Release data: Anandra Nidra – Blissful Sleep CD, Projekt, 2011 “Blissfull Sleep” –subtitle: two sensual meditations for awakening ecstacy- is the first meditation cd on the US-Projekt label. Inspired by a traditional Tantric practice known as Yoga Nidra, the double-cd set features spoken-word meditations by Tantra teachers and authors Mark A. Michaels and Patricia Johnson. Both 44-minute meditation sessions (followed…
Release data: Tom Habes – Sudden Exposure CD, Optical Image Records, 1995 Tom Habes is a Dutch composer who started making music in the middle of the ‘80’s. Many may know him as as the guy behind the Optical Image project. “Sudden Exposure” is one of the two electronic music cds released under his own name on which Tom has…
Release data: Paul Sauvanet – Time Dreaming CD, Les Volies Dór/Oreus, 1991 Recorded at the Centre International de Recherche Musicale in Nice, “Time Dreaming” (officially entitled “Le Songe Du Temps”), offers two lengthy tracks and one short piece of reflective and quiet ambient music. Any rhythm is absent in the slow flow of warm and spacious textures that make up…
Release data: Harmonics of Frequency Modulation – Vibe’s CD, Katharsis, 1997 The musician behind Harmonics of Frequency Modulation is the Island-based musician Marteinn Bjarnar Thordarson. He writes the music of “Vibe’s”, which is dedicated to the human spirit, should not necessarily been seen or heard, but felt. In addition, its Marteinn’s belief sound harmonics are a wonderful metaphor for understanding…
Release data: Satsuma Nightmare – Plugged CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2003 Well, the cover image of “Plugged” isn’t very appealing, but the music on it will be appreciated by those who cling to the stuff TD played at the beginning of the ’80’s. The project Satsuma’s Nightmare was founded in 1983 by Leicester-based musician Alan Stocker and some others. The…
Release data: Robert Jíša – The Egyptian Book Of The Dead CD, NextEra, 2011 The concept-album “The Egyptian Book of the Dead” is based on the fascinating collection of ancient documents contained in the famous book of the same name. Actually, many forms, beats and intervals featured on the albums music are a musical translation of symbols of that period,…
Release data: Jerome Froese –Nightshade Family (live) CD, Moonpop, 2011 “Nightshade Family” is a release put out by the Moonpop label after a long period of popular demand for a live document, here presented as a complete live set with outtakes from various concerts in 2005 and 2006 without overdubs or audience noise. Creator of so-called “guitartronica”, multi-instrumentalist Jerome Froese…
Release data: Star Sounds Orchestra – Kosmophonon CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 1992/2007 Originally released in 1992 on CMS Music, “Kosmophonon” is a symphonic ambient/space music album by Star Sound Orchestra, aka Jens Zygar and Steve Schroyder (who briefly was part of Tangerine Dream in the early 70s). The album features seven planetary tuned pieces, apparently based on the cosmic octaves,…
Release data: Jeff Pearce –The Hidden Rift CD, Ancient Sun Music, 1996 When you talk about quiet, atmospheric ambient music, the name of Indiana-based space-guitarist Jeff Pearce most certainly should be mentioned. Having previously collaborated with the Vidna Obmana on “Crossing the Trail”, Jeff hereby presents his second solo-album “The Hidden Rift”. Using only e-guitars and specialized processing techniques, Mr…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – Tenderness and Fatality CD, Windchime Music, 1993 “Tenderness and Fatality” is the self-released debut album of Indiana-based composer Jeff Pearce, who later on would get known for his highly atmospheric ambient music. While using no keyboards or guitar synthesizers, Mr Pearce has composed 11 lush tracks made up of slow moving ambient guitar textures. Listening…
Release data: Vanderson – From The Bottom Of Space CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SynGate, 2010 A few years back I was impressed by the music featured on Vanderson’s album “Echoes of Darkness”. “From the Bottom of Space” (composed between 2008 and 2009) doesn’t disappoint either. This time the vintage music is offered in shorter tracks and seems to focus more on soundscaping…
Release data: Wellenfeld – Sunshine CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2008 “Sunshine” contains nine well-composed and executed studio tracks recorded by Wellenfeld (aka the German duo Detlef Dominiczak and Andreas Braun) between April 2006 and February 2008. The outcome is accessible melodic music with spatial sequencer patterns and warm synth pads along captivating leads, of which album opener New York is…
Release data: Remotion – Beyond Reality DIGITAL EP, Private Release, 2013 Back in 2001, the Dutch duo Remotion (aka Richard Stuij and Arjan Steenbergen) released their album “Between Fiction and Reality” on Groove Unlimited, a fine album that still works for me until the present day. Only recently, Remotion decided to bring that album into the digital age. To celebrate…
Release data: Wellenfeld – Trip to Illusion CD-R, SynGate, 2006 “Trip to Illusion” is the third release by the German duo Detlef Dominiczak and Andreas Braun, aka Wellenfeld. The nicely designed album features eight tracks with overall mainstream electronic music. Unfortunately, I couldn’t detect any sparkle in it that made it a bit more interesting than other recordings in the…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Cadenced Haven – Life in Cosmic Highway CD, Groove Unlimited, 2011 It was just a question of time before Gert Emmens & Cadenced Haven (aka Laila Quraishi) would join forces on a full-length album. Besides being partners and soul mates since a while, Gert already helped out on Cadenced Haven’s debut “Peregrination”. And now there’s…
Release data: René Splinter – Transit Realities CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 1992-2010 “Transit Realities” offers 10 tracks of sequencer-based melodic music dealing with journeys through both the real world and the virtual equivalent. Recorded in 1992 and 1993, the music ended up being shelved without being released, but fortunately was re-discovered by the Dutch composer in recent years and reworked…
Release data: Sverre Knut Johansen – Distant Shore CD, Origo Sound, 1994 As far as I know, “Distant Shore” is the debut album by the Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Sverre Knut Johansen, who proves he’s also one hell of a composer in about 70 minutes. The ten minute title track, assembling rhythms and both symphonic and intimate passages, is already a great…
Release data: [‘ramp] Steel and Steam CD, Doombient Music, 2011 Again based on and inspired by collaborations with other musicians, “Steel and Steam” sees Stephen Parsick expertly pursue the quest of [‘ramp] through the vast landscapes of energetic vintage electronics, although now all on his own. The ten tracks on this album are all centered around “bulldozer” sequencer patterns and…
Release data: Schönwälder & Rothe – Filter-Kaffee 101 CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SynGate, 2011 “Filter-Kaffee 101” is the first collaborative project by Mario Schönwälder & Frank Rothe, who composed the music for this album between 2007 and 2011. The 66-minute outcome, presented as eight different “cups”, is melodic and rhythmic sequencer music featuring lots of vintage sound textures and warm solos hovering…
Release data: Ken Elkinson – Music for Commuting Volumes 1 – 6 CD, August Son Productions, 2011 Now here’s a peculiar release of a Los Angeles-based musician who decided to try his efforts in the ambient music genre after he had previously composed and released nine albums of solo piano music. Ken Elkinson’s “Music for Commuting” is a triple cd-box…
Release data: Hashtronaut – Bottle Universe CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Flightlog Restricted Recordings, 2006 “Bottle Universe” is the second album of by Michael Daniel, who goes by the name of Hashtronaut. Well, this guy knows what he’s doing as his attractive Berlin School inspired space music contains some catchy solo’s and sequencing which strongly resemble those of Klaus Schulze. Although the cover…
Release data: Frederick Rousseau – Abyss CD, Origins, 1997 After two concept albums about woods, the French composer Frédérick Frederick Rousseau now turns to the mysteries and isolation of the ocean deeps. Regarding the content of “Abyss”, Rousseau refers to it being “no music”, an experience realised with neurologists specialised in music therapy. The cd contains four long uninterrupted tracks,…
Release data: Leonardo Rosado – Opaque Glitter CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, FeedbackLoop, 2011 With “Opaque Glitter”, derived from approximately 1h30 of source music, experimental artist Leonardo Rosado has created a textural drone album with an assortment of lost and found sounds. Beside the organic and slightly harsh edge, this imaginary music with a touch of melody reminds of Pascal Savy in abstract…
Release data: Astropilot – Solar Walk CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altar Records, 2010 AstroPilot is the artist name of the Russian composer Dmitry V. Red’ko. Over the last few years, his music mainly appeared as single tracks on various down-tempo/chill-out compilations, most recently on the last part of Ultimae’s Fahrenheit Project. The 69-minute “Solar Walk” is his second full-length release, which has…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Lost Links DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/CD-R, Relaxed Machinery, 2011 For “Lost Links”, the first volume in a series, Max Corbacho assembled a collection of tracks which were shelved in his archive although they were initially composed to fit on a concept album, compilation or into a commisioned project. Known for his well-crafted and expansive/atmospheric music, Mr Corbacho…
Release data: Various Artists – Fahrenheit Project Part Seven CD, Ultimae Records, 2011 The French Ultimae-label brings the Fahrenheit Project Collection to an end with the 76-minute “Fahrenheit Project part seven”, offering a last bunch of fresh, contemporary and progressive downtempo electronica in Ultimae realm. The featured artists are Asura, Solar Fields, Scann-Tec, Field Rotation, Maurizio Piazza and Hol Baumann…
Release data: Redshift – Colder CD, Distant Sun Production, 2011 “Colder” comprises six energetic and exciting tracks of all-new music by Redshift (Mark and Julian Shreeve assisted by the trusted Ian Boddy) which the trio confidently executed live at the Hampshire Jam 9 festival. The massive sound and evocative sequencer patterns of Mark’s grand modular is spot on oncemore, with…
Release data: Robert Carty – Photonic Movements DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 All EM-fans out there looking for a nice addition to their ambient space music collection, make sure to check out Robert Carty’s offering “Photonic Movements”. Kicking off with the 32-minute ultimate drift “Shimmering”, this 60-minute album features three long sonic excursions of gentle and smooth space music airing…
Release data: Hashtronaut – The Lambda Variant CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Flightlog Restricted Recordings, 2006 Hashtronaut is the artist name of UK-based synthesist/guitarist Michael Daniel. His fifth album “The Lambda Variant” comprises two lengthy pieces of 26 and 24 minutes each, both heavily influenced by the Berliner School style of Klaus Schulze. The title track starts out smoothly with bell tones and…
Release data: Bas B. Broekhuis – The Escher Drawings CD, Synteam/Groove Unlimited, 1991/2004 Bas Broekhuis belongs to the Eindhovense School of electronic musicians such as Ron Boots, Eric van der Heijden, Niko Olofsen and Ad van Gerven. Together with Ron Boots he founded the Synteam label in 1990, and also joined the KLEM-subdivision KLONE that pushed him to release his…
Release data: Memory Geist – Benthos DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2011 DiN’s ninth download-only album “Benthos”, which took about four years to complete, is the second release by Memory Geist, a collaborative project of Steve Law (of Zen Paradox, Starseed Transmission & Black Cab) and Bakis Sirros (of Parallel Worlds & Interconnected). Compared to their debut album “Funeral Cavern”, the music…
Release data: Norman Rose – Space Trails CD-R, Touch the Light, 2002 The album “Space Trails” by California-based synthesist Norman Rose belongs to the list of authentic electronic space music, combining warm and inviting sounds with a sense of melodrama and a few symphonic hints. The 12 cosmic tone poems on the album all evoke this dreamy but also romantic…
Release data: Rising Star – Cosmic WorksRising Star – Cosmic Works CD-R, Private Release, 2001 From the backcover of this cd I learned “Cosmic Works” is a live-in-concert recording made in Chico, CA, USA on 01-27-2001. Marc Handschuh, aka Rising Star, presents us a continuous evolving soundscape blanket of spacious textural sounds, divided in seven pieces. Well, this is pretty…
Release data: David Parsons – Dorje Ling CD, Fortuna records, 1992 The sonic fabric on Mr Parsons “Dorje Ling” continues very nicely in the realm of mystic Tibet and the Indian culture. The release was inspired by David Parsons subsequent return to Dharamsala, India, known as the home of Tibetan Buddhism in exile. It later on charged Mr Parsons to…
Release data: Tim Blake – Blake’s New Jerusalem CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Egg/Mantra Records, 1978/1992 Synthesist Tim Blake (of Hawkwind, Crystal Machine and Gong fame) is one of those “dinosaurs” responsible for some classic electronic music made at the end of the ‘70’s. From the futuristic cover of “Blake’s New Jerusalem” one could easily derive this is a kind of soundtrack for…
Release data: Steve Rose – The Diminishing Day CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 The completion of the dreamy ambient release “The Diminishing Day”, very nicely mastered by the capable Robert Rich, took Steve (Austin) Rose over two years. The outcome, realized by synths and e-guitars, still realms in smooth soundscape territory, but on the go appears to be leaning a…
Release data: Brain Laughter – In the Land of Power CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1989 The focus of the Brain Laughter-project, started by label owner Howard Givens, was to create a “grand collaboration” of artists from the Spotted Peccary label with the intent on exploring musical impressions of the Sonoran Desert in the Southwest region of North America. Setting the…
Release data: Patrick O’Hearn – Rivers Gonna Rise CD, Private Music, 1988 On his third album “Rivers gonna rise”, Mr O’Hearn implements a good portion of frettless bass to his fine alchemy of electronic sounds. The sound of the ten tracks is upbeat, bright and airs a beautiful sense of hope. Contrary to his previous two releases, the music on…
Release data: René van der Wouden – Panorama CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, REWO Records, 2011 It is my impression Dutch synthesist René van der Wouden has evolved to a skilled painter of sonic landscapes on the 77-minute “Panorama”. The recording, of which the four tracks were composed between September 2008 and November 2010, sets off with the almost 32-minute “Underwater Sideviews”. This…
Release data: David Parsons – Yatra CD, Fortuna records, 1990 The double album “Yatra” is due to Mr Parsons’ ongoing passion for India and his personal interest in the physics of sound creation, which he was able to transform into ethno-space music. The outcome mirror’s David’s inner journey and experiences while he travelled through India, meeting its people and breathing…
Release data: David Parsons – Tibetan Plateau + Sounds of the Mothership CD, Fortuna records, 1980/1982 This 74-minute cd release from 1991 comprises the music from the cassette releases “Tibetan Plateau” and “Sounds of the Mothership” (only the 27-minute track “Voyage from the Mothership” from the “Tibetan Plateau” mc was left out due to time constraints). Both recordings are what…
Release data: Patrick O’Hearn – Indigo CD, Private Music, 1991 After Patrick O’Hearn turned up a different musical alley on his previous album “Eldorado”, his fifth album “Indigo” wanders into darker and mysterious flavoured but most fascinating spaces. At times, its music is almost soundtrack-like (especially the beautiful opening track “Devil’s Lake”), as the whole album continues in the typical…
Release data: David Parsons – Himalaya CD, Fortuna records, 1989 The ethno-electronic music on “Himalaya” reflects the beauty and impact of Indian and Tibetan culture music. As the previous albums, it was inspired by David’s ongoing contact and extensive stays with Tibetan Monks living in exile in Northern India. It also allowed David to make recordings of their mystic chants…
Release data: Various Artists – Electronic Music For Life CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2011 Due to the devastating earthquake, followed by a tsumani and a nuclear disaster that hit Japan in March 2011, the seed was planted to produce a special compilation cd of which all benefits are donated to the German Red Cross for help to all the victims.…
Release data: Glyn Lloyd-Jones – Chaotic Attraction DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 Mr Lloyd Jones is able to surprise me with every new album he comes up with, and “Chaotic Attraction” is no exception to that. Beside the modern classical feel to the music on this newbie, Glyn remains a master of combining melodic lines with infectious sequenced patterns, creating…
Release data: Kevin Braheny – The Way Home CD, Hearts of Space Records, 1978/1984 “The Way Home” was one of the first releases on the Hearts of Space records. The first draft of this classic space album (originally called “Perelandra”, as it was named after the C.S. Lewis science fiction novel of the same name) was recorded in early 1978.…
Release data: Mychael Danna – Sirens CD, Hearts of Space Records, 1991 The debut album “Sirens”, initially only released as cassette, offers a 46-minute collection of minimal orchestral/symphonic electronics by Canadian Mychael Danna, who later on established himself as a successful soundtrack composer. It’s also a concept album dealing with the femine psyche, taking the listener into worlds beyond the…
Release data: Neuronium – Chromium Echoes CD, Tuxedo Music/Private release, 1982 For me, “Chromium Echoes” is a classic album of Spanish synthesist Michel Huygen, aka Neuronium, who got some great assistance of Carlos Guirao. The sound of this album is warm and profound analogue. The release offers three moody compositions displaying the beautiful sounds and impact of vintage gear by…
Release data: John Broaddus – Afield DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Parnassusnump Records, 2011 After seven years of silence, US ambient composer John Broaddus brings us “Afield”, which offers an adventurous journey into sound processing within the concept of minimal ambient. The seeds for this recording are found in various field recordings made in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Paris, which Mr Broaddus…
Release data: Szymon Kaliski – For Isolated Recollections CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hibernate records, 2011 When you talk about less is more in ambient music, it’s worth having a listen to the Ep “For Isolated Recollections” by young composer Szymon Kalisk, who lives in a small town near Poznań, Poland. The four pieces on the 20-minute release are all assembled from simple…
Release data: Steve Roach – Journey of One (The Tribal Ambient Era, Live 1996) CD, Projekt, 2011 As many Steve Roach fans will know, the start of the 1990’s marked an uprise of profound tribal-ambient electronic music, a genre Steve already explored on releases such as “Early man”, “World’s Edge”, “Origins” and the stunning “Dreamtime Return”. It was a period…
Release data: Danna & Clément – The Best of Danna & Clément CD-R, Earthaven/Mirage, 2005 This is a 70-minute compilation album by the Canadian duo Danna & Clément who made several ambient releases together which all have been unavailable for a long time. “The Best of Danna & Clément” is a special edition release including a limited edition full-colour eight-page…
Release data: Tim Story – Beguiled CD, Hearts of Space, 1991 Those who love melancholic instrumental and somewhat eccentric music are at the right spot with the contemporary ambient music of Tim Story. On “Beguiled”, Martha Reikow joins Mr Story on cello, while Tim himself plays synths, sampling instruments, treatments, piano, and e-guitar. Tim about the recording: “Despite its simplicity,…
Release data: The Black Dog – Radio Scarecrow CD, Soma Recordings Limited, 2008 The Black Dog is a techno-ambient project from the UK consisting of Ken Downie and the brothers Martin and Richard Dust. The output of “Radio Scarecrow”, mixed as one continuous sequence, fits nicely in the framework of intelligent, refined and detailed IDM-electronica with subtle elements and twists,…
Release data: Mychael Danna – Skys CD, Hearts of Space, 1992 “Skys” is a concept album by Mychael Danna, inspired by the big cold Canadian skyscapes through the year. The rich electro-acoustic music, by Mr Danna describes as orchestral romantic-minimalism, offers ten cinematic, airy themes encapsulating the grandeur and beauty of these massive skypaintings. These aural imaginations are beautifully rendered…
Release data: Steve Roach – Live at SoundQuest Fest CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2011 This album documents the first 74 minutes of the concert Steve Roach and friends performed at the first SoundQuest music festival held on October 23, 2010. Album opener is the strong 28-minute “Momentum of Desire”, a pure electronic undertaking with a profound high-tech rim which makes…
Release data: Johannes Schmoelling – The Zoo of Tranquillity CD, Viktoriapark Records, 1988/2010 Until today, I always had quite some trouble enjoying Johannes second album “The Zoom of Tranquility”. The version reviewed here is the original 1988-tapes remastered of the original 2-track tapes which appeared on lp in 1988. This cd doesn’t contain the two bonus tracks of the 1998…
Release data: Przemysław Rudź – Cerulean Legacy CD, Generator.pl, 2011 After finishing his previous trilogy, Polish synthesist Przemysław Rudź brings us a new concept album of progressive electronics, in which the technology theme remains a core element. At first the music didn’t really touch me nor seemed it that cohesive, but this changed after I had several closer listens to…
Release data: Rasalhague – Rage inside the Window CD, Malignant Records, 2011 The musician behind the dark/experimental ambient project Rasalhague is one Kerry Braud, hailing from Indiana. The concept album “Rage inside the Window” (inspired by a true criminal event of a young child neglected by her own mother, being imprisoned in filth and squalor) offers terrifying, industrial and harsh…
Release data: Somnarium – Frost DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 With the album “Frost”, composer Michael Meara brings us another fine release of smooth ambient sonics, this time inspired by profound cold weather conditions. The five expansive vistas offer subtle, gentle, orchestral and symphonic renditions with some piano, overall breathing the fresh atmospherics and the remoteness of cold plains and…
Release data: Barbelo & Jorge Reyes – Ethnoaural CD, Barbelo Music, 2008 Barbelo is the Mexican, Monterrrey-based duo Rodolfo Garza (aka Arkha Nous) and Daniel Trevino (aka Xak) who have joined forces with Jorge Reyes (who sadly passed away in February 2009) for this album. “Ethnoaural” features 44 minutes of ethnic flavoured electro-acoustic ambient compositions in which Reyes distinct fingerprints…
