Release data: Redshift – Faultline CD/Digtal Download, Distant Sun, 2004 Mark Shreeve and co established quite a live reputation since they started the project back in 1994. With “Faultline”, Redshift brings its third live recording to the table, this time…
Release data: 猫 シ Corp. – Hiraeth The Ambient Works CD/Lp/Mc/Digital Download, Hiraeth Records, 2025 Until now, every recording I’ve heard so far from music producer Jornt Elzing, aka Cat System Corp., has been an above-interesting sound trip into an…
Release data: Steve Roach – Portals and SpiralsCD/LP/Digital Download, OtherSide, 2025 The vast amount of releases varying in quality Mr Roach put out in the last two decades didn’t make me want to keep up with that. There are…
Release data: Uni Sphere – OpUS Tria CD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2025 René Splinter and Eric van der Heijden are both known as accomplished and successful solo artists, but when they decided to join forces as Uni Sphere in 2015,…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Drift Live 2024Digital Download, Polar Magnet Records, 2025 What I got here is a sudden release by Boreal Taiga on his own private label. Only recently, he received the music from a live recording…
Release data: Beyond Berlin – Meandering TearCD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2025 Too often, I have the feeling I’m rather late in reviewing certain albums that have been sitting on the ever-existing stack of music. With their previous releases, Beyond…
Release data: Zodiac – Forest ImpressionsCD/Digital Download, Private Release, 2024 In the past, the duo Frans Ramakers and Ruud Grothausen released some very nice melodic electronic music, most of which saw the light of day on cassette, aside from…
Release data: Darshan – The End of DaysCD-r/Digital Download, Darshan Music, 1999 I seem to be one of the lucky ones who owns a physical copy of this album by Oakland-based composer Michael Allison, aka Darshan. In 1999, this…
Release data: Martin Stürtzer – Nexus-6Digital Download, Echo Elberfeld, 2025 Over the years, various musicians have taken their own take on Vangelis’ classic Blade Runner score. This also applies to Martin Stürtzer’s “Nexus-6”, a 58-minute travelogue recorded by the…
Release data: ASC & Sam KDC – Decayed SocietyLP/CD-r/Digital Download, Auxiliary, 2012 “Decayed Society” is a work of haunting, elegy-like ambient by Samuel Wood (aka Sam KDC) and James Clements (aka ASC) that’s “loosely based around the events of…
Release data: ASC – Tales of IntrospectionCD/Digital Download, Quiet Details, 2025 What I have here is another work of lush, in-depth ambient music at its finest, featuring a vast, highly emotive sound design that can ease and/or elevate the…
Release data: Xan Alexander – Ouroboros IICD/Digital Download, OtherSide, 2025 British synthesist Xan Alexander may be known to some as a member of The Omega Syndicate. He was also part of Magnetron (next to Stephen Humphries) and The Grey…
Release data: Craig Padilla – The Pulse of LifeCD/Digital Download, OtherSide, 2025 For a while Mr. Padilla had the idea to put out an album to pay tribute to George Mattson and his contributions and inventions to the synthesizer…
Release data: Spyra – TauCD, Private Release, 2024 “Tau”, launched at Spyra’s „Hello 2025“ live event at Planetarium Bochum on 30.12.2024, is the final part of the trilogy “Staub” (2014) and “Dunst” (2018). Its sound is recognizable immediately as…
Release data: 猫 シ Corp – Blueberries on MarsCD/Digital Download, Hiraeth Records, 2024 What I got here is the first space-ambient album by Dutch music producer Jornt Elzing (using the 猫 シ Corp moniker -meaning something like Cat System…
Release data: Perge – Exolon: Live’24CD/Digital Download, Private Release, 2024 I’m glad Matthew Stringer accepted invitations to perform live in The Netherlands at E-Day in April 2024 and at the UK’s “Awakenings” in May 2024. A great selection of…
Release data: Patrick Kosmos – Planetia UtopiaCD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2000/2024 “Planetia Utopia” was first released as the 11th CD of “The Chronicles” box and is the fifth re-issue of cosmic traveler Patrick ‘Wille De Wael’ Kosmos. The…
Release data: Paul Ellis & Per Thomhav – Orpheus CD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2024 I reckon many fans of contemporary Berlin School style will absolutely embrace the sparkling outcome of Ellis & Thomhav’s collaborative “Orpheus”. It’s a concept album painting…
Release data: Skoulaman – Waves of WaterCD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2024 With this atmospheric, almost cinematic album, skilled composer Hans van Kroonenburg has outdone himself another time. “Waves of Water” features some 72 minutes of very well-rendered sequencer-driven Berliner…
Release data: Phelios – Spirits of Rhea CD/Digital Download, Private Release, 2020 Here’s another great exercise into outer space by the accomplished Wuppertal-based composer Martin Stürtzer. The 68-minute deep galactic voyage of lush, smooth spiralling darkening soundscapes found here is…
Release data: Frank Van Boagaert – Sounds from Higher GroundsCD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2024 After two privately released albums, six albums and a CD-single through Groove Unlimited, accomplished composer, producer, and musician Frank Van Bogaert put an end to…
Release data: Frederique Rousseau – Spirit in the WoodsCD, Origins, 1997 French engineer and musician Frederick Rousseau will be know by many due to his work with Vangelis in the ‘80’s and the ‘90’s as well as Jean Michel…
Release data: Owann – State of Mind CD/Digital Download, Wool-E Discs, 2019 Johan De Paepe’s music is sensitive, tender, and emotive throughout, stirring quite some inner emotions, for me anyway. The outcome of his third album “State of Mind” is…
Release data: ASC – Loss CD/Mc/Digital Download, Past Inside the Present, 2024 “Loss” is another moving and haunting ambient release album by ASC, this time coming up in a confronting, most personal manner, though, as it deals with the death…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Different Spaces CD/Digital Download, Projekt Records, 2017 “Different Spaces” (featuring music in memory of the composer’s late sister) is a double album by skilled Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Erik Wøllo that sees him skillfully execute his minimalist-emotive music. Once again,…
Release data: Brainwork – Late in Berlin CD, Cue Records, 2021 Uwe Saher knows how to make attractive and accessible electronic music, doing so for a long time now. He delivers another fine testament with his 22nd album “Late in…
Release data: Chronotope Project – Chronology CD/Digital Download, Spotted Peccary Music, 2023 The presence of a heartwarming, reflective, and dreamlike realm has always been at the core of Jeffrey Ericson Allen’s Chronotope Project. “Chronology”, a 72-minute work of contemporary progressive…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Cinematic CD/Digital Download, Projekt Records, 2017 The reason this album is called like this is due to the fact it comprises music Erik made back in the day (1998-2003) for various audiovisual projects as…
Release data: Johan Tronestam – Somewhere far away CD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2024 All music I know of Johan Tronestam is very warm, atmospheric, and well thought-out, making it appeal to a wide public. The 77 minutes of music -spread…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Full Spectrum Submission Digital Download, Private Release, 2023 Composer Dennis Huddleston made the continuous 36-minute “Full Spectrum Submission” with the goal of creating and sustaining a quiet intensity that grips you gently by the throat…
Release data: Lauge – Echoes Digital Download, Private Release, 2024 Lauge’s Ep “Echoes” is another nature-themed release providing an entrance into a world of serene wonder, one of the most gentle and warm textural ambiences incorporating an assortment of environmental…
Release data: Above & Beyond – Flow State CD/LP/Digital Download, AnjunaBeats, 2019 What I got here is some 49 minutes of overall chilled-out, blissful (and occasionally even meditative) ambient electronics by UK’s trance trio Above & Beyond. “Flow State” though…
Release data: Ascendant – Astral Ascendant Digital Download, Synphaera Records, 2024 All releases on the Synphaera label don’t compromise on audio quality. The latter matched with some great sound design and accessible electronic music can only lead to a great…
Release data: Craig Padilla & Marvin Allen – Weathering the Storm CD/Digital Download, Spotted Peccary Music, 2023 On their third collaborative recording “The Weathering Storm”, accomplished synth-wizard Craig Padilla and guitarist Marvin Allen take us back to the realms of…
Release data: Boris Blank – Resonance CD/Lp, IAN Records, 2024 Fans of the Swiss band Yello already know one half of it, synth-wizard Boris Blank, is a most talented sonic painter of enchanting, often highly cinematic atmospheres. His latest effort…
Release data: Steve Roach & Robert Rich – Waves of Now Digital Download, Soundquest Music, 2024 It’s some 30 years ago since Mr. Roach and Mr. Rich bookmarked their notable collaboration with the ambient-tribal-atmospheric recordings “Strata” and “Soma”. December 5,…
Release data: Danger in Dream – Entrance CD/Digital Download, Virtual Music, 2001 Nearing the end of another year made me reflect on an album that came out over 22 years ago. “Entrance” is the classic debut album from Vienna-based duo…
Release data: Sequentia Legenda – Alcyone CD/Digital Download, Private Release, 2023 Here´s another fine Sequentia Legenda album filled with long-form tracks for every Berlin School/late ’70s Schulze aficionado seeing the French composer express his profound passion and admiration for the…
Release data: Terminus Void – Apeiron CD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2023 “Apeiron” is the first real label release introducing Terminus Void’s full dynamic voice, including ambient, Berlin School, downtempo, and the classic Terminus Void emotional sound world. It contemplates the…
Release data: Thorsten Quaeschning – The Capitol Session CD/Digital Download, Protonopia, 2020 The live music featured on this release was recorded at the E-Wave Festival in November 2019 in Zeil am Main where Mr. Quaeschning played a full 75-minute set…
Release data: Deepspace – The Blue Dunes Digital Download, Projekt Records, 2022 Over the last few years, I repeatedly felt the growing need to escape from nowadays constantly buzzing, chaotic, and demanding world, finding ambient music one of the best…
Release data: [‘ramp] – Arp-en-Ciel CD/Digital Download, Doombient Music, 2023 I can´t deny I´ve developed a kind of soft spot for Mr. Parsick´s sonic creations over time, most notably for his ambient material (released on CD-R in clam shells). His…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Colours in the Dark CD/Digital Download, 3Six Recordings, 2022 36´s “Colours In The Dark” came to life after an extended period of complete musical inactivity as the composer suffered from depression for the first time in…
Release data: State Azure – Cadwell’s Reach Digital Download, Private Release, 2022 State Azure is the nom-de-plume of talented UK synthesist/producer Patrick Unsworth who has built quite an impressive, lengthy discography by now. “Cadwell’s Reach” is a special one in…
Release data: 2814 – Birth of a New Day Lp/Mc/Digital Download, Dream Catalogue, 2015 Various random excursions into music of the vaporwave genre made me discover this (for many) classic ambient release, a sonic journey delving deep in dystopian, futurist…
Release data: Tonal Assembly – Four Pieces for Sonic Solitude Digital Download, Private Release, 2021 I don´t fight in any sense against the overwhelming amount of electronic music around, but it’s a pity if you miss out on a quality…
Release data: Eternell – Imagined Distances CD-r/Digital Download, Sound in Silence Records, 2020 It’s good to know there’s music (like this) around to escape to, a place of repose far away from the complex, fast-forward racing, and demanding world around…
Release data: ASC & Inhmost – Dimensional Shift CD-r/Digital Download, Auxiliary, 2021 The discovery of their very nice second collaborative album “The Moons of Saturn” prompted me to track down their debut “Dimensional Space”. The latter proves a calm, serene,…
Release data: Beyond Berlin – Live at Awakenings CD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2022 In hindsight, I feel there may have been moments during the last 1,5 years I have pushed Martin and Peter a bit too hard on getting the…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Higher Ground CD/Digital Download, Private Release, 2022 Following in the footsteps of the critically acclaimed and very well-received triple cd releases “Galaxis” and “Lost Tracks” it still must have been a huge…
Ian Boddy – Axiom CD/Lp/Digital Download, DiN, 2020 When darker, colder days are upon us, I always sense a great need to listen and immerse in melancholic, more profound electronic music. Mr. Boddy’s 2020 release “Axiom”, which I listened to…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Redes CD/Digital Download, AD21 Music, 2022 When it comes to emotive music, the works of Bruno Sanfilippo always had a special charm for me. Instead of previous piano-led compositions, things now settle around sophisticated synth…
Release data: Brendan Pollard – Phrases and Protocols CD/Digital Download, Acoustic Wave Records, 2021 The 63-minute “Phrases and Protocols” –still recorded through a primordial recording process- is (another) celebration of old-school electronics hailing back to Tangerine Dream’s music in the…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Equinox CD/Digital Download, Silentsun, 2022 A most gracious, gentle evolving sound world of repose and contemplation lies at the core of “Equinox”, a 74-minute textural extravaganza by Spanish ambient master Max Corbacho. Max already announced…
Release data: Terminus Void – Origins Unknown CD-r/Digital Download, Private Release, 2022 Although I’ve been writing and reviewing music for an extended period I still experience a thrill when discovering great new talent in the space music domain. Terminus Void…
Release data: Brendan Pollard – Cycles and Pulses CD/Digital Download, Acoustic Wave Records, 2022 Since the Covid lockdown kicked in in Spring 2020, UK synthesist Brendan Pollard intensified his musical activities in his home garage, changing and re-arranging his set-up…
Release data: Skoulaman – Mundus in Motu CD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2022 Dutch synthesist Hans van Kroonenburg keeps surprising me with how thoughtfully made his Berlin School-infused music is and the 74-minute “Mundus in Moto” is no exception. The highly…
Release data: Daniel & Booth – Inverse CD/Digital Download, Electronic Composers Outlet, 2020 When it comes to a reinterpretation and keen reshuffle of the Berlin School style, English musicians Michael Daniel and Phil Booth have done a fine job so…
Release data: Harvey Summers – Moon CD/Digital Download, MIG, 2022 Here’s a captivating release by an artist who used the lengthy Covid lockdown period to set up another studio in his home. It would become the birthplace for a cinematic,…
Release data: David Helpling – IN CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2022 “IN” is an epic release by David Helpling composed over a ten-year period. Its music is celebrating (and is inspired by) the vastness of and the wonder found…
Release data: Beyond Berlin – Epiphany CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2021 For this recording, their third album Groove Unlimited, Beyond Berlin is again the duo Martin Peters and Rene de Bakker. The 67-minute “Epiphany” follows up nicely in the footsteps…
Release data: Chuck van Zyl – The Relic CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Centaur Discs/Industry8, 1995/2018 Despite not being a collector, while owning the original “Celestial Mechanics”, I’ve always regretted not having a hardcopy of Chuck van Zyl’s “The Relic”. Fortunately, Industry8 did…
Release data: Hollan Holmes – Emerald Waters CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2022 With his second album on the Spotted Peccary label, accomplished composer Hollan Holmes takes his listeners into the magical world of the aquatic element. Inspiration came by…
Release data: Orbifold C – Apeiron CD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2020 If I’m not mistaken, it was longtime Russian Em-aficionado Anton Uraletz who paved the way for this music to be released through Groove Unlimited. I’m glad Anton persisted in…
Release data: Awenson – Floating CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2021 With “Floating”, French multi-instrumentalist Joël Bernard brings his audience a work of non-Berlin School art that isn’t like any of his previous releases. This time around he’s come up with…
Release data: Tonal Assembly – No Solid Ground CD/Digital Download, Private Release, 2021 The contemporary electronics Taede A. Smedes brought his audience with “Lost and Found in Imaginary Landscapes” is now extended with the richly coloured sonic universe with some…
Release data: vidnaObmana – The River of Appearance CD/Digital Download, Projekt Records, 1996 When we talk about elegant and graceful ambient milestones, Dirk Serries’ “The River of Appearance” fits the bill perfectly. Until this very day, the 59-minute release filled…
Release data: Steve Roach & Michael Stearns – Beyond Earth & Sky CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2021 Soundsculptors Steve Roach and Michael Stearns are both electronic music veterans with an extensive list of solo and collaborative releases under their belt.…
Release data: Ian Boddy – Nevermore CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2021 “Nevermore” -representing the 100th DiN release- features Ian Boddy’s live set created at the DiN studio on March 27th, 2021 as part of Steve Roach’s Soundquest Festival. With the exception…
Release data: Max Corbacho– Lost Links II (The Complete Collection) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SilentSun, 2021 In 2011, Max Corbacho released “Lost Links”, a set of atmospheric and space music tracks that were shelved although they were composed initially to fit on…
Release data: Oar – Adrift CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Gterma, 2021 Oar is a side-project by Norwegian artist Odd Jensen, who was released previously under the Havdis moniker. Havdis’ music was inspired by nature and the sea as well as the sound/silence…
Release data: Rainbow Serpent – Futuregate CD, Ardema Musik, 1995 A great off-shoot of cosmic Berlin School-spiced electronics was founded in 1994 by German synthesists Gerd Wienekamp and Frank Specht as Rainbow Serpent on the occasion of their concert at…
Release data: Create – Reflections from the inner light CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2004 Ok, let’s have some further nostalgia. In 2004, Groove added a new artist to their roster who composed well-crafted Berlin School music: Create (a.k.a. UK-synthesist Stephen…
Release data: Ruben Garcia – Room full of Easels CD, Close Tolerance Music, 1996 In the mid-’90s I was fortunate to be introduced to New Mexican artist, sound engineer, producer & self-taught pianist Ruben Garcia by Barry Craig (aka A…
