2.5

Release data:

Various Artists – Awakenings 2005
CD-R, Private Release, 2005

“Awakenings 2005” is a triple cd-r set put together by John Sherwood, a guy who organized several EM-concerts in the past in the UK. Since last year he plans a series of similar gigs with Jez Creek using the moniker “Awakenings”.

This compilation features unique and existing tracks from appearing artists like Binar, Create, RMI, Omega Syndicate, Awen, Air Sculpture, Ganzfeld, Modular ESP and several others. I can’t say any tracks on the first cd really stand out, except for the already released studio track of Create and the nice, up-tempo track “Ko” by Awen (which unfortunately is cut off abruptly).

On the second cd, The Glimmer Room offers a quiet ambient excursion, Ganzfeld stands out with a vast rhythmic track with Gregorian elements, and Ron Boots treats us with the great eight minute track “Spherics” (which seems to be an excerpt of a forthcoming piece of 30 minutes).

The third disc contains three long tracks and a short one. Create stands out with his Berliner School-like track “Slipstream”, which would benefit from some further production.
To me, the 27-minute track by Modular ESP lacks content to keep my attention. And although lots of retro fans might rave about the music Omega Syndicate, “Rave-olution” sounds mediocre and static to me.

Still, this rather inexpensive set (clocking over four hours of music) is a nice initiative and good way to discover lots of new music and artists. The disc is available at www.ambientlive.com/awakenings

You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Various Artists page