Release data: Marsen Jules – Nostalgia CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Oktaf, 2011 Marsen Jules is a project by the German musician Martin Juhls, who is composing music since 2005. Presented as the “long awaited continuation of his classic “Herbstlaub”, the overall flavour of “Nostalgia” made me think of the releases on the Palace of Light label: although musically different, it evokes a…
Release data: Ishq – Skyspaces CD, Virtual Light, 2011 “Skyspaces” is the first album on Virtual Light, a new series adapted by Ishq (aka Matt Hillier), of which all releases will have an emphasis on space, light and minimalism rather than the more complex and detailed soundscape style feautured on the Virtual World series. As Matt further explains, the ambient…
Release data: Ian Boddy & Parallel Worlds – Exit Strategy CD, DiN, 2011 The Ian Boddy and Bakis Sirros album “Exit Strategy” (the 37th physical DiN-release, limited to 600 copies) is a profound energetic and analogue affair with a strong organic edge. From the press release I learned Mr Sirror planted the seed for the project by delivering a series…
Release data: Steve Roach & Erik Wøllo – The Road Eternal CD, Projekt, 2011 “The Road Eternal” is the second collaborative album by Steve Roach and Erik Wøllo, following up their 2009-release “Stream of Thought”. The framework and fundament of the albums music was layed down by the two composers in the days following directly after the Steve’s first SoundQuest…
Release data: Noryani – Northeast 117 CD, Generator.pl, 2011 (Adrian) Noryani is a new name introduced by the Polish Generator-label that again proves to have a good eye for fine, and above all fresh sounding contemporary electronic music. Noryani’s debut release “Northeast 117” is a tasty and attractive one, displaying a fine assortment of lush, spatial sequences, versatile percussion, powerful…
Release data: Robert Beau Michaels – Radio Cosmos – Music From Out of This World DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 Prague-based musician Robert Beau Michaels has always been fascinated by the mystery and beauty of the universe, and especially by stunning Hubble telescope images. For long, these kinds of images have fed his creative imagination, while evoking a tremendous feeling…
Release data: Kubusschnitt – Entropy’s Evolution CD, Private Release, 2010 After a long hiatus of about eight years or so, Ruud Heij and Tom Coppens have decided to revive the Kubusschnitt-project oncemore. For “Entropy’s Evolution” they invited synthesist Gert Emmens and guitarist Jan Dieterich to join them on the fourth musical journey. There always has been an inventive, progressive and…
Release data: The Black Dog – Music for Real Airports CD, Soma Recordings Limited, 2010 The title of this release immediately makes you think of the fine “Ambient #1” album Brian Eno once made. This is something really different though, as the band described the album “a contemporary reply to Brian Eno’s work from the 70s”. The UK trio Ken…
Release data: Kerry Leimer – Degraded Certainties CD, Palace of Lights, 2010 “Degraded Certainties”, Kerry Leimer’s ninth album, uses reprocessing as the core technique in determining the music’s timbre and form. Mr Leimer continues his ongoing efforts to experiment in generating variety from a limited set of sonic elements, a complex proces in which he extensively manipulated, twisted, edited and…
Release data: Gert Emmens – Metamorphosis CD, Groove Unlimited, 2010 Marking his tenth release on the established Dutch Groove Unlimited label, Gert Emmens decided to stick to the use of old vintage gear without MIDI for the 73-minute “Metamorphosis”. For those interested, Gert included a complete list of gear used on each of the six tasty tracks. As usual the…
Release data: Remy – I-dentity CD, Deserted Island Music, 2011 I personally find it interesting Remy Stroomer has chosen the titel “I-dentity” for his latest release, as I always found that this musician created his own realm of identity and originality over the years on his recordings. Tracks 1-3 of “I-dentity” have been recorded at Remy Stroomer’s concert at the…
Release data: Eric G – Conclusion CD, Elmuced Records, 2001 Many musicians have been influenced by the classic electronic music of the Berlin school. The music contained on Eric G’s “Conclusion” features compositions made between 1978 and 1999, and shows its own reflection and inspiration derived from the mid-’70’s output by the likes such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze next…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper – Arctisonia CD, Air Space Records, 2011 Mr Koepper describes the outcome of his sixth privately released album “Arctisonia” as “loaded with analog synthesizer music- textural-sequencer driven-atmospheric”, which according to the album sleeve is inspired by The Arctic. The sounds on the album are diverse, warm and very rich, and the seven lengthy tracks are cinematic…
Release data: Free System Projekt & Gert Emmens – Legacy CD, Private Release, 2011 The factory-pressed cd “Legacy” comprises three concert recordings made at two different locations. The almost 50-minute “Heritage”, recorded at The Ricochet Gathering in October 2010, kicks things off in the engaging and full retro-mode as we know so well from Free System Project. The music is…
Release data: Altus – Sleep Theory Volume 1 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 With “Sleep Theory Volume One”, Mike Carrs adds another fine chapter to his already extensive catalogue of soothing and highly textural ambient music. Quite similar to the overall relaxed outcome of “Coma Cluster”, this lush and atmospheric music in three phases feels like a comfortable blanket of…
Release data: Chuck Van Zyl – MemorySpace CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synkronos Music, 2010 With “MemorySpace”, American musician and radio host Chuck van Zyl delivers an intimate and reflective work of electronic ambient music, firmly rooted in the analogue domain. Not only does the album’s music sound like a strong tribute and dedication to the vintage analogue output created in the 70’s…
Release data: Elektronische Maschine – Kampf CD, IntraPop, 2010 After seven years of work, the Dutch band Elektronische Maschine (by many associated with Kraftwerk) managed to put out their fifth album “Kampf “ (mastered by Eroc) at the end of 2010. The album’s concept deals with the permanent struggle against mediocrity, which in all its aspects can be observed effortless…
Release data: Various Artists – Dutch Masters CD, Groove Unlimited, 2011 Now here’s a very nice art concept album initiated by Synth.nl (aka Michel van Osenbruggen), aptly called “Dutch Masters”, meant to further promote the Dutch synthesizer music scene. Ten talented Dutch synthesists were offered to collaborate on this project, for which they all derived core inspiration from a painting…
Release data: Robert Carty – Paradise Earth CD-R, Deep Sky Music, 2011 On lots of his previous releases, musician Robert Carty took his listeners into expansive cosmic spaces, most recently with his “Starlight” trilogy. With every new release, Robert has been able further refine and valvenize his highly textural musical excursions. The elevating and emotional outcome on “Paradise Earth” is…
Release data: Anthony Paul Kerby & Tomass Weiss – Distant Shadows CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DataObscura/Construct, 2011 Canadian composer Anthony Paul Kerby (APK) has produces many ambient recordings under the names Lammergeyer, Nunc Stans, and The Circular Ruins. Sonic architect Tomas Weiss on the other hand has recorded under the monikers Nautic Depths and El Hadra, while he’s also known for his…
Release data: Resonant Drift – Passages CD, Flow Space Music, 2011 Bill Olien and Gary Johnson, aka Resonant Drift, nicely follow up to their previous album “The Call”, bringing more inspiring desert soundscape music to us. “Passages” features sophisticated ambient music with occasional tribal rhythms and smooth e-guitar work next to a kind of hidden dynamic undercurrent running through the…
Release data: Time Being – A Dimension Reflected CD, LotusPike, 2011 Ambient composers Jourdan Laik and Philip Wilkerson have joined forces using the musical moniker Time Being. With “A Dimension Reflected” they deliver their first tour-de-force release of ethereal and expansive drift music, an attempt to capture the essence and beauty of the present moment in time. The album is…
Release data: Steve Roach – Immersion Five: Circadian Rhythms CD, Timeroom Editions, 2011 Meant to explore a new direction for the immersion experience, “Immersion Five – Circadian Rhythms” nicely continues the series with two long form tracks of 73 minutes each, intended for infinite playback. The albums subtitle is named after physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly…
Release data: Dan Pound – Medusazoa CD-R, PoundSounds, 2011 With the music of his album “Medusazoa”, on which work was started in July 2010, it seems Mr Pound is trying to come closer to the sound of Steve Roach. The seven tracks feature so-called underwater dream zone music, based and built from analog modular synth drones, patches and effects, made…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Forrest Fang’s Sans Serif: Unbound CD, Projekt, 2011 “Unbound” is the second release of Sans Serif, aka Forrest Fang, of which the ambient music was assembled from an assortment of lost and found microscopic sounds as source material. As Mr Fang further explains The Sans Serif project is his personal tribute to minimalism. For each…
Release data: Peter Davidson – Green Moss Trail CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Otherworld/PeterDavidsonmusic, 2011 Hailing from the Swedish Western coastline, multi-instrumentalist Peter Davidson brings us an instrumental album described by the composer as “an ambient journey down the wormhole”. “Green Moss Trail” is another great example of active and overtly organic ambient music fitting in the tradition of Robert Rich, Steve Roach…
Release data: Galactic Anthems – The Other Side CD-R, Private Release, 2010 With his seventh release “The Other Side”, Glenn Adams (aka Galactic Adams) treats us with a true cosmic album. The nine tracks offer a bright assortment of electronic sounds, ranging from a few dynamic, pulsating, rhythmic-sequencer driven pieces to cinematic spacious sketches making up the biggest part of…
Release data: Brian Vassallo – Memoirs of a Lifetime CD, Private Release, 2010 December 31, 2010 saw the release of “Memoirs of a Lifetime” by Maltese composer, sound designer and producer Brian Vassallo. It offers the listener a sonic companion to make his/her own interpretations of his/her moments in life. Mr Vassallo’s instrumental music, presented in eight uninterrupted parts, is…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Subliminal Pulse CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2011 “Sometimes, the poetic language of music reveals what cannot be seen. It shows a reality that has nothing to do with words. With my electronic instruments I take the universe’s “Subliminal Pulse”, and I try to build a bridge between my inner pulse and the pulse of the…
Release data: Ron Berry – Osiris CD, Ron Berry Music, 1985/2002 I’m not familiar with the English musician Ron Berry, one of the many on the Brittish Isles who established their own style and musicianship from the mid ’80’s on. “Osiris”,(inspired by The Egyptian Book Of The Dead) seems to be a classic recording among EM-fans, which was originally release…
Release data: Blutiger Fluss – Rings Of Saturn CD-R, Sleep on the Floor Records, 2011 “Rings of Saturn” is the fourth release by the Des Moines, Iowa-based duo Jeff Hutchison and Jim Duede, and their third concept album surrounding a planet. The music on the four lengthy tracks embarks on an instrumental ambient/space journey in which the cosmic atmosphere remains…
Release data: Meg Bowles – A Quiet Light CD, Kumatone Records, 2011 I had the idea classically-trained female synthesist fell of the radar about a decade or so ago, after she had composed some very nice cosmic albums. So what a nice surprise to hear she re-entered the electronic music scene at the start of 2011, at the same time…
Release data: Futureworld Orchestra – Regenerated CD, Goose Pimples Music, 2009 The duo Robert Pot en Gerto Heupink originally making up Futureworld Orchestra had quite some success in the first half of the ’80’s with their vocal and instrumental pop tunes, of which especially “Desire” and “Roulette” did a good job in the Dutch charts next to “Theme from E.T.”…
Release data: Richard Bone – Sudden Departure CD, Quirkwork Laboratory Discs, 2008 “Sudden Departure”, the 24th release on Richard Bone’s own Quirkworks Laboratories label, is another offering of emotive and calming ambient tracks. In their own way, each track seems an observation of moments in time and space, simply displaying a sense of reflection or mood. As always, there are…
Release data: Biff Johnson – Reading The Bones CD, Broad Vista Music, 1997 A quick look at red rocks on the cover of this cd would make you think this might be another release of vidnaObmana. “Reading the Bones” is actually the debut of American musician Biff Johnson on his own Broad Vista label, who received the kind help from…
Release data: Biff Johnson – Mirage at the Crossroads CD, Broad Vista Music, 1999 On his second album “Mirage at the Crossroads”, Sacramento-based composer Biff Johnson has decided to follow a bit of a new musical direction for his ambient music, as the outcome of debut album “Reading the Bones” almost sounded like a tribute to the desert music of…
Release data: Vir Unis & James Johnson – Perimeter II CD-R, Atmoworks, 2003 Two years after their succesfull double release “Perimeter”, a follow-up to this concept was released as “Perimeter II”. This time it’s a triple cd-r set packed in a dvd-case, of which the music oncemore is an sophisticated mix of fractal groove electronics and atmospherics outings, but overall…
Release data: Vir Unis & James Johnson – Perimeter CD-R, Atmoworks, 2001 “Perimeter” is a double cd-r release which sees fractal-groove king Vir Unis (aka John Strate-Hootman) collaborate with ambient composer James Johnson. The disc of 60 and 70 minutes each feature a blend of high-tech groove and pulse sequencer patterns and rhythms, loops, radiowave mutations and fractalizations to which…
Release data: Vir Unis – Aeonian Glow CD, Greenhouse Music, 2000 “Aeonian Glow” is a second chapter of introspective and inner body music by John Strate-Hootman, aka Vir Unis. The music was created in the seclusion of John’s In the Bubble studio, which at that time existed in the hectic city of New York. As John eluded in an interview,…
Release data: James Johnson – Environment 1: Chinatown – New York CD-R, Atmoworks, 2003 “Environment 1” is the first cd-ep from James Johnson environmental soundscapes series. This 28-minute cd-r carries the subtitle Chinatown – New York, and depicts a rather peaceful soundscape with only a few street sounds here and there. A drifting texture with faint melancholic elements, complemented by…
Release data: James Johnson – Echoes CD-R, Atmoworks, 2003 As Mr Johnson explains in the inlay sheet, “Echoes” is the outcome of an exploration of the process of “designed systems”: self-generated, always changing soundfields, melodies and floating textures, of which traces already could be heard on his former albums “Odyssee” and “The Butterfly Chamber”. Well, the introspective title-track leans towards…
Release data: Hoenig – Göttsching – Early Water CD, Musique Intemporelle/Spalax, 1995 “Early Water” is one of those classic gems in electronic music that found its origin in a jam session that took place in Berlin in the autumn of 1976 between Manuel Göttsching and Michel Hoenig. The “lost” recording remained on the shelf for about 20 years or so,…
Release data: Richard Bone – Beleagured Blossoms CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Quirkwork Laboratory Discs, 2010 “Beleagured Blossoms” contains 11 forgotten artifacts from Mr Bone’s archive. They’ve been composed between 1993-2009, and most of them are soundtracks from various film and video projects. Mr Bone’s versatile compositions walk the edge of combining the abstract with contemporary electronica. His music steps out of the…
Release data: Richard Bone – The Ghosts of Hanton Village CD-R, Quirkwork Laboratory Discs, 2009 “The Ghosts of Hanton Village” marks the 25th release on Mr Bone’s label Quirkwork Laboratory Discs. It contains ten ambient/experimental compositions that have been inspired by the folklore surrounding Hanton Village, a mysterious commune in the northwest hills of Rhode Island, close to Richard’s home.…
Release data: Uwe Gronau – Midsummer CD, Private Release, 2011 Uwe Gronau is a German musician current residing in Bocholt, who created a range of progressive and New Age instrumentals for the double abum “Midsummer”. For the albums music, Mr Gronau based his ideas upon Wittgenstein’s studies on the relationship between reality and thought. What we got here is a…
Release data: Gandalf – Erdenklang & Sternentanz (Earthsong & Stardance) CD, Prudence, 2011 “Erdenklang & Sternentanz”, which comes in a beautiful 8-panel digipack, is a special project which celebrates Gandalf’s 30th anniversary as a stage performer. It actually contains the “life-symphony” music Gandalf performed with the Austrian Corso Orchestra, which at first glance makes one think of the “Symphonic Landscapes”…
Release data: Aes Dana – Perimeters CD, Ultimae Records, 2011 First of all, “Perimeters” sees a departure of the cd packaging and cover artwork known from all previous Ultimae releases. Musically, Vincent Villuis has taken the opportunity to thoroughly reinvestigate the core and sound of the Aes Dana project, which has resulted in an expansion in both sound and style.…
Release data: Bob Holroyd – Beachcombing CD, Private Release, 2011 “Beachcombing” (previously announced as “Glow”, which is also the first track of the album) comes in an environmental-friendly but still nicely looking digipack. This album by UK-composer Bob Holroyds contains twelve compositions which in advance has been depicted as “the perfect soundtrack to a film yet to be made”. The…
Release data: Johan Agebjörn – The Mountain Lake CD, LotusPike, 2011 After more than two years, Swedish composer Johan Agebjörn delivers his second album on the prestigious LotusPike label. It’s an example of fresh and catchy contemporary electronics with that typical but indefinable arctic rim. The influence of trance and dance is clearer on the 13 up-tempo instrumentals that fill…
Release data: Remanence – Lamkhyer 3-INCH CD-R, mPath Records, 2002 This is the third, again very nice and originally packed release of Remanence, aka the ambient-duo Brian McWilliams and John Phipps. Both who have been abled to take a prolific dive into the deep end of Tibetan-inspired music. In a way, this is what other musicians like to call in-the-moment-music:…
Release data: Darshan Ambient – The Zen Master’s Diary CD-R, Private Release, 2003 The initial idea for “The Zen Master’s Diary” by Darshan Ambient (aka Michael Allison) was born after the musician read A Buddist Bible by Dwight Goddard, a book on Zen and Yogic philosophies. The nine longform compositions on the introspective-oriented cd are a real treat for both…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Soniq Variants CD-R, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2011 As Gregory Kyryluk explains in the liner notes, the music of “Soniq Variants” is made on a few Ensoniq hardware synthesizers with slight computer assistance for compositional arrangement and audio recording. With these synths, known for their special timbral quality, Gregory mapped out eight fine tracks of…
Release data: moonbooter – Cosmologica CD, Mellowjet Records, 2010 Like “Cosmoclimax”, “Cosmologica” is another energetic release by Bernd Scholl, (aka Moonbooter) but the latter one offers a handful of very nice Jarre elements and effects thrown in the Moonbooter mix next to Schiller-esque trance/dance ingredients. The album (produced for and premiered live in concert at the end of December 2010…
Release data: Hollan Holmes – A Distant Light CD, Hollan Holmes Music, 2010 Hollan Holmes is a new name in the genre of ambient music, which recently introduced himself and his music on the electronic music forum Emportal.info around the end of 2010. “A Distant Light” is his a debut, which the composer describes as a deeply spiritual journey and…
Release data: Synthetic Block – Synthetic Block CD, Mindspore Records, 1998 What we got here is an interesting debut-cd that shouldn’t be missed by any serious listener of progressive electronic ambient music produced today. American musician Jonathan Block (who seems to have produced several cassettes before this cd came out) is the inventive guy behind the 68 minutes of intruiging…
Release data: Robert Cory – Point Of Origin CD, Private Release, 2003 Robert Cory is an Arizona-based musician and soundengineer who already has three other solo albums under his belt and who successfully worked several times with contemporary music composer Chris Spheeris. Well, “Point of Origin” didn’t disappoint me at all as it offers a nice blend of instrumental music,…
Release data: Robert Carty – Ethereal Deserts CD-R, Private Release, 2003 Utah-based Robert Carty has come up with a another atmospheric work called “Ethereal Deserts”. The album features seven longform tracks in which a delicate blend of soundscapes and textures are folded together with some slight percussive and tribal elements scattered over it. This music actually takes you on a…
Release data: Steve Roach – Space and Time: An introduction to the soundworlds CD, Space and Time, 2003 For all those out there who are new the world of ambient and spacemusic, this cd surely is a good start. “Space and Time” features and overview of music by ambient legend Steve Roach made in the past 20 years or so.…
Release data: Steve Roach – Texture Maps CD, Timeroom Editions, 2003 “Texture Maps” presents volume 3 in the “Lost Pieces”-series. This time (as the title suggests) we take a dive into vast textural landscapes which –by whatever reason- were shelved in Steve’s Timeroom studio. These eight tracks give a further insight on how his music has developed through the past…
Release data: Richard Bone – Alternate Realities Although I gave this cd several spins in my cd player, I have to confess these 49 minutes of music are not my taste, but still not bad. Richard Bone, an “ambient musician extraordinaire” already managed to catch my attention and touch me with his previous albums “The Spectral Ships”, “Ether Dome” and…
Release data: John Broaddus – 4 at 18 CD, Parnassusnump Records, 2003 I had the privilege to have been a demo-listener for this recording while it was in progress. The music then had some hard edges and coulduse some more depth, but now that the cd is released officially one can discern he did some further fine-tuning of the soundsculptures.…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Signals in Moonlight CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Raingarden Music, 2003 It took well-respected ambient musician Thom Brennan quite some time to solve some troubles regarding the album “Signals in Moonlight” and the distribution of it after its actual release. Nevertheless, the album, composed and performed in 2002 at his Seattle-based Raingarden studio, is another gem in his…
Release data: Cold Sun – Four Patterns CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2003 “Four Patterns” is the 3rd cd of UK-based musician Simon Slator which smoothly follows the path taken by his predecessors “6am” and “Antarctica”. The outcome (a non-generative ambient piece where almost everything is based around the number 4) is a very relaxing album full of delicate atmospheres and…