Release data: Aes Dana – (a)period CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2021 Vincent Villuis, operating under the Aes Dana guise for many years by now, is composer, sound designer, Dj & co-owner of the French Ultimae-label. “(a)period” is a 72-minute cinematic…
Release data: Michael Brook – Hybrid LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, EG Records, 1985 “Hybrid” is the solo debut by Canadian Michael Brook –featuring Eno and Lanois as backing musicians-, a 42-minute album full of organic, none-dynamic, trance-inducing yet thoughtful ambient music. Mood…
Release data: Loneward – Pure CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 Emotive, elegant, absorbing, and intrinsic are keywords applying to the music of Loneward’s fourth album “Pure”. The 6-track/58-minute outcome of clouds of sound –with the aim to hold the listener…
Release data: Cell – Live in Corfu DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2020 This fine recording reminded me how much I miss the quality and lush down-tempo music that once came out for many years on the French Ultimae label (that…
Release data: Ghosts in Mirrors – Cold Dust CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Littl’ Antenna Records, 2020 The Belgium electronic music scene is expanding for years with own festivals (Cosmic Nights, B-Wave, AntennA/ Littl’ Antenna festival, Sonic Emissions), Belgian Neumusik, two labels promoting…
Release data: Crown Invisible – CI4: Cinema CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cursor Club, 2001 This release was actually scheduled for the end of 2000, but due to the on and off rush of the holidays and the demanding production process at Cursor…
Release data: Siddhartha Barnhoorn – Celestial Spaces Spacetones DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 “Celestial Spaces”, offering one continuous 59-minute track, is an immersive and enchanting journey into the deep end of the galactic expanse that I strongly recommend to experience…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Nocturnes III CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SilentSun, 2021 With “Nocturnes III”, Max Corbacho brings his audience the last chapter of the trilogy started in 2017 featuring music inspired by the vast and desolate night landscapes of Spain’s…
Release data: Robert Rich – Offering to the Morning Fog CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2020 The music of “Offering to the Morning Fog” was created on-demand as it was made in response to various requests from listeners who had asked…
Release data: Wave Walkers – Kronos21 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 Wave Walkers is a newcomer from Belgium. It’s a collaborative effort of Jurgen Vitrier and Germain Ghys who express their love and enthusiasm for the sound of classic ‘80s…
Release data: Skyscaper – Atmospheric Stratification [Reshape] CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Gterma, 2020 This release was put out simultaneously with Mathias Grassow’s “The Dreamquest Sessions”. It’s made by label-owner, sound designer, composer and audio postproduction engineer Anders Peterson, also known for his…
Release data: Ron Boots & Synth.nl – BorkHavn CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2020 Many will recall Ron & Michel’s fine debut album “Refuge en Verre” based on music drafts made during a vacation of both families in Belgium. A decade…
Release data: Brain Ballet – Aquarium of the Deep Sea CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Magnanimous Records, 2004 I feel ambient music celebrating the magic and beauty of the water element is something special. In this respect chasing “Aquarium of the Deep Sea”,…
Release data: Forrest Fang – The Book of Wanderers CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2020 On all previous albums of Forrest Fang I’ve encountered so far I’ve much enjoyed a rather complex style of music merging elements from Non-Western and Western…
Release data: 猫 シ Corp & telepath – Building a Better World CD/LP/MC, Hiraeth Records, 2019/2020 Jornt Elzinga is a Dutch music producer and owner of Hiraeth Records who’s been making music using the 猫 シ Corp pseudonym (that means something…
Release data: Daniel & Booth – Circle of Phenomenon DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Electronic Composers Outlet, 2020 This is Michael Daniel & Phil Boots’ second album made available on Mai 1st 2020 as a special ECO lockdown/one day only digital preview. “Circle…
Release data: Under the Dome – Almagest DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cochlear Vision, 2020 What a surprise to the this recording pop up out of the blue after so many years, as UTD’s last release (“Over the Pond”) came out in 2003.…
Release data: Ran Kirlian – Sidereus Nuncius DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2020 The largest part of “Sidereus Nuncius” (Sidereal Messenger) -named after Galileo Galilei’s famous 1610 astronomical treatise- was created mostly during the Covid19 confinement in spring 2020. It served…
Release data: Havdis – Fugløya CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Gterma, 2020 “Fugløya”, Havdis’4th album on Gterma, was actually ready to go to print in early March but due to Covid19 had to sit back and wait a bit just like everyone else.…
Release data: Brian Eno – Ambient #1: Music for Airports CD, Editions EG, 1978 “Ambient 1: Music For Airports” (conceived by Eno as an atmosphere, or a surrounding influence: a tint) broke new ground when it came out as it…
Release data: Brian Eno – Ambient #4: On Land CD, EG Records, 1982 As a big fan of ambient music for many years, I wondered how I could forget giving some attention to Brian Eno, one of the godfathers of…
Release data: Merrin Karras – Northwest Passage LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2020 What I got here is the second album of Irish electronic music producer Brendan Gregoriy, also known under the moniker Chymera. As the latter Brendan produced…
Release data: Nevel – The Hageland CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wool-E Discs, 2019 I ran into this remarkable release on the Belgium Db2Fluctuation EM-event in February 2020. The concept-album The Hageland, a double cd limited to 300 physical copies, is the debut…
Release data: David Helpling – Rune CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2019 I’ve been following the musical endeavours of US-composer David Helping for many years, the last few focussing on sophisticatedly treated, pure ambient guitar and electronics. “Rune’s” cinematic outcome is…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – Skies and Stars CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 Well, ambient textural guitarist Jeff Pearce has outdone himself on “Skies and Stars”, a 56-minute epic of blissful space music meant for gazing at a clear night sky…
Release data: Awenson – Within CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2019 On the previous album “Hope”, Joël Bernard already showed his style is unusual and sometimes a bit peculiar. At first glance, “Within” features some progressive elements along the introduction of distorted…
Release data: The Roswell Incident – Trapped Part One CD, Wool-E Discs, 2019 Same as on their previous albums Koen and Jan Buytaert chose to compose lengthy electronic pieces for their new project “Trapped”. This time around, the release is…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Sources (Early Works 1986-1992) Lp/CD, Smalltown Supersound, 2019 On this recording we travel back in time to early Norwegian ambient music when composer Erik Wøllo did various sessons and formative pieces between his albums “Dreams Pyramid”,…
Release data: Cosmic Ground – Cosmic Ground 5 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 Here’s a fine 75-minute dish of darker flavoured vintage electronics staying close to the realm of TD’s “Phaedra” and “Rubycon”. Synthesist Dirk Jan Müller once again applied his…
Release data: David Parsons – Chakra CD/Digital Download, Gterma, 2019 After “Puja” and “Stupa”, “Chakra” is the third album by New Zealand-based composer David Parsons on the Swedish G-terma label. This time around, the tracks on “Chakra” were very much gear-inspired.…
Release data: Nik Owen-Jones – I/O CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultrakeys Music, 2019 Here’s another example of an artist releasing his music in the end through perseverance, something he wished to do for a very long time. UK-synthesist Nik Owen Jones has had…
Release data: C-Jay – ADEM CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2019 What I got here is the debut album on Groove Unlimited of Dutchman Christian Jansen who works as an experienced producer, composer and dj under his C-Jay moniker. As such he has…
Release data: Max Corbcho – Echo of Longing CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silentsun, 2019 Majestic, in-depth and beckoning soundworlds keep coming from Barcelona-based ambient-master Max Corbacho. The 73-minute “Echo of Longing” is another example of his great talent featuring three long tracks…
Release data: Planet of the Arps CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Deserted Island Music, 2019 “Planet of the Arps”, the seventh release on Deserted Island Music, is the first ambient side-project by Dutch synthesist Remy Stroomer that evolved in various stages since he drew…
Release data: Beyond Berlin – Totem CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2019 From this album on, Dutch EM-band Beyond Berlin has become a trio seeing Oscar van den Wijngaard joining Martin Peters and Rene de Bakker on their fine sonic journeys into…
Release data: Johannes Schmoelling & Robert Waters – Zeit ∞? CD/DVD, Viktoriapark Records, 2019 Here’s a very nice live document I’m sure a whole bunch of EM-fans across the globe have been waiting for: the full concert (and more) Johannes…
Release data: Radiant Mind & Steve Roach – HelioSphere CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SteveRoach.com, 2019 The first intent of Radiant Mind (commited to working in anonymity with Steve Roach as his sole producer and interface to the world) for this music has…
Release data: Metroland – Mind the Gap CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Alfa Matrix, 2012 Now here’s a Belgian duo leading the sound of Kraftwerk into the modern age of electronic music composing a collection of simple sounding tracks with vocoder/robotic vocals, Kraftwerkian rhythms…
Release data: Ulrich Schnauss & Jonas Munk – Passage LP/CD, Azure Vista Records, 2017 If I’m not mistaken “Passage” -which came to fruition out of a variety of musical motives and sketches by Jonas- is the second collaborative album by Ulrich…
Release data: Robert Rich – Tactile Ground CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2019 Especially the previous four albums by Robert Rich have been demanding above average, sonically as well as thematically. Divided in two parts, “Location” and “Dislocation”, the first disc…
Release data: Pillion – Enigmas CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1980/2019 Here’s one of those pinnacle releases of the past that never saw a cd-release after it came out in 1980. On this 54-minute live-recording, Walter Rothe and Guy Drieghe-D give their…
Release data: ASC – Trans-Neptunian Objects 2 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Auxiliary, 2018 I only need a few lines for this recording, the final one in the series, which sees James Clements – aka ASC- pick up the sonic trail where the previous…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Ars Lucis CD, ad21music, 2009 After the gentle ambience of his 2008-release “BreathStream”, Max Corbacho takes us to ambient heaven with his release “Ars Lucis”. Those familiar with his work know what he’s capable of,…
Release data: Patrick Kosmos – Mindscapes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1987/2019 Originally released privately around 1986/1987 on cassette, “Mindscapes” was later also included in “The Chronicles” cd-r box set. “Mindscapes” is Patrick Kosmos’ second album receiving a long-awaited release as factory-pressed cd.…
Release data: Massergy – Fire Opal CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2019 As has been the case for all previous Massergy music, Eric Jensen performed, recorded, and mixed the complete outcome entirely outdoors without the use of any sequencers, loops, software,…
Release data: Ron Boots – Once the Dust Settles CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2018 “Once the Dust Settles”, surfacing over three years after Ron’s last solo album “Standing in the rain”, is a 60-minute release containing the live-set played at Planetarium…
Release data: Forrest Fang – The Fata Morgana Dream CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2019 In my opinion composer Forrest Fang has delivered some very well crafted, evocative ambient art the last five years previous to this one. The high quality…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Pianette CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD21 Music, 2019 Including twelve original contemporary classical solo piano pieces, “Pianette” (housed in a premium anti-static cover digipack) is the musical expression of Bruno Sanfilippo’s childhood memories of mechanical toys, dolls,…
Release data: ASC – The Waves CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silent Season, 2019 I’ve been impressed by various ambient releases by James Clements, aka ASC, so won’t deny I had high expectations for “The Waves”. Well no worries as the 8-track/66-minute recording offers…
Release data: James Bernhard – Atmospherics CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, High Rising Records, 1994 Let’s take a ride with a fine example of old school ambient-trance classic made with classic instruments such as the Roland TB-303 (bass synthesizer), Roland TR-808 (Rhythm Composer)…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Fade to Grey CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2019 A profound sense of isolation and introspection is found in the pastel coloured textures, gentle melodic curves and rich emotive textures making up the 8-track “Fade…
Release data: Massergy – The Vast Colure DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Arecibo Records, 2013 His impressive album “A Novel Sense of Calm” made me look into the back catalogue of US-synthesist Eric Jensen, aka Massergy. Its predecessor “The Vast Colure” -performed, recorded and…
Release data: Serge Devadder – Taxon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2018 As for Serge Devadder’s previous cds, the cover of this release features an abstract texture by abstract art painter Birgit Schweimler that somehow reminded the composer of an amphibian organism,…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Ego Death DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/LP, 3Six Recordings, 2018 November 2018 marked 10 years since Dennis Huddleston’s finished his (still) excellent 36 debut-album “Hypersona”. From there his highly emotive and most captivating ambient music evolved step by step…
Release data: Seifert & Steinbüchel – Abandoned Places CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Pleasure Sound Audio, 2018 After finishing “Reverse Engineering“, Erik Seifert & Josef Steinbüchel decided to compose an ambient album with slow music to relax but demanding attentive listening at the same time.…
Release data: Ascendant – Meridian CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synphaera Records, 2016/2018 Soothing, languid, deep and subdued dynamic are just a few keywords to describe the 86-minute ambient-space journey “Meridian” by Ascendant, aka California-based duo Chris Bryant and mastering engineer Don Tyler.…
Release data: Spyra – Dunst CD/Digital Download, Groove Unlimited, 2018 Referred to as the follow-up album of “Staub” (2014), Wolfram Spyra takes his listeners on a trip of energetic contemporary electronics on “Dunst”, coming up with a fresh approach of the…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Horizon Matrix CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silentsun, 2018 I’ve been following Max Corbacho since discovering his debut “Vestiges” in 1999. It opened a world of passionate ambient sonic splendour unravelling until this very day. A highly atmospheric, enchanting,…
Release data: Klangwelt – The Incident CD/Digital Download, Spheric Music, 2018 “The Incident” sees the return of German audio designer Gerald Arend, aka Klangwelt, to the scene of electronic music after a pause of over a decade. The 79-minute result is…
Release data: Meg Bowles – Evensong – Canticles for the Earth CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Kumatone Records, 2018 Although the word “Evensong” most often refers to the traditional Anglican Church service, various forms of prayer and song at the end of the…
Release data: Altus – Pioneer DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2018 A lot of the music released by Canadian composer Mike Carss (aka Altus) has been the sonic companion for travelling inward or into the grand outward expanse. The latter category…
Release data: AirSculpture – Travelling Light CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2018 The AirSculpture guys are still alive and kicking, hereby releasing another most vibrant live document with a 100% improvised outcome as usual. The slightly edited outcome (to bring it…
Release data: Dreamfire – Atlantean Symphony CD, Minotauro Records, 2018 This factory-pressed re-issue is a completely remastered and extended version of the original 12-track seamless musical journey released privately by the composer in 2012. This definitive edition features stunning new…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Galaxis CD, Private Release, 2018 Special recordings come in various form. Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij chose to release this great looking triple cd set on E-Day 2018 to celebrate 15 years…
Release data: Sequentia Legenda – Renaissance CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2018 Laurent Schieber’s fifth album “Renaissance” (working title “Immersion”) is another dedication and a further attempt to come as close as possible to the core sound of the vintage era…
Release data: [‘ramp] No sleep ’til wilmersdorf CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Doombient, 2018 “No sleep ‘til wilmersdorf” (the Berlin years 1978/79) is a 76-minute continuous aural travelogue through space and time seeing the composer remember and reflect upon his childhood spent in…
Release data: Skoulaman – Next Step in Evolution CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2018 The progress I noted on Hans van Kroonenburg’s previous album “Andros Awakenings” has finally led to his first factory-pressed cd on a major Em-label: “Next Step in…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Nocturnes II CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silentsun, 2018 This second instalment of the “Nocturnes” trilogy reconnects seamlessly to the deep, gentle and intimate atmospherics of the first album delivering 70 minutes of mesmerizing night (at times even…
