “Journey”, shifting to more lyrical realms on “Natural Nature”.…
Release data: Celer – Climbing Formation CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Entropy Records, 2013 “Climbing Formation” is my second encounter with the ambient music of Will Long (aka Celer), who plays synthesizer, organ and tape loops on this release. Three lengthy and one short piece make up the 70+ minute album, featuring most tranquil and highly minimal drone ambiences. It’s a slow morphing…
Release data: Banco de Gaia – Apollo CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Disco Gecko Recordings, 2013 Banco de Gaia is UK composer Toby Marks, whose project is about mid-tempo trance-dance beats intertwined with ambient moods along world music samples and a slight new age-spiritual angle. “Apollo” appears to be his first album in seven years. The albums opens strong with the emotive and…
Release data: Havdis – Nightbreeze CD, Gterma, 2013 Similar to his previous album, the main inspiration of “Nightbreeze” is the immediate surroundings of the composer (a fisherman by trade) along his close connection to the sea and its nature. However, this time around Odd Jensen (aka Havdis) tries to embrace the northern summer’s atmospheres while living so close to its…
Release data: David Helpling & Jon Jenkins – Found CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2013 This is such a recording causing a rush of excitement already at first glance, although being the final episode of the duo’s trilogy. “Found” is a 70+ minute emotive work of ambient music featuring both grand and intimate atmospheres along compelling rhythm sections, all propelling…
Release data: Mindglide – Radiance DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2009/2013 Mindglide is an electronic music project founded by composer Rafael De Julián Garcia, an independent artist residing in Valencia, Spain. The project is heavily influenced by electronic music from the 1970’s such as progressive rock along other experimental and improvising genres like Krautrock. “Radiance”, Mindglide’s second album, was originally composed…
Release data: Narcosis – Narcosis CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fairy Nuff Music, 2007 What I got here is a kind of forgotten but worthy album in the EM-genre. Narcosis is Steve Jenkins, a technical/stage manager for the UK Hampshire Jam series of concerts, and Irish synthesist Stephan Whitlan. Despite Mr Jenkins not being a technically skilled player as Mr Whitlan, he is…
Release data: Coral Cave – The 4th (live) CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 It may sound strange, but this is my first encounter with the music of the German band Coral Cave, which was founded at the end of the ’80’s by the Düsseldorf-based synthesizer duo Tilo Voigthaus and Erik Matheisen. Both also seem to have followed some solo-endeavours as…
Release data: Walter Roos – Buddhas Breeze CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 The music of German composer and visual artist Walter Roos has been on my list for quite a while, so I hereby finally found time to investigate one of his recordings. “Buddhas Breeze”, an attempt on creating meditative music, is a 78-minute ambient recording and Walter’s third album.…
Release data: Klaus Schulze – Shadowlands CD, Synthetic Symphony/SPV, 2013 This is a bit of an unusual review as I generally tend not to review releases by the bigger, better-known EM-artists, as they already get their share of attention through lots of other channels. Still, the limited edition 2-cd version of the studio-release “Shadowlands” intruiged me, as I wanted to…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Cracks in the Air DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 With his album “Cracks in the Air”, Javi Cánovas attempts to express feelings about very abstracts things that are hard to describe, along reflections about the apparent inconsistency about them as well. Sonically, it all feels like a journey through time and space, offering both slow…
Release data: Marcomé – Seven Seas CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Rubicon Records/Marco Productions, 1996 The (sadly deceased) Canadian label Rubicon Records released the feel-good/new-age album “Seven Seas” in 1996, which is the debut-album by Canadian singer/songwriter Marcomé (written as Marco May on my copy and also pronounced that way). Synthesist and producer Michel Robidoux was involved in the making of this album,…
Release data: Jerome Froese –Far Side of the Face CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Moonpop, 2012 On the minimalist designed digipack release “Far Side of the Face”, Edgar’s son Jerome adds a new chapter to his existing catalogue of “guitartronica”. I find slightly kindred emotive currents in the album’s music as encountered in the shoegazer works of Ulrich Schnauss, although Jerome’s outcome radiates…
Release data: Schiller – Horizon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Panorama/Deutsche Gramaphone, 2013 This is a bit of an unusual review, as it focusses on the album “Horizon” only, which is part of Schiller’s expensive and limited “Opus” Limited Ultra Deluxe Edition, (a four-cd-set) and not available seperately. Musically, it is way different compared to the dreary, reinterpreted classical-electronic music making up “Opus”.…
Release data: Mirrored Meridian – Heliolatry CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Meridian Music, 2013 “Heliolatry” is referred to as a soundtrack for an imaginary science-fantasy story sandwiched between two space-ambient tracks. The overall music though has a different impact and mindset compared to the more song-based predecessor “A Sense of Wonder”. “Heliolatry’s” instrumental storytelling takes the listener further into deep space as we…
Release data: Within Reason – Substrate: Collected Elements CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2013 In his press-notes, US-composer Gregory Kyryluk (aka Within Reason) refers to “Substrate: Collected Elements” as a body of collected Within Reason tracks created prior to “Subtle Shift” and in-between “Transient Broadcasts”. In my opinion, the seven tracks on the release once more reveal and emphasize the…
Release data: Troika – Goddess CD, Enso Records, 1996 At first glance, the visuals of Troika’s debut album already evoke a dreamy, fairy-tale like feeling, something also found in the beautiful art and design gracing the albums of e.g. Amethystium or the early albums of Gandalf. Sonically, Troika tells its own story in instrumental music in a most lyrical style…
Release data: Synaesthesia – Ephemeral CD, Zoth Ommog, 1997 Synaesthesia is one of the various projects by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, who are also the driving forces behind Delerium and Frontline Assembly. “Ephemeral” is their third (and also last) album under this alias, a sonic exercise in infectious tribal ambient with powerful but slow rhythms, drums and beats. The…
Release data: Steve Roach & Vir Unis – Blood Machine CD, Greenhouse Music, 2001 “Blood Machine” is the follow-up to “Body Electric”, and would also be the last full-length collaborative album of Steve Roach and John Strate-Hootman (aka Vir Unis). In the process of creation, the two musicians were exploring a kind of collaboration where the mutual focus is maintained…
Release data: Sayer – Random Access Melodies CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, New Territory Records, 2013 After a long hiatus, American synthesist Sayer Seely re-surfaced lately, announcing a remastered version of his debut album as digital download only, along “Random Access Melodies”. The latter is a compilation of various tracks recorded since the debut album and prove Sayer still knows his ways in…