Release data: Jon Hopkins – Opalescent CD, Just Music, 2001 On Jon Hopkins surprising debut-album “Opalescent”, a welcoming, bright and relaxing atmosphere is set from the beginning, as we start with the chill-out track “Elegiac”. This seductive, melodic sphere continues as the other tracks unfold gradually. While listening, the same ovewhelming feeling which dominated Global Communication’s legendary album “76:19” takes…
Release data: Deep Sky Divers – The New Fast Lane CD, Any Robinhood, 2003 An album filled with exactly 60 minutes of chill-out music, the soundtrack for a life less hectic. This description comes from the UK-duo Jon Short and David Jones, aka Deep Sky Divers. They’ve transformed and reworked some compositions of their previous (superb) album “Highlands and Skylands”…
Release data: Constance Demby – Set Free CD, Hearts of Space, 1989 One of the accomplishments of female synthesist Constance Demby has been to merge electronic space music with the New Age genre. Did she leave an unforgettable footprint with the landmark recording “Novus Magnificat”, “Set Free” presents an almost profound style of ethereal cosmic music. The sweeping orchestral/symphonic anthems…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Within – The Nine Dimensions CD, Earth Turtle Music, 2000 Mr Stearns always had a great ability to connect the celestial with the real world experience through his sophisticated ambient music. “Within”, graced with beautiful psychedelic fractal computer art on the cd-booklet, is commissioned music Michael made for a “channeled” workshop by one Barbara Hand…
Release data: Stand Alone Complex – Music for Suicides DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Arctic Waste Records, 2010 Stand Alone Complex is multi-instrumentalist Michael Lewis from Winnipeg, Canada, who founded the project in 2008. His debut album “Music for Suicides” is presented as a neo-classical, industrial and down-tempo electronica soundtrack for the mind, a complex, mind-altering, trance-inducing sound experience representing a journey through…
Release data: Biosphere – Substrata CD, All Saints Records, 1997 All who love to immerse and linger in Arctic-flavoured ambient music is at the right spot with “Substrata”, a classic soundscape recording by Geir Jenssen, aka Biosphere. While listening, one can almost feel the chilling cold evaporating from its 60-minute long form atmospheric tone textures. Rich in detail and featuring…
Release data: Michael Stearns – The Lost World CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1995 The 54-minute concept album “The Lost World” is a gem of cinematic ambient music which sees accomplished ambient sound painter Michael Stearns deliver another stunning piece of sonic art. Inspired by a trip into The Lost World of Venezuela, this highly textural work is acts as a…
Release data: Dave Luxton – Dark Moon CD-R, Wayfarer Records, 2010 The cinematic impact and mysterious vibrations embedded in the ambient music of David Luxton always have had a quirky twist. That doesn’t change on “Dark Moon”, an instrumental album that takes its audience on a gentle journey into new sonic frontiers out there. The cosmic pieces of smooth atmospheric…
Release data: Harold Budd & Brian Eno – The Pearl CD, Editions EG, 1984 For many years, the album “The Pearl” by Brian Eno and Harold Budd is considered a classic in the tranquil ambient genre. The music is simple and but effective, pairing a pleasant sense of melancholy with spaciousness by aptly mixing treated Satie-kindred piano with electronics. The…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Izu CD, Eastgate, 2010 Despite being old now, Edgar Froese keeps up a steady schedule of releasing studio albums while also going on tour. “Izu” is a double cd which contains the music played live at Pennisula Izu (Japan) on 5th September 2009, Metamorphose ’09 Festival also available on Dvd. The release features the complete…
Release data: Ian Boddy – Aurora CD, DiN, 2002 Since Ian Boddy started his own DiN-label, he always looked for ways to extend his electronic sound by e.g. mixing his beloved vintage analogues with software synths and other creative sound design. This to compose a more abstract, impressionistic and more adventurous kind of (ambient) music. One might say the outcome…
Release data: Daniel & Booth – Mutiny CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, English Electronic Music Company, 2010 Next to the vintage project PDB with Brendan Pollard (which has now come to an end), Michael Daniel and Phil Booth often have been together jamming and experimenting in their own way. From the sessions in Bleakhouse Studio in Kirkby and the Inhouse Studio, parts have…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – Live at Awakenings 18-9-2010 CD-R, Private Release, 2010 This album contains a recording of the final live concert that the trio gave at the Awakenings festival held in fall of 2010. For the last time, fans of vintage electronic music were given the chance to take a 54-minute trip into an energizing pool of retro sounds,…
Release data: Mark Jenkins – iPad Album CD-R, Private Release, 2010 Next to the “IpaDream” release, Mark Jenkins also put out the “iPad album”, an eight-track cd-r for which he applied the following iPad apps: iSequence (sounds and drums), Jasuto Pro (modular synthesizer), FunkBox (drums), ihicket (touch responsive sounds), SoundyThingie (touch responsive sounds), MorphWiz (Theremin-style sounds), SoundWarp (sampled sounds), OrbNote…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Memories in Widescreen LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3six Recordings, 2010 “Memories In Widescreen” is the first vinyl-exclusive album from 36, aka UK-sound designer Dennis Huddleston, offerings 13 ambient tracks spanning 70 minutes of material. Again, it’s a dreamy and celestial recording, featuring expansive dreamy (drone)soundscapes in a minimal style, culminating in intense and highly imaginary ambient music.…
Release data: 33 Tetragammon & Human Metronome – Universal Ripples CD-R, Private Release, 2010 “Universal Ripples” is the third collaboration between Dutch musicians Human Metronome (aka Eelke van Hoof) and 33 Tetragammon (aka Wasili Papadopoulos). According to the musicians, the outcome is their deepest album so far, as the previous releases sounded lighter. It consists of an intense journey, best…
Release data: TM Solver – Axon DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Syngate, 2010 TM Solver is an electronic music project by Berlin resident Thomas Meier. His third album album “Axon” features four long tracks which in their own way pay tribute to the classic Berliner School style of Klaus Schulze. From the press-info I learned the well-done 27-minute title track was made with…
Release data: Geigertek – Endless Night DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 2010 On the Ep “Endless Night”, synthesist Neil Fellowes aka Geigertek implements his own vocals into his electronic compositions. This makes the outcome nicely venture in the electro-pop/songlike area with a slight techno-style rim. The 30-minute ep contains six tracks which Neil prepared for UK “Artificial 01” electronica concert performance…
Release data: Ramsaygee – Exotique DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 2009 Ramsaygee is a project by English digital artist, digital musician and vocalist Gareth Ramsay, whose states he takes a visionary approach to anything he creates. This is his second release “Exotique”, that involves a strong flavoured tribal/Middle Eastern style of electronic music. Smooth guitar licks, flute samples and an assortment…
Release data: Unique – Movie without Pictures CD, Nocturne Records, 1998 “Movie without Pictures” is the second album the German brothers Andre and Frank Standke. Again, the two musicians offer an original kind of instrumental electronic music, which is cinematic and unpredictable in fashion. This time, the music relies a bit more on rhythmic structures although there’s still enough room…
Release data: Paul Ellis – Dark Machine Generation DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 With “Dark Machine Generation”, US-synthesist Paul Ellis brings us a full ambient trip made up of one continuous track, which initially began as an experiment in manipulating sound. To quote Paul on the making of the album: “it also really has no melody or harmony to speak…
Release data: Claudio Merlini – The Colours of Music CD, AD Music, 2010 Claudio Merlini is an Italian synthesist who released his debut album “Flight of Fantasy” in 2008 using the moniker Sound Experience. The contemporary instrumental music contained on “The Colours of Music” takes the easy-going road despite the interesting gear list. This doesn’t mean the album is filled…
Release data: The Amnis Initiative – Distant Dreams DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 The Amnis Initiative (which aims to excite the imagination, stir emotions and stimulate the brain with evocative, yet soothing instrumental music) is a one-man project by Dennis Lodewijks, an Eindhoven-based musician and huge Vangelis fan whose album “Distant Dreams” is his full-length debut. “Distant Dreams” is a…
Release data: Edward Rizo – Soundscapes Volume One DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 This album comprises the first ambient excursions by Edward Rizo. From the start, there’s a desolate veil hanging over Rizo’s slow morphing textural dronescapes, as they drift and curl along in smooth elegancy. The gradual ebb and flow of the synth washes on each track creates an…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Deep Time DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, ad21 music, 2010 With the album “Deep Time”, Spanish sound designer and musician Max Corbacho invites us to travel far back in time with a textural work, made up of an assortment of “primal sounds next to an almost palpable sense of the first formings of Order from the chaotic soup…
Release data: Altus & TRX – Crossroads DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 The album “Crossroads” fulfills a wish Mike Carss (aka Altus) had for years: to compose a beat-oriented album in the style as he wrote them in the 90s, but he hadn’t done so as he considered his beat programming was always lack-luster. Through the internet, he got to…
Release data: Solar Fields – Origin #01 CD, Ultimae Records, 2010 With “Origin #1”, Solar Fields aka Magnus Birgersson brings us the first chapter in a series of four albums, of which all music is derived from his studio archive of the last ten years. The release (which comes in a two parts digifile, a kind of budget cd-release) takes…
Release data: Australis – Sentient Genus CD, Essential Noises, 2010 Toward the end of 2010, Oscar Aguayo brings us his third release, “Sentient Genus”, of which the composer mentions in the press sheet it explores some of humanity’s many levels of existance. It’s already at the start of the album that one clearly hears this is another very nice instrumental…
Release data: Steve Roach & Brian Parnham – The Desert Inbetween CD, Projekt Records, 2011 Both Steve Roach and Brian Parnham are known for years as purveyors of the sound of deserts and expansive, remote places. As the press sheet explains, the album draws inspiration from the stark and magnificent expanses of the desert southwest. While expressing a longing for…
Release data: Walter Christian Rothe – Alice DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 1987/2010 This “definitive” edition of “Alice” is again due to the kind help and huge efforts of an electronic music enthusiast and collector from Down Under. Not only did he invest lots of time to sort out the best quality of pieces and the correct track titles, he also…
Release data: Mank – Awen DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manky Music, 2010 “Awen” (a Welsh word for “poetic inspiration”) was released on March 1st 2010, and sees Ben Powell (aka Mank) deliver another fine work of inspired ambient electronic music. As Ben explains on his website, Mank’s 10th release was inspired by characters from the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh folk tales…
Release data: Howard Ferré – Journey’s End CD-R, Private Release, 2010 With “Journey’s End”, South-Florida based neo-classical/new age composer and sound designer Howard Ferré brings us his debut album. In the past 25 years, Mr Ferré has produced music for theatre, but he always had the desire to bring his own music to a new level, which has now crystallized…
Release data: Schiller – Die Einlassmusik 6 CD, Sleepingroom Musik, 2010 This album contains the 52-minute instrumental music Christopher von Deylen especially composed to entertain the waiting audience during the “Atemlos” tour in Spring 2010. The instrumental music starts out as a nice quiet and atmospheric soundscape in the first three parts, made up of warm textural tapestries without rhythm.…
Release data: Dan Pound – Aurora CD-R, Pound Sounds, 2010 Mr Pounds keeps up a steady tempo of releasing music, as this is his third one in 2010. “Aurora” is a cosmic ambient album containing nine atmospheres, which is not as textural as one might expect. Dan’s aural landscape are expansive but also rather active in nature. This recording dips…
Release data: Apollonius & 33 Tetragammon – Core DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Resonating Earth, 2010 “Core” is the fourth release by the Dutch duo Apollonius (aka Eelke van Hoof, previously known as Human Metronome) and 33 Tetragammon (aka Wasili Papadopoulos). Were their other albums already pretty introspective, the 70-minute sonic content of “Core” should take the listener on a trip along the…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Silence CD, Lunisolar Records, 2010 Fans of calming and immersive textural ambient will find lots of their liking in the music of Jutaro Takahashi. On his release “Silence”, Juta has further improved the quality of his soft soaring and slowly morphing ambient soundscapes. Not only has the sonic outcome of the four tracks a dreamy…
Release data: Schiller – Lichtblick (Ltd. Super Deluxe Edition) DVD & CD, Universal Domestic, 2010 In Spring of 2010, Christopher von Deylen (aka Schiller) released “Atemlos”, the follow-up to his highly succesful album “Sehnsucht” (“Desire”). Like most of his previous audio releases, “Atemlos” had to be performed live on stage, so a tour through Germany followed. This was of course…
Release data: Herion – Out and About CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2010 “Out and About” is the debut release of the Italian trio Herion, and at the same time also marks the first release in digipak format on the Hypnos label. The members of the ambient-glitch project Herion are Emanuele Errante (composer of the peculiar album “Humus” on Evan Bartholomew’s Somnia…
Release data: Axess – Fusion CD, Spheric Music, 2010 On “Fusion”, German synthesist Axel Stupplich (who many will also know as member of Pyramid Peak) continues his quest of composing energetic and exciting Berlin School inspired music. Nonetheless, the music featured on this new chapter has a stronger emphasis on sequencers, while Axel keeps a close eye on creating vibrant…
Release data: Odyssey & Remote Spaces – Ypsilon Project CD, Generator.pl, 2010 The music on this album is made by Tomasz Pauszek (aka Odyssey) and the duo Konrad Jakrzewski & Krysztof Rzeznicki (aka Remote Spaces), of which I heard more years in the previous years. The outcome which makes up “Ypsilon Project” was composed during live sessions by the three…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Isopectic Isotac CD-R, Wayfarer Records, 2010 Ambient musician JimDe, who currently resides in Norway, is the ambient musician who initiated the down-tempo project Boreal Taiga around 1999. The electronic music found on “Isopectic Isotac” is graced with a nice sense of wonder, as it draws its inspiration from the expansive and remote Arctic region and…
Release data: Przemysław Rudź – Self-Replicating Intelligent Spawn CD, Generator.Pl, 2010 Przemysław Rudź album “Self-Replicating Intelligent Spawn” is the final chapter of a trilogy (which started with “Summa Technologiae“), which tells the story of mankind in the 21st century. The instrumental music has maintained the high-tech, futuristic and melodic character of the previous albums that graced the previous releases, leading…
Release data: Dreamstate – A Decade Dreaming CD-R, e-Space Editions, 2010 The Canadian duo ScotM2 (aka Scott McGregor Moore) and Jamie Todd, aka Dreamstate, are purveyors of deep ambient music. “A decade dreaming” is a collection of live pieces selected from 10 years of performances at the Ambient PiNG EM-festival. As it is a retrospective recording, The twelve pieces include…
Release data: Kenneth John Parsons – Tribute to Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris CD, Private Release, 2010 Kenneth John Parsons is a UK-based audio creator/composer who started his own little indie record label Inexplicata Music to release his music under the motto: drawn from life, the ether and the imagination. The 13 tracks found on “Tribute to Andrei Tarkovsy’s Solaris” (“Electronic Atmospheres…
Release data: The Nexion Project – Land of Dreams CD, Private Release, 2000/2010 The Nexion Project is Zoltán Török, a Hungarian composer who’s a skilled guitarist and pianist. Until now, he has released several works in different genres ranging from dance music to electro-acoustic, chill-out and ambient. Originally, “Land of Dreams” was finished in March of 2000, but the composer…
Release data: Jerome Froese –Preventive Medicine EP, Moonpop, 2010 ““Preventive Medicine” is a 4-track EP which is meant to be a follow-up to the 2007 release “Precooked Munchies”. The opening piece “Inner Canon Of The Yellow Emperor” (Stimulant), which has a strong progrock feel, is taken from Jerome’s forthcoming third studio album “Far Side Of The Face” (on which Johannes…
Release data: Asura – 360 CD, Ultimae Records, 2011 Asura is a one-man project by Charles Farewell who continues his quest in the genre of down-tempo electronics with his fourth album “360”. The typical Asura-style is almost immediately present, blending worldmusic influences with captivating melodic lines and nicely moulded textural pads while lots of great samples sounds also pass by.…
Release data: Delerium – Epiphany DVD, MVD Visual, 2010 “Bill Leeb’s project Delirium finally sees a dvd-release which features a vibrant and fresh sounding live performance which surely will please a lot of fans of the band worldwide, as it finally enables to catch them in the flesh on stage. According to the press-release, “Epiphany” captures the ethereal essence of…
Release data: Ron Boots & Synth.nl – Refuge en Verre CD, Groove Unlimited, 2010 The foundation of the music heard on this release was laid down as Ron Boots and Michel van Osenbruggen (aka Synth.nl) and their families had a nice weekend out in the Belgian Ardennes in a rented house, of which the latter also became the name of…
Release data: Food for Fantasy – Fresh Food CD, Spheric Music, 2010 As there was no possibility to continue the Double Fantasy, Robert Schroeder decided to continue the project on his own using the Food for Fantasy moniker. I missed out on the 2006 (“The Secret of Dreamin’”) and 2008 (“Fruits of Fantasy”) releases, but the press sheet coming with…
Tripswitch is a down-tempo project by English composer Nick Brennan. The press sheet revealed “Geometry” is the long-awaited follow-up of his 2005-release “Circuit Breaker”. “Geometry” offers fresh, overall moody, airy and above all intricate electronic compositions with a great flow. There are occasional bits of lush guitars while the second track “Concentric Circles” (the highlight for me on the album)…
Release data: Harald Grosskopf – Synthesist 2010 CD, Mellowjet Records, 2010 The year 1980 saw the release of Harald’s classic recording “Synthesist”, of which especially the title track gained a lot of attention within the Em-scene due to the fact it was used as the tune for Winfried Trenkler’s EM-radio show “Schwingungen”. Now, 20 years later, this album is re-released…
Release data: Darshan Ambient – A Day within Days CD, Lotuspike/Spotted Peccary, 2010 I’ve been following the music of Michael Allison, aka Darshan Ambient, since he started out making sophisticated textural soundscape music under the Darshan moniker around 1998 or so. “A Day within Days” is a concept album dealing with friendship, loss and the artistic spirit, which Michael dedicated…
Release data: Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder – In Repelen CD & DVD, Manikin Records, 2010 “Repelen” is the first dvd from the trio Broekhuis/Keller/Schönwälder, which sees them perform in familiar location, the Church in the German village Repelen where they played several times previously. For the occasion, they also invited several guest musicians such as Raughi Ebert, Eva and Thomas…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Essence CD, Private Release, 2010 With “Essence”, New-Zealand composer and visual artist Andrew Forrest brings us another chapter for “inner journeying to multi-dimensional realities” as he likes to call it. From the start, the subtle evolving and mesmerizing space music of “Essence” is evoking this grand out-there feel, masterfully presented in four seamlessly merged and…
Release data: Vanderson – Echoes Of Darkness CD-R, SynG@te, 2007 Vanderson is a project of Polish musician Maciej Wierzchowski. The four lengthy tracks on this release sound like a homage to TD’s sequencer-infused music and sound of the ‘80s, as it nicely blends catchy sequencer patterns with spacious textures and solo lines. The compositions are well executed and attractive, due…
Release data: The Roswell Incident – The Crash CD-R, Private Release, 2010 The Rosswell Incident (named after the UFO incident in the ‘40 in the USA) is a project by the brothers Koen and Jan Buytaert, both hailing from Belgium. “The Crash”, recorded between 2000 and 2008 and 2008, contains three long tracks in Berliner School style to which elements…
Release data: Picture Palace Music – Midsummer CD, Groove Unlimited, 2010 All who attended the band’s concert at “E-Live 2010” could hear a good portion of this album, which was played enthusiastically, very loud and in high-rocking mode. At that occasion, Thorsten Quaeschning & co. pulled off some electronic post-rock with a catchy bite, in which powerful drums and fierce…
Release data: Peter Mergener – Phonetic Society CD, Prudence/Cue Records, 2010 Over a decade or so ago, I lost interest in the music of this sympathetic and skilled German musician, as his output had become far too cheesy and uninspired in my opinion. So what a happy surprise to see Mr Mergener successfully return to his personal artistic roots on…
Release data: False Mirror – Derelict World CD, Malignant Records, 2010 False Mirror is a project of the German composer Tobias Hornberger, of which “Derelict World” is the third album. The album is of a highly ambient-drone nature, bringing to life the destructive side of natural things that surround us each and every day. Moreover its dark-oriented, but the overall…
Release data: Nattefrost – Dying Sun / Scarlet Moon CD, Groove Unlimited, 2010 The fine electronics Bjørn Jeppesen aka Nattefrost presents on “Dying Sun/Scarlet Moon” album are of a groovy but also spatial nature. The album offers a nice assemblage of attractive sequencer patterns, contemporary sounds and textures, all glued together into catchy instrumental compositions which set things in motion…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Cream CD, Spheric Music, 2010 The music of “Cream” sees Robert Schroeder return to the musical style he was popular for in the early ‘80’s, and blending it with fresh contemporary electronic sounds. Their’s a pleasant mellowness lying over the six tracks, nicely kicked off by the almost 14-minute “Magnetics” which features elevating and warm…