Release data: Wavestar II – Nightwinds CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2018 Wavestar II sees John Dyson accompanied by accomplished composers and studio-technicians Paul Ward and Stephen Whitlan continuing the sonic quest where Wavestar left us many years ago. “Nightwinds” contains…
Release data: Bernd Kistenmacher – Disintegration CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, MIRecords, 2017 The last two decades quite a few EM albums have seen the light of day concerning global environmental problems, the dangers of nuclear power and the ongoing destruction of nature…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Light and Shadows CD, Lunisolar Records, 2017 “Light and Shadows”, released on December 6, 2017, is the first double album by accomplished Japanese synthesist Jutaro Takahashi. Jutaro’s 12th release comprises six extended ambient soundscapes, two…
Release data: Ascendant – Particle Horizon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 “Particle Horizon”, the final chapter of Ascendant’s “Source”-trilogy is of particular interest for aficionadosof for faster-paced ‘80s TD-sequencing paired with a captivating, fresh sound design and cracking engineering. I…
Release data: Simon Lomax – A Strange Light CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Council of Nine, 2017 Simon’s intention for “A Strange Light” was a sonic exploration of the different forms and meanings of light. Well, the album’s eight compositions are vaporous, ethereal…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Black Soma CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3Six Recordings, 2017 A strong sense of the eternal, vast open spaces along a profound emotive current of longing and melancholy are found at the heart of Dennis Huddleston’s velvet ambient…
Release data: Bridge to Imla – The Radiant Sea CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Winter-Light Records, 2017 Bridge to Imla is a project by the German duo Michael Brückner and Hans-Dieter Schmidt who started collaborating occasionally since 2012. At first glance exploration and…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Source of Present CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silentsun, 2017 Being a long time ambient fan myself I’ve reviewed quite a bit of music fitting the bill to slow down the mind and detach from busy modern life,…
Release data: ASC – Trans-Neptunian Objects DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Auxiliary, 2017 “Trans-Neptunian Objects”, refering to dwarf planets and asteroids that lay beyond the planet Neptune, is a 73-minute ambient recording of smooth resonating deep space explorations. Sonically it extends on the…
Release data: Altus – Winter Embrace (15th Anniversary edition) CD, Private Release, 2017 What I got here is the first factory-pressed cd from Canadian sound artist Mike Carss, aka Altus. It’s the definitive 62-minute version of the orchestral-electronic release originally…
Release data: Seetyca – Winterlicht CD, Winter-Light, 2017 Slow morphing, cold and profound ambient is on the menu on Seetyca’s concept album “Winterlicht” (a 79-minute effort conceived, played and recorded over three summers between 2014 – 2016) coming up as…
Release data: [‘ramp] Synchronize or Die CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Doombient, 2017 “Synchronize or Die” (celebrating 20 years of unsolicited noise) is the result of a five year sabbatical after the release of “Astral Disaster”. It reveals a much mellower, less stark…
Release data: RON BOOTS Derby! CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 During his decades-long career Steve Roach has composed lots of longform ambient for looped infinite low volume playback mode to wander off gently and disappear in. The completely freeform environment “Long…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Albion CD, Lunisolar Records, 2017 Jutaro Takahashi’s “Albion”, a 73-minute concept album, sees the light of day after a three year hiatus. Still using analogue synths only, Juta brings us five free form ambient compositions…
Release data: Free System Projekt – Five Suns CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 With the double album “Five Suns” Dutch duo Ruud Heij and Marcel Engels (aka Free System Project) continue their journey through vast Berlin School wastelands. The album…
Release data: Steve Roach – The Passing CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2017 “The Passing” (a surprise birthday present from Steve to all his fans in February 2017) is a 60-minute contemplation on human life of which the first seeds go…
Release data: Constance Demby – Novus Magnificat, 30th anniversary edition CD/DIGIAL DOWNLOAD, Hearts of Space/Valley Entertainment, 1986/2017 For the description and impact of this modern-classic monument, building a bridge between classical and choral music by means of orchestral expressions and…
Release data: James Johnson – The Butterfly Chamber CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2002 The actual release of “The Butterfly Chamber”, James Johnson’s second album for Mike Griffin’s Hypnos label was postponed for one year in favor of Mr. Johnson’s collaborative album…
Release data: Martin Peters – Angels of Nowhere CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited , 2016 With “Angels of Nowhere”, Dutch synthesist Martin Peters (also one half of Beyond Berlin), presents a fine and moody debut album. The nine track outcome, although…
Release data: Gandalf – Visions LP/CD, WEA, 1981 “Visions”, Gandalf’s second album, extends further on the moods of fantasy through sound introduced on his debut album “Journey to an Imaginary Land”, painting another sonic narrative inspired by Tolkien’s writings. The…
Release data: Philippe Emmanuel Gueble – 9 Memories – Tracks DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Besides a continuous search for sonorous beauty and a pursuit for silence in music, the outcome of “9 Memories-Tracks” (which contains two tracks with accomplished…
Release data: Johan Agebjörn & Mikael Ögren – We Never Came To The White Sea CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 “We Never Came to the White Sea” is a soundtrack and (the first) concept album by Johan Agebjörn and…
Release data: Gandalf – Tale From A Long Forgotten Kingdom LP/CD, WEA, 1984 This narrative and emotive album extends on the enchanting, fairytale-like music of its predecessors, especially his debut “Journey to an Imaginary Land” comes to mind on various…
Release data: Owann – Eternal Return CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wool-E Discs, 2016 The 76-minute “Eternal Return”, the second release in Wool-E’s series of Belgian NeuMusik, by Belgium composer Johan De Paepe (aka Owann) is a concept album inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s…
Release data: James Johnson – Entering Twilight CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2000 At the time this album came out, the music of the Mike Griffin’s Hypnos label featured quite a lot of dark, abstract and sometimes even experimental-oriented releases. The sonic…
< Release data: Hollan Holmes – Prayer to the Energy CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 In regard to the quality of his previous releases I think it most exciting when a new release from the very talented Texas-based composer Hollan…
Release data: Synestem – From Spaceports 3 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Through the years there have been several musicians, who’ve expressed their inspiration for or tried to mimic the sound, mood and feel of Jarre’s “Oxygene” and “Equinoxe”. The…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – The Sentinel CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, New World Music, 2017 The six deep space “paintings” making up “The Sentinel” are based on and inspired by Steven Caldwell’s (aka Stewart Cowley) Terran Trade Authority book series published between…
Release data: Lav & Purl – A State of Becoming LP/CD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2017 Aficionados of tranquil, spacious and smooth glistening ambiences dressed with environmental/nature recordings, piano and carefully measured beats will be fond of “A State of…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – The Following Rain DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 Javi’s personal emotions and memories of the first rain in autumn formed the inspiration for the music of “The Following Rain”. The 70-minute outcome delivers a driving…
Release data: Atmosphere Factory – Atmosphere Factory CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Dakini Records, 2016 Here’s another nice find I was pointed at by a good friend from Down Under. The contemporary electronic “Atmosphere Factory” proves another addition of sophisticated, flowing, tranquil but…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Stillness Moving ~ Source Quartet Volume 2 CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 Andrew Forrest’s “Still Moving”, a title pointing to how everything we humans experience through our senses arises out of stillness or ‘no-thing’ or…
Release data: Silentwave – Daiyuzan CD, Gterma, 2016 Welcome in the immersive world of Yoshinori Noguchi, aka Silentwave, a Japanese composer from Yokohama working most exclusively in the ambient field or drones music while addressing themes of nature, consciousness and…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Seconds & Forever LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3Six Recordings/Mystic & Quantum Records, 2016 “Seconds & Forever”, part-influenced by the late 70’s Tangerine Dream style lp’s, features two 18-minute pieces. Sonically a cross between the 36-releases “Sine Dust”…
Release data: Robert Rich – Vestiges CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2016 “Vestiges” began as the unspoken corollary to the strong concept album “What We Left Behind” and proves even more up close and personal. While traveling forward in his own…
Release data: Perge – Pleonasms (The Secret Tapes Vol. 2) CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 Despite taking off in a psychedelic fashion, Perge has been able raise the bar even higher in this next, fully succeeded attempt to celebrate the…
Release data: Walter Christian Rothe – Let the night last forever LP/CD, Groove Unlimited, 1985/2016 Belgian composer Walter Christian Rothe lived in the heart of the city of Brussels when he composed his classic album ‘Let the night last forever”.…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – The Infinity Room LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2016 This time around, UK sound sculptor and ambient artist Dennis Huddleston, aka 36, presents us another lovely mellow project to please the ears. Sonically, “The…
Release data: Hoshin – Path of Dissolutions CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, CryoChamber , 2016 Hoshin is an ambient composer hailing from Belgium who connects opposites in his deep aural creations using an analog modular synthesizer, sound effects and many field recordings of…
Release data: Cosmic Ground – Cosmic Ground III CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 A thorough journey into analogue heartland would be a perfect subtitle for Cosmic Ground’s third album, offering a 71-minute outcome once more loaded with a wealth of…
Release data: Tetsu Inoue & Carlos Vivanco – Zenith CD, Fax , 1994 The four subtle, minimalist, overtly mellow electro tracks (ranging between 11 and 19 minutes) making up Inoue’s and Vivanco’s “Zenith” evokes a kind of time machine-like feel.…
Release data: John Vorus – Transmuting Currents CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ambient Distillery, 2006 The primary influence on Jon Vorus’ “Transmuting Currents” was the element of water, and how existing in environments in and around water has a subtle but powerful effect…
Release data: Vidna Obmana & Alio Die – Echo Passage CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Musica Maxima Magnetica, 1999 Three continuous movements (“Echoes of Light – A slip of darkness – The Passage”), are featured on “Echo Passage”, leading its listeners into minimal,…
Release data: Chronos – Helios CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altar Records, 2013 With “Helios”, Russian composer, DJ and producer Nikita Klimenko (aka Chronos) invites his listeners into the great cosmic expanse out there, implementing some nice Eastern sound samples along the way…
Release data: Jos D´Almeida – Aether CD, caPe Recordings, 2016 Jos d’Almeida composed the music of “Aether” with the purpose to create some meditative songs that would be able to transmit relaxation. For the album’s music, Jos envisioned and realized…
Release data: Scann-Tec – Unyt CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2016 Scann-Tec, aka Russian music composer and sound sculptor Vladislav Isaev, is one of the artists who found a spot on various Ultimae compilations through the years. This time around he…
Release data: Andre Alvarez – Picture Music CD, Private Release, 1996 What I got here is another very nice recording full of classic ’70’s cosmic music that synthesist Andre Alvarez created as follow-up to his cassette “Luna”. In eight “Pictures”,…
Release data: Purl & Sinius – Oceans of Sound LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AM4 Productions/Eternell, 2016 The cinematic aural world with deep attention to detail investigated on “Oceans of Sound” (conceived in 2012, completed in 2013 and released in 2016) is one…
Release data: Lee Anthony Norris & Porya Hatami – The Longing Daylight CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Carpe Sonum Records, 2014 If you (like myself) love expansive and deep ambient plus have a preference to immerse into the very heart of soundworlds using…
Release data: ASC – Time Heals All CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silent Season , 2013 What I got here is a double album by San Diego-based composer James Clements, aka ASC, with absorbing ambient soundscapes where time seems to dissolve. I’m confident…
Release data: Robert Rich – What we left behind CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2016 “What We Left Behind” is concept album labeled as a dreamy travelogue across the Earth long after we humans are extinct. At he same time, the…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper – Terrelektra CD, Air Space Records, 2016 Accomplished US-synthesist Jeffrey Koepper, also known as Analogue Jeff, recalls “Terrelektra” was conceived as a far away planet of sound where the tracks all merge together like an electronic…
Release data: MoonSatellite – Whispers of the Moon CD-R, PWM Distribution, 2015 The reinterpretation and spirit of classic electronic music, especially those with a vintage Jarre-angle, is in good hands at French composer Marc Perbal, aka MoonSatellite. Although I thought…
Release data: Global Communication – Pentamerous Metamorphosis LP/CD, Dedicated, 1994 At the start of the ’90’s, UK creative minds and producers Tom Middelton en Mark Pritchard was offered the opportunity to remix Chapterhouse’s shoegazer album “Blood Music”. The chill-out result…
Release data: Laudanum – Laudanum (full album) CD, DataBloem, 2016 My wish for an extended version of Amir Baghiri’s & Rüdiger Gleisberg’s EP that saw the light of day in 2001 has finally come true. The original, quiet-atmospheric 21-minute recording…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Wasteland Signals DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 “Wasteland Signals” is a nine-track/low-volume ambient environment soundscape that addresses introspective spaces and is a perfect for headphone listening. The overall lush and gliding outcome, in development since…
Release data: David Parsons – Puja CD, Gterma, 2016 “Puja” (started by the composer with nothing particular in mind) is David Parsons’ first album using software synths only, as he decided purchasing a fine collection of soft-synths in years previously…
Release data: Common Ground – Common Ground CD, FlowSpace Music, 2015 Common Ground is a new project founded in spring 2013 after Gary Johnson and Bill Olien (aka Resonant Drift) approached electronic space music synthesist Hollan Holmes to collaborate. From…
Release data: Syn – Remnants CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 The music on “Remnants”, a compilation of session recordings David T. Dewdney made between the albums “Aqueous” and “Valles Marineris”, is a pleasant trip down memory lane and a worthy…
Release data: Forrest Fang – The Sleepwalker´s Ocean CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt, 2016 With his double album “The Sleepwalker’s Ocean”, that received some beautiful cover art, US-musician Forrest Fang has delivered a most mesmerizing and emotive ambient recording with hypnotizing minimalist…
Release data: Matthew Stringer – The Second Sun CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 “The Second Sun” is the second album by UK-synthesist Matthew Stringer, who some might know from his well-rendered collaborations and albums as Perge with countryman Graham Getty.…
Release data: Havdis – Novemberlys CD, Gterma, 2016 Released during the winter of 2015/2016, “Novemberlys” contains seven calming ambient pieces compiled and mixed by label-owner Johan Rehn from the Havdis-catalogue. The first two (“Waterhorse” and “Dressed in Dark Water”) were…
Release data: Vlad Nedelin – Postante CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 “Postante” is the debut-release of Stockholm-based composer Vlad Nedelin is a contemporary electronic music album offering nine abstract ambient compositions with slight experimental and down-tempo edges along bits of…
Release data: Mick Chillage – Infinite Perspectives CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, …txt, 2015 Dublin-based composer Mick Chillage (aka Michael Gainford) has produced a lengthy list of albums since 1996. “Infinite Perspectives” contains a selection of seven minimalist-flavored and fulfilling ambient music tracks…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Quantum Key CD-EP, Eastgate, 2015 One of the first thoughts that flashed through my mind while listening to “Quantum Key” was: this is pure electricity. The 4-track/32-minute cupdisc (referred to as the vanguard of the…
Release data: Vir Unis – Primary Space (Early Works Vol. 2) CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AtmoWorks, 2004 Following-up on “Dreamers at the Edge of Decaying Light”, this release offers a second batch of early soundscape music by John Strate-Hootman (aka Vir Unis),…
Release data: Arcane – Black Knight DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Composed almost entirely with analogue and modular synthesizers, composer Paul Lawler hereby continues his journey through space environs. This time though, he has given the free form outcome a…
Release data: Stefan Erbe – 2Club Genetica CD, Erbe Music, 2015 This is an album for all who love contemporary electronic music incorporating slight influences of dance, chill-out and techno. Wandering through the vibrant and fresh 71-minute “2Club Genetica” (a…
Release data: Harold Budd – Lovely Thunder LP/CD, Editions Eg Records, 1986 Mr Budd’s aim to make his music as beautiful as possible at every moment is a firm understatement when it comes to the music found on this amazing…
