Release data: Zanov – Moebius 256301 (40th Anniversary edition) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 1977/2017 Zanov, strongly influenced by his own scientific background, always attempted to connect some scientific concepts such as chaos theory, fractals and complexity theory with his music. Its influence appeared in 1977 while experimenting with some three counts patterns sequencers that changed almost unnoticed to four counts…
Release data: Steve Roach – Nostalgia for the Future CD/MC/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Edtions , 2017 “Nostalgia For the Future”, the companion release to “Long Thoughts”, is a calming reverie for the slow lane featuring a deep ambient flow of six interconnected soundworld immersions evoking an echo in time and place. Darker shades are absent in this drifting tapestry of velvet,…
Release data: Pyramid Peak – Roots CD, Manikin Records, 2017 “Roots” is a commemorative release celebrating the 30th anniversary of this successful German band who states the outcome is the essence of all previous albums. At the same time it reflects on a lengthy period of friendship between the members, their ongoing passion for electronic music and the evolution of…
Release data: Walter Christian Rothe – Alice (30th Anniversary edition) CD, Groove Unlimited, 1987/2017 In a way “Alice” could be considered a kind of forgotten work of Belgian synthesist Walter Christian Rothe. Initially released on vinyl in 1987 as a concept album it was followed by a cd release in 1997 on the IC label as “The Story of Alice”.…
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 Thoughts” is presented as a vital sanctuary of deep resonance and reflection to us humans as a constant deluge of overstimulation…
Release data: Chronotope Project – Ovum CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music , 2017 Chronotope Project’s seventh album “Ovum” had a long gestation period with seeds slowly starting to grow at the beginning of 2013. The process of (re)shaping, revising and refocusing the outcome turned out satisfactory, as the composer succeeded in balancing many personal and impersonal elements, bringing his emotional…
Release data: Chuck van Zyl – Rituals CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synkronos Music, 2014 Mr. Van Zyl’s love for and signature style of classic electronic music forms the core of the 57-minute “Rituals”, an album containing two long tracks. The 21-minute “Saturn” kicks things off with a mysterious entrance of sound effects before carrying the listener away on celestial winds with a…
Release data: Yagya – Stars and Dust CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Delsin Records, 2016 “Stars and Dust” is an album full off well-made, attractive and atmospheric down-tempo electronics encouraging the listener to get horizontal and feel at ease. This time around and compared to his previous efforts, tenderness seems the keyword here. The lush, dub-oriented and affective melodic outcome by Islandic creative…
Release data: Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder – Red Live @ USA CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manikin Records, 2017 This double EP-album comprises three long excepts of music by the trio as they crossed the pond in 2012 to play several live gigs in Princeton and Philadelphia at The Gatherings, Star’s End radio show and Echoes radio. The variation I missed on the…
Release data: Llyn Y Cwn – IV DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manky Music , 2017 For his fourth Llyn Y Cwn release, musician Ben Powell created another set of freeform dark ambient tracks based around a field recording supposed to represent the conditions at Llyn Y Cwn (a small lake in the Glyder mountain range of Snowdonia, North Wales) at that particular…
Release data: Secondface – Transitions CD, Gterma , 2017 The music on this album had a long way coming as composer Frank Vilbæk Jensen lost quite some drafts due to two severe computer breakdowns as he only made a partial back-up of them. Next to starting on new music to add to the recovered stuff Frank also struggled for a…
Release data: S1gns of L1fe – Pathways to Ascension CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synphaera Records, 2017 “Pathways to Ascension”, cut from a 24bit-44.1 kHz master source, is a down-tempo/chill-out exercise by Chris Bryant (aka S1gns Of L1fe) who hails from California’s Bay Area. Bryant’s emotive ambient-tech music has matured and deepened further with every new release featuring the intrinsic warmth, expert mastering…
Release data: VelgeNaturlig – Opalescent Pust CD, Winter-Light, 2017 Aficionados of haunting and profound organic ambient will find a lot to like on the longform “Opalescent Pust” by Portuguese soundscape artist VelgeNaturlig. It’s a liquid constellation of dark, slow morphing inner dronescapes triggering the imagination from start to fish. The continuous ride makes a fascinating descent into cool, constantly transforming…
Release data: David Helpling – A Sea Without Memory (Ambient Guitar Works Vol. 1) DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 What I got here is a typical album of US textural guitar soundscape music using only electric guitar along a range of custom programmed effects processors to achieve an overall drifting outcome. The latter was constructed from a series of…
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 clocking between 13 and 16 minutes each inspired by and painting the beauty of Britain through rich, majestic, colourful and…
Release data: Pyramaxx – Move CD, Klangdesign-Records, 2017 On their debut album “Distance” Axel Stupplich, Andreas Morsch and Max Schiefele already presented a fine display of melodic-spiced, solid and mature electronic music. The result on their second endeavour “Move” fits in the same league with again some progressive rock nods showing up in the seven steady sequencer/rhythmic driven tracks of…
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 concept is based on the Aztecs creation myth, a continuous cycle of creations and destructions called suns. The myth which…
Release data: Lauge – Pusterum DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sibri29 Records, 2015 Now here’s another strong candidate of highly sophisticated, refined and beat-less ambient soundscape music. Its composer is Danish artist Henrik Laugesen whose 72-minute “Pusterum” (mastered by the capable Huby Sea) is meant as an aid to induce a full and restful night’s sleep. I for one consider it an effective…
Release data: Siddhartha Barnhoorn – Structures of Light CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 What I got here is the second album by Dutch film/game composer and ambient-electronic artist Siddhartha Barnhoorn, who regards Steve Roach one of his heroes. Mainly composed with vintage synthesizers and fx’s, “Structures of Light” features one hour of calming, freeform music most suitable for evening and…