Release data: Airsculpture – Before the Moon CD, Ricochet Dream, 2010 “Before the Moon” is a limited edition, factory-pressed digipack cd-release, previously released as a double cd-r in 2006, offering some fully improvised Berliner School-inspired space music by the legendary UK-trio. The outcome on this re-release features four lengthy pieces, recorded live in concert during AirSculpture’s performance as part of…
Release data: Rainbow Serpent – Stranger CD, Manikin Records, 2010 With the long awaited album “Stranger”, the German duo Gerd Wienekamp and Frank Specht has delivered an outstanding album of contemporary and vibrant electronic music which I’m sure will be welcomed by a large audience. For the musicians, making “Stranger” also proved to be new and difficult, as they decided…
Release data: MorPheuSz – Days of Delerium & Nocturnal Nightmares (Chapter One) CD, Groove Unlimited, 2010 MorPheuSz is the Dutch/German music collective Ron Boots, Eric and Harold van der Heijden and Frank Dorittke (aka FD Project). “Days of Delerium & Nocturnal Nightmares” for me again proves what a great combination Ron Boots and Eric van der Heijden still are, as…
Release data: Mark Jenkins – iPaDream CD-R, Private Release, 2010 With “iPaDream”, London-based musician Mark Jenkins released a full electronic music album created entirely on a 64GB 3G Apple iPad. Those who saw him perform on E-Live 2010 saw him use this portable live music setup with its numerous touch abilities. Furthermore, this small performance system offers the ability to…
Release data: Amongst Myselves – Fragments CD, Private Release, 2010 Previous to the release of “Fragments”, Steve Roberts aka Amongst Myselves did a good portion of experimentation with his synths, e-guitars and electronics between March 2008 and April 2010 with crossing over different elements from various tracks in order to create new pieces of music. Eventually, “Fragments” became the outcome,…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Koude Handen CD-R, Private Release, 2010 “Koude Handen”, recorded in December and January of 2009/2010, sees Dutch composer Matthew Florianz continue on the sonic path of atmospheric landscape ambient as explored on his album “Maalbeek”. Mr Florianz once again used his trusted Korg X5d synthesizer, of which he blended the calming, spacious textures with environmental…
Release data: David Parsons – Akash CD, Celestial Harmonies, 2010 With “Akash” (meaning sky or ether in the Sanskrit language), New-Zealand based musician David Parsons returns to highly spherical and overall quiet sound worlds, trying to evoke “an expansive sky-like atmosphere” on the five long tracks. Using an array of self-programmed sound pads made with oscillators and filters, David follows…
Release data: Dave Bessell – Analogue CD, Manor Records, 2010 “Analogue” is the debut release by Dave Bessell (one of the four members of he legendary band Node), made almost 15 years after the band’s initial and same-titled recording. For the recording of the music, Dave deliberately limited himself to the use of one instrument, the Macbeth M5n semi modular,…
Release data: Mathias Grassow & Tomas Weiss – Farewell – In Hommage To Klaus Wiese CD, Musical Philosophy, 2010 “Farewell” is a tribute and dedication to the German ambient musician Klaus Wiese, a former member of Popol Vuh who sadly died in 2009. The album was originally released as limited edition of only 100 copies, which included a special numbered…
Release data: Dan Pound – Wolf Moon CD-R, Private Release, 2010 The album “Wolf Moon” sees independent electronic musician Dan Pound more or less “recycling” his trade of shamanically infused ambient electronic space music as we know it from his previous releases. It ranges from powerful to reflective outings, reaching out for introspective spaces while an assortment of tribal bits…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Indefinite Duration CD-R, Private Release, 2010 On “Indefinite Duration”, Mr Challoner continues the path of slow flowing textural music as explored on his previous releases. The almost 80-minute album offers an uninterrupted sonic canvas of soothing and serene ambient/space music to calm the mind. It’s great backdrop music that’s also very suitable as a sleeping…
Release data: The Icarus Kid – The Icarus Kid CD, Electrowookie Records, 2010 The Icarus Kid is an electronic dance music act initiated by Seattle-based musician Dan Crowdus, who cites his major musical influence has been Nobuo Uematsu, the composer of the Final Fantasy video game series. The live electronic music project The Icarus Project actually brings the classic sounds…
Release data: Michael Neil – Between Sleeping and Waking CD-R, Private Release, 2010 “Between Sleeping and Waking” is a highly atmospheric deep ambient album by Michel Neil, making it his most quiet of all his releases. The release will also be his last for a quite a while, as other challenges blink on the horizon. The music actually put Michael…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Ambient Archive CD-R, Private Release, 2010 Ambient music fans who haven’t had the chance to investigate the output of the talented musician Peter Challoner now have a great opportunity with the double album “Ambient Archive”. It’s a fine release offering more than two hours of free floating textural music, featuring six lengthy tracks. The release…
Release data: Robert Beau Michaels – Dance of Ecstasy – Dance Music to free the spirit CD-R, Private Release, 2010 As the title already suggest, Robert Beau Michaels turns up the rhythmic alley with this release. Busy and rather heavy drumming open “Invitation to the Dance”, followed by warm, melodic and floating sound pads. The latter also make up “Dance…
Release data: Walter Christian Rothe – Zebra DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 1989/2010 Due to the kind help of a friend Down Under, Walter Rothe’s album “Zebra” recently saw the light of day as a digital, but download-only release. That same person also did a lot of troubles incorporating the informative content of the original eight page cd-booklet into this new…
Release data: Michael Neil & Graham Getty – Retrochet CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 For this album, composers Michael Neil and Graham Getty used the latest collaborative opportunities the internet has to offer to assemble a fine synthesis of vintage electronic music with the help of nowadays modern technologies. Well, “Retrochet” is your ticket for a 60-minute trip in a…
Release data: Clifford White – Atlantis CD, MG Music, 2010 “Atlantis” is Clifford White’s second album in 2010, a musical and imaginary journey inspired by the lost advanced civilisation of Atlantis and its ancient culture. The album takes off with the strong and majestic electronic sound of the beautiful title track, which holds the middle between the sound of Vangelis…
Release data: Dream Jungle – Lucid CD, Third Ear, 2007 Dream Jungle is an electronic-ambient-groove project founded by North Bay Area artist and musician Dwight Loop. The latter invited vocalist Taressa Bell to join him on the band’s debut album “Lucid”. The outcome is a sparkling sonic journey into the mystic imagination and uncharted mystery, presenting moody chill-out and trance-inducing…
Release data: Michael Neil – Ikons CD-R, Private Release, 1999 For the album “Ikons”, Michael Neil was is inspired by the philosophical themes embedded in classic poetry and literary works by e.g. Andrew Marvell, W. B. Yeats, and S.T. Coleridge, all themed around the ephemeral, memory and mortality and the subject of infinity. The 64-minute album is divided in two…
Release data: Wolfskin feat. Last Industrial Estate – Stonegates of Silence CD, Malignant Records, 2010 The US-based Malignant label has occasionally been sending me some of their heavy, dark ambient releases for quite a while now, to which the arrival of the menacing and creepy sounding “Stonegates of Silence” adds an atonal and intense desolate dimension. This recording is appropriate…
“Deep Roots, Hidden Water” is the second album by multi-instrumentalist Deborah Martin, which is now re-released as an authentic 24-bit remaster, 3-panel digipak with a new cover. The detailed restoration has lifted the sensitivity and grace of the original music to a new level, stressing its warm and clear sound design. In addition, it makes the beautiful impact of the…
Release data: David Helpling & Jon Jenkins – The Crossing CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2010 “The Crossing”, released three years after their critically acclaimed “Treasure“, is the third album by the talented musicians and sound designers David Helpling and Jon Jenkins. It´s again a highly imaginary release featuring great uplifting, expansive spheres as well as monumental and dynamic moods. Moreover,…
Release data: Arrocata – Desert Electric CD-R, Sonoran Winds Music, 2009 Some of the atmospheric soundscape tracks which Robert Straub aka Arrocata creates on “Desert Electric” are based on locations, legends and natural occurances that are indigeneous to the America’s raw Sonoran Southwest territory. Moreover, these imaginary recordings present a series of adventurous compositions that feel like an actual journey…
Release data: Yen Pox – Blood Music CD, Malignant Records, 1995/2010 Yen Pox is a project by Michael JV Hensley and Steven Hall. “Blood Music”, according to the press sheet to be a benchmark recording of experimental/dark ambient music, was originally put out in 1995 and has been out-of-print since many years. This re-issue comes as a beautifully designed 8-panel…
Release data: Steve Roach & Mark Seelig – Nightbloom CD, Projekt Records, 2010 “Nightbloom”, Projekt’s first album released in an eco-friendly but still very beautifully designed 6-panel cd wallet, is a deep release that’s been in-progress for nearly two years. “Nightbloom” offers a 73-minute long-form piece of slow-motion ambient bliss in five parts. The nocturnal mist-filled realm features Mark’s throat…
Release data: Gliese 614 – Serenity CD-R, Private Release, 2010 “Serenity” is a slowly morphing atmospheric ambient work by Ben Altmann, a London-based composer who founded the project Gliese 614 in 2004. For the music, Ben deliberately used only one piece of gear, the Arturia ARP2600V semi-modular software synthesizer (based on the ARP 2600), also with the goal to find…
Release data: Colin Towns – Full Circle CD, Kock Screen, 1977 Colin Towns is an English composer who was a member of the Ian Gillan Band in the mid ‘70’s. His first film score for Richard Loncraine movie “Full Circle” (The Haunting of Julia) on a tragic story centring on a child’s death and a mother’s breakdown remains a memorable…
Release data: Michael Neil – For the Record CD-R, Private Release, 2010 Due to all his fans (like myself) who kept asking over and over again for a re-release of his very early cassette works, Michael Neil assembled the compilation “For the Record”. This 70+ minute album gives an overview of pieces from his mc’s “Tender Agression” and “Deo Gratis”,…
Release data: Tangram – Flow CD-R, Private Release, 2010 “Flow” is a digital album by Péter Fabók, aka Tangram, which was recorded within 24 hours. The minimalist music of “Flow” has nothing to do with the strong TD-inspired and well-executed music found on Tangram’s album “Tepidarium”. Instead, this album offers a 40-minute string of quiet textural music, split in seven…
Release data: Elve – Emerald CD, Virtualworld, 2010 Elve is one of Matt Hillier’s alter egos, of which “Emerald” is the second album. One might say the stage for the “green” music on this 64-minute release is set in a tropical rainforest, as its continuous ambient soundscape has a certain tropical but also a strong otherworldly feel. Elve’s music is…
Release data: Pascal Savy – The Endless Seasons CD-R, Field Noise Records, 2010 “The Endless Seasons”, available as a digital download Ep, is an experimental ambient project by Pascal Savy and Toshikatsu (whose also head of the Field Noise Records). The slow, non-rhythmic miniature soundscapes and expansive drone pads found here explore the concept of Japanese seasons within the realm…
Release data: Free System Projekt, Brendan Pollard, Hashtronaut – Mind Out of Time CD, Acoustic Wave Records, 2010 Due to the success of the previous album“Time Out of Mind”, Brendan Pollard, Free System Project (aka Ruud Heij and Marcel Engels) and Hashtronaut (aka Michael Daniel) decided to release a second album of improvised music made by during studio sessions in…
Release data: Mystical Sun – Primordial Atmospheres CD, Private Release, 1996 “Primordial Atmospheres” is a classic ambient debut album by Mystical Sun, aka Richard Plom, of which the beautiful designed cd-booklet doesn’t provide any further information. The cd contains a panoramic sonic landscape of ambient music, psycho-acoustic sounds and harmonic music for your mind and best listened to with headphones,…
Release data: Meg Bowles – Blue Cosmos CD, Kumatone Records, 1996 Classically trained flutist and composer Meg Bowles hails from Connecticut, USA, and was one of the few female musicians in the electronic music scene in the ‘90s. Her third album “Blue Cosmos”, regarded a classic album of deep space music by many, is available until this very day. Well,…
Release data: Arrocata – The Painter CD-R, Sonoran Winds Music, 2008 In his youth, Phoenix-based musician Robert Straub (aka Arrocata) was an art major, and while he’s still occasionally engaged in that endeavour he devoted most of his artistic energies toward music. However, he also enjoys going to art shows and exhibits of new and emerging artists that fit his…
Release data: Michael Neil – Tapestries CD-R, Private Release, 2010 The 90-minute “Tapestries” is an epic work inspired by Berlin and the electronic music that inspired Michael Neil to become a composer. The album’s music incorporates instruments familiar to the 70’s period of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze like the Mellotron, EMS VCS3 as well as software synthesizers developed by…
Release data: Laocoön – Immersion CD, Parnassus Nump, 1998 Laocoön is an ambient project of San Francisco-based musician John Broaddus, who released his debut album “Immersion” on his own private label. The music of “Immersion”, a concept album dedicated to water (“immersed in a sonorous reverberation of introspection and exploration”), is a real treat of any fan of deep and…
Release data: Solar Fields – Altered (Second Movements) CD, Ultimae Records, 2010 Word has been in the air for a while “Altered” would contain remixed and reworked versions of the music, which ended up on the previous album “Movements”. Well, Magnus Birgersson (aka Solar Fields) made the outcome a spacy, mellow chill-out affair, as he keenly recycled and re-interpreted the…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Paradise CD, Racket Records, 1983 When experiencing the sonic content of “Paradise”, the fifth solo album by German synthesist Robert Schroeder, one could consider its outcome as a kind of future music. Not in the least by the opening track “In Memory of Paradise”, which on one side is fairly melodic and nicely sequenced, but…
Release data: Greg Klamt – Fluxus Quo CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1997 On his second album “Fluxus Quo”, American synthesist Greg Klamt takes things to a higher plan with a fine combination of symphonic-flavoured electronic music with a neo-classical touch. In addition, he uses an assortment of sophisticated percussion in his music. For the album, Greg has again composed some…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Distant Stars CD, Lotuspike/Spotted Peccary, 2010 After another long two year wait, LotusPike finally brings us a new album of New-Zealand artist Rudy Adrian, which at first glance is similar in style to that of his ambient albums, but a close listen reveals its still unique and somewhat improvised nature on the spot. Like his…
Release data: Julian Ray – Argonauts of Kosmos CD-R, Julian Ray Music, 2010 Julian Ray is a Toronto-based Ambient / Cosmic / New Age musician who paints his music and designs his sounds from small pieces of imagination, observation and fantasy. Julian released four album previous to “Argonauts of Kosmos”, the latter being a concept release presenting the space journey…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Brain Voyager CD, Racket Records, 1985 The album “Brainvoyager” is the film soundtrack which Robert Schroeder composed for the German movie “Glücksgedanken”. It is in fact one of my favourite albums of this musician until today, as it stand out due to the well-composed harmonic/reflective themes and their overall smooth, relaxing nature. The dreamy music…
Release data: Michael Neil – In Extremis CD-R, Private Release, 2000 “In Extremis” is a neo-classical work by Michael Neil for which he used quotes from Virgil’s “Aeneid” and Pindar’s “Pythagoras” for the track titles, which helped to distance the work from any particular religious view in that it deals specifically with the subject of mortality. The music is in…
Release data: Michael Neil – Maisema CD, Private Release, 2008 The album “Maisema” (the Finnish word for landscape) is a project conveying Michael Neil’s experience of living in Finland for almost a year, which affected him enormously. The 55-minute album is filled with eight tracks of minimal but contemporary ambient music with an abstract edge. “Slow gestating music in an…
Release data: Ma Ja Le & James Johnson – Live Under a Harvest Moon CD-R, Zero Music, 2000 “Live Under a Harvest Moon” came out in January 2000 on the small Zero-Music label. It offers a unique live-concert of Chicago-based Eno-oriented musician James Johnson and the peculiar ambient-duo Ma Ja Le (aka Chris Short and Paul Vnuk Jr.), which took…
Release data: Martin/Klamt/Rownd – Convergence CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2002 “Convergence” is the imaginative outcome of live concert performances of three accomplished musicians who all release their music through Spotted Peccary Music: Deborah Martin, Greg Klamt and Mark Rownd. The 55-minute album features some quiet, lush and ethereal textural pads which are nicely blended with Taos drums, various flutes and…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – Volume Two CD-R, English Electronic Music Company, 2010 For years, Steve Jenkins’ Hampshire Jam festival is known as one of UK’s finest EM-festivals, which had the privilege to welcome the Pollard/Daniel/Booth trio on stage during its eight festival in October 2009. The occasion was made even more special as the three musicians were joined by no…
Release data: Ishq – Fluid Earth CD-R, Virtualworld, 2010 Back in 2001, the Interchill/Dakini-label released Ishq’s album “Orchid” as a double cd limited edition in Japan and throughout Asia. As many people are still unaware of the second cd of this version of “Orchid” or missed out on it due to its limited availability, Matt Hillier (aka Ishq) decided to…
Release data: Peter Mergener – Passage in Time CD, Cue Records, 1991 After his first successful solo-album “Creatures”, Peter’s second album – which followed very quickly after his debut cd- is again one dealing with a concept. The musical story of “Passage in Time” involves the matter of time, the history of mankind and transitoriness. Once more, Peter is able…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – 3 CD-R, English Electronic Music Company, 2010 “3” contains the multi-track recording of the dynamic vintage set played by the trio Brendan Pollard, Michael Daniel and Phil Booth during E-Live 2009, only missing the encore (which will be featured on a forthcoming album). All who were present that day found the three performing musicians in great…
Release data: Various Artists – Joint Efforts – The Album CD, EM Productions, 2010 Joint Efforts- “The Album” is the outcome of an idea born several years ago on the EM forum emportal.info. I’m personally not a fan of compilation-albums, and like only those, which feature unique tracks. Fortunately, “The Album” is an exception, as this double album contains all…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Hollow CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3six Recordings, 2010 “Hollow” is the second studio album by 36, also marking the second part of a trilogy (as the cd cover states Part 2 of 3) which was started by the impressive “Hypersona”. Well, at first glance it seemed the sonic journey continued in a similar manner, but here the…
Release data: Kinesis – Beyond the Galaxy CD, Morningstar/Geomagnetic Records, 2010 Kinesis is a Psy-Trance project by Salvador, aka Dj Salva, an artist of Spanish origin who initiated the project in 2005. “Beyond the Galaxy” is his second release, and the outcome is a well-produced and overall steamy dance excursion. What we got here is a powerful 74-minute instrumental ride…
Release data: David Michael Matuch – Before Reality CD, Infinite Monkey Productions, 1997 “Before Reality” is David’s second album, bearing the well-chosen subtitle “Mind Movie Music and other Ambient Electronic Experiments”. And yes, cinematic electronic dreamscapes we sure get on this recording, for which David used the Kurzweil K2000RS on two tracks, mostly to create loops, samples and appropriate sequencer…
Release data: Mike Andrews – Time & Science CD, Neu Harmony, 2002 “Time and Science” is one of the only two factory pressed cds by synthesist Mike Andrews, who currently seems to reside in The Netherlands. The release actually contains all music of his “Tides Of Time” album, to which a few others tracks are added, which makes it a…
Release data: Tom Hackl – Terra Australis CD, Blue Sunshine, 1992 While running over my cd-collection, I stumbled upon this album by Australian musician Tom Hackl, which I remember I bought from Joerg Strawe’s Cue Records. The cd lacks any further background info on Mr Hackl though. But a look upon the cd-cover and the track titles on this 62-minute…
Release data: Peter Mergener – Creatures CD, Cue Records, 1991 I’m glad German musician Peter Mergener decided to start a solo career after he quit the collaborative project Software with Michael Weisser. I I always found the overall sound of the high-tech project far too synthetic and distant. Mergener’s own music though has a human and warm touch, which is…
Release data: Phaenon – His Master’s Voice CD, Malignant Records, 2010 First I’d like to mention the beautiful and evocative but also rather disturbing and scary cover art that graces this 6-panel digipack release. It seems this nightmare scenery doesn’t predict much good for the second cd-album by Phaenon, aka Szymon Tankiewics. The concept album “His Master’s Voice” is inspired…
Release data: Human Metronome – The Child Set Free CD, Private Release, 2010 Human Metronome is Eindhoven-based ambient musician and visual artist Eelke van Hoof. In his opinion, composing music is a spontaneous, etheric process which can be a means to reach the intuition within a human being. In addition, the press-sheet states: the setting of “The child set free”…
Release data: THIS – Zone CD-R, Private Release, 2010 THIS (soulful sonic excursions extruding hypnotic-ambient-space overture, healing and spiritual) is a project initiated by Kentucky-based musician Bill Chelf, whose career spans over fifty years. He started work on “Zone” after he heard Hearts Of Space Radio in the 80’s, so this outcome has been approximately two decades in the making.…
Release data: moonbooter – Orbit Number 2 CD-R, Mellowjet Records, 2006 On “Orbit Number 2” Bernd Scholl brings us 62-minutes of overall groovy and highly sequenced electronic music, spread out over eight lengthy tracks. The album is actually the audio companion to a dvd of the same name with 5.1 Surround Sound featuring some old Nasa visuals. The outcome is…