Release data: Gert Emmens – Triza CD, Groove Unlimited, 2015 Telling sonic narratives is something Gert Emmens is getting very good at when you look back on his output in recent years. The 73-minute “Triza” travels through a dark, mysterious…
Release data: Erik Seifert & Josef Steinbüchel – Softlock USB-STICK, Pleasure Sound Music, 2014 “Softlock” a limited edition USB-stick (embedded in a card in the size of a credit card) which premiered at the Schallwelle Award on March 29th 2014…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – The Stargazer’s Journey CD, New World Music, 2003 After too many cheesy, chill-out, feel-good and profound romantic albums I gave up hope Jonn Serrie would ever be able to release any new mature space music.…
Release data: Uni Sphere – EndLess EndeavoR CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2015 What to expect from two accomplished musicians in their own right who decide to collaborate in a new project? Well, combining the sonic pathways of Eric van der…
Release data: Netherworld – Alchemy of Ice CD, Glacial Movements, 2013 Here’s another piece of well-rendered arctic ambient, a 43-minute sonic endeavour created by Alessandro Tedeschi (also founder of the Italian label Glacial Movements). According the composer, the conceptual elements…
Release data: Redshift – Life to come CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Distant Sun Production, 2015 It’s been a while since the previous release, but this new chapter of the Redshift discography has been worth the wait. Fans still don’t need to worry…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Planetary Chronicles, Volume 1 CD, Miramar, 1992 This album is the first of two releases filled with a selection of Jonn’s earlier (commissioned) planetarium works along library music, all accomplished using analogue gear only. Such…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Planetary Chronicles, Volume 2 CD, Miramar, 1994 As Jonn had more earlier planetarium work and library music shelved, I’m glad he has been given the free hand to collect and release a second batch focusing…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – And the Stars go with you CD, Miramar , 1988 I remember “And the Stars go with you” marked my introduction into the mesmerizing world of classic space music that started to spread slowly over…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper – Konnektions CD, Air Space Records, 2015 After a hiatus of a couple of years, accomplished synthesist Jeffery Koepper returns with “Konnektions”. It’s an inspired release maintaining his connection to the pure emotional impact of pure…
Release data: Massergy – A Novel Sense of Calm DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2015 Massergy is an ambient project of Texas-based self-taught musician Eric Jensen who made his live debut at Finland’s Ambient Music Conference in June 2014, where he…
Release data: Paul Ellis – Moth in Flames CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 Upon request, Mr Ellis let me know the title of this release could mean several different things, from unrequited love to environmental problems. But the main…
Release data: Chronotope Project – Dawn Treader CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 Judging the high quality of his previous releases it was just a matter of time before Jeffery Ericson Allen, aka Chronotope project, would be signed to a…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – One ~ Source Quartet Volume 1 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/CD-R, Private Release, 2015 With his tenth album “One” (the first chapter in the Source Quartet-series), New Zealand-based composer and visual artist Andrew Forrest returns with a new…
Release data: Distant System – Spiral Empire CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Celestial Dragon Records, 2008 Sonically, this actually could have been a release on the fine Ultimae label, lining up nicely next to some Aes Dana and Asura recordings over there. But…
Release data: AirSculpture – Vanishing Point Volume One CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 The UK-trio AirSculpture is at their element when they perform live, improvised and in the moment, which has been documented by several releases by now. “Vanishing Point…
Release data: Chad Kettering – Pathways CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soniclayers Music, 2015 The third album by Chad Kettering, which took three years in the making, takes on a new sonic approach. It fuses the world of orchestral instrumentation with the world…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Earthen CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Anodize, 2015 On “Earthen”, Gregory Kyryluk has somehow been able to collect the best ingredients from his output as Alpha Wave Movement, blending his trademark of evocative ambient atmospherics and contemporary…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Return to the North DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wayfarer Records, 2015 Composing cinematic music giving a voice to and feel of cold, hostile but beautiful places is something Boreal Taiga has become very good at. On “Return…
Release data: Steve Roach – The Desert Collection Volume 1 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2014 In a way, this 74-minute album (that started as a collection of desert-themed tracks sequenced for summer road trips between Arizona and California) is a…
Release data: Sean Washburn – Wave Mantra CD, Gterma, 2000/2015 “Wave Mantra” was originally released privately by the composer in 2000, but has been out-of-print for a long time and been sought after by many. This reissue (with new art…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Mala Kunia CD-EP, Eastgate, 2014 This long-run cupdisc, the first (and also last release I reckon) in “The Quantum Years” was made available on the occasion of TD’s live performances in Australia in the last…
Release data: Zanov – In Course of Time LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1983/2015 Enigmatic, surreal, futuristic and deep mysterious are the keywords to best describe Zanov’s third album “In Course Of Time”. Legendary French synthesist Zanov, aka Pierre Salkazanov, already…
Release data: Hollan Holmes – Incandescent CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 With “Incandescent”, composer Hollan Holmes has delivered an excellent album that even beats his previous gem “The Spirits of Starlight”. Mr. Holmes dedicated the album to the late Richard…
Release data: Steve Roach – Kevin Braheny – Western Spaces CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fortuna Records/IC, 1987 A special article on this album can be found in Ultimate Desert Soundtracks: Western Spaces & Desert Solitaire Website: www.steveroach.com You can see what reviews…
Release data: Steve Roach – Kevin Braheny – Michael Stearns – Desert Solitaire CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fortuna Records, 1989 A special article on this album can be found in Ultimate Desert Soundtracks: Western Spaces & Desert Solitaire Website: www.steveroach.com You can…
Release data: Steve Roach – Dreamtime Return CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fortuna Records, 1988 A special article on this album can be found at “Steve Roach: Dreamtime “Revisited” Website: www.steveroach.com You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on…
Release data: Steve Roach – World’s Edge CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Fortuna Records/Timeroom Editions, 1992 The double album “World’s Edge” is a transitional work of inspired ambient music, also Steve’s first solo project created after his move to Tucson, Arizona in 1990.…
Release data: Sequentia Legenda – Blue Dream DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The inspiration and sound of the classic ’70’s, more specific those of Klaus Schulze and the Berlin School, has found another fine outlet by the means of Sequentia…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Letters to the Farthest Star CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2015 One of the great things about the music of the skilled composer Forrest Fang is his ability to incorporate world music influences from Asia (focusing…
Release data: Soundician – Wise Trees DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Private Release, 2015 Since the beginning of 2000, the UK-duo Soundician writes and produces their own style of electronic music, a perculiar as eclectic mix of electronic minimalism and experimental/classical alongside…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Inside Life CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ad21 Music, 2015 “Inside Life” is a contemporary classical work of art built upon piano and strings, which see Bruno Sanfilippo continue his quest through the quiet sonic landscape of minimalist…
Release data: Robert Rich – Filaments CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2015 “Filaments” is an album roaming in the same league as Robert’s sonic endeavors “Electric Ladder” or “Geometry”, where he explores some of the cyclic interlocking patterns he always has…
Release data: Node – Node 2 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2014 It’s been a very long wait, but what a joy it is to finally see a new release by the legendary vintage collective Node since its debut in 1995. “Node…
Release data: Spyra – Staub CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Butterfly Collectors, 2014 With his 16th album “Staub”, Wolfram Spyra presents the electronic community a different yet daring sonic experiment. What initially started out as something organized, logical and back-to-basics ended up more…
Release data: Llyn Y Cwn – III: Ka DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Manky Music, 2015 Since I ran into the environmental ambient by Welsh composer Ben Powell (aka Llyn Y Cwn), I’ve become quite fascinated by the in-depth outcome he delivers…
Release data: Radio Massacre International – Frozen North CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Centaur Records, 1995 “Frozen North” is the (still) amazing debut official album by synthesists Duncan Goddard, Steve Dinsdale and guitarist Gary Houghton aka Radio Massacre International (RMI), who were at…
Release data: Altus – The Time Collection CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 With “The Time Collection”, Mike Carss (aka Canadian composer Altus) has delivered another monumental ambient work with narrative soundscape music travelling far into distant lands, the heavens and…
Release data: Gert Emmens – Outland CD, Groove Unlimited, 2014 An assortment of typical Emmens-sounds makes up the sound pallet of “Outland”, an album which excels especially when it comes to sequencing. Although there are some melodic passages present on…
Release data: Radiant Mind – Strands CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Steve Roach.com, 2014 Radiant Mind is an American synthesist who chooses to work in anonymity with Steve Roach as his sole producer and interface to the world. Over time, Steve encourages him…
Release data: BySenses – Frigments-Fragments CD, Private Release, 2014 “Frigments-Fragments” is the full-length debut by Belgium synthesist Didier DeWachtere, aka BySenses, whom I also know due to his longtime passion for EM. The 77-minute recording is a solid effort, showing…
Release data: Jason Sloan – Deluge CD, Gterma, 2011/2014 Jason Sloan is a US-based new media & sound artist, electronic musician, composer whose sonic creations explores immateriality and its connection in memory, systems and the virtual world. “Deluge” contains his…
Release data: Unique – Boat People CD, Nocturne Records, 1994 Here’s another trip down memory lane. This release is a “forgotten” recording, being part of large distribution catalogue of Cue Records NL in the EM heydays of the ’90’s, I…
Release data: Anomalous Disturbances – Archive Three CD-R, Private Release, 2014 “Archive Three” is a 60-minute collection of previously unreleased ambient-drone soundscapes realized during a series of recording sessions throughout 2007 and 2008. Canadian sound artist Terry O’Brien (aka Anomalous…
Release data: Nemesis – Xenopus CD, Retroduction, 2014 “Xenopus”, released at the end June at the Scandinavian ambient music conference Ambicon 2014, features shorter compositions compared to the previous album “Living Statues”. Fans of the band need not to worry…
Release data: Erren – Fleissig – Schöttler – Steffen – Night on Ouddorp CD, Private Release , 2014 Back in November 2010, German musicians Jörg Erren, Bert Fleißig, Jochen Schöttler and Christian Steffen recorded their first set of improvised recordings…
Release data: Analog Sweden – Moments Lost (music and art inspired by the movie Blade Runner) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/LP, Private Release, 2014 Analog Sweden is a Swedish duo with Fredrik Segerfalk and Per Ronge at the helm. Through crowd funding they…
Release data: Ishq – Blue Infinity CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Virtual, 2014 Matt Hillier’s “Blue Infinity” is an ambient concept album inspired by the story of Peter Lanyon, the painter and glider pilot based in Cornwall, who painted landscapes of the West…
Release data: Hollan Holmes – The Spirits of Starlight CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 Like many musicians, US-composer Hollan Holmes also experienced a growing challenge when starting work on a new album, with the goal to make the outcome different…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Day Star CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, New World Music, 2014 “Day Star” is the follow-up to the 2009 space music poem “Thousand Star”, on which Jon Serrie continues combining space music and the romantic: he takes the…
Release data: Arc – Umbra CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2014 All who saw Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve (aka Arc) in the flesh live on stage at E-Live 2013 will be much pleased with the release of “Umbra”. The latter is…
Release data: Thorsten Quaeschning’s Picture Palace Music – Remnants CD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 What I got here is the 60-minute original soundtrack album Mr Quaeschning made for the “Remnants” (a beautifully shot documentary of time lapse cine photography about the…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Signs CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 I think it always great and exciting to see people step out of the ordinary and do something different. The latter applies to “Signs” (a concept…
Release data: The Roswell Incident – Escape CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The 56-minute “Escape” (the closing section of the duos trilogy) was recorded live in concert at the Belgium B-Wave Festival in December 2013. The album starts out in…
Release data: RON BOOTS Derby! CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 “Dharma Rain” further extends on the already impressive journey through sensuous ambient music started on the previous three Chronotope Project releases. Although not as lengthy as the previous ones, the three…
Release data: Robert Rich & Alio Die – Fissures CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1997 The sonic content captured on “Fissures” is a doorway to an inner world filled with mesmerizing, at times even dreamful textural soundscapes and acoustic instruments pictured…
Release data: Cell – Live at Kumharas – Ibiza DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2007 This album contains a dj-set which Lyon-based Cell (aka Alex Scheffer) performed during sunset in Ibiza’s chill-out bar/restaurant Kumharas. On the occasion, he presented improvised and…
Release data: Cosmic Ground – Cosmic Ground CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 With the project Cosmic Ground, German synthesist Dirk Jan Müller decided to return to the origin of pure electronic music like he’d done in the early ’90s. In…
Release data: Under the Dome – The Demon Haunted World CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Neu Harmony Records, 1998 UK-project Under the Dome is the brainchild of synthesist Grant Middleton, assisted by Colin Anderson on guitar and effects. The four tracks on their…
Release data: Roger Eno – Voices CD, EG Records, 1985 “Voices” is an album containing 40 minutes of moody, intimate and delicate piano miniatures marking the debut by the brother of ambient pioneer Brian Eno. The latter though helped out…
Release data: Tuu – Terma CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1998 The eclectic tribal ambient music (inspired by the hidden teachings of Tibetan Buddhism) that’s found on “Terma” is made by TUU’s Martin Franklin and trance flute master Nick Parkin, a…
Release data: Robert Rich & Lustmord – Stalker CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1995 This classic recording is for all those ambient listeners who have a knack for haunting and challenging ambient spaces. “Stalker” is a collaborative album between Robert Rich…
Release data: The Roswell Incident – Hunted CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 “Hunted”, presented at the Belgium B-Wave Festival in December 2013, is the second chapter of the trilogy which started with “The Crash” in 2010. While its cover is…
Release data: Steve Roach & Kelly David – The Long Night CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2014 Ambient composer Kelly David has been one of the kindred spirits of Steve Roach, who helped him out on the spacious and detailed sound…
Release data: Suspended Memories – Forgotten Gods CD, Hearts of Space, 1992/1993 For this release we have to travel back in time, to 1993 to be precise. Suspended Memories is a tribal ambient/shaman music project by Steve Roach, Jorge Reyes…
Release data: Gert Emmens – The Day After CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 Although “The Day After” still carries the distinct “Emmens signature”, it also reveals a new sonic approach of this talented Dutch synthesist. Still firmly founded and inspired…
Release data: Nisus – Electronic Medication CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2012 Belgium has seen quite some new electronic music talents the last couple of years. One of them is Nisus, aka Evert Vandenberghe, who calls himself an architect of electronic…
Release data: Loom – The Tree Hates The Forest CD, Viktoriapark, 2013 After two three live concerts, two Ep’s and a stunning live cd, it was just a matter of time before the first full-length album of Loom would surface.…
Release data: Alexander Saykov – Mistral CD, Gterma, 2013 “Mistral” was originally released as a digital-only album on Cold Tear Records in October 2012, but now received a proper factory-pressed cd release of which the content has been continuously mixed…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Presence (Harmonics Trilogy Vol. 3) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 With “Presence”, Andrew’s ninth release to date, we get to the closing part of the Harmonics Trilogy. Like its predecessors, it contains three expansive movements…
Release data: Erren – Fleissig – Schöttler – Steffen – Ouddorp Takes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 Word about this album has been floating around in electronic music circles for a short while, as it seems to contain some nicely…
Release data: Colin Rayment – Acclimation CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 “Acclimation”, the process of adapting to a new climate, covers a number of personal experiences and thoughts of UK composer Colin Rayment covering areas of personal snap shots that…
Release data: Havdis – Nightbreeze CD, Gterma, 2013 Similar to his previous album, the main inspiration of “Nightbreeze” is the immediate surroundings of the composer (a fisherman by trade) along his close connection to the sea and its nature. However,…
Release data: David Helpling & Jon Jenkins – Found CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2013 This is such a recording causing a rush of excitement already at first glance, although being the final episode of the duo’s trilogy. “Found” is…
Release data: Marcomé – Seven Seas CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Rubicon Records/Marco Productions, 1996 The (sadly deceased) Canadian label Rubicon Records released the feel-good/new-age album “Seven Seas” in 1996, which is the debut-album by Canadian singer/songwriter Marcomé (written as Marco May on…
Release data: Synaesthesia – Ephemeral CD, Zoth Ommog, 1997 Synaesthesia is one of the various projects by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, who are also the driving forces behind Delerium and Frontline Assembly. “Ephemeral” is their third (and also last)…
Release data: Sayer – Random Access Melodies CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, New Territory Records, 2013 After a long hiatus, American synthesist Sayer Seely re-surfaced lately, announcing a remastered version of his debut album as digital download only, along “Random Access Melodies”. The…
Release data: Budd/Garcia/Lentz – Music for 3 Pianos CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, All Saints, 1993 “Music for Three Pianos”, inspired by Morton Feldman’s multi-piano pieces, brings together the gifted minimalist piano players Harold Budd, Ruben Garcia and Daniel Lentz. It’s not full…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Transcendence CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Lunisolar Records, 2013 With the tenth release of this talented Japanese musician, we enter the next level of the ethereal, expansive float zone. Once more sticking to a free form, textural outcome,…
Release data: Harold Budd & Brian Eno – Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror CD, EG Records, 1980 I thought it time to lift out another ambient classic out of the collection. Being the second in Eno’s ambient series, “The…
Release data: Arjen Schat – Infinite Arithmetics DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 The cover of “Infinite Arithmetics” by Dutch composer Arjen Schat is graced by some very nice experimentation with abstract macro-photography. The album itself offers tracks with sequencer pieces…
Release data: Vidna Obmana – Crossing the Trail CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 1998 Fans of minimal soundscape tapestries will really want to dig this gem by Dirk Serries, better known as vidnaObmana. “Crossing the Trail” offers a continuous 70-minute farscape…
Release data: Mirrored Meridian – A Sense of Wonder Vols 1 & 2 CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Meridian Music, 2013 The sole musician behind the UK-electronica project Mirrored Meridian is Chris Thomas. For “A Sense of Wonder”, he compiled material recorded between…
Release data: Phelios – Gates of Atlantis CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Malignant Records, 2013 It’s time for another journey in dark ambient, this time executed by German musician Martin Stürtzer, aka Phelios, with his fine album “Gates of Atlantis”. The cinematic ambient…
Don’t be deceived by the clinical sounding name of the artist or its cover-art, as the musician responsible for the very nice “Kontakt” (assembled from tracks made between 1996-1998) is no other then the talented Gerd Wienekamp, also known as…
Release data: Tim Story – The Perfect Flaw CD, Hearts of Space, 1994 The string of emotive musical miniatures by Tim Story continues beautifully on the 45-minute “The Perfect Flaw”, containing 12 new-age compositions which blend feelings of desolation and…
Release data: Pete Namlook & Wolfram Spyra – Virtual Vices CD, Fax, 1998 In the ongoing list of current releases, it’s also good to glance back once in a while on some nice releases of the past. “Virtual Vices” (the…
Release data: Mathias Grassow – Sonnenwende CD, Gterma, 2013 The double-album “Sonnenwende” is the spiritual successor to “Dämmerung” and follows the sun along her passage through the seasons, the seemingly endless journey between darkness and light. The release (clocking around…
Release data: Meg Bowles – The Shimmering Land CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Kumatone Records, 2013 “The Shimmering Land” is a 60-minute collection of lush and highly emotive ambient space music, smoothly morphing through tender, soft resonating spaces. The outcome is ambient/orchestral, but…
Release data: Brendan Pollard, Javi Canovas, Adrian Dolente & Michael Daniel – Two Roads CD, Acoustic Wave Records, 2013 “Two Roads”, a limited edition factory-pressed cd of just 500 copies, is one those unexpected (but boy, so welcome!) releases I…
Release data: Oöphoi & Ran Kirlian – The Physics of Heaven CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2013 As Oöphoi, aka Italian deep-ambient composer Gianluigi Gasparetti, flies with the angels since a couple of months, Spanish soul-spirit and musician Ran Kirlian decided…
Release data: Vangelis – Chariots of Fire: The Play CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Decca, 2012 Due to a vast amount of albums waiting for review, I now finally found time to listen to “Chariots of Fire: The Play”, although being almost a…
Release data: René Splinter – Modern Ruins CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 With his album “Singularities”, René Splinter showed a remarkable talent in the world of contemporary electronic music, although the music of Johannes Schmoelling and ‘80’s TD were (and…
Release data: Sigma – Sleep of the Shadow DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 Sigma is the Finnish duo Mauno Tuominen and Petri Frestadius, who founded the band in 1997. “Sleep of the Shadow”, their fifth release by now, reveals a…
Release data: Simon Lomax – Zone of Cold CD, Private Release, 2013 As Simon states, “Zone of Cold” had a long time coming, as his last effort “.74” (made under the Maitreya-moniker) hails back to 2004. Meanwhile, the Maitreya-project has…
Release data: James Johnson & Aperus – Ecotone CD, Geophonic Records, 2013 In the genre of organic-infused ambient music, ambient sound sculptors James Johnson and Brian McWilliams (aka Aperus) have made a new offering centred on deeply textured environmental sound.…
Release data: Fanger & Schönwälder – Earshot CD, Manikin Records, 2013 “Earshot” is a 46-minute release presented in cardboard sleeve on which Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock joins the Fanger & Schönwälder tandem for a sonic ride through Berliner School/vintage territory. Next to…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Lost in the Swamp CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2012 Compared to their previous albums, the music on the concept-album “Lost in the Swamp” takes on a much spherical, lyrical and introspective approach,…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Prayers for the Earth CD-R, Attenuation Circuit, 2013 The music found on the 55-minute/six-track “Prayers for the Earth”, Amir Baghiri’s follow-up of the immersive release “The Serenity”, is a freeform, non-rhythmic soundscape addressing both cosmic…
Release data: Enh – Body of Blue CD, Gterma , 2013 Enh is the moniker of Ian Handsley, who resides in an old hotel in a small fishing village on Japan’s Pacific coast. The full-length “Body of Blue” is assembled…
Release data: Hollan Holmes – Phase Shift CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2013 “Phase Shift” is the third release by US synthesist Hollan Holmes, containing two long form compositions along three shorter takes found at the beginning. The outcome, a contemplative…
Release data: Chuck Van Zyl – Cenotaph CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synkronos Music, 2012 “Cenotaph” (the name for a monument erected in honor of a dead person whose remains lie elsewhere) is the follow-up release to Chuck’s beautiful album “MemorySpace” (2010). Sonically,…
Release data: VoLt – Particles CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 Work on “Particles” already started during the process of assembling and finalizing “Circuits”, a VoLt-release that turned out less accessible and much more adventurous in the end. “Particles” however, once…
Release data: Remy & Synth.nl – PrimiTiveS CD, Groove Unlimited, 2013 “PrimiTiveS” is the debut-album by the established Dutch synthesists Remy (aka Remy Stroomer) and Synth.nl (aka Michel van Osenbruggen). Although they are both musically influenced by Jean Michael Jarre,…
Release data: Zorch – Ouroboros CD-R, Zorch Music, 1975/2000 What we got here is a vintage Em-release from the mid-‘70’s made by Zorch, aka the UK-duo Basil Brooks and Howard Scarr (aka Gwyo Zepix). According info on the bands website,…
Release data: Chronotope Project – Chrysalis CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2102 The musician behind Chronotope Project is Jeffrey Ericson Allen, who has an eclectic background in classical, new acoustic and theatrical music. As a composer, Jeffrey is triggered by themes…
Release data: Secondface – Vega Colony CD, Gterma , 2013 “Vega Colony” is an ambient/spacemusic extravaganza dedicated to the life and work of the late British science fiction illustrator and painter Peter Elson. Its mesmerizing futuristic music though is composed…
Release data: Nemesis – Living Statues CD, Retroduction , 2012 The beautiful designed and exceptionally packaged “Living Statues” is a concept album by the Finnish band Nemesis that was highly inspired by the life and art of Veijo Rönkkönen. To…
Release data: Arcanum – Arcanum CD, Faria Records, 1997/2007 This is the re-release of the classic album by the German trio Mathias Grassow, Rüdiger Gleisberg and Amir Baghiri that originally saw the light of day in 1997 on the Italian…
Release data: Noryani – Southeast 225 CD, Generator.pl, 2012 “Southeast 225” is the second full length release in a series of four concept albums by Polish synthesist Adrian Noryani, and another emotive and well/composed work of electronic art. And although…
Release data: Altus – The Sidereal Cycle 3 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Free Floating Music, 2012 This freeform release marks the third chapter of “The Sidereal Cycle” series, which the composer regards the spiritual successor to his “Winter Embrace” concept series. The…
Release data: RMax Corbacho – The Ocean Inside CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD21 Music, 2012 After quite a quite a long hiatus, Spanish ambient composer Max Corbacho is back with double album of expertly crafted atmospheric ambient pieces, clocking over 140 minutes.…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Arctic Remixes DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wayfarer Records, 2011 For “Arctic Remixes”, Norwegian-based Boreal Taiga (aka JimDe) composed various lush ambient electronic atmospheres that are profoundly influenced by the northern hemisphere and its arctic environments. Moreover, the…
Release data: Ashra – New Age of Earth CD, Virgin Records, 1976 When I look at the lengthy discography of Manuel Göttsching, Ashra’s debut-album “New Age of Earth” remains an all-time classic that beats his other releases by far. The…
Release data: Bryan Carrigan – Windows CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Peonies Music, 2012 For his third album “Windows”, accomplished composer Bryan Carrigan wanted to step away from the loops, rhythms and beats as mostly heard on his previous two releases, and instead…
Release data: Steve Roach – Soul Tones CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2012 “Soul Tones” is the first in a triptych of cds, featuring inner-connected pieces with space and time in between each. Filled with 74 minutes of warm, free form…
Release data: Broken Harbour – The Geometry of Shadows CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Relaxed Machinery, 2012 Originally, the music for the concept-album “The Geometry of Shadows” was composed under the title “Ansible” (which is now the last track on this album) in…
Release data: Connect.Ohm – 9980 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2012 The French Ultimae label is one of the fine firms that’s able to amaze me from time to time, putting out new, fruitful collaborations next to their regular league of…
Release data: [‘ramp] Astral Disaster (live at Bochum Planetarium) CD, Private Release, 2012 “Astral Disaster”, the first proper [‘ramp] live album since the release of “Oughtibridge”, is a limited edition, factory-pressed cd by German composer and sound explorer Stephen Parsick,…
Release data: Phobos – Moments in Sound DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 “Moments in Sound”, a collection of released and unreleased music, is a release by the UK composer David Thompson (aka Phobos) who already impressed me a lot with…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Sediments -music from 1989 to 1994- CD-R, Private Release, 2008 I must say it’s always nice to hear the “roots” of an EM-artist, especially when he or she has gained its own share in the…
Release data: Lyonel Bauchet – The Secret Society DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2012 This is one of the many digital download-only releases that had to sit too long on my harddisc due to an overflow of music for review. Now that…
Release data: Craig Padilla & Zero Ohms – When the Earth is Far Away CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, LotusPike, 2012 Three years after their previous collaborative recording “Beyond the Portal”, Craig Padilla & Zero Ohms (aka Richard Roberts) hereby return, adding a…
Release data: Robert Rich – Nest CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Soundscape Productions, 2012 “Nest”, by Robert described as a revery of landscape and internal spaces, is one of the calmest and subdued releases I know by him. Incorporating lots of environmental and…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Boundless (Harmonics Trilogy Vol. 2) CD, Private Release, 2012 The lush, the powerful and the spacious oncemore re-unite on the ambient/space extravaganza “Boundless”, the second installment in Andrew Forrest´s “Harmonics Trilogy”-trilogy. Again, there are three…
Release data: Northcore – Desatero CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music/OE3, 2012 Northcore is the UK-duo Carl Gibbons and Jana Tillotson, who compose impressionistic, alternative electronics with an organic and chill-out edge. “Desatero” contains ten intriguing tracks (half of them have…
Release data: Paul Ellis – I Am Here CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, LotusPike, 2012 In the words of the composer, “I Am Here” is a sort of a counterpart to his previous album “From Out Of The Vast Comes Nearness”, released on…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Eolian Reflections CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Periphery, 2012 “Eolian Reflections” makes a great addition to the ever expanding collection of high-quality ambient/space music by Gregory Kyryluk, aka Alpha Wave Movement. Gregory states the outcome is a…
Release data: Within Reason – Subtle Shift CD-R, Periphery, 2012 Within Reason is a most interesting side-project by skilled synthesist Gregory Kyryluk (known as Alpha Wave Movement and one half of Thought Guild) that focusses on spacy dub-electro. The excellently…
Release data: Phobos – This Desolate Place CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 Now here’s another strong piece of profound ambient music by UK-based composer David Thompson, aka Phobos, who already made a great impression on me with “Live on Earth”.…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Airborne CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2012 Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Erik Wøllo already has a beautiful, extensive list of solo and collaborative releases under his belt, to which “Airborne” makes a great addition. Known for his highly…
Release data: Johan Tronestam – Far Away CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, TeamQuasar, 2012 Danish composer Johan Tronestam played earlier in various music groups, but has for a long time concentrated on writing instrumental synth music. Created between 2011 and 2012 on the…
Release data: Thomas Ronkin – Precursors CD-R, The Periphery, 2012 Some may know the previous two releases of US-synthesist Thomas Ronkin, “Within; Distance” and “Symmetric”. Both stand out for its classic, sequencer-driven, and Berliner School-influenced Em next to some fine,…
Release data: Picture Palace Music – Indulge the Passion CD, Groove Unlimited, 2012 “Indulge the Passion” is the second cd by Picture Palace Music on the established Groove Unlimited label containing 75 minutes of post-rock and contemporary electronica. Contrary to…
Release data: Dreamfire – Atlantean Symphony CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Dreamfire Music, 2012 Dreamfire started in 1999 as a symphonic musical project to explore ancient mysteries, magic, legends and majestic/epic themes. It’s the effort of a UK-composer and guitarist who has been…
Release data: Urenga – After Rain CD, Gterma, 2012 Urenga is the youngest project of Hungarian sound-wizard Andras Kiss, that slowly but surely created its own existence from his other ambient experiments. Besides that and compared to those other projects,…
Release data: The Grey Encounter – Dark Matter CD-R, EEMC, 2012 The Grey Encounter is a collaborative effort by UK synthesists Phil Booth and Xan Alexander, whose 61-minute “Dark Matter” is their debut release. If you love well-rendered spherical electronics…
Release data: Indo – Winter in Zangla (A Tribute To Alexander Csoma De Kőrös) CD, Gterma, 2011 Indo is an older project of Hungarian soundartist extraordinaire Andras Kiss, that has been growing out slowly from his other ambient endeavours. The…
Release data: Various Artists – Manikin Records Second Decade 2002-2012 CD, Manikin Records, 2012 This double album celebrates the 20th anniversary and second decade of Berlin-based Manikin label with 2x 70 minutes of brandnew and unreleased electronic music. Of course,…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Animism CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2012 On “Animism”, Forrest Fang’s ninth solo release to date, a large range of vibrant sounding acoustic instruments and a few synths are at play, melting the music culture of…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Chronos CD, Sonic Atmospheres, 1985 The original soundtrack recording “Chronos”, a predecessor to the Imax-movie “Baraka”, is a classic space music album by Michael Stearns for which he once again used the (Mighty) Serge analogue…