Release data: Geigertek – The Timeless Mind CD-R, AD Music, 2010 Geigertek is a project by classically trained synthesist Neil Fellowes, who hails from Norwich, UK. In January 2009, Neil was recruited as member of Code Indigo and live session keyboard player for electronic music project Callisto (as Dave Massey still doesn’t want to do “live”). “The Timeless Mind” is…
Release data: A Produce – Urbanisation CD, Generator.pl, 2010 Aairria (whose motto I read is the insignificance of time) is a project by the Polish ambient musician Marcin Drabot. He already put out several minimal and longform releases through various internet labels using multiple aliases. “Urbanisation” was previously available through his own Rain netlabel, but now has received a proper…
Release data: Megabyte – Powerplay CD, Innovative Communications, 1987 This is, in my opinion, one of the most peculiar electronic releases put out in the second half of the ’80s. Megabyte is Billy Byte and Amanda Mega, but the actual musicians behind it are no other than Thilo Rex (who sadly passed away at the age of 51 in 2009)…
Release data: Yanni – Keys To Imagination CD, Private Music, 1986 This instrumental album is the debut release of Greek-born American musician Yanni (aka Yiannis Hrysomallis) on Peter Baumann’s Private music label. Although clocking at only 38 minutes, the cd offers eight classical-edged tracks featuring some appealing compositions, melodies, elaborate cross-rhythms, and a dash of romantic flavours. Despite starting out…
Release data: Michel Bekkering – Cosmopolitan Dances CD-R, Private Release, 2010 “Cosmopolitan Dances” is the second album by Dutch synthesist Michel Bekkering, who’s also a member of the band Modular White. According to the press-sheet, the music (which was already finished in 2007) takes on a vintage-oriented approach. The first and last section of the 23-minute “Tango Hypnotique” occasionally reminds…
Release data: Mark Shreeve – Thoughts of War CD, Champagne Lake Productions, 1981/2000 Mark Shreeve’s album “Thoughts of War”, was released in 2000 on cd in a limited and numbered edition of 300 copies, although the original came out on vinyl back in 1981 on the Norwegian Uniton label. The recording contains four lengthy compositions which features a great interplay…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Galaxie Cygnus-A LP, Innovative Communications, 1982 In my opinion, the cosmic symphony “Galaxie Cygnus-A” is the most remarklable project German synthesist Robert Schroeder did in the ‘80’s. In it, visual artist Michael Weisser (who later on would found Software with Peter Mergener) was also involved. The “Musik-Computer-Sinfonie” project, as it was adapted, was commisioned for…
Release data: Brian Eno – Thursday Afternoon CD, EG Records, 1985 The long form music on Brian’s Eno’s “Thursday Afternoon” (composed as the soundtrack to an art installation video of the same name) is by many regarded as one of the pinnacles of ambient wallpaper music. It’s also proof of Eno’s theory: slowing things down makes things sound so much…
Release data: Mark Dwane – The Monuments of Mars CD, Orbian Music, 1988 Going through my collection, I stumbled upon this classic recording of Ohio-based synthesist Mark Dwane, which I purchased right after its release in 1988. The 39-minute “The Monuments of Mars” is Mark Dwane’s first cd-album, and it was also the first of its kind completely made using…
Release data: Greg Klamt – Fulcrum CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1993 “Fulcrum” is the debut album of American synthesist and visual artist Greg Klamt, which offers a rich blend of symphonic-flavoured, cinematic music with occasional powerful percussive elements. Created from intuition and through experimentation, Greg’s classic / symphonic compositions are assembled of gentle flowing textural spaces, which he gradually unfolds…
Release data: Parallel Worlds – Far Away Light CD-R, Shima Records, 2005 For fans of vintage analogues, the music of Bakis Sirros (aka Parallel Worlds) is something special. His output is retro music with a modern twitch, for which he intelligently applies his assortment analogue step sequencers and analogue modulars. In my opinion, Bakis’sonic adventure through a landscape of slow-tempo…
Release data: Schiller – Atemlose Klangwelten CD, Universal Domestic, 2010 “Atemlose Klangwelten” is the bonus album which comes only with the Limited Ultra Deluxe Edition of Schiller’s “Atemlos”, and in a way you might compare it with the “Einlass” cd-series which he releases privately. The bonus cd, which is all instrumental, contains six ambient “Klangwelten” (Soundworlds), and here Mr Von…
Release data: Stefan Erbe – Driver CD, Erbe Music, 2010 This is my first encounter with the music of German synthesist Stefan Erbe, who describes the music as “a soundtrack for a special night drive”. From the cd booklet, I also learned the physical version of “Driver” is an extended version, containing 74-minutes/15 tracks, while the download edition contains 12…
Release data: Dave Luxton – Portal CD-R, Wayfarer Records, 2010 With this release, Mr Luxton brings us an ambient album with an overall lush and harmonic cosmic music, this time taking a more cinematic approach. Drawing from his experience as a film composer, he presents eight textural tracks of spacious music that really takes you “out there”. Its impact makes…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Winter in Hiroshima CD, Eastgate, 2009 This cd marks part four in the five atomic seasons, and musically sees a continuation of the Nagasaki/Hiroshima story of Mr. H.T. Solely composed and played by Edgar, the music fortunately moves back to the period the TD-sound still had Soul (which hasn’t been the case for too many…
Release data: Remotion – Between Fiction and Reality CD, Groove Unlimited, 2001 Remotion is the Dutch duo Richard Stuij and Arjan Steenbergen, who recorded the music of this album live in the studio without using computer sequencers. Richard took care of composing and performing the music, while Arjan did the engineering job next to adding additional drums and effects. Although…
Release data: Cadenced Haven – Peregrination CD, Groove Unlimited, 2010 Cadenced Haven is a project by Bangladesh-based female artist Laila Quraishi, who got some great help from accomplished Dutch synthesist Gert Emmens on her debut-release “Peregrination”. The CH-project itself is a mind soothing, New Age based art form with the goal to reach the listener’s inner soul, hidden mind and…
Release data: Michael Whalen – Nightscenes CD, Alchemy Records, 1996/2004 This cd, on the original release subtitled “Music for the Evening”, is made by the accomplished American musician Michael Whalen. This Emmy award winning composer and music supervisor has made numerous tunes and commercials for radio and television next to a whole range of soundtracks. This brilliant disc offers a…
Release data: Stephan Whitlan –Stephan Whitlan – Map Reference CD, Fairy Nuff Records, 1996 With “Map Reference”, Irish synthesist Stephan Whitlan delivered his debut album on his private Fairy Nuff label back in 1996. Looking back, it’s a great example what a whole bunch of analogue gear and some keen musicianship can lead do (although the story in the cd-booklet…
Release data: Rogier – From the Shadow to the Sun CD, Quantum Records, 2004 “From The Shadow to the Sun” is the first official record by Dutch professional composer, arranger, producer and musician Rogier van Gaal, aka Rogier. The outcome on this cd indeed sounds upper-class and very rich, and the first name that jumped in my mind was Vangelis.…
Release data: Phillip Wilkerson – Interplay EP, Private Release, 2010 “Interplay” is an Ep containing five tracks of freeform, textural music. For almost 40 minutes, Mr Wilkerson takes a dip into smoothing, deep ambient spaces, which occasionally contain deep bass pulses As can be expected, there’s nothing challenging found in this airy soundscape work, a quiet sonic backdrop of harmonic…
Release data: Astrovoyager – Symphotronic Lunation CD, Dreaming-Musea, 2010 AstroVoyager is a project by French electronic musician Philippe Fagnoni, whose sonic art (according to the press-sheet) seeks connection to contemporary soundtrack composers such as Hans Zimmer, Eric Serra on one side and genre-specific artists as Vangelis, Era, Enigma and Jean-Michel Jarre on the other. “Symphotronic Lunation”, his second release which…
Release data: Przemysław Rudź – Cosmological Tales CD, Generator.pl, 2010 With “Cosmological Tales”, Polish synthesist Przemysław Rudź present us his second album, a recording graced with a fresh, melodic, vibrant and well-produced sound. The cd fires off with a fine combination of well-tempered sequencers and rhythms building a bridge with pads of warm digital and analogue sound, with some infectious…
Release data: Bernd Kistenmacher – Beyond the Deep CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2010 After many albums dedicated to or inspire by outer space, “Beyond The Deep” takes a dive into the inner space world and wonders of sea life. The album and its music were premiered at Planetarium Bochum on June 12. So what does this fictional musical exploration of…
Release data: Steve Roach – Sigh of Ages CD, Projekt Records, 2010 With “Sigh of Ages”, ambient master Steve Roach brings us a grand and highly reflective work or art, a soft dweller into spacious textural realms. To compose the music, Steve once more returned to some beautiful analogue synthesizers, which included the classic 40-year-old Arp String Ensemble. The six…
Release data: Michael Neil – Silent Light CD-R, Private Release, 2010 The album “Silent Light” began life as part of an ongoing series of works around the theme of Memory, Migration, and Mortality, which was set in motion with Michael Neils film “The Brownstone Trilogy” and the installation “The Breath of Exhaling Ghosts”. Moreover, the particular inspiration for this album…
Release data: Callisto – Nyx CD, AD Music, 2010 “Nyx” is the long overdue second album of Callisto, aka David Wright and Dave Massey. The 76-minute factory-pressed disc offers four long pieces ranging between 17 and 22 minutes. They pair atmospheric parts with rhythmic/sequenced and melodic sections in which one can also notice an occasional analogue angle. At first glance…
Release data: Nattefrost – Live in Germany CD, Groove Unlimited, 2010 The last couple of years, Bjørn Jeppesen aka Nattefrost has established himself as an accomplished electronic musician, which was even “accelerated” when he was contracted by the established Groove Unlimited label. The well-tempered “Live in Germany” contains excerpts of two live sets played in Wuppertal in 2008 (where Bjørn…
Release data: Robert Beau Michaels – Zero Point – Music to Disappear In CD-R, Private Release, 2010 Listening to “Zero Point –Music to Disappear in”– is as entering a slow and harmonic world, an escape from the busy life most of the modern humans live nowadays. The 40-minute non-rhythmic ride, presented in nine separate tracks, radiates a sense of wonder.…
Release data: Spyra – ADSR Remixed CD MAXI, Ricochet Dream, 2010 This 25-minute EP (a limited edition of 500 copies) contains the track “ADSR” in four different mixes. Three are by Spyra, the other is done by Ashra’s Steve Baltes. The remix version at the start is the one that connects the most to contemporary electronic music in the catchy…
Release data: Daniel Bloom – Event Horizon CD, Ricochet Dream, 2010 Daniel Bloom is a Polish synthesist who has been joining Vic Rek’s Ricochet Gathering meetings since a few years, and he also showed up on the “Keep On” tribute cd of the same label. Daniel composed the seven tracks on “Event Horizon” in 2002 and 2003 using only analogue…
Release data: Spyra/Lang – SeQuest CD, Ricochet Dream, 2010 “SeQuest” is a 66-minute album by Chris Lang and Spyra assembling four lengthy live tracks played on different occasions. The outcome though follows nicely in the footsteps of Spyra’s latest releases, being overall expressive and lively, creating lots of atmospheres on the way. To me, the album most of all is…
Release data: Brian Parnham – The Broken Silence CD, Floating Point Records, 2000/2010 This edition of “The Broken Silence” is an expanded version of the originally cd-r album, which was released in 2000. That one was put out as privately released cd-r of only 100 copies, being out-of-print almost as soon as it saw the light of day. Celebrating the…
Release data: Dan Pound – Interlace CD, Pound Sounds, 2010 With “Interlace”, California-based musician Dan Pounds adds another chapter to his series of ambient electronic, shamanic space music, which he likes to call musical medicine for the soul. The outcome is an ambient voyage beyond the tangible world of matter while simultaneously reaching into the inner depths of ones personal…
Release data: Ricochet Gathering – Keep On CD, Ricochet Dream, 2010 “Keep on” is a limited edition release featuring a live and improvised recording in Transylvania on 11 November 2008, marking the Silver Anniversary celebration of Michael Mann’s cult-movie “The Keep” for which Tangerine Dream produced the original soundtrack. Ricochet’s 9th Gathering event this time featured Spyra, Steve Schroyder, Paul…
Release data: Gert Emmens – The Nearest Faraway Place Vol. 3 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2010 This final chapter of the “Nearest Faraway Place” trilogy is brought to an end in a fashionable, but also expected manner. For many years, Gert’s output is known as typical and well-rendered mood music blending the warm sounds of analogues with vintage drums and encompassing…
Release data: Cosmic Hoffmann – Astral Journey CD-R, Heart & Mind, 2010 Here we got another archival release, Volume 4 in the Vintage Rarities from the 70’s-series, entitled “Astral Journey”, which also marks the final part of this series. No surprise we again get a good portion of highly improvised and emotionally driven retro music on the seven pieces, which…
Release data: Johannes Schmoelling – Early Beginnings CD, Viktoriapark Records, 2008 The anthology “Early Beginnings” comprises a range of previously unreleased recordings, rough drafts and demo’s Johannes Schmoelling recorded between 1979-1985, giving a nice insight in the musician’s process on finding his own voice and signature in music. When Johannes joined Tangerine Dream between 1980 and 1985, he was able…
Release data: Ben Swire – From Here to There CD, Preservation, 2010 “From Here to There” is the first full-length release of San Francisco-based composer Ben Swire, who I knew from his “Equilibrium”-Ep, out in 2002 on The Foundry. The album features eight tracks melting processed electro-acoustic instrumentation, densely layered field recordings, and sophisticated electronics with occasional glitchy bits, minimal…
Release data: Irezumi – Endurance CD, Snowblod, 2008 This album has been on my wish-list for quite some time, as I just knew it would be right up my alley. Irezumi is a project by the young French composer Manuel Mesdag (also known as trance/dance dj MANUEL-M). “Endurance” is a concept album inspired by the Ernest Shackleton’s tragic Antarctic expedition.…
Release data: Arkha Nous – Tria CD, Arkha Sound, 2009 Arkha Nous is musician and composer Rodolfo Garza, hailing from Monterrey, Mexico. In the past years he collaborated with ambient musician Jorge Reyes (who sadly passed away 2009). As Barbelo, he released released the album “Ethnoaural” in 2008, a project together with Jorge Reyes and Susan Lincoln. The 54-minute “Tria”…
Release data: Cyscape – Deep Sea Explorer CD-R, Private Release, 2003 Cyscape is the UK ambient musician Phil Riches, of which this album seems to be his second one. Yes, with such a title we’re entering some deep cinematic atmospheres, a 65-minute collage of smooth evolving dreamscapes with distinct use of rhythmic beat elements. Not that it’s that easy music,…
Release data: A Light Beacon – Music for the Patient CD, Private Release, 2002 The cd-booklet of this album “Music for the Patient” contains five slightly abstract artworks made by the artist Ian Helwig who gave them to the musician with the words “Music to be interpreted”. I personally presume this album was the outcome, which must have taken a…
Release data: Peter Davidson – Even Darker Still CD-R, Peter Davidson Music, 2010 Peter Davidson is a multi-instrumentalist who current resides on a peninsula on the Swedish west coast. He made his first steps into the electronic music genre in the late ‘70’s, dabbling around with old radios and monosynths effects. Later on he would study music theory, but the…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Cambrium – music for protozoa CD, Private Release, 2009 No, this is not the same album as the one previously released as a limited edition of only 25 numbered copies. Stephen was offered the opportunity to play a concert at the annual “Nacht der Klange” at Bielefeld University on May 29, 2009. Here, he staged…
Release data: Phillip Wilkerson – Sun Tracer CD-R, Private Release, 2010 With the music of “Sun Tracer”, Phillip Wilkerson has brought us an fine album of uplifting, positive, enlightening, even thrilling ambient electronics which radiates a strong sense of Berlin School pulses. The inspiration for the album came from some casual reading Philip had been doing on the science of…
Release data: Arc – Church CD, DiN, 2010 After the download-only release “Rise”, “Church” is a factory-pressed full-length cd featuring five extended tracks played live during Gatherings Concert Series in November 2009. The recording offers some highly energetic, powerful, state-of-the-art ARC-music that fans of their music can purchase without hesitation. Just imagine the duo’s improvised manner of sequencing, topped by…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Permafrost – music for hibernation CD-R, Private Release, 2010 The music of “Permafrost” (music for hibernation) was initially set in motion by a nine-hour sleep concert Stephen Parsick contributed music to in 2009, produced with the idea of allowing the listener to create your own “sleep concert” at home. Then, from December 2009 til March…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Hoellenengel CD, Private Release, 2005 With “Hoellenengel”, recorded between November 2000 to November 2004, German synthesist Stephen Parsick brings us his second solo recording. The music on this album features the unique and beautiful sounds of the Yamaha CS80, which many know from several Vangelis recordings. Stephen also made the music without any computers, multi-track…
Release data: Robert Beau Michaels – The Wasteland – music of an apocalyptic world CD-R, Private Release, 2010 Robert Beau Michaels is an American expat who currently resides in Prague, Czech Republic. He initially tried to pursue a career as screenwriter in Hollywood during the 1980’s and 90’s. Frustrated with his inability to sell his scripts and later on also…
Release data: Hyios – Consuetudines CD, Malignant Records, 2009 Hyios is a one-man project from Leipzig, Germany. “Consuetudines”, which is his debut album recorded between 2007 and 2008, contains seven expansive cold ritual drones textures in which metallic objects and scorching, grinding and organic sounds crawl through abstract spacious realms. The dense sonic environments with noise and industrial elements create…
Release data: Rudolf Heimann – Tide CD, Spheric Music, 2010 “Tide” is the fifth album by German synthesist and producer Rudolf Heimann. Mr Heimann has been around in the genre since 1990, but took a long break after the release of his album “Twilight Voyager” in 1997 when he started to work as a session musician and producer in other…
Release data: Nemesis – 1:4:9 CD-R, Retroduction, 2010 “1:4:9” is a digital download-only release by the Finnish trio Nemesis (the cd-version is a limited edition of 100 copies reserved for an art exhibition held in Finland in February 2010). The album is a beautiful journey in introspective ambient spaces, described by the band as the perfect soundtrack for wintry evenings.…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Gateway CD, Projekt Records, 2010 For years, Erik Wøllo is known for his expert skills in building highly imaginary and emotional music, building a bridge between grand symphonic realms and gentle, serene atmospheres. On “Gateway”, his 14th solo release, Erik takes things to a new exciting level, offering a 70-minute grand breathing space of sparkling…
Release data: Stu Jenks – West of the Fire (Soundtracks for Photographs Vol. 2) CD, Fizziweg Music, 2005 In comparison to his beautiful debut album “The Three Surrenders”, the ambient music on “West of the Fire” (Soundtracks for Photographs, Volume Two) is a long form circular work. Again, Stu takes us through a highly imaginary sonic scenery of free form…
Release data: Pascal Savy – The Silent Watcher CD-R, Audiomoves, 2010 Pascal Savy is a London-based electronic music composer who started experimenting with sequencers and synthesizers in the late nineties. Being influenced by the Detroit techno scene, he started making recordings of his output on tapes and mini-discs. “The Silent Watcher”, a digital-only release on David Newman/Autistici’s new label Audiomoves,…
Release data: Robert Carty – Starlight Volume 3 CD-R, Deep Sky Music, 2010 With this album, Robert Carty launches the third and last chapter in a trilogy of albums inspired by nights of star gazing. Like the previous releases, the music is gentle, abundant and spacious, another true celebration of the world of wonder that can be seen up in…
Release data: David Gerard – The Realm of Knowing CD-R, Orbiting Orion Records, 2010 Boston-based synthesist David Gerard began composing at age twenty-four, after studying photography and graphic art in New York City. Later on, he studied multi-track recording and started recording his own original work. In 1984, he produced “A Piece of the Desert”, an electronic/ambient suite he admits…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Maalbeek CD, H/S Recordings, 2008 Years back, I got to know some of the fine crafted ambient music of The Hague-based musician Matthew Florianz. In 2008, he released the concept album “Maalbeek”, which again shows his great talent of painting slow morphing, highly atmospheric landscapes. Named after a forest area near the Holland/Germany border, the…
Release data: Schiller – Tag und Nacht CD, Universal Domestic, 2005 Schiller’s stunning album “Sehnsucht” made me decide to investigate his back catalogue a bit further, which brought me to “Tag un Nacht”. Again, this album presents a balanced mix of vocal and instrumental tracks, with even some great pop songs such as “Miles and Miles” and “Falling” (both with…
Release data: Zeit – Waves from the Sky CD, Hic Sunt Leones, 2008 Zeit is Italian ambient musician Tommaso Cimò, who recorded his debut-release “Waves from the Sky” during nightly sessions in his home studio “The Mag” between April and August 2007. The album contains six moody, environmental and overall melancholic ambient pieces, which dwell in a world of introspection…
Release data: Collapsar – Beyond the Event Horizon CD, Malignant Records, 2009 ans of well-produced dark ambient music will find much of their liking on “Beyond the Event Horizon”, a project by the French musician Thibaud Thaunay, aka Collapsar. This recording of overall spacious form is actually a 47-minute journey into the far depths of the vast and unknown realms…
Release data: Alio Die & Parallel Worlds – Circo Divino CD, Hic Sunt Leones, 2010 “Circo Divino”, which comes in very nicely designed digipack, is a collaborative project between Alio Die (aka Italian ambient composer Stefano Musso) and Greek vintage synthesist Parallel Worlds (aka Bakis Siros). Both these musicians have already proved what they are capable of in previous years,…