Release data: Vanderson – Synthetic Breath CD, Generator.Pl, 2012 Already with the first track “A Tribute to Tangerine Dream”, Polish synthesist Maciej Wierzchowski (aka Vanderson) once more shows who has been and will remain the core inspiration for his music…
Release data: Nattefrost & Matzumi – From Distant Times CD, Groove Unlimited, 2012 “From Distant Times” is the first full-length album by Nattefrost (aka Danish synthesist Bjørn Jeppesen) and Matzumi (aka German composer Kathrin Manz), realized between September 2010 and…
Release data: Dead Beat Project – R’Evolution CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 2011 “R’Evolution” is a soundtrack to a visionary instrumental opera and musical play to elevate your consciousness. The creator of this surprising and multi-faced electro-acoustic foray is Dead Beat…
Release data: René Splinter – Singularities CD, Groove Unlimited, 2012 On his previous albums, Dutchman René Splinter already proved he has a lot of talent to offer. So it came to no surprise, for me at least, that this release…
Release data: Craig Padilla – The Heart of the Soul CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2012 “The Heart of the Soul”, created during a series of major life-changing events, marks the return of American synthesist Craig Padilla into the world of…
Release data: Awenson – Saphonic CD, Dreaming/Musea Records, 2007/2012 “Saphonic” (released in 2007 as a privately released cd-r under the Awen-moniker) is the second album of Awenson, aka French composer Joël Bernard. It now sees a proper re-release as factory-pressed…
Release data: Richard Burmer – Bhakti Point CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Richard Burmer’s second album “Bhakti Point” contains eight compositions offering a fascinating musical journey to imaginary worlds. Next to vibrant and symphonic landscapes, Richard also excels in composing more…
Release data: Geodesium – Stella Novus CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Loch Ness Productions, 2011 “Stella Novus”, the tenth release by Geodesium (aka Mark C. Petersen), is an album filled with beautifully rendered cosmic music. Following in the footsteps of planetarium show music…
Release data: Raygun Ballet – World That Wasn´t CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2012 Raygun Ballet is the persona of Los Angeles based creative director John-Mark Austin, whose name some may remember from Immersion Theory’s excellent space album release “The Icarus…
Release data: John Lyell – Eternity CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2012 Six years after his first solo album “Dimensions”, Minneapolis-based -synthesist John Lyell (also known from two collaborative albums with Brent A. Reiland) brings us his long-awaited second album “Eternity”,…
Release data: Havdis – The Hidden Islands CD, Gterma, 2012 Havdis is an ambient project by Odd Jensen, who resides in the remote coastal area of northern Norway. If I’m not mistaken, “The Hidden Islands” is his second release, put…
Release data: Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo – Frontiers CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2012 There are many EM-albums that take the listener on an evocative journey with great sonic vistas passing by as the aural landscapes of sounds unfold. Mr Wøllo…
Release data: Berlin Heritage – Land of the Rising Sun CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Berlin Heritage is a newly founded Em project initiated by Hannover-based composer Robert Sigmuntowski. The latter released his debut album “Land of the Rising Sun” at…
Release data: Thought Guild – Third Voyage CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2012/2015 Thought Guild’s third and final album “Third Voyage” is handmade and packaged in beautiful “retro” 5.25 floppy discs, all hand numbered with a limited edition of only…
Release data: Loom – Scored (live) CD, Viktoriapark Records, 2012 “Scored” contains the fantastic, full-length E-Live 2011 performance by Loom, aka Johannes Schmoelling, Jerome Froese and Robert Waters (aka Robert Wässer). All present then will remember the very professional, versatile…
Release data: Yagya – Rigning CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sending Orbs, 2009 Like the previous two releases, it will be most difficult to track down a physical copy of Yagya’s third album “Rigning” (Icelandic for “raining”), although it’s still digitally available through…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Cygnus-A CD, Spheric Music, 2010 To much surprise, Robert Schroeder announced the cd-release of this album in 2010, that appears to be a well-done re-recording of the classic album “Galaxie Cygnus-A” from 1982. The biggest…
Release data: Ian Boddy – Strange Attractors DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2012 “Strange Attractors” is a power release by Ian Boddy, known as one of UK’s longtime and leading Em composers. The disc contains music performed live in concert in April…
Release data: Amethystium – Aurorae DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Ramfjord Music, 2012 “Aurorae” is a four-track Ep from Øystein Ramfjord, aka Amethystium, who considers the digital-only release very much a do-it-yourself project, as there’s no traditional promotion behind it. Amethystium very…
Release data: Yagya – Will I Dream During The Process? CD, Sending Orbs, 2006 If you’re looking for timeless quality-ambient music with that typical Northern touch, Yagya’s second album “Will I Dream During The Process?” for sure will be a…
Release data: [‘ram] Return CD, Doombient Music, 2011 For every project, Stephen Parsick has always found it a real challenge what means to use to create music and/or a specific outcome he envisioned, also when it came to the use…
Release data: Hollan Holmes – The Farthest Fringes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 Out of the blue, Texas-based electronic musician and computer graphics artist Hollan Holmes surprised the electronic space music community in 2010 with his debut “A Distant Light”.…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Resonance (Harmonics Trilogy Vol. 1) CD, Private Release, 2011 Despite the hard times to survive by putting out hard copy releases nowadays, independent electronic sound painter Andrew Forrest once more has found the faith and…
Release data: Eric van der Heijden – Dal Segno CD, Groove Unlimited, 2011 Eric van der Heijden is one of the purveyors of passionate and quality electronic music from our lower lands. On “Dal Segno”, his fourth release, Eric continues…
Release data: Ron Boots – La Caída de Hormigón CD, Groove Unlimited, 2011 As some may know, Dutch musician Ron Boots has a great passion for history next to composing electronic music. It’s something he previously adressed on “Acoustic Shadows”,…
Release data: Johannes Schmoelling – Time and Tide CD, Viktoriapark Records, 2011 All those who were present at the unique live Loom concert on E-Live 2011 will remember the great and enthusiastic musicianship displayed by Johannes Schmoelling during this performance.…
Release data: Paul Vnuk Jr. – Silence Speaks in Shadow CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2001 Paul Vnuk Jr’s is known as one half of the ambient project Ma Ja Le, who hereby presents his first solo release of long-form and so-called…
Release data: Justin Vanderberg – Synthetic Memories CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2011 To me, Justin Vanderberg is a new ambient musician, but the press sheet learned he already released an album back in 2007 called “In Waking Moments”. “Synthetic Memories”,…
Release data: Awenson – Wizard CD, Dreaming/Musea Records, 2010 Awenson is the new artist name of French musician Joël Bernard, previously known as Awen. I don’t have a clue why he switched to this new moniker, but the lovely crafted…
Release data: Loom – 100 001 CD EP, Moonpop, 2011 “100 001” is a 4-track/19-minute Ep by Loom, a music project created by Jerome Froese, Johannes Schmoelling and Robert Waters, specially produced for LOOM’s first live show on October 15th,…
Release data: Steve Smith & The Tylas Cyndrome – Phoenix Arising CD, Groove Unlimited, 2011 In the electronic music community, synthesist Steve Smith is best known as one half of the UK band VoLt. “Phoenix Arising” is actually a project…
Release data: Altus – Symmetry & Shadow (Singles Collection Vol. 2) DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 This is a second compilation by Altus, aka Mike Carss, supposed to fill the gap until the release of his full album “Ecotone” due…
Release data: Steve Roach – Quiet Music (The Original 3-Hour Collection) CD, Projekt, 2011 It’s finally here: the entire release of “Quiet Music”, Roach’s classic ambient release of the mid ’80’s, presented as a triple cd-set. For a description of…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Aureal DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2011 With “Aureal”, Javi again brings us a very attractive and highly inspired sounding sonic canvas. The music itself features a wealth of expansive and vibrant textures all the way,…
Release data: Robert Fox – Asfafa -a journey- CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, FXMusic, 1991 Many consider “Asfafa” as the debut album of UK-composer Robert Fox (a drama teacher in daily life), but it was actually preceded by no less than two albums…
Release data: Tim Story – Shadowplay CD, Hearts of Space Records, 2001 Ambient musician Tim Story doesn’t need a lot of introduction, being an accomplished contemporary instrumental composer of ambient chamber music for many years. While bridging old and modern…
Release data: Dweller at the Threshold – No Boundary Condition CD, Eurock, 1996 Dweller at theThreshold is a retro-project founded by Paul Ellis and Dave Fulton, helped out by Jeff Vasey. The project’s music, firmly rooted in the classic Berliner…
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.…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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”,…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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:…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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”…
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)…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Release data: Mark Dwane – The Monuments of Mars CD/Mc/Digital Download, 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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”,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Release data: Paul Ellis – The Last Hiding Place of Beauty CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Those who love rather complex and dynamic sequencer music with an acoustic edge and an occasional high-tech feel should check out the music Paul Ellis’…
Release data: Steve Roach – Dynamic Stillness CD, Projekt Records, 2009 Steve Roach has brewed another inner sanctuary of quietetude which has ended up as the double cd “Dynamic Stillness”, which has been in the works in his Timeroom studio…
Release data: Free System Projekt – Narrow Lane CD, Private Release, 2008 The album “Narrow Lane” by Free System Project contains two long vintage pieces, both played live in the UK. The 29-minute “Narrow Lane Part I”, recorded in 2006…
Release data: Paul Sauvanet – Nomad CD, Hearts of Space, 1997 This is the third cd of the skilled French musician Paul Sauvanet, of which both the cd-cover and overall atmosphere are slightly similar to the album “Nomadic Impressions” by…
Release data: John Dyson – Darklight CD, Soddett Hall Music, 2009 After a big hiatus, John Dyson returns one more time to the EM-community to bring a final (?) album featuring his distinct, gracious and accessible style which comes as…
Release data: Between Interval – The Edge of a Fairytale CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2009 After a hiatus of three years, there’s finally another album by Between Interval, the musical moniker of Stefan Jönsson, who as of November 2008 is…
Release data: Syndromeda – The Twilight Conjunction CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009 “The Twilight Conjunction” is the 18th album by Belgian electronic musician Danny Budts, aka Syndromeda, released as a limited edition of 300 copies. The 18-minute “Inside the Lophophora”, a…
Release data: Schiller – Sehnsucht CD/DVD, Universal Domestic, 2008 Schiller, named after poet Friedrich Schiller, is the musical moniker of German electronical composer and producer Christopher von Deylen. Von Deylen is inspired by electronic bands like Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and…
Release data: Craig Padilla/Zero Ohms/Skip Murphy – Beyond the Portal CD, Lotuspike, 2009 February 10th, 2009 saw the release of “Beyond the Portal”, which is the follow-up album to the 2005-cd “Path of Least Resistance”. This time, Craig’s collaborator Skip…
Release data: Patrick O’Hearn – Between Two Worlds CD, Private Music, 1987 “Between Two Worlds” is the second album of contemporary electronic composer and musician Patrick O’Hearn, whose debut album “Ancient Dreams” received lots of airplay and positive responses from…
Release data: Patrick O’Hearn – Ancient Dreams CD, Private Music, 1985 “Ancient Dreams” is the debut album by bassist and synthesist Patrick O’Hearn, which would soon become a favourite of many fans in the electronic music genre, together with its…
Release data: Patrick O’Hearn – So Flows the Current CD, Private Release, 2000 After being out of sight for quiet some years (except being a contributor to Steve Roach’s concept cd “The Ambient Expanse”), composer and multi-instrumentalist Patrick O’Hearn shows…
Release data: Various Artists – Soundscape Gallery Series One CD, Lektronik Soundscapes, 1996 “Soundscape Gallery Series One” comprises some excellent, not previously released ambient/space tracks by Jonn Serrie, Todd Fletcher, A Produce, Giles Reaves, Vidna Obmana, Robert Rich, Tony Gerber…
Release data: Michael Garrison – Point of Impact CD, Windspell Records/ Garrisongs Music, 1983 I personally feel the album “Point of Impact” is the best and most versatile album by Oregon-based musician Michael Garrison, who sadly died on March 24,…
Release data: Steve Roach – The Magnificent Void CD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 1996 “The Void,” wrote metaphysician Stanislav Grof, “exists beyond form of any kind. While being a source of everything it cannot be itself derived from anything else. It…
Release data: Steve Roach – Structures from Silence CD, Fortuna Records/Projekt Records, 1984/2001 “Structures from Silence” was recorded in 1983 and 1984, a time that Steve Roach was living in Culver City, California. The mood music on this classic recording…
Release data: Constance Demby – Novus Magnificat CD, Hearts of Space, 1986 In the middle of the ’80s, classically trained female composer Constance Demby made a major work of contemporary classical spacemusic that is still regarded a monumental work in…
Release data: Clifford White – Ascension CD, New World Music, 1985 “Ascension” is the debut release of UK-based musician Clifford White, who composed the music when he was 17 years old. Until now, it sold over 50.000 copies worldwide, making…
Release data: Purfoze – Songs of the Earth CD-R, Rhea Music, 1984/2008 The Belgian cosmic music group Purfoze was founded in the late seventies by Ruud Rondou and Mark Creemers, Mark De Wit joined them in 1977. Between 1982 and…
Release data: Michael Neil – The Tempest and other tales CD-R, Private release, 2002 In 2000, composer Michael Neil was commissioned to write the incidental music for the Derby Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of “The Tempest”, to mark the 70th…
Release data: Michael Neil – Dies Irae CD-R, Private Release, 1997 The music on “Dies Irae” can be described as modern classical/orchestral in the realm of Penderecki, Arvo Part and alike. The album contains five tracks, opening with the almost…
Release data: Michael Neil – Moments of Heaven CD-R, Private Release, 1998 “Moments of Heaven” is a grand piece of work by English musician Michael Neil, of which the music sounds similar to his album “Cornubia”, but the outcome is…
Release data: Max Corbacho – BreathStream CD, Private Release, 2008 “BreathStream” is the first of a series of releases made available as digital download only. The sonic content is described by the Max Corbacho as “seven atmospheric spaces built out…
Release data: Acheloo – Ishtar CD-R, AD Music, 2008 On “Ishtar” (the follow-up album to “Sirens”) Carlo Luzi intended to deepen his search for the sound, getting closer to the essence and the core of sounds in a more minimalist…
Release data: Redshift – Turning Towards Us CD, Distant Sun, 2008 Those who know or own the previous Redshift releases will be surprised as the cd-cover has been completely overhauled for the bands 10th release, for which the typical Redshift…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Desert Realms CD, Lotuspike, 2008 Finally, two years after his nice ambient album “Moonwater”, New Zealand-based musician brings us the follow-up “Desert Realms”. The music of the cd is inspired by a weekend Rudy spent…
Release data: Mark Rownd – Painting Twilight CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1998 The title of this 1998-release on the ambitious, high-quality label Spotted Peccary, pretty well describes the overall atmosphere and feel of the music. The type of music covered…
Release data: Harold Budd – The White Arcades CD, Opal Records, 1988 “The White Arcades” is the follow-up to Harold Budd’s critically acclaimed album “Lovely Thunder”, offering 42 minutes of soothing ambient bliss. Especially the opening (title) track and the…
Release data: Giles Reaves – Wunjo CD, MCA, 1986 Giles Reaves has working in the music business in Nashville since 1984, mostly in the studio. Around 1986 he was a staff engineer at a studio where country music was being…
Release data: Giles Reaves – Sea of Glass CD, Hearts of Space, 1992 This classic space music recording by Nashville-based synthesist Giles Reaves is one of those milestones that can stand the test of time for decades, as it still…
Release data: Darshan Ambient – From Pale Hands to Weary Skies CD, Spotted Peccary, 2008 This cd by Michael Allison, aka Darshan Ambient, is a positive, uplifting work of both rhythmic and free form textural ambient, initially inspired by the…
Release data: Robert Jíša – Space Voices CD, NextEra, 2007 This cd is a continuation of a series, as I found out on Robert’s website he previously released albums such as “Sea Voices”, “Forest Voices” and even “Rain Forest Voices”.…
Release data: RON BOOTS Derby! CD, Hearts of Space Records, 1988 As Michael explains in the cd booklet, this album –subtitled a journey in the key of space- is the first to focus on space as a theme, while his…
Jon Mark is best known as one half of the Mark-Almond band, session guitarist and producer, who now resides in New Zealand. Situated on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the Callanish Stones (also called the Stonehenge of…