Release data: Stu Jenks – The Three Surrenders (Soundtracks for Photographs) CD, Fizziweg Music, 2003/2010 “The Three Surrenders” (Soundtracks for Photographs, Volume One) is the debut album of Tucson-based photographer Stu Jenks, who composed the music as a sonic backdrop for his 2002 photographic installation at Tucson’s Museum of Contemporary Art. About his visual work he says: “I learn a…
Release data: Justin St. Vincent – The Spiritual Significance of Music BOOK, Xtreme Music, 2009 The anthology “The Spiritual Significance of Music” is a book that investigates the relationship between music and spirituality by means of a series of interviews with worldwide writers and musicians. Music can open up the mind and soul, establish an emotional connection or even be…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo & Mathias Grassow – Cromo – piano & drones CD, ad21music, 2010 For this work of art, Mr Sanfilippo and Mr Grassow have teamed up a second time, together creating a smooth and quiet sonic soundscape to follow-up their critically acclaimed “Ambessence”. The six “chapters” on “Cromo” offer 62 minutes of intimate soundings which sees a…
“One Night in Paris” is a studio recording made by Walter Christian Rothe back in 1993. This recording, portraying some of the many Parisian landmarks, finds Mr Rothe in good spirits, excelling in offering a melange of lively, emotional and well-composed tracks to please any contemporary listener of electronic music. Overall, it sees a nice interplay of drums, guitars and…
Release data: Phelios – Astral Unity CD, Malignant Records, 2010 Phelios is a dark ambient project by German musician Martin Stürtzer, who’s an acquaintance of Stephen Parsick. With the latter, Martin collaborated on “It always rains in Wuppertal”. “Astral Unity”, which comes in a beautifully designed 6-panel deluxe digipack with gold foil stamping, shows a further maturation of his highly…
Release data: Michele Ippolito – In the Clouds CD-R, Penrose Records, 2009 “In the Clouds” is the second independent release of Illinois-based Michele Ippolito, who started out as a classically trained pianist. What we actually got here is a new age recording in a kindred vein as the music of e.g. Liquid Mind or Robert Haig Coxon’s “The Silent Path”.…
Release data: Clifford White – The Healing Touch (Ascension II) CD, MG Music, 2010 “The Healing Touch” is the follow-up to Clifford White’s new-age album “Ascension”, a landmark release in the genre of new age music back in 1985. Clifford has come up with a similar kind of release, but also one sounding contemporary and fresh. The outcome harkens back…
Release data: Steve Rose – Twin Earth: Collected Ambient Works CD-R, Private Release, 2009 “Twin Earth: Collected Ambient Works” is a 62-minute compilation of lush ambient/space tracks by Canadian musician Steve (Austin) Rose, with pieces dating back to 1994. The release offers seven smooth, unhurried soundscape pieces made with synths and ambient guitar treatments. Melody plays a minor role, it’s…
Release data: Yarek & Friends – Spirits of the Dust CD, Generator.pl, 2010 “Spirits of the Dust” is the third album of Polish synthesist Yarek (aka Jaroslaw Degorski), for which he revisited some shelved electronic pieces from the past. For this release, Jaroslaw completely re-arranged and re-recorded them with a bit of help from some friends. At first glance, the…
Release data: Harald Nies – Earthcreator CD-R, Mellowjet Records, 2010 In the past, I stumbled on various releases of German Harald Nies, which were never able to please me in a satisfying way. Now there’s “Earthcreator”, his seventh album if I’m correct, which contains five lengthy pieces. The outcome is general melodic music in the German electronic music style with…
Release data: Byron Metcalf, Dashmesh Khalsa & Steve Roach – Dream Tracker CD, Dr Bam\’s Music, 2010 The organic music of “Dreamtracker” is a culmination of high spirits, contemporary and ancient trance-induced shamanic rituals and groovy world music, or in the words of the press-info: “a full-blown dreamtime alchemy of all the elements”. After Mr Metcalf mapped out the trance-groove…
Release data: Altus – Black Trees Among Amber Skies DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 With his release “Black Trees Among Amber Skies”, Canadian musician Mike Carss (aka Altus) returns to his classic free form style of music, who describes the outcome as ambient music for night-time winter walks in the city. As fans of his music know, Mike is an…
Release data: Mythos – Unabsteigbar! CD-R, Mellowjet Records, 2010 Unabsteigbar!” by Stephan Kaske, aka Mythos, is a limited edition EP in a special amaray-case. It contains 44-minutes of groovy music performed live at Em-Breakfast in December 2009 in Bochum, Germany. The five tracks found here contain all dynamic new music, and sees vocoder fragments interact with beat-driven melodic and rhythmic…
Release data: Walter Christian Rothe & Friends – Two for Green: Bulgaria DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 1996/2010 “Two for Green – Bulgaria” is an album in a series of collaborations between Walter Christian Rothe and Herwig Duchateaux (ex-Scooter drummer). The concept recording, a journey through the Balkan region, its culture and folklore, contains lots of world music and ethnic influences,…
Release data: Przemysław Rudź – Summa Technologiae CD, Generator.pl, 2010 Przemysław Rudź is a Polish musician living in Gdansk, who’s “Summa Technologiae” is a musical interpretation of Stanislav Lem’s book translated into a language of synthetic and mysterious sounds. After a deep atmospheric intro, “Dilemmas” kicks off with complex, clear sequencer patterns. They don’t evolve any further though, staying too…
Release data: Hybrid Leisureland – Scroll Slide CD, Ultimae Records, 2010 Hybrid Leisureland is the alias of Tokyo-based musician Hidetoshi Koizumi, who made his first steps into music around 1995. While he made his debut on the Ultimae sampler “Oxycanta” release, his sonic output seem to reflect his personal observations of the world he lives in. Mr Koizumi creates original…
Release data: Chad Kettering – Voices of the Ancients CD, Soniclayers Music, 2010 After two years of hard work invested in sculpturing, layering and refining music for his second release, Chad Kettering has come up with a great successor to “Into the Infinite”. The outcome on “Voices of the Ancients” is an intensive sound experience which can be put next…
Release data: moonbooter – World of Apes 1 CD, Mellowjet Records, 2010 “World of Apes 1” is a very personal and thought-provoking concept album by Bernd Scholl, aka Moonbooter, addressing the nuclear treat, cold war activities and related themes which keep affecting nowadays global societies and civilization. On this behalf, I remember similar topics were previously explored by Holle Mangler…
Release data: Epiphany – Sonica CD, LB Music Production, 2007/2010 After a leap of almost 10 years, Epiphany (aka Erik Teljeur) finally brings us a new album with imaginary, dark ambient electronics. Erik describes the outcome as his most intimate work to date, as the music inhabits a lot of personal emotions. “Sonica”, which comes in a very nice digipack…
Release data: Schiller – Atemlos CD, Universal Domestic, 2010 Schiller impressed me with his previous album “Sehnsucht” (“Desire”), which was followed by the even better double dvd of the “Sehnsucht”-tour. So expectations among his fans were high for the new album “Atemnot” (“Breathless”) and the outcome Christopher von Deylen, aka Schiller, would come up with. But I must disappoint all…
Release data: Cell – Hanging Masses CD, Ultimae Records, 2009 “Hanging Masses” is the second full length release by French musician Cell, aka Alexandre Scheffer. Cell previously contributed single tracks to various compilations in the genre of down-tempo electronica, but now bit by bit reveals his own identity with this cohesive album. “Hanging Masses” consists of eight pieces of overall…
Release data: Computerchemist – Aqual Measure CD-R, Private Release, 2009 Computer Chemist is one Dave Pearson from Hungary, who previously lived in England, whose “Aqual Measure” is described as “Berlin-school-style jazz-rock, perfecting a blend of raw guitar work and uber-precise sequencer lines”. Well, his output sure can be classified as progressive and energetic electronics, topped by e-guitar. The albums starts…
Release data: Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder – Repelen 3 CD, Manikin Records, 2010 After more than 15 years and a lot of live recordings, the trio Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder comes up with “Repelen 3”. The outcome was recorded at Detlef’s studio in October and November 2009, and sees the trio accompanied by Thomas Kagermann (violin) and Raugi Ebert (e-guitar),…
Release data: Hurry Hurry – Life CD-R, Substantial Brothers Productions, 2010 Hurry Hurry is a collaborative project of the brothers Wayne and Rob Hurry, who hail from Lake Heights, Western Australia. They run a business in film music, but decided to start a different project in their spare time, dedicated to composing commercial music releases as Hurry Hurry. “Life” (in…
Release data: Llyn Y Cwn – Llyn Y Cwn DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Manky Music, 2009 Llyn Y Cwn is a dark ambient project of Ben Powell, also known as Mank. Those familiar with the deep and dense ambient soundscaping heard on the last track of Mank’s album “Isbjorn” will absolutely love the output of Llyn Y Cwn’s two Ep’s. Part…
Release data: Ambientium – Fractal Philosophy CD-R, Private Release, 2009 Ambientium is the Czech-duo Lubomir and Lucie Cyrk, who have devoted their project Ambientium to their fascination for the world, universe, nature, beauty and love which inspires them to create atmospheric music and which takes you into this story of the cosmos and being. The album “Fractal Philosophy” is inspired…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Behind the Shadows CD-R, Private Release, 2010 For “Behind the Shadows”, Mr Canovas decided to try something different musically, as the sonic content on this album heads into ambient spaces. The twelve non-rhythmic tracks, ranging between four and seven minutes, move along as introspective, overall quieting but also quite varied soundscapes, which occasionally take a…
Release data: Arc – Rise CD-R, DiNDDL, 2010 The vintage powerhouse duo Mark Shreeve and Ian Boddy, aka Arc, made a trip to the USA in November 2009 to play their debut concert at Chuck van Zyl’s famous Gatherings Concert Series in Philedelphia. The three lenghty tracks on the 57-minute “Rise” are taken from that performance. The album takes off…
Release data: Robert Rich – Ylang CD, Soundscape Productions, 2010 After several collaborative albums, Robert Rich returns with the sonic perfume project entitled “Ylang”, a rather complex album which sees him blend “languid polyrhythms with infusions of South Indian Karnatic music, post-ock, jazz and minimalisms”. But most of all, the organic flavoured outcome of “Ylang” is one that clearly holds…
Release data: Steve Roach – Live at Grace Cathedral CD, Timeroom Editions, 2010 In June 2007, Steve was given the opportunity to play an ambient concert in the sacred space of San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. This allowed him to use the natural, expansive reverent ambience of the performance space predominant in the sound mix. At that occasion, Steve played a…
Release data: Andymian – In the Garden of the Rainy King CD, Private Release, 2005 “In the Garden of the Rainy King” is a (sponsored) album by Polish musician Andrzej “Andymian” Miersynski. I did do some troubles to find some background info on the music and the musician, but all I could find was written in Polish language. This leaves…
Release data: Glenn Main – Ripples CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 2012 This is in fact my first encounter with the output of Norwegian synthesist Glenn Main, aka Glenn Henriksen, who hereby delivers an almost 59-minute album displaying a mellow/melodic style of cosmic music. “Ripples”, Glenn’s fourth album by now, contains 12 structured and highly accessible feel-good compositions with…
Release data: The Tangent Project – Surface CD-R, Private Release, 2009 Tangent Project is the American duo Jeff Coulter (synths) and Harrison McKay (guitars), both based in the Philadelphia suburbs. On several occasions, they had the honour to play live on Chuck van Zyl’s Star’s End radio show. “Surface” though is a studio recording they have been working on since…
Release data: Nemesis – Gigaherz CD, Origo Sound, 2010 After a long struggle, the definite and official version of “Gigaherz” was released on January 10th, 2010 by Origo Sound. Initially, only a few pre-release copies of it were made available in 2008 to test the waters for the music. In addition, the current one is not the same either as…
Release data: Thamnos – WIR CD, Sound Claim, 2009 Thamnos is a music project of musician/producer/composer Tomas Weiss and UK-based singer-songwriter Annemarie Borg, started in 2007. “W I R” (World In Remission) is another recent album that expresses its worries about the destroyed balance of life on earth, painting the atmosphere of today, through the many styles and means of…
Release data: Remy – Exhibition of Dreams (10th anniversary edition) CD, AKH Records, 2010 With the release of “Exhibition of Dreams”, fans of Remy Stroomer’s music are given the opportunity to hear the remarkable musical development this Dutch musician and his music has undergone since he made his first steps in the genre of electronic music. While celebrating the 10th…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Hymn CD-R, Lunisolar Records, 2010 With “Hymn”, his seventh release by now, Japanese ambient composer Jutaro Takahashi brings us 60-minutes of smooth, gentle and gracious cosmic soundscapes, which seem to dissolve in time. The three tracks of 20 minutes each evolve gradually and very slowly, which I imagine can make them too long form and…
Release data: Pillion – Halcyon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2006/2010 Pillion’s “Halcyon” is an album that was shelved after it was recorded in 2006, taking another two years before it was remastered. The concept album tells a story about the changes in life one has been forced to do, if you have no choice, confirming what Pillion was all about:…
Release data: Erik Seifert – Core CD, PleasureSoundMusic, 2009 “Core” is a concept album on the Large Hadron Collider (a huge particle accelerator in Switzerland used for high-energy physics research), which took Erik Seifert three years of work to complete. For the music, he envisioned to capture the power, energy and the technical beauty of this momumental project, while also…
Release data: Interconnected – Current Flow CD-R, VU-US, 2010 Those of your who like vintage electronics with an abstract edge while taking things out of the ordinary, should check out the sonic worlds of Interconnected. It’s a a collaborative electronica/ idm/ experimental effort between Greek synthesist musician Bakis Sirros (of Parallel Worlds, Memory Geist) and Ingo Zobel (known of Dron,…
Release data: Mon0 – Proficisci CD-R, Kreislauf, 2009 “Proficisci”, is not a full mon0-album, but an Ep containing two high-atmospheric tracks. As known from his previous work, Andre has come up with some thick, expansive, multi-layered soundscape textures which gently get things started on the 13-minute “Follow Me…”. This cinematic and immersive sonic journey into the vast unknown vaporizes an…
Release data: Arcane – The Shelter CD-R, Private Release, 2009 Shortly after “Tomorrow’s Tuesday”, Paul Lawler brings us another vintage release, the Ep “The Shelter”. The latter is the name of a strange, big, deserted and spooky house (yes, the one on the cover!) owned by Steve’s grandparents, who used it as a place for destitute animals. The three music…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Sustaining Cylinders CD, Earth Turtle Music / Groove Unlimited, 1978/2001 The music on “Sustaining Cylinders”, originally released on the Continuum Montage label in 1978, belongs to the earliest recordings by ambient musician Michael Stearns. Its sonic content was not designed to play as music, to engage the mind and emotions, but rather as textural meditative…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Lyra (Sound Constellation) CD, Earth Turtle Music/Groove Unlimited, 1983/2001 Originally released on lp and cassette on the Continuum Montage label back in 1983, “Lyra (Sound Constellation)” is another (but this time far more extreme) ambient experiment of Michael Stearns, now executed together with his friend George Landry. But what a hard one it appeared to…
Release data: Fripp & Eno – Evening Star CD, EG Records, 1975/2008 “Evening Star”, the second album by the duo Robert Fripp and Brian Eno, can nowadays be regarded a classic album in the genre of minimal drone ambient. The tape looping system, already featured on their previous release “No Pussy Footing”, has been further improved, while Fripp’s guitar sounds…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – New Frequencies Vol. 1 CD, Spheric Music, 2010 The flow of Schroeder-releases is still strong at Spheric Music, as February 2010 brings us “New Frequencies Vol. 1” after two other albums in the previous year. This studio project, exclusively produced using only a pc and a midi keyboard, focuses on modern electronic grooves. The strong…
Release data: Walter Christian Rothe & Friends – Centillion 303 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 In June 2006, when I and some collegues were producing E-dition magazine, I did an interview with Walter Rothe and his Pillion partner Guy2D. Then, the “new” album “Halcyon” was mentioned. As far as I knew, it never was released afterall. After a long wait, something…
Release data: Johannes Schmoelling – A Thousand Times CD, Viktoriapark Records, 2009 The first impression the music on “A Thousand Times” left on me is that it contains many beautiful TD references of the ‘80s. This isn’t strange, as Johannes joined the band during the “Poland” tour and beyond. I think his contribution to the sound of the band was…
Release data: René van der Wouden – Numerus Fixus CD, ReWo Records, 2009 “Numerus Fixus” by Gouda-based electronic musician Rene van der Wouden, is a concept album dedicated to the various interlinked ecosystems on our blue planet. The fact that we use and rely on them almost regardless every day, makes them also gradually becoming more and more limited and…
Release data: Mister Vapor vs Altus – Falling Out Of Orbit CD-R, Just Not Normal netlabel, 2010 I’m not familiar with any music of Mister Vapor (aka Thomas Park, who’s also known as ambient musician Mystified), but the fact that Altus (aka Mike Carss) has decided to remix two of his tracks makes it even more interesting. Well, “Falling Out…
Release data: Shaped Signs – Nature’s Odyssey CD, Invisible Shadows, 2004 “Nature’s Odyssey” is the debut-album of the German duo Volker Kaufmann and Ron Grahnert. Some rumours shortly after the release spoke of instrumental Mike Oldfield-like music. Well, what we got here is 60+ minutes of nature-inspired symphonic music which offers a lot of detail next to the use of…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Cosmic Mandala CD-R, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2009 In contrast to what I thought, “Cosmic Mandala” is not a full length release but a 32 minute Ep (although Mr Kyryluk informed me a full length AWM-cd is on the way). As Gregory put it, the music is a fusion of ambient atmospheres, dub syncopations and…
Release data: Jon Jenkins & Paul Laekey – Continuum CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1995 “Continuum”, the only album to date by Jon Jenkins and Paul Leakey, comes in a stunningly beautiful fantasy cd-cover. Shortly after its release, Dream’s Word magazine called it “the perfect marriage of classical, ambient, and world music that defies classification”. Well, the 55 minutes of highly…
Release data: Sayer – 1st Encounter CD, Invisible Shadows, 2003 “1st Encounter” is the first commercially released and factory pressed cd of US-musician Sayer, who’s also dealing with various other dance, techno and other electronica projects (such as Dream Quest). Sayer’s musical goal is not to re-create what has been done before, but to take these influences and expand upon…
Release data: John Flomer – Mysterious Motions of Memory CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1996 “Mysterious Motions of Memory”, a concept album on genetic memory, is the debut-release of Minneapolis-based “visual musician” John Flomer on the prestigious Spotted Peccary label. To achieve this outcome, John applied a high-tech, synthesizer-based ensemble “Primal Cinema”. The cd, which has some beautiful graphics and cover…
Release data: Christopher Franke – Epic CD, Earthtone Records, 1999 Christopher Franke is best known as a former member of Tangerine Dream, a band he joined from 1970 until 1988. After that, he moved to the United States to pursue a career as composer of music for movies and TV shows, of which “Universal Soldier” and “Babylon 5” in the…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Ancient Leaves CD, Earth Turtle Music/Groove Unlimited, 1977/1999 “Ancient Leaves” is Michael’s first self published vinyl release and fits into what’s nowadays called drone music with an experimental edge. The foundation for the music was layed down by some deep synth tracks with a Mini Moog, followed by some experimentation with women chanting (which ended…
Release data: 33 Tetragammon & Human Metronome – Spectral Solitude CD-R, Private Release, 2009 For their second album, 33 Tetragammon (aka Wasili Papadopoulos) and Human Metronome (aka Eelke van Hoof) worked more closely together in composing the songs, meaning tracks were intensely exchanged so the other person could add his own flavour. The actual idea for the release “Spectral Solitude”,…
Release data: APOSTOLIS ANGELIS (2A) Hologram CD, Apoapsis Records, 2009 “Hologram” is the contemporary electronic music debut of self-taught music composer and mixing engineer Apostolos Angelis, aka 2A, who lives in Trikala, Greece. Although referred to as fitting in the new age genre, the outcome on “Hologram” is characterized by organic analogue and digital feel, sampling technologies muted drum beats,…
Release data: Dave Luxton – When The World Was Young CD-R, Wayfarer Records, 2010 “When The World Was Young”, due for release on 01/21/2010, arrived on the threshold of the new year. This album has a much lighter sound compared to his previous album, although the crispy undercurrents have remained, presenting 10 tracks of freeform ambient dronescapes which “uniquely balance…
Release data: Deepspace – World Ocean Atlas CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2009 With this album, Mirko Ruckels aka Deepspace invites us on a trip through the “World Ocean Atlas”. The outcome is proof of a further refining, deepening and shaping of the ambient magic which made up the visual sonic landscapes on his previous albums. The real beauty of his…
Release data: Arcane – Tomorrow’s Wasteland CD-R, Private Release, 2009 The end of 2009 sees another grand release in the genre of retro-inspired electronics, made by no other than Paul Lawler, aka Arcane. The well composed and constructed “Tomorrow’s Wasteland” offers rich and vibrant vintage music, for the most part following into the footsteps of the ‘80’s TD sound. With…
Release data: John Ellis – Wabi-Sabi 21© CD-R, Chanoyu Records, 2009 John Ellis is an English guitarist who played in various punk rock bands such as the Vibrators and The Stranglers, but he als has worked with Peter Gabriel and Peter Hamill. John recently started his own record label Chanoyu Records, which explores the meeting points of guitar and electronic…
Release data: Kees Aerts – If One Door Closes CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 “If One Door Closes” is the second full-length cd of Kees Aerts, released after a hiatus of almost ten years, and which (is my impression) would never had been out by now if several people hadn’t asked for it. Well, the disc compiles 12 mostly older tracks,…
Release data: Anomalous Disturbances – Inside CD-R, Disappearing Music, 2009 The music of “Inside” sings a different tune when compared to Terry O’Brien’s solo music as Anomalous Disturbances, as he this time has joined forces with his brothers Chris and Wayne. The latter two add peacefull rhythms, beats, EWI, flute, atmospherics and crystal balls to Terry’s ethereal E-bow and guitar…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Infinite Octaves CD, Private Release, 2009 After a long hiatus of seven years, Andrew Forrest finally brings us the “final” chapter of his “Star- System Trilogy”, which is actually not the third but the first volume. “Infinite Octaves” is a stunning work of space music in the true sense, offering a free form, gentle and…
Release data: Odyssey – X – Space Odyssey CD, Generator.pl, 2009 Tomasz Pauszek describes this album as a “mixture of “fine-tuned” sequential electronics, organic ambient music and dynamic electronic rock-pop”. Well, with “X – Space Odyssey”, Generator.PL bring us a second release of this Polish musician in one year, which comes as a double album featuring tracks recorded between 2006…
Release data: Redshift – Wild 3 CD, Distant Sun Production, 2009 With “Wild 3”, Mark Shreeve shares another fine bunch of Redshift exclusives with the fans, kicking off with “Redshift 08”. On this excellent live track, Ian Boddy joins Mark and Julian. Ian plays some nice strings/choirs while Julian is featured on the harmony synth as Mark is heard on…
Release data: Terje Winther – Electronic Regions CD, Bajkal Records, 2009 “Electronic Regions”, a concert album with varied expressions spread out over two discs, took Norwegian musician Terje Winther a long time to complete, almost five years to be more exact. For this release, Terje actually wanted to pay homage to all the electronic music that has inspired him, from…
Release data: Bernd Kistenmacher – Celestial Movements CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Mellowjet Records, 2009 It seemed Bernd Kistenmacher had retired from electronic music after 2001, having previously comprised most of his privately released music in the box-set “My Little Universe”. In 2008 however, rumours said he was working on a possible new album. It eventually ended up in a live concert in…
Release data: Altus – Coma Cluster DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2009 After some more challenging and adventurous releases such as “Macro” and “City of Ashes”, Canadian ambient musician Mike Carss now returns to his “common”, accessible style: “Coma Cluster” offers 74 minutes of soothing, free form cosmic music. The four lengthy tracks come to the listener in one, uninterrupted flow,…
Release data: Free System Projekt, Brendan Pollard, Hashtronaut – Time Out of Mind CD, Acoustic Wave Records, 2009 Brendan Pollard, Free System Project (aka Ruud Heij and Marcel Engels) and Hashtronaut (aka Michael Daniel) belong to the group of consistent purveyors who keep on investigating and revisiting the realms of vintage electronics as made in the first half of the…
Release data: Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder – Blue CD, Manikin Records, 2009 As the trio explains on the cd-cover, Blue marks the second part of their “Theory of Colours” series (the first was “Orange” in 2007), of which the music is taken from concerts given in 2007 and 2008. The cd contains three lengthy chill-out tracks. The 23-minute “Blue One”…
Release data: Freud – The Journey CD, Tantajo Records, 2006/2009 Freud is a project by German keyboardist Ingo Hauss and Dublin-based singer Cora O’Donovan. “The Journey”, their second release on which Maria Sanchez joins the duo, fits in the genre of vocal and smooth chill-out pop music, a progressive/electronic and overall moody style balancing somewhere between Amethystium, Adiemus and Enya,…
Release data: Ron Boots – Derby! CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Early September 2009, Ron Boots travelled to Derby in the UK, accompanied by his faithful drummer and best friend Harold van der Heijden and Mr “F.D. Project” Frank Dorittke to perform a concert at the David Wright’s AD Music festival. And what a dynamic happening it must have been, according…
Release data: Stephan Whitlan – Triangulation CD, Fairy Nuff Music, 2009 Irish musician Stephen Whitlan joined John Dyson & co. on E-Day 2009, for which he performed a short solo concert as an introduction. Shortly after the show he was invited to do a full concert at E-Live 2009, so he planned to compose a whole new cd for that…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Piano Textures 2 CD, ad21music, 2009 In 2007, Mr Sanfilippo presented us the first volume of “Piano Textures”, now followed by a second chapter of gentle, overall elegant, contemplative but not too soothing piano-atmospheres. These formulae already proved to be worthy on the initial release, but on “Piano Textures”, Bruno reaches for and arrived on…
Release data: [‘ramp] Debris CD, Private Release, 2009 “Debris” is a deep, strong organic flavoured ambient journey coming in four sections. It’s composed solely by Stephen Parsick, as he and Frank Makowski parted ways a while ago. As Stephen explains, the outcome (for which he used basic tracks composed between June 2000 and January 2005 as a start) is based…
Release data: John Christian – Susbarbatus CD-R, Private Release, 2009 John Christian is one of the members of the English band Air Sculpture. For “Susbarbatus”, he wanted to extend and further explore the ideas he had come up with on his cd-r “Bohunt”. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned, so the backbone of “Susbarbatus” became “a set of sequencer…
Release data: Steve Roach – Immersion: Four CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 In the “Immersion”-series, Steve Roach has arrived at number four, which –like all previous ones- contains only one longform piece clocking over 70 minutes. As can be expected, the freeform music slowly evolves in a quiet, unhurried synth washes. Created for continuous low volume playback, this sanctuary of total…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – In This Moment, In This Place CD-R, Neu Harmony, 2009 Javi’s album “In this moment, in this place” contains one continuous track of 70 minutes, which is actually a live recording from a concert Javi performed on July 18, 2009 at the Sauzal’s Cultural Centre. For it, he imagined one long track with a very…
Release data: Tomasz Zawadzinski – Saved as CD, Generator.Pl, 2009 The music which is presented by Polish musician on his album “Saved As” is a musical painting that in its own way pays tribute to the sounds of classic Berliner School, and especially Tangerine Dream’s late ’70’s and early ’80’s years. The inviting opening track “The Search”, composed is 2004,…
Release data: Steve Roach – Afterlight CD, Timeroom Editions, 2009 “Afterlight” is a companion work which ambient musician Steve Roach composed in the Spring of 2009, in addition to the long-form releases “Destination Horizon” and “Immersion: Four”. Again, we find one single highly atmospheric track of which the music is interconnected in a “pursuit of timelessness”, as is the case…
Release data: Daniel Dorobantu – Knock on the Sky and listen to the Sound CD, Private Release, 2008 Daniel Dorobanthu is a musician from Romania, whose “Knock on the Sky and listen to the Sound” is a peaceful, dreamy journey with strong Zen-inspired and contemplative elements. Recorded in 2007 and 2008, the music (split into seven tracks) uses generative electro…
Release data: Spyra – January in June CD, Fax Records, 2009 Although the rumours on this recording said quite the opposite, Wolfram Spyra delivers a fine melange of inventive electro-acoustic music with “January in June”. This especially applies to the first half of the cd, including the title track. On the other hand, one can’t miss the more progressive approach…
Release data: Synth.nl – Oceanography CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 “OceanoGraphy” is the third release of Synth.nl, aka Michel van Osenbruggen, who got inspired by the earth ocean’s and the many sea creatures living in them. The 12 cinematic and melodic tracks with lots of well-chosen environmental sounds clearly show a further refinement of his skills and sounds, creating a nice…
Release data: Jeff Greinke –Virga CD, Lotuspike, 2009 “Virga” is the 18th release by Jeff Greinke, and his second one on the LotusPike/Spotted Peccary. The character and shape of the music sees Greinke return to an ambient and textural approach which applied to his ‘80s and ‘90s work. In a way, it’s electronic ambient chamber music, as the outcome merges…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Thousand Star CD, New World Music, 2009 After a hiatus of a few years, space music veteran Jonn Serrie returns with “Thousand Star” (which was formerly named “Radii”). Like its predecessor “The Stargazer’s Journey”, the highly immersive and elevating music delves deep into the vast spaces and overall magic of the cosmos. Fortunately, it again…
Release data: Robert Rich – Michael Somoroff’s Illumination CD, Soundscape Music, 2007 The music on this concept cd is the sonic companion to Michael Somoroff’s multimedia installation “Illumination”. The seven tracks, acting as a background soundtrack, weave an expansive tapestry of subtle, deep, slow morphing and overall immersive electronic atmospherics. The vibrating, dense and transparent dronescapes smoothly interact and shapeshift…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – September 2009 jams CD-R, Private Release, 2009 “September 2009 jams” is a limited edition of 100 copies containing only two tracks. It again makes me wonder what fun these guys must have had as this and other outcomes culminated and evolved in the Brendan’s studio. The over 50 minute “Catalyst” kicks off. It’s a continuous and…
Release data: Richard Burmer – Invention CD, American Grammophone, 1992 In a way, the music on “Invention” continues in the style Richard Burner displayed on his previous three albums. He still uses lots of warm and intimate synth textures, although the symphonic elements aren’t present this time. Again, Burmer’s liner notes in the booklet actually give the listener insight into…
Release data: Various Artists – Imaginary Friends CD, Ultimae Records, 2009 “Imaginary Friends” is an audio poetry album collected by Nova, flowing up on the 2005 compilation cd “Albedo”. The narrative-driven compilation offers eleven tracks by various artists, offering a range of styles and approaches within contemporary ambient electronics creating an overall vibrant, fresh, intimate and warm atmospheric pallet of…
Release data: Remy – EoD CD, AKH Records, 2009 As Remy explains, “EoD” is the first part of the 10th anniversary of his debut release “Exhibition of Dreams”, containing newly recorded versions of a selection of the original tracks from 1999 album. “EoD” comprises five long tracks, making up over 70 minutes of fine electronics with many nice breaks and…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper –Quadranteon CD, Air Space Records, 2009 “Quandranteon”, by analogue synth-wizzard Jeffrey Koepper, contains four extended parts in which he succeeds in stretching the boundaries of his vintage gearand their lovely, warm sounds a bit further. Not only does “AnalogueJeff” create the nicest range of sounds from his instruments, he also knows how to implement each of…
Release data: Picture Palace Music – Curriculum Vitae I (The Aside Ones) CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009 June 2009 saw the release of “Curriculum Vitae I”, a compilation cd by Picture Palace Music, the music project by Thorsten Quaeschning (from Tangerine Dream-fame). Subtitled “music for compilation rates and personal data sheets”, the cd contains tracks recorded between 2006 and 2008 which…
Release data: Rainbow Serpent / Fanger & Schönwälder – Elektrik Cowboys CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009 “Elektrik Cowboys” comprises live improvised music, recorded live during the Ricochet Gathering in Montana in August 2007. The 63-minute album is nicely kicked off by Rainbow Serpent (aka the German duo Gerd Wienekamp and Frank Specht), which show their mastery in carefully unwinding compelling and…
Release data: Jamie Craig – Illumination CD, Private Release, 2008 Jamie Craig is a Detroit-based synthesist and keyboardist who previously was a rock ‘n roll bassist for many years. “Illumination”, his second release, contains instrumental music with a high easy-going and jazz-fusion feel. His jazz and progrock pieces all feature solid bass-lines and not that great drums, over which a…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Sunday Morning CD-R, Private Release, 2005 In more than one way, “Sunday Morning” is a rather exclusive cd, as Jonn Serrie has composed five tracks of overall harmonious stress-relief music with a new-age vibe. As Jonn states in the liner notes, he was very touched by David Kirby’s book “Evidence of Harm” and how difficult…
Release data: Dave Luxton – The Divided Line CD-R, Wayfarer Records, 2009 Musician Dave Luxton continues his journey into ambient electronic dream worlds with “The Divided Line”, a concept album intended to compose music that would reflect the various aspects of human consciousness and the planes of existence. The outcome is an eclectic mix of gloomy, mesmerizing and at times…
Release data: Robert Schroeder 30 Years After CD, Spheric Music, 2009 After a brand new cd in the Spring of 2009 (“Taste It”), Fall 2009 sees the release of “30 Years After”, a sort-of retrospective album by Robert Schroeder. One may expect otherwise, but “30 Years After” does not contain previous released tracks. It more or less revisits the sounds,…
Release data: Mank – Isbjorn CD-R, Manky Music, 2008 Mank is an ambient project by North Wales based musician Ben Powell. For “Isbjorn”, his eight release, Ben spend five weeks on a polar research ship in September and October 2007 to collect oceanographic data. The latter would form the majority of this album, which was actually created during the journey.…
Release data: David Parsons – Jyoti CD, Celestial Harmonies, 2009 David Parsons’ release “Jyoti” (which is, like all of his music, inspired by Indian music) is basically the “sister” album to “Earthlight”, although slightly darker sound wise. David recalls in the booklet he extensively used the Novation synthesizer (which he intends to utilise a lot on projects in the foreseeable…
Release data: Jon Jenkins – Flow CD, Spotted Peccary, 1998 “Flow” is the second release by synthesist Jon Jenkins, which sees him use the metaphor of water to create an introspective ambient world of beauty wonder. The outcome is a beautiful blend of carefully crafted and shaped soundscapes to which the sound of Jeff Pearce’s ambient electric guitars is add…
Release data: Spiraleye – Still CD-R, Private Release, 2009 “Still” is the second release of Spiraleye, aka synthesist Peter Challoner and guitarist Neale Haddon. As their debut release “The space between”, the seven pieces on “Still” again feature live improvised recordings, but this time the 70-minute outcome is much more a contemplative ambient affair. It slowly moves forward in quiet,…
Release data: Soundician – L.S. CD-R, Private Release, 2009 After a bit longer hiatus than normal, September 14 saw the release of “L.S.”, the seventh album by Kit and Odette Johnson, aka Soundician. Based on the work of painter L.S. Lowry (known for his industrial landscapes of British Manchester), the English duo says about the music to “expect something different…
Release data: Broken Harbour – Broken Harbour CD-R, Consouling Records, 2009 Broken Harbour is the alias of Blake Gibson, a Canadian musician who focuses on deep and minimal ambient drone-based music, for which he applies synthetic sources, assorted samples, and real time performances. The biggest part of the album, containing five long form pieces, explores the isolation that a space…
Release data: Steve Roach – Destination Beyond CD, Projekt, 2009 With “Destination Beyond”, Steve Roach brings us another longform journey of expansive, beautifully rendered sonic vistas. It’s not as quiet as one might initially suspect, as Steve somewhat heads in the direction of “Destination Horizon”, a sole track he did years ago. The 71-minute “Destination Beyond” is a work of…
Release data: Mythos – Gallery Concerts CD, Mellowjet Records, 2009 As Stephan Kaske, aka Mythos, explains in the press sheet, “Gallery Concerts” is a live-recording of a concert performed on August 29th 2009 in the Grugapark in Essen, fully done without the use of laptop computers. The 53-minute outcome is a fresh and mellow style of electronic music with lots…
Release data: Anomalous Disturbances – Archive Two CD-R, Disappearing Music, 2009 After a hiatus of five years, Anomalous Disturbances (aka the Vancouver-based ambient artist Terry O’Brien) finally brings us a second batch of “shelved” recordings. “Archive Two”, a double cd-r, is a nice collection of unreleased and previously released pieces (which appeared on special projects and compilations) from 2001-2008. And…
Release data: Deborah Martin & Erik Wøllo – Between WorldsCD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2009 “Between Worlds” is a collaboration album of American musician Deborah Martin and the talented Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Erik Wøllo, which let us hear the voices of the American past.Inspired by Native American music and its culture (with special focus on the South West area), the ambient journey…
Release data: F.D. Project – T & Y CD, Private Release, 2009 With “T & Y” (Today & Yesterday), Frank Dorittke continues his path along the avenue of melodic instrumental EM, which seems to contain pieces and ideas going back until 2003. The album is divided in two parts, “Today” containing Frank’s more recent music put forward as longer pieces,…
Release data: Blüchel & von Deylen – Bi Polar CD, Edel Music, 2003 Unlike the music on “Mare Stellaris”, only two of the eight tracks on “BiPolar” are original compositions by Christopher von Deylen and Harald Blüchel. The other six electronic tracks are all re-interpretations of existing classic tracks by Eric Satie (Gymnopedié No.1 & 3), Philip Glass, Michael Nyman,…
Release data: Blüchel & von Deylen – Mare Stellaris CD, Sony Bmg, 2004 “Mare Stellaris” is the debut album of the German musicians/producers Christopher von Deylen (better known as Schiller) and Harald Blüchel (aka Cosmic Baby). Although the openings tracks might give the impression this is a sort of lounge-like album, a trancy/down tempo style pops up on the thrilling…
Release data: Char-El – Resurrection CD-R, Private Release, 2009 After quite a long absence of almost a decade, August 2009 marks the return of Charles Thaxton (aka Char-El) to the music scene with “Resurrection”, his third album. Composed with a variety of analogue and digital synthesizers and digital drums, the 79-minutes of music present a nice blend of progressive, symphonic…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Planetary Unfolding CD, Sonic Atmospheres, 1981/1985 Fans of deep space music shouldn’t miss out on the immersive journey into the depths of the cosmos which is presented on the state-of-the-art “Planetary Unfolding”. The album was originally released in 1981 on lp on the Continuum Montage label. Composed completely on the Serge synthesizer (built by Michael’s…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Morning Jewel CD, Groove Unlimited, 1979/2000 “Morning Jewel” is a digitally remastered and optimized re-release of Michael’s original 1979-album “Jewel”. Containing two extended ambient pieces of 27 and 23 minutes, it’s also Michael’s first work on which he introduces the (Mighty) Serge synthesizer. “Morning” kicks off with a smooth and gentle live ambience featuring a…
Release data: O-Head – Steps Across the Cortex CD, Centaur Discs, 2005 “Steps across the Cortex” is the second album by English musician David Hendry, who hereby steps forward with a nice album of powerful contemporary electronics complimented with a good dash of vintage sounds. Firmly rooted in the typical sound of English electronic music, this more than once can…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Floating Whispers CD, Earth Turtle Music/Groove Unlimited, 1987/1998 “Floating Whispers” contains music that appeared to be the predecessor of space music that would later end up on “Planetary Unfolding” and “Chronos”. It’s one of the classic space music albums of Michael Stearns which was re-released in 1998 in collaboration with the Groove Unlimited label after…
Release data: Kitaro – Impressions of the West Lake CD, Domo Records, 2009 For over a decade, I’ve been out of touch with the music of Kitaro, so this release may be a good opportunity to catch up on his current whereabouts. “Impressions of the West Lake” contains Kitaro’s score to a modern day opera conceived and directed by internationally…
Release data: Alex Theory & Daniel Pinchbeck – Emergence 2012 CD, Sounds True, 2009 “Emergence 2012” is a rather peculiar ambient release by San Francisco-based ambient-sound technician/sound healing visionary Alex Theory and philosopher-journalist Daniel Pinchbeck. Inspired by Baktuns, the cycles of the classical Mayan calendar, the shamanic and healing music of “Emergence 2012” is presented as a soundtrack for global…
Release data: Outer Space Alliance – Outer Space Alliance CD, Holy Feather Productions, 1998/2009 Outer Space Alliance are Arto Koivisto (electronics) Jari Pitkänen (electronics) and Tommi Björk (guitar/keys), an electronic music collective from Helsinki. This same-titled cd is actually a completely re-recorded and reworked version of their 1998 debut release “Outer Space Alliance Promo-cd-r”, offering a slightly shuffled track listing…
Release data: David Lange – Return of the Comet CD, Hearts of Space, 1985/1988 David Lange is a California-based independent filmmaker whose album “Return to the Comet”, created in the early days of digital recording, is generally regarded classic electronic space music for star gazing, comet tracking and other celestial experiences. Lange creates his music visually first, starting with the…
Release data: Raphael – Angels of the Deep CD, Hearts of Space, 1995 “Angels of the Deep” is the third album by Raphael, an Hawaiian-based spiritual teacher and musician. The uplifting, smooth atmospheres and themes captured on the 62-minute “Angels of the deep” are all strongly connected to the “water” theme, sounding like a celebration of its otherwordly beauty. The…
Release data: Robert Rich & Steve Roach – Strata CD, Hearts of Space, 1990 The previous short collaborations on “Dreamtime Return” and “Desert Solitaire” between ambient musicians Steve Roach and Robert Rich have finally ended up on the full-length album “Strata”, a work of “geologic” ambient, unlocking the entrance to a deeper sound experience. Aiming to create sounds that evoke…
Release data: Steve Roach & Robert Rich – SoMa CD, Hearts of Space, 1991 “SoMa” is the follow-up to the duo’s strong debut “Strata”, offering another 57-minute blend of fine tribal ambient music. A gentle wash of organic and shamanic soundworlds continue the journey, a nice melting pot of melodic flute and mystic synthscapes while quite an extensive portion of…