Release data: Daniel Blanchet – L´Harmonie des Mondes CD, Editions Rubicon, 1991 Daniel Blanchet is a Canadian musician hailing from the Quebec area, who began experimenting with synthesizers in 1985. The concept album “L’Harmonie des Mondes” is inspired by the…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Lunar Tide CD-R, Private Release, 2008 As Peter tells on the cd-sleeve, the ambient long form piece “Lunar Tide” is the outcome of an experiment in applying extreme sound processing to a piece of music…
Release data: Evan Marc & Steve Hillage – Dreamtime Submersible CD, Somnia, 2008 “Dreamtime Submersible” features the exiting collaboration of Tech House project Evan Marc (aka Evan Bartholomew, Bluetech,) and Steve Hillage (System 7). Released in strictly limited edition of…
Release data: Francois Kiraly & Charles Crevier – Calypso CD, Disque Rubicon, 1989 “Calypso” is the second release by the Canadian duo Francois Kiraly and Charles Crevier. It’s a slowly evolving album of ten tranquil, slowly passing, occasionally slightly sequenced…
Release data: Xolotl – Procession CD, Erdenklang, 1982/1993 This classic album by the German Erdenklang-label is a re-release of the Bernhard Xolotl album that originally came out back in 1982. For this occasion, the 18-minute bonus track “Saturn Return” was…
Release data: Steve Hillage – Rainbow Dome Musick CD, Virgin Records, 1979 The music captured on this classic blissed-out ambient album was recorded for the “Rainbow Dome” installation at the festival for Mind-Body-Spirit at Olympia London April 21-29 1979. The…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – The Healing Lake CD, White Cloud Music, 2000 The music of Rudy Adrian’s atmospheric recording “The Healing Lake” is rather similar to “Twilight”. The album features nine reflective tracks (making up 57 minutes of music)…
Release data: Robert Fox – Adonai CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 2008 The concept album “Adonai”, originally created for theatre, is Robert’s evocative sonic telling of the Easter Story and a remarkable man from a human point of view. Assembled of…
The contemporary instrumental album “Glow in the Dark” is the follow-up of Mr Bartlett’s 2003 release “Near-Life Experience”, which blends a varied mixture of emotional electronics with lyrical guitar work, again slightly following in the footsteps of Mike Oldfield. Kevin’s…
Release data: Immersion Theory – The [Icarus] Foray CD, Private Release, 2007 Those of you out there looking for a good release in the genre of deep ambient space music, should make sure to get a copy of this beauty.…
Release data: Steve Roach – A Deeper Silence CD, Timeroom Editions, 2008 Steve Roach continues his quest into the deep end of the soundcurrent, and has come up with “A Deeper Silence”. Reflecting back on his beautiful ’84 classic recording…
Release data: Carbon Based Lifeforms – Interloper CD, Ultimae Records, 2010 Premiered live in concert at Stockholm’s Cosmonova Planetarium in November 2009, “Interloper” is the third full-length acid ambient album by the Swedish duo Johannes Hedberg and Daniel Segerstad. Although…
Release data: Klaus Schulze & Lisa Gerrard – Farscape CD, Synthetic Symphony/SPV, 2008 “Farscape” is a double cd containing the track “Liquid Coincidence”, which comes in seven different “Parts”, all ranging between 13 and 32 minutes. From the start, it…
Release data: [‘ramp] Oughtibridge CD, Doombient, 2005 “JaThe music of “Oughtibridge” was recorded live at Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory on June 23, 2001, containing 12 tracks of live, improvised and unrehearsed of music by Stephen Parsick and Frank Makowski aka…
Release data: Adrian Beasley – Powerhouse CD-R, Private Release, 2007 Adrian Beasley is one of the members of the UK-band Air Sculpture, which has ran a bit out of sight since a couple of years, although they did perform several…
Release data: VoLt – HjVi CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 This cd contains the music VoLt played at their concert at Hampshire Jam 6 at Liphook, UK, on October 20th 2007. The disc offers over 76 minutes of music, split in…
Release data: Free System Projekt – Gent CD, Private Release, 2007 “Ja“Gent” documents a live performance of the trio Ruud Heij, Marcel Engels and Frank van der Wel, recorded on May 28th 2005 at the Backstage in Ghent, Belgium. The…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Soundmill Navigator CD, TDI Music, 2000 “Soundmill Navigator”, a Tangerine Dream Classics Edition, contains a vintage live recording from 1976, where the trio Baumann, Froese and Franke performed a concert at the Philharmonics. The almost…
Release data: M. Persson – Sounds: Strange Skies CD-R, Lunar Flower I discovered this excellent ambient release through a blog-message on the Altus website. Mats Persson is a Swedish composer who’s intimate sounding album Sounds: “Strange Skies” is intended on…
Release data: Robert Rich & Ian Boddy – React CD, DiN, 2008 For me, these two talented and experienced musicians have already proved what they are capable of on their previous two studio albums. “React” is proof of their first…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Fuzzstars – music for planetariums Vol. 2 CD-R, Private Release, 2008 “Fuzzstars” is Parsick’s second release of planetarium music, again released as a limited edition of only 25 copies. As Stephen tells in the press…
Release data: Chad Kettering – Into the Infinite CD, Soniclayers Music, 2008 Chad Kettering is an electronic ambient artist from Texas, USA. He started out as a professional trumpet player, and for many years he performed with various orchestras and…
Release data: [‘ramp] Doombient.Three – Kalte Sterne CD-R, Private Release, 2008 “Doombient.three – Kalte Sterne” is the third and final cd-r in the series of “doombient” albums which came into being in 2003 and 2006 respectively. The music of “Kalte…
Release data: Spyra – High Phidelity CD, Ricochet Dream, 2007 I’ve always considered it a pleasure to discover the new musical adventures of German musician Wolfram “Der” Spyra, who now brings us his double album “High Phidelity”. It offers over…
Release data: David Parsons – Surya CD, Celestial Harmonies, 2008 After a very long wait, we can finally welcome “Surya”, an album which nicely continues the deep atmospheric realms which David explored on his album “Inner Places” release. For the…
Release data: Philippe Emmanuel Gueble – Fire & Remembrance CD-R, Oasis/Mirage, 2007 This album is an extended and improved re-release by the Canadian label Oasis/Mirage, composed by the French ambient composer Philippe Emmanuel Gueble. For a review of the original…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – The Light Beyond CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2001 “The Light Beyond” is a live album, recorded at Chuck van Zyl’s Star’s End radio show after string master Jeff Pearce did a concert at The Gatherings in…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – To the Shores of Heaven CD, Hypnos Recordings, 1999 “To the Shores of Heaven” is the fifth album by Indiana-based ambient musician Jeff Pearce, by many better know as composer of “spacious music for strings”.…
Release data: John Foxx & Harold Budd – Translucence & Drift Music CD, Edsel Records/Metamatic Records, 2003 Ambient fans who love to listen to delicate, introspective music should make sure to find a copy of this brand-new delicacy. Packaged in…
Release data: Paul Avgerinos – Muse of the Round Sky CD, Hearts of Space/ Round Sky Music, 1992/2002 This album by Greek bass player Paul Avgerinos has stayed unnoticed for many for a long time, but when it was given…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Schwartzschild – music for planetariums CD-R, Private Release, 2007 I’ve always been a fan of space music, so when Stephen Parsick send me a copy of his very limited release “Schwartzschild”, I almost knew I…
Release data: Vangelis – El Greco – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD, Universal Music Greece/Polydor, 2007 December 2007 saw the release of the soundtrack “El Greco” to the motion picture by Iannis Smaragdis, for which Vangelis collaborated with The Choir…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Tektonik – music for earthquakes CD-R, Private Release, 2006 Many will know German musician Stephen Parsick as one half of the dark ambient duo [‘ramp]. Between September 2004 and January 2006 he created the first…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Gronland – music for glaciers CD-R, Private Release, 2006 While Stephen Parsick was finishing up his album “Teknonik” in January/February 2006, he decided to use the remaining tracks for a second “geological album”: “Gronland”. This…
Release data: Heavenly Music Corporation – Lunar Phase CD, Silent Records, 1995 The musician behind the project Heavenly Music Corporation is sound designer and musician Kim Cascone, who founded his own label Silent Records around the mid ‘80s. For “Lunar…
Release data: Steve Roach – Arc of Passion CD, Projekt, 2008 Although Steve Roach has been around such a long time in ambient space music, he’s still able to suprise me after all these years. The origins of the double…
Release data: Markus Reuter & [‘ramp] – Ceasing to Exist CD, Doombient, 2000/2007 The album “Ceasing to Exist” is what I would call a beautiful but intensive journey into the darkening lands of ambient music. For this 63-minute release, Frank…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Wind Journey CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2001 This is Erik’s second cd on Spotted Peccary’s sublabel Wanderings, and this time the content is much more electronic. “Wind Journey” contains 70 minutes of beautiful instrumental music,…
Release data: Evan Bartholomew – Caverns of Time CD, Somnia, 2007 “Caverns of Time” is the first release on the new Somnia-label, founded by Evan Bartholomew, aka Bluetech. Evan explains the music “explores a mythical journey into subconscious realms, and…
Release data: Deep Sky Divers – Highlands & Skylands CD, Any Robinhood, 2002 “Highlands & Skylands” by David Jones and Jon Short, aka the Brittish duo Deep Sky Divers, is a haunting album filled with highly cinematic music inspired by…
Release data: Telomere – The Stellar Sea CD, Evenfall, 2007 Six years after his second release, Christopher MacDonald aka Telomere presents us his long awaited album “The Stellar Sea”. Like the previous recordings, it is merely composed with the Serge…
Release data: Eric van der Heijden – Da Capo CD, Groove Unlimited, 1998 After seven long years of waiting and ongoing requests from fans for new music, October 1998 finally saw the release of Eric van der Heijden’s second album…
Release data: Thomas Ronkin – Symmetric CD, Tristissima Records, 2009 Four years after his very nice debut album “Within: Distance”, Thomas Ronkin presents us the double cd “Symmetric”, featuring strong musical contrasts and nice stereo effects. It also reflects the…
Release data: Free System Projekt & Dave Brewer – Ricochet Gathering Okefenokee 2000 CD, Ricochet Dream, 2007 This is actually some kind of re-vamped edition of the same titled cd which was released in 2000 on Groove Unlimited. It now…
Release data: Cymphonic – Strataradialis CD, DataBloem, 2007 “Strataradialis” is the second album by Cymphonic, aka the Dutch ambient sound sculptor and musician Stanley Swinkels. I must confess it took me quite some time and several extra spins in the…
Release data: Ron Boots – Liquid Structures in Solid Form CD, Groove Unlimited, 2002 “Liquid Structures in Solid Form”, which comes in special metal cd-case, marks Ron’s return to overall analogue sounds. Put in his own words: “it’s like going…
Release data: Altus – The Grand Expanse DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2007 “The Grand Expanse” by Canadian musician Mike Carss is a symphonic excursion into the endless worlds surrounding the Earth: the cosmos. The music is a well produced, refined…
Release data: RON BOOTS Acoustic Shadows CD, Groove Unlimited, 2006 “Acoustic Shadows” is an amazing concept album by Ron Boots on the theme of war, different war periods and the various reasons which caused them. It is also a tribute…
Release data: Ron Boots – Different Stories and Twisted Tales CD, Cue Records NL/ Groove Unlimited, 1993/2004 Ron Boots always had a great interest in fantasy and the stories of Tolkien in particular, which partly became a source of inspiration…
Release data: Ron Boots & Friends – By Popular Demand CD, Cue Records NL/ Groove Unlimited, 1993/1999 “By Popular Demand” is the first live cd by Ron Boots and Friends, which contains photo’s on the cd-sleeve taken by yours truly.…
Release data: Ron Boots – Tainted Bare Skin CD, Groove Unlimited, 1998 “Tainted Bare Skin”, released in October 1998, comes in a yellow cd-case with some very nice photography of Ron’s wife Monique on the cover. The disc contains 70…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Drifted Into Deeper Lands CD, Groove Unlimited/ Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2000/2007 The music of “Drifted Into Deeper Lands” was inspired by Gregory’s dreams and journeys into the Great Southwestern deserts of Arizona and New…
Release data: Ulrich Schnauss – Far away trains passing by CD, Domino, 2001/2005 This is the first release of the skilled German ambient musician Ulrich Schnauss. Listening to the stunning music on “Far Away Trains passing by” is a great…
Release data: Ron Boots – Too Many Secrets CD, Groove Unlimited, 1994 “Too Many Secrets” was originally released as a cd-r in 1994. It was a limited edition of only 50 copies by Nik Tyndall on his Real Space Music-series,…
Release data: Sleepresearch_facility – Deep Frieze CD, Cold Spring, 2007 I actually discovered this album through a recent electronic newsletter of Steve Roach, who recommended it a lot. After I heard it, I absolutely agree with him. “Deep Frieze” is…
Release data: Can Atilla – Ave CD, EAT, 1999 “Ave”, which came out in Spring 1999, is the work of the Turkish musician Can Atilla. The album was privately released on the EAT-label (Essers Audio Tools) by the Dutch musician…
Release data: Ashera – We Gaia CD, Private Release, 2002 “We Gaia” is the fourth tour-de-force of Australian-based ambient-composer Anthony Asher Wright. His both peaceful as intimate music still holds strong influences of Harold Budd and Brian Eno, and that…
Release data: Ashera – Cobalt 144 CD, Private Release, 1999 “Cobalt 44” is Ashera’s second album, on which Antonia Asher Wright nicely continues the same kind of music he presented on his debut “Ambient Selections”, as the strong influence of…
Release data: Arcane – Alterstill CD, Neu, 2001 “Alterstill” is the third album by Arcane, aka Paul Lawler, and again it’s a great one. The fantastic retro style has remained, featuring engaging melodic sequencer music in which echoes of TD’s…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – SubAntarctica (Atmospheric Works Vol.1) CD-R, Private Release, 1999 This cd-r contains the original soundtrack for the national exhibition “Art in the Sub-Antarctic”, which Rudy Adrian composed as a commissioned work for the Southland Art Gallery…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Cages CD, NO-CD, 1997 “Cages” is the debut album by German/Iran musician Amir Baghiri. I remember I’ve seen his name appear as guest musician on a Solitaire album, beside the fact he made the impressive…
Release data: Brendan Pollard – Flux Echoes CD, Private Release, 2007 “Flux Echoes”, the second release of Brendan Pollard, premiered at “E-Live 2007”, which again is prove of a solid recording. Fact is, that all who love TD’s great analogue…
Release data: Brian Parnham – Mantle CD, SteveRoach.com, 2007 “Mantle” is a 73 minute atmospheric ambient work from talented ambient musician Brian Parnham, which music has been privately released by Steve Roach, and who also did the refined, exquisite production…
Release data: Vir Unis – The Drift Inside CD, Greenhouse Music, 1999 This is the second release of the new Minneapolis-based ambient soundscape label Greenhouse Music, made by John Strate-Hootman aka Vir Unis. Since his fantastic collaborative projects with Steve…
Release data: Various Artists – Analogy 3 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 This is the third volume of the “Analogy”-series, which started about three years ago as sort of “fun project” on EMForum. Since the first album, it appeared there were…
Release data: Steve Roach – Slow Heat CD, Timeroom Editions, 1998 Here’s another fine addition of ambient wallpaper intended for infinite playback. The continuous 71-minute soundscape making up “Slow Heat” is inspired by the desert environment and severe heat conditions…
Release data: Dan Hartman – New Green Clear Blue CD, Private Music, 1989 A while back, my long-time review colleague Bill Binkleman pointed my attention to this release, which appeared to be sadly out-of-print since quite some years. I think…
Release data: Hemisphere – Liquid Mirror CD, Musique Intemporelle/Groove Unlimited, 1991/1999 “Liquid Mirror” is the first album of Hemisphere (aka German musician Ralph Knappe Heinbockel), which originally came out years ago on Bernd Kistenmacher’s label Musique Intemporelle. The original version…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Emotional Landscapes CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2003 “Emotional Landscapes” is Erik’s third cd for Spotted Peccary’s-sublabel Wanderings, and again it’s an excellent one. In the first few minutes you remember the overall impact of his…
This follow-up to Char-El’s critically acclaimed debut album “Worlds Without End” is divided in two sections: a space-trip and an overall symphonic tour-de-force. “Heaven” offers more capturing space music in the tradition of Charles’ former album, moving further on into…
Release data: Char-El – Worlds without End CD, Private Release, 1996 “Worlds Without End” is the debut cd of Ohio-based musician Char-El aka Charles Thaxton. He is convinced that his music has a positive influence on both spiritual health and…
Release data: Telomere – Astral Currents CD, Evenfall, 1998 Well, well, here we have a cd which features some music which is perfectly in line with those made some years ago in the classic tradition of spacemusic. The musician behind…
Release data: Telomere – Zoetosis CD, Private Release, 2001 “Zoetosis” is the second cd of space-music composer Christopher MacDonald, inviting the listener to another fascinating virtual trip into space. Like his previous album “Astral Currents”, “Zoetosis” is primarily made on…
Release data: Ashera – Colour Glow CD, Private Release, 2000 “Colour Glow” is the third album from Australian-based ambient musician Antonio Asher Wright aka Ashera. Again,the same two female vocalists on his former album contribute in a marvelous way to…
Release data: Rob Essers – Raincolors CD, Groove Unlimited, 1994/2002 Rob Essers debut album “Raincolors” was originally released in 1994 on Cue Records NL. A couple of months before that, Rob gave me a demo of the album, which resulted…
Release data: Brian Vassallo – Beyond CD, Private Release, 1998 Well, what is got here is electronic space music from the Maltese (!) musician Brian Vassallo, who steps forward with an album he already seems to have released back in…
Release data: Ixohoxi & Numina – Starfarer’s Tales Vol. 1 CD-R, Private Release, 2002 This is the first collaboration between these two distinguished American ambient composers, both known for their remarkable soundscape music. They now joined forces which have led…
Release data: Mathias Grassow – Rüdiger Gleisberg – Amir Baghiri – Arcanum CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Rüdiger Gleisberg must have had quite an exhausting year, as he also found time to compose a solo-cd next to a cd of Solitaire.…
Release data: Ishq – Orchid CD, Interchill Records / Dakini Records, 2002 Ishq is the ambient chill-out project of the English musician Matt Hillier, who has traded his guitar in ’91 for a synthesizer, after which he made music using…
Release data: Kraftwerk – The Man Machine CD, EMI, 1978 “The Man Machine” was released in May 1978 and is still regarded as one of the best recordings of Kraftwerk. The cover features the four musicians in red outfit looking…
Release data: Various Artists – Ambienism Volume 1 CD, Spiralight, 2004 This great looking Spiralight-sampler offers a 74 minute collection of tracks by known and not-so-known ambient musicians. The first two tracks by Zero One and Mystical Sun set a…
Release data: VoLt – Nucleosynthesis CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 The duo Michael Shipway and Steve Smith continue their grand tour of accessible and attractive sequencer-based electronic music with “Nucleosynthesis”. The cd contains three long tracks, on which the typical UK…
Release data: Arc – Fracture CD, DiN, 2007 This cd and its music premiered at the E-Live 2007 festival on October 13 in Eindhoven, where Mark Shreeve and Ian Body, aka Arc, also performed a great concert. Like the previous…
Release data: Ron Boots & Friends – Joie de Vivre CD, Groove Unlimited, 2003 Actually, this is the second live cd of MORE (Music Of Ron and Eric) and in that sense the successor of the very succesful MORE cd…
Release data: Starseed Transmission – Metamorphic Illumination CD, Nova Zembla, 1994 The Australian band Starseed Transmission are Steve Law and Andrew Orion, the latter calling himself Andrew Orion on the album. The duo initially met in 1988 through a Melbourne…
Gulan is the pseudonym of Andrei Gulaikin, an ambient/space musician hailing from Latvia. “Cassiopeia” is an album filled with 71 minutes of very interesting electronic space music. It is nicely kicked-off by the title track, split in three parts. Some…
Release data: Steve Roach – Stormwarning CD, Timeroom Collector Series, 1999 This is the second re-release (but the “third” version now available as 24 –bit remaster) of Steve’s live-album “Stormwarning”, a dynamic live document that originally contained two long tracks.…
Release data: Steve Roach – All is Now CD, Timeroom Editions, 2002 This, beautifully packaged, double live-cd comprises outtakes from the long list of intensive concerts Steve Roach gave during his US-tour in 2002. Concerts included Sedona Arizona, Oakland, San…
Release data: Steve Roach – Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces CD, Projekt, 2004 Steve wrote that the first ideas for this box-set came to life around 1996. From then on, it was accomplished and polished bit by bit, culminated to…
Release data: Steve Roach, Byron Metcalf & Mark Seelig – Mantram CD, Projekt, 2004 This tribal album is referred to as “eight parts in a continuous flow”, “grounded in a reverence for the slowing of time which allows the natural…
Release data: John Rose – Cosmogenesis CD-R, Space for Music, 2001 John Rose is one of the founding members of the band Spacecraft. From the start of that band, I expected some deep space music, but their approach didn’t quite…
Release data: David Parsons – Vajra CD, Groove Unlimited, 2004 After several years of silence and only the sampler “In Retrospect”, fall 2004 finally saw the release of “Vajra”, a new album inspired by the extensive journey’s Parsons undertook in…
Release data: Mind over Matter – On the Wings of the Wind CD, Heart & Mind, 2004 “On the Wings of the Wind” is the first Mind over Matter- cd on Klaus’ own Heart & Mind-label. The concept of the…
Release data: Deborah Martin & Cheryl Gallagher – Tibet CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2004 Multi-instrumentalist Deborah Martin and world class harpist Cheryl Gallagher made a trip to Tibet in 1999 in search of the spiritual and musical heart of the…
Release data: Craig Padilla – Genesis CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2004 US-synthesist Craig Padilla already brought us the very nice album “Echo System” with Paul Ellis in spring of 2004. Well, he’s not done yet, as his second Spotted Peccary…
Release data: Maitreya – .74 CD, Council of Nine, 2004 Simon Lomax aka Maitreya has already impressed me with his former albums “From the Mothership” and “Telluric Waves”, and it was also great to meet him and art designer Kama…
Release data: Max Corbacho & Bruno Sanfilippo – Indalo CD-R, ad21 Music, 2004 “Indalo” is the first full-length collaborative effort of these two musicians, who made their own music-business by starting ad21 Music. The concept-album is named after an old…
Release data: Christian Welde – Fairytales CD, Private Release, 1998 This is a great cd filled with dreamy music in the best tradition, but not so soft that it runs into new age. This remarkable music is able to reflect…
Release data: Robert Rich – Echo of Small Things CD, Soundscape Productions, 2005 “Echo of Small Things” is a collection of sounds and image from a collaboration between ambient pioneer Robert Rich and his friend and photographer David Agasi. In…
Release data: David Parsons – Inner Places CD, Celestial Harmonies, 2005 The music of this album was made over two years ago, but by whatever reason shelved by the Celestial Harmonies label. The music is a counterpoint to the rhythmic,…
Release data: Jon Jenkins – Beyond City Light CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2005 “Beyond City Light”s the second cd of Jon Jenkins, who already made a favourable impression in the early days of the Spotted Peccary label with his album…
Release data: Robert Carty – Oceanic Space CD-R, Private Release, 2005 I have been familiar with the music of this American ambient space musician for quite some years, and must say I enjoy most of it. Well, “Oceanic Space” won’t…
Release data: Brendan Pollard – Expansion CD, Private Release, 2005 “Expansion” is the debut cd of Brendan Pollard, one half of the vintage band Rogue Element, which released the much acclaimed album “Premonition” last year. In their music they use…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Silver CD -R, Private Release, 2005 It took almost two years before Brennan’s long awaited ninth album “Silver” saw the light of day. The album offers music that nicely follows in the footsteps of predecessors…
The Spotted Peccary label already proved to have a good nose for fine ambient music. But this time they really have done a great job by releasing an album by Between Interval, aka the Swedish musician Stefan Jönsson. “Secret Observatory”…
Release data: Global Communication – 76:14 CD, Discotheque, 2005/1994 I thought it might a good idea to focus, again, on this album (originally released in June 1994) as an expanded, remastered version of this classic album came out a short…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Cosmology CD, Groove Unlimited, 2003 On his cd “Cosmology”, Gregory Kyryluk alias Alpha Wave Movement moves into a grand way: the album sounds more massive, dynamic and orchestral than before, with a few references…
Release data: Thought Guild – Continuum CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance, 2005 “Continuum” is the second cd from Gregory Kyryluk (also known as Alpha Wave Movement) and his companion Christopher Cameron. On their debut album “Context” the duo already handled their…
Release data: Steve Roach – New Life Dreaming CD, Timeroom Editions, 2005 The seed for creating “New Life Dreaming” began to germinate in December 2004 as Steve Roach started remastering his epic album “Dreamtime Return” (DR). This new album contains…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Alpha ~ Omega CD, Private Release, 1998 The cd “Alpha~Omega” is the final chapter of the Star-System trilogy, released in the year Andrew Forrest permanently moved to New Zealand. The album contains seven tracks making…
Release data: Steve Roach – Possible Planet CD, Timeroom Editions, 2005 “Possible Planet” is the zone world album which came to life while Roach was revisiting “Dreamtime Return” before re-mastering it. The outcome is a long-form living-breathing soundscape album with…
Release data: Luminous Dimensions – Luminous Dimensions DVD, Numinations, 2004 Well, fans of the ethereal ambient music of Jeff Pearce can rejoice this unique animation video combining the animation of Michael DuBois and Jeff’s transparent soundscapes. The animations on “Luminous…
Release data: Andrew Forrest – Starseed CD, Private Release, 1997 Andrew Forrest is a visual artist and musician from Cornwall, UK who lives in New Zealand since 1998. “Starseed” is the soundtrack to the esoteric film “Merkabah, Voyage of a…
Release data: U. Kay Hytz – An Acute Sense of the Absurd CD-R, Private Release, 2006 A couple of years ago, in 2002 to be exact, this UK-band released the impressive album “Ambients”, an ambient album next to their more…
Release data: Steve Roach – Kairos DVD, Timeroom Editions, 2006 After quite some different projects and efforts to combine his intensive music with visuals, Steve Roach has culminated things and pulled them to a new, spectacular level with “Kairos” –…
Release data: Gandalf – More Than Just A Seagull CD, Seagull Music, 1988 This recording was originally composed in 1983 as the soundtrack for the multimedia-performance “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” in Vienna, Austria. It was one of the albums released on…
Release data: Pieter Nooten & Michael Brook – Sleeps with the Fishes CD, 4AD, 1987 “Sleeps With The Fishes” is the excellent outcome of a collaboration between musician Pieter Nooten and ambient, experimental guitarist Michael Brook. The authentic tracks of…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Moontribe CD-R, ad21 Music, 2004 “Moontribe” contains a collection of previously unreleased tracks, meant for collaborative projects that finally did not happen, plus two brand new pieces. I must say it’s great Max didn’t put…
Release data: Between Interval – Autumn Continent CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2006 “Autumn Continent” is the third cd of the Scandinavian musician Stefan Jönsson, and his second on the Spotted Peccary sub label Wanderings. Like his former recording this again…
Release data: Brian Parnham – Between Here and There CD, Floating Point Records, 2005 This is the second release of the American ambient musician Brian Parnham, whose name popped up a few years ago on the Broadvista ambient-sampler “Passing Strange”.…
Release data: Patrick O´Hearn – Beautiful World CD, Private Release, 2003 For “Beautiful World”, Patrick again invited his musical companion Peter Maunu, who adds some fine 6 and 12 strings guitar to his inspiring music. Clocking at exactly 48 minutes,…
Release data: Jim Pietkivitch – Spiral Journey CD, Electrofine Music, 1998 “Spiral Journey”is the second cd of the Colorado-based American musician Jim Pietkivitch. The cd-cover looks very nice and invites the listener on an imaginary trip into the huge galaxy…
Release data: Richard deHove – Worlds Beyond Number CD, Private Release, 2006 It’s been quiet for a long while regarding new artists composing well produced space music. Well, this guy Richard DeHove sounds most promising on his cd “Worlds of…
Release data: Sean Washburn – Wave Mantra CD, Private Release, 2000 “Wave Mantra” is by all means a very nice album by American ambient-artist Sean Washburn. It offers the listener a spiritual journey of introspective music, lasting for 73 minutes,…
Release data: Eirik Lie – 12 Bilder CD, Visuell Musikk, 1996 “12 Bilder” is the first release of this small Norwegian label. It contains a selection of music of the Norwegian musician Eirik Lie which he made for installations, theatre…
Release data: Maitreya – Telluric Waves CD, Council of Nine, 2003 It took Simon Lomax a.k.a. Maitreya four years to present us with this, his second album, but I must confess that the end result more than makes up for…
Release data: Numina – Symbiotic Spaces CD, Gestalt Records, 2007 In my opinion, Numina (aka Jesse Sola) has always been a rather extraordinary ambient musician composing delicately crafted ambient space music. The beautifully designed “Symbiotic Spaces” is a double-cd containing…
Release data: Anomalous Disturbances – The Spirit Molecule CD-R, Private Release, 2002 On his debut album “The Spirit Molecule”, musician Terry O’Brien uses the sedating, hypnotizing effects of repetition and loops while using electronic devices. His deep breathing soundscapes created…
Release data: Sync24 – Source CD, Ultimae Records, 2007 Sync24 is a project of Swedish composer Daniel Ringström, one of the members of the Scandinavian down-tempo project Carbon Based Lifeforms. After several loose tracks on various samplers, “Source” is Daniel’s…
Release data: Steve Roach – Quiet Music CD, Fortuna Records, 1986/1999 “Quiet Music” (QM) is a collection of pieces ambient master Steve Roach created in respect for silence between 1983 and 1986. It is dedicated to the passing time and…
Release data: Steve Roach – Proof Positive CD, Timeroom Editions, 2006 Steve’s Roach’s re-discovery of pure analogue instruments has led to another album of excellent “spontaneous impulse”, to quote the sleeve note of the cd. The 21-minute track “Westwind” kicks…
Release data: Amethystium – Odonata CD, Neurodisc, 2001 “Odonata” is a special and great looking cd from the Norwegian musician Øystein Ramfjord. It is almost all instrumental music which nicely features some influence of Enigma, but next to that also…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Moonwater CD, Lotuspike, 2006 “Moonwater” is Rudy’s first release on the rather ambitious Lotuspike-label. As explained in the booklet, the start of the music was more or less accidental as some of his main studio…
Release data: Asura – Life 2 CD, Ultimae Records, 2007 Rather quick after the former great release “Source” from SYNC24, July 7th saw this release of Asura, the musical moniker of one Charles Farewell. The album starts out with drones,…
Release data: A Produce – Land of a Thousand Trances (special 2-cd edition) CD-R, Trance Port Special editions, 1994/2007 The last couple of years, Barry Craig aka A Produce has invested quite some works in revisiting & re-releasing some old…
Release data: Klaus Schulze – Kontinuum CD, SPV/Synthetic Symphony, 2007 I wasn’t that impressed by the music on his former album “Moonlake”, although I liked the first few minutes of the opening track very much. Well, the first track of…
Release data: Forrest Fang & Carl Weingarten – Invisibility CD, The Foundry, 2006 While listening to this fine cd, one almost has to think of some form of Fripp/Eno project, but then in a more spaced-out, floating manner. Mr Weingarten…
Release data: Projekt Erde – 11:11 CD, CMS/4U, 1991 Approximately six months after the German duo Hausmann & Stark had finished “Mysterious Vibrations”, the two musicians made a journey to Egypt. After their return they did the same kind of…
Release data: Johannes Schmoelling – Images and Memory CD, Viktoriapark Records, 2007 May 31, 2007 saw the release of this beautiful retrospective album, an anthology of Johannes Schmoelling’s work comprising a well chosen list of tracks from 1986-2006, also featuring…
Release data: The Lab – Homodigitalis CD, Neuronium Records, 2003 “Homodigitalis” is the debut-album of the Spanish duo The Lab, aka Miguel Lázaro & José Corredera, assisted by image-expert Bernardo Rivavelarde. The latter was responsible for the nice visuals on…
Release data: Various Artists – Analogy 2 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2006 In 2005 under the title “Analogy, Volume 1”, a compilation cd came out with unreleased material from a lot of interesting electronic musicians. The assignment was to create a…
Release data: Various Artists – Floating Point 3 CD, Iboga/Sofa Beats, 2006 In the world of electronic music it’s always nice to discover new names by means of samplers. This one comes from the Danish Iboga’s sublabel Sofa Beats and…
Release data: Various Artists – Evening Sky CD-R, Oasis Productions, 2003 This is the first cd-r of Oasis’ Music Theme from Canada, a music-database that is supposed to grow over the years and in which a lot of no longer…
Release data: Dave Peck – Endo-Spectra CD, Private Release, 2003 I found Peck’s name on one of the many playlists of the US radio stations who broadcast electronic music, and got intrigued by the name of the album. Dave Peck…
Release data: RON BOOTS Dreamscape CD, Groove Unlimited, 1990/2003 This album always held a special place for me as it marked the real kick-off for Ron Boots into the world of electronic music. In addition, the recording is a perfect…
Release data: Giles Reaves with Aashid Himons – The Deep End CD-R, Space for Music, 2000 Already by seeing the cover of this cd I got this exciting feeling that the music would sound more than nice. And yes: with…
Release data: Gert Emmens – A Boy’s World CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 On the concept-album “A Boy’s World”, Gert Emmens tries to capture a bit of the world, ideas, dreams and fantasies of his up growing son Frank. The albums…
Release data: Syndrone – Blind Date CD, Cuel Records NL, 1996 After a three year break, the album “Blind Date” was released in fall of 1996. The nine tracks on it were recorded during several jam sessions between 1994 and…
Release data: Syndrone – Being There CD, Cue Records NL, 1993 It was somewhere in 1992 when André Theelen and Harold Teunissen, aka Syndrone, payed me a visit. In those days, I was write reviews and other articles for KLEM,…
Release data: Robert Rich – Atlas Dei DVD, Soundscape Productions, 2007 “Atlas Dei” is a nicely packaged 90-minute dvd-extravaganza of high-resolution motion graphics, in panoramic 3:1 aspect ratio with letterbox. It features released and unreleased ambient music (all presented in…
Release data: Klangwelt – The Age of Numbers CD, Spheric Music, 2003 This is the long-awaited, great looking second cd of Gerald Arend aka Klangwelt. For those who enjoyed his former cd, well prepare yourselves for a treat. Ingenious, catchy…
Release data: Numina – Live at the Inner Sanctum CD-R, Private Release, 2003 Jesse Sola, a.k.a. Numina, recorded this impressive live-document at the Inner Sanctum in Denver, Colorado on Mai 31 2003, and while listening I would have loved I…
Release data: Maitreya – From the Mothership CD, Council of Nine, 1999 “From the Mothership” is the debut-cd of Simon Lomax aka Maitreya, released on his own small ambient label Council of Nine. The cover states the album is “dedicated…
Release data: Kevin Bartlett – Near Life Experience CD, Aural Gratification, 2003 “Near Life Experience” is the awesome debut-recording of multi-instrumentalist Kevin Bartlett, offering over 73 minutes of evocative instrumental songs in which influences of Mike Oldfield, Enigma, Peter Gabriel…
Release data: Living Dreamtime – Exploring the Water Element CD, Origo Sound, 2002 “Exploring the Water Element” is an album by Living Dreamtime,a.k.a. the very talented Oslo-based musician Tor Linlokken. The album completely focuses on the world of water, its…