Release data: Mako – Forms of Life CD, Seagull Music, 1991 Mako’s third album “Forms of Life”, which took him three years to finish, is the only release of this Austrian musician that made it onto cd until now. This time, the concept focusses on underwater life, delivering ten atmospheric tracks in which underwater sounds are melted with warm synthetic…
Release data: Robert Rich – Humidity CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2000 “Humidity” is a triple cd-release containing three different live concerts which Robert Rich performed in 1998. For the most part, the release contains new music, except an occasional existing track from the Lustmord/Rich album “Stalker”, found on disc one and three. Overall, the outcome is a dark, damp, highly atmospheric…
Release data: Tim Clark – Tales of the Sun People CD, Hearts of Space, 1990 “Tales of the Sun People”, composed by American planetarium composer and versatile musician Tim Clark, can be classified as one of those “forgotten” electronic albums in the genre of space music that never received the proper attention from the moment it was released. The album,…
Release data: Con_Sense – Code Sent CD-R, DataBloem, 2009 “Code Sent” is the second full-length release by Con-Sense, of which no further background information is offered (as the music should suffice to speak for itself). But after had a few good listens to the whole recording, I must be very mistaken if this is not a project of producer Tomas…
Release data: Blutiger Fluss – Dawn of Mars CD-R, Sonneneruption Music, 2008 Blutiger Fluss is the Iowa-based synthesizer duo Jeff Hutchison and Jim Duede, whose music is heavenly rooted in the early space music made at the start of the ‘70’s by Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. Some influences of Mr Schulze are evident in the four long tracks, which…
Release data: Klaus Schulze & Lisa Gerrard – Dziekuje Bardzo CD, Synthetic Symphony/SPV, 2009 The triple-cd set “Dziekuje Bardzo”, recorded live during concerts in November 2008 in Warsaw and Berlin, is the next chapter in a cooperation between Klaus Schulze and Lisa Gerrard. This release also sees a return to lengthy tracks, as there are only six pieces in total:…
Release data: Serge Laporte – Sea of a Thousand Stories CD, Edge Music/Rubicon, 1996 Serge Laporte is recognized as one of Canada’s foremost composers, next to being a renowned guitarist, producer and sound engineer. The 47-minute “Sea of a Thousand Stories” is completely instrumental piece of work, featuring a versatile blend of female voices, lots of acoustic and electric guitar,…
Release data: Paul Lawler & Paul Speer – Wonders CD, Rainstorm Records, 2009 “Wonders” is a 67-minute musical journey “to awe inspiring places on planet earth”, which sees a collaboration of UK-based musician Paul Lawler, and US-based musician Paul Speer (who are joined on two tracks by French vocalist Satine Orient). After meeting each other on MySpace, Lawler first suggested…
Release data: Vincent Clarke & Martyn Ware – Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle CD, Mute Records, 2001 The cover of this cd is pure white with a bar code right in the middle of it, which is actually the spectrum mentioned in the title. The album sees an interesting collaboration of the pioneering duo Vincent Clarke, co-founder of Erasure/Depeche Mode, and Martyn…
Release data: Altus – City of Ashes DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Music, 2009 On the audio/visual concept project “City of Ashes”, Canadian musician Mike Carss pairs his orchestral-oriented and minimal/fluid ambient work with the extraordinary photography of Shawn Sintzel. Well, listening and experiencing the mysterious, highly atmospheric outcome is like stepping through a mirror and landing in an alternate world among…
Release data: Emerald Web – Nocturne / Lights of the Ivory Plains CD, Fortuna Records, 1989 The project Emerald Web was founded in 1978 by the Florida-based duo Bob Stohl and Kat Epple, both experienced flautists. This cd comprises the albums, “Nocturne” and “Lights of the Ivory Plain”, released in 1983 and 1984 respectively. They offer a fine blend of…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Phantoms CD, Projekt Records, 2009 A couple of years ago, I was impressed by the album Forrest Fang made with Carl Weingarten, so it’s nice to see him now show up with a solo album, which took him eight years to finish. Building on gamelan-influenced textures, “Phantoms” offers a multi-layered tapestry of rich, transparent atmospheres…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – Pollard/Daniel/Booth CD-R/Digital Download, English Electronic Music Company, 2009/2019 Synthesist Brendan Pollard has a great eye for collaborating with fellow musicians who love the sound of vintage gear while pushing the boundaries, such as Free System Project and Javi Canovas. For this project he invited Michael Daniel (aka Hashtronaut) and Phil Booth in his Bedford-based Radial Velocity…
Release data: Bob Holroyd – Fluidity & Structure CD, Soundscape Music, 1993 “Fluidity and Structure”, of which the sonic content has been inspired by travels to Africa and Asia, was originally the soundtrack to an audio visual art exhibition Bob Holroyd staged at “The Big Chill ” amongst other venues in 1993 The twelve tracks breath a highly atmospheric ambience,…
Release data: Yarek – Organix CD, Generator.Pl, 2009 Jaroslaw Degórski , aka Yarek, did leave a good impression on me with his previous recording “Noc Na Zamku”, and it’s great to see him continue the same path on “Organix”. The album isn’t exactly new though as the cd-booklet learns the music was already created in 2005. Nevertheless, the melodic and…
Release data: Aquavoice – Memories CD, Generator.pl, 2009 The cover of the cd shows a picture of a totally ruined building, a metaphore for the disturbing, uneasy ambient music presented here. Composer Tadeusz Luczejko, aka Aquavoice, takes the hard way on his album “Memories”, which offers 70 minutes of harsh and experimental sonic impressions. The recording contains a mixture of…
Release data: Solitaire – Plains and Skies CD, Musique Intemporelle, 1992 On their second album “Plains and Skies”, Solitaire is reduced to German duo Elmar Schulte who heads for a sonic, tribal-flavoured journey into barren, desolate and desert landscapes (something one may have imagined after looking at the nice cd-cover). Moreover, it shows Elmar’s sincere admiration for the music of…
Release data: Steve Thomas – More People have been to the Moon CD, Heliotrinox Records, 1997 I recently rediscovered this peculiar album in my cd-collection, which made me decided to give it a few good listens again and a review after all. Back in 1997, the Wales-based professional British cave diver Steve Thomas (who has worked with ex-Tangerine Dreamer Steve…
Release data: Mako – In Other Regions LP, Seagull Music, 1986 Mako’s second album “In Other Regions” sees a continuation of the compelling symphonic tone poems as heard on his debut “Meeting with the Sea“. This time, the 42 minutes of music was initially inspired by the tales of Herman Hesse. At the very heart of the music, one still…
Release data: Tangram – Tepidarium CD-R, Private Release, 2009 Tangram is a Berliner School project started by Hungarian musician Péter Fabók in 2005, who very nicely shows his admiration for the ’80’s style of Tangerine Dream. The outcome on “Tepidarium” sounds transparent, sparkling and detailed, featuring some catchy, well rendered sequencing, warm and multi-layered synth tapestries and some lofty soloing…
Release data: Mako – Meeting with the Sea LP, Seagull Music, 1984 Mako is the alias of the Austrian musician Manfred Batko, who used the first and last two letters of his real name for his artist-name. The concept album “Meeting with the Sea”, made using a 4-Channel taperecorder, was originally meant as a 1983 Christmas-present to his friends, which…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Quiet Rain CD-R, Lunisolar Records, 2009 Juta Takahashi’s sixth album “Quiet Rain” brings four 15-minute free form pieces of solace and contemplation, nicely sculptured out of warm analogue sounds, mellotron and some acoustic piano. It’s great, at times even minimal, music to take a break from it all, as the slow washes of strings gently…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Views from a Red Train CD, Eastgate, 2008 It seems “Views from a Red Train” has been announced for a couple of years as a solo-album of Edgar Froese, but now has seen the light of day under the Tangerine Dream moniker, seeing Edgar play with some faithful musical compagnons. After years of rather mediocre…
Release data: The Redundant Rocker – Heart CD, Unsung Records, 2009 “Heart” is the second album by Bernhard Woestheinrich, aka The Redundant Rocker, who puts forward a progressive electronica album with the emphasis on both song and emotion. Although I’m not a fan of this rock-oriented style of electronic music (of which the fully analogue mix comes courtesy of Clemens…
Release data: Dan Pound – Living Planet CD, Private Release, 2009 Mr Pound states the album “Living Planet” is a companion disc and sequel to his formerly released release “Esoterica”, one filled with ambient electronic, Shamanic space music for the new millennium which sure is to transport you to another place and time. Starting out with heavy dronescapes, the 72…
Release data: The Nebula Project – In Search of Converging Sounds CD, UFO Music Productions, 2008 The Nebula project is a collaboration of the US-based duo Dennis Young (bass and guitars) and Rick Coffee (synthesizers and guitars), who have been working together since the start of the ’80’s in various formulas. According to the bands website, the music captured on…
Release data: Cosmic Hoffmann – Hypernova CD-R, Private Release, 2009 “Hypernova” offers another bunch of restored tracks from the old days, coming from the music archives of Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock. The nine pieces (partly inspired by Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and NEU) on this third instalment of vintage rarities of the ‘70s & 80s feature the usual analogue suspects (mellotron, minimoog,…
Release data: Robert Carty – Starlight Volume 2 CD-R, Private Release, 2009 “Starlight Volume 2” is Robert’s second release in a trilogy of cds, which are inspired by the magical experiences of star gazing in the death of night. It again contains a nice selection of smooth and highly atmospheric music which continues where the previous volume left off, creating…
Release data: Terra Ambient – Wanderlust CD, Lotuspike, 2009 After a hiatus of five years, Jeff Kowal, aka Terra Ambient, returns with “Wanderlust”, described by Jeff as an emotional sketchbook of some major changes in my life. In more than one way, the music on it has something of a grand design, featuring some sort of soundtrack with both expansive…
Release data: Andrew Lahiff – Somewhere under the Sky CD-R, Private Release, 2008 Australian musician Andrew Lahiff has released quite a list of atmospheric ambient music during the last decade (of which parts where available as free download through his site and beyond), to which now “Somewhere Under the Sky” is added. The eight long tracks on the album offer…
Release data: Aes Dana – Leylines CD, Ultimae Records, 2009 “Leylines”, the fourth release by Vincent Villuis, presents ten ambient downtempo tracks of “luminous darkness”. The music of the 78-minute concept album, named after the invisible lines of forces that connect centers of geomagnetic power to one another, has a great organic feel running through the whole soundspectrum. It features…
Release data: 3 Seconds of Air The Flight of Song CD, Tonefloat, 2009 “The Flight of Song” is the debut album by the Belgium project 3 Seconds of Air, aka Dirk Serries (also known as vidna Obmana and Fear Falls Burning), Paul van den Berg and Dirk’s wife Martina Verhoeven. Being in the works since 2000, this entity of three…
Release data: Mon0 – Multifidus CD-R, Test Tube netlabel, 2009 “Multifidus” is the first full-length ambient release of the German musician mon0, aka Andre Zufall. The albums offers five extended pieces, making up 85 minutes of overall textural music with some occasional rhythms, in which the slow morphing pace nicely builds beautiful arcs of tension. These are very well rendered…
Release data: Jerome Froese – The Speed of Snow … EP, Ricochet Dream, 2009 June 2nd will see the release of the limited edition Ep (1000 copies) “The Speed of Snow” by Jerome Froese, who plays guitars, guitar effects, bass guitar and programming. The recording contains three tracks of six minutes each, starting with the twinkling, atmospheric tones of the…
Release data: Rüdiger Gleisberg – Chronicle 1986 – 93 CD, Ardema Musik, 1994 “Chronicle 1986-1993” is a limited edition, numbered and autographed release by classically trained German synthesist Rüdiger Gleisberg (known as one half of the ambient project Solitaire). It’s actually a compilation album including released, remixed and previously unreleased music, which was set in motion by ongoing requests for…
Release data: Robert Haig Coxon – The Silent Path CD, R.H.C. Productions, 1995 Robert Haig Coxon hails from Canada, and gained quite an international reputation with the “Cristal Silence” trilogy, produced by Steve Roach. “The Silent Path” is a musical journey into the light, portraying the essence of celestial sound, creating an overall harmonious space. The outcome is of a…
Release data: Sanjiva – Initiation CD, NinetySix Sounds, 1997 Sanjiva is a groovy trance-like ambient project by Berliner-based musician Vartan M. Quack, who tries to implement the lessons of the Zen philosophy into his music. “Initiation” contains five tracks, in which not too prominent slower and faster rhythm and sequencer structures are blended with ambient soundscapes. The outcome, occasionally quite…
Release data: Paul Sauvanet – Tristesse CD, Hearts of Space, 1995 “Tristesse”, subtitled five adagios for times of sorrow, is a contemplative, neo-classical oriented work of tenderness and contemplation, composed using a digital chamber orchestra of synthesizers. The five lengthy pieces, which feel like a requiem, carry on in a slow, gently soaring but never changing tempo, in which the…
Release data: Paul Sauvanet – Eleusis CD, Les Editions Rubicon, 1993 “Eleusis”, inspired by the works of Carlos Castaneda, by French synthesist Paul Sauvanet was initially released on the Canadian label Rubicon Records in 1993, and later re-released in 1998 on another label. It’s a beautiful cd which is still one of the many cherished albums in my music collection.…
Release data: Vidna Obmana & Jeff Pearce – True Stories CD, Mirage, 1999 The concept album “True Stories” features a full collaboration between ambient musicians vidna Obmana and Jeff Pearce (who already worked together on Vidna’s 1997 album “Crossing the Trail”), combining their mutual passion for beautiful, sedate and serene sonic environments. Subtitled as “New Stories for Themes” , the…
Release data: Ron Boots – Beyond the Boundaries of Twilight CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Musician Ron Boots did several planetarium concerts in the past seven years or so, but it never came to a cd-release. “Beyond the Boundaries of Twilight”, released at Ron’s Planetarium concert in Bochum, Germany on May 24, fills this “gap”, offering 71 minutes of both atmospheric…
Release data: Frank Van Bogaert – Air Machine CD, ACE Studio Editions, 2009 “Air Machine” by Belgian composer, producer and musician Frank Van Bogaert is a privately released cd, which sees him collaborate with Erik Wøllo on a few tracks, besides exploring quite some new musical territories. The digi-pack cd comes with some stunning, very clean artwork, of which the…
Release data: F.D. Project – Mountainway CD, Private Release, 2005 Since he started out making and releasing music as F.D. Project, Frank Dorittke has gained quite a large amount of fans worldwide, which isn’t that hard to understand when one listens to his work. His music has an open and accessible character, spiced with quite a lot melodic, straightforward and…
Release data: Nautic Depths – North Passage CD-R, Musical Philosophy, 2008 Nautic Depths is a collaboration between Tomas Weiss and Mathias Grassow, whose concept album “North Passage” (their second release if I’m not mistaken) is a tribute to the adventurous life and times of Willem Barentsz and his voyage over the ocean across the Arctic Circle in search of a…
Release data: Free System Projekt – British Aisles CD-R, Private Release, 2008 “British Aisles” is a double cd-r containing the concert the duo Engels & Heij performed at St John’s The Baptist Church in Leicester on May 17th 2008. The recording -remastered straight from the soundboard recording- holds two tracks clocking over one hour, and a final piece of eleven…
Release data: Circulum Musicum – Phases CD-R, Thar Records, 2008 Circulum Musicum is an atmospheric ambient project of which I haven’t been able to track down the composer behind it, although I suspect it’s one Tomas Weiss. The 71-minutes of soundscape music on “Phases” offers a blend of organic textures, drones, and lush meandering plains of sound, occasionally flavoured with…
Release data: Gert Emmens – The Nearest Faraway Place Vol. 2 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 The second chapter of this concept cd, which was released and played live at “E-Day 2009”, continues the musical road with analogue, romantic flavoured electronics, fine Berliner School sequencing patterns, vintage drums and encompassing solos (which are kept to a minimum this time), all spread…
Release data: Kettel – Myam James 2 CD, Sending Orbs, 2009 This is the second and last chapter of the “Myam James” concept by laptop musician Reimer Eising. Presented as a far cry of the first part, the moody cd contains instrumental tracks of which tracks such as “Kingcourt Inn”, “Boekebaas” or “Nicola” continue in the up-beat/breakbeat style featured on…
Release data: Resonant Drift – The Call CD, Private Release, 2009 After meeting each other in 2008, original solo-member Bill Olien has invited multi-instrumentalist Gary Johnson to join him in his project Resonant Drift. Together, they developed a natural synergy and found common interests in the exploration of sound and music. Sophisticatedly combining synthesizers, guitar, ethnic instruments and wildlife recordings,…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Hypersona CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3six Recordings, 2008 “Hypersona”, produced over a span of three years, is an ambient soundscape work by an English independent musician who prefers to stay anonymous, being part one of a trilogy. The sonic content with occasional experimental elements feels like a warm blanket, offering chill-out, uplifting and drifting soundscape tapestries and…
Release data: Lemonchill – Sentant CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009 Lemonchill is an ambient chill-out project hailing from Israel, made by one Idan Or. The eight instrumental pieces on “Sentant” offer a clear sound spectrum, featuring a balance of downbeat rhythms, cool sounding electronics and engaging melodies. Repetition and emotion seem a key element in his music, as beats, textures and…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Booster CD, Eastgate, 2007 The ongoing list of new contemporary electronic music and re-released/reworked cds put out by Edgar Froese under the Tangerine Dream-moniker has increased rapidly over the last five years or so. Sadly enough, they almost all proved to me the quality and soul of the music has deteriorated in the same speed,…
Release data: Christophe Bailleau – Air Resort CD, Soundscaping Records, 2008 “Air Resort” –which comes in beautiful designed, large-size digipack format- is the first album of the Norwegian label Soundscaping Records. The music is composed by the Belgium-based (but from French origin) multimedia artist Christophe Bailleau, who is joined by Mark Templeton (on guitar) and Sebastien Roux (manipulated sounds) on…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Auralspace CD, ad21music, 2009 Presented in a beautifully designed digipack, “Auralspace” marks the 12th album of Bruno Sanfilippo. The cd, which took nine long months of preparation and intense composing, offers a 71-minute spacious ambient tapestry. Its slowly spiralling, hypnotizing beds of continuous drifting synth textures (with no piano this time) are accompanied by occasional…
Release data: ModularWhite – Alpa CD, Private Release, 2009 The four guys of ModularWhite have chosen for a more futuristic and contemporary approach for their album “Alpa”, which already becomes apparent by the science-fiction cover art on the cd booklet. The first few tracks on the 53-minute album are a bit slow to my liking, but as the cd progresses,…
Release data: Ruben Garcia – Through the Looking Glass CD-R, Trance Port Special Editions, 2009 After a wait of nine years, there’s finally a new album by pianist and synthesist Ruben Garcia, known for his minimalist style and sounds, whose music more than once resembles the quality heard on the ambient works of Harold Budd and Brian Eno. As mentioned…
Release data: Robert Rich – Trances / Drones CD, Extreme Special Editions, 1983 At the start of the ‘80’s, while graduating in psychology at Stanford University, Robert Rich had a special interest in microtonality and the effects of music on the brain. It was also the time he organized his rather famous sleep concerts. At times hypnotizing and ethereal, the…
Release data: 33 Tetragammon & Human Metronome – Resonating Earth CD, Private Release, 2009 33 Tetragammon (aka Wasili Papadopoulos) and Human Metronome (aka Eelke van Hoof) are two composers hailing from Eindhoven, The Netherlands, who played several live sets during “E-Day 2009” in Oirschot. At the same occasion, they also presented their ambient release “Resonating Earth”. The first impression I…
Release data: Circular – Substans CD, Ultimae Records, 2009 With “Substans” (which as all Ultimae releases comes with expert photo footage in the cd-booklet), the Norwegian duo Bjarte Andreassen and Jostein Dahl Gjelsvik aka Circular, deliver their long awaited fourth album. The 13 tracks on the cd (which took four years in the making) offer a collection of cinematic and…
Release data: Gandalf – Sanctuary CD, Real Music, 2009 “Sanctuary” is Gandalf’s fifth release on the American Real Music label, the latter being a haven for contemporary relaxation and wellness music for many years. Over one and a half decade ago, Gandalf’s distinct music has undergone a slowly but surely transformation to a more reflective, meditative and new age kind…
Release data: Megatone – Pure Land CD-R, Private Release, 2008 The musician behind Megatone is DJ and classically-trained electronic composer Marcel Gherman, who hails from Moldova Republic. “On Land”, inspired by one of Gherman’s recent fantasy literary projects, contains 18 tracks of highly cinematic and neo-classical music, which at times slightly reminds of the visual music of Vangelis, having the…
Release data: Mark Isham – Film Music CD, Windham Hill, 1985 Composer Mark Isham is regarded as skilled synth programmer, a pioneer in electronic music, as well as an accomplished trumpet player, but most of he has become an important soundtrack composer in the last two decades. His album “Film Music” collects some of Isham’s earliest soundtracks, proving his expert…
Release data: Airwaves – Second Shift CD, Opcion Sonica, 1995 This album is the second and (last?) release by Oscar Menzel, aka Airwaves. Having enjoyed his first one, “Ambient Tracks”, it’s nice to hear Mr Menzel has further explored his own style on this successor, this time blending his atmospheric, slightly minimalist style with a sparse dose of rhythms. This…