Release data: Quaeschning & Schnauss – Synthwaves LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Azure Vista Records, 2017 Presented as a homage to the electronic music masters of the past yet breathing fresh contemporary and enchanting vibes along an overall post-cosmic sound, Thorsten Quaeschning & Ulrich Schnauss “Synthwaves” is a 53-minute release made with vintage synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines only. The eight track outcome…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper –MantraSequent CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2017 As the title already suggest, “MantraSequent” is a series of Mantra-like meditative compositions that flow into each other creating a long sonic sculpture that lives and breathes. This time around, AnalogueJeff found core inspiration in rhythmic chants and analog sequences as well as spiritual places and their special atmospheres. The…
Release data: Cosmic Ground – Live CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sunhair Music, 2017 “Live” compiles a mix of the best moments of the concerts Cosmic Ground played at E-Live festival 2016 and Psychedelic Network Festival 2016. At both gigs, where Dirk Jan Müller was accompanied on stage by Horst “Sunhair” Porkert, improvised sets of music were played based or expanded upon the…
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 back to the late ‘90’s. It contains one longform piece of highly emotive ambient soundscapes and deep atmospheric textures where…
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 symphonic space music I refer to the text I wrote on the original. The 30th anniversary edition of this contemporary…
Release data: Nothing but Noise – eXistence Oscillation PrEsent CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wool E-Discs, 2017 Whereas “eXistence Oscillation pAst” contained music created in the three years after the duo’s fine debut “Not Bleeding Red”, the 48-minute “eXistence Oscillation prEsent” offers all new material written and produced by Dirk Bergen and Daniel Bressanutti. From the start it’s clear the outcome builds stronger…
Release data: Jaja – Milky Way CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cyan Music, 2016 Sonically, things continue on “Milky Way” as we know from Jaja’s previous albums with the immense galaxy and Milky Way still as the core inspiration for deep cosmic journeying. This time around Jana Rockstroh delivered a double album with three extended textural drone tracks (Part I – Under the…
Release data: Mario Konrad – Spirit Cave CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2007 Mario Konrad’s second solo album “Spirit Cave” is a tribal-ambient recording that sounds like a light-version of Suspended Memories or a collaborative work by Steve Roach The 54-minute recording contains six atmospheric, rhythm-spiced pieces with a certain darker veil presenting itself only occasionally taking the listener into a…
Release data: Ian Boddy – As Above So Below LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2016 It seems to me things have come to rest and return to a harmonic state on the Ian Boddy’s rather neo-classical oriented, symphonic infused “As Above so Below”. The smooth swirling electronic music structures featured on the 39-minute/6-track album all carry a cinematic, reflective, organic-infused and library-music…
Release data: Red Planet Orchestra – The Human DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Path of Action Productions, 2017 “The Human” is quite a massive release by UK-duo Vincent Rees and Pete Smith, aka Red Planet Orchestra. It features 160 minutes of highly emotive, strong symphonic-flavored and contemporary-classical cosmic music painting a grand picture before the listener’s ears. The sonic content found in each…
Release data: Various Artists – Winter-Light … That First Season CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Winter-Light, 2017 What I got here is an ambient compilation released by Dutch Winter-Light containing 16 exclusive, unreleased tracks by skilled composers hailing from all corners of the globe. The 140-minute double album “Winter-Light…That First Season” (mastered by the notable Simon Heath) actually offers ambient aficionados the opportunity…
Release data: Synchronized – Galaxy CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2017 “Galaxy” by Dutch synthesist Francois ten Have (aka Synchronized) marks the fifth release in Groove’s GR1000 cd series. The 64-minute album consists of eight accessible, melodic, sequencer-spiced and rhythmic tracks inspired by and addressing the cosmic theme. On various passages, with the exception of the rather superficial, too easy-going sixth…
Release data: ASC – Truth be Told CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silent Season , 2014 The fully beatless “Truth be Told”, the follow-up to James Clements excellent effort “Time heals all”, builds and expands slightly upon the themes and ideas explored on the previous album while trying to retain everything that made the earlier one so special. It has led to a…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Nocturnes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silentsun, 2017 “Nocturnes” (the debut release on Max’s own label Silentsun, created exclusively for his solo albums from now on) is the first episode of a trilogy with night landscapes as a theme. The long hours lived on many night-time excursions and capturing the places visited in great photos (see the albums…
Release data: Altus – Sleep Theory Volume 3 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 This third installment in Altus’ Sleep Theory series (published about four years after the previous volume) contains the extended sessions 7, 8 and 9, all carefully molded and shaped sonic companions to help the listener explore what happens while you sleep. The freeform music featured on each…
Release data: Kevin Braheny – Lullaby for the Hearts of Space MC/CD, Hearts of Space/Valley Entertainment, 1980/1991 For the first time ever on cd, “Lullaby for the Hearts of Space” is commercially available for the first time since its cassette-release on the same label in 1991. The album’s title music, a 35-minute improvisation performed and recorded live for the legendary…
Release data: MoonSatellite – Sessions DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 According the liner notes to this album it appears MoonSatellite has come to a turning point in his musical career, adding one more chapter to his previous releases but also marking the end of cycle simultaneously. The one hour “Sessions” compiles six shelved, none-linked recordings (read: lost tapes) done between…
Release data: Ryuichi Sakamoto – async LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Q-rious Music/Warner Music, 2017 The analog and synthetic “async” (conceived as a soundtrack to an imaginary Andrei Tarkovsky movie) marks Ryuichi Sakamoto’s first solo effort in about eight years, a period in which he was also diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and overcoming the disease. In that respect, the album is…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Tomorrow’s Explorers EP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3Six Recordings, 2017 The four-track “Tomorrow’s Explorers”, the follow-up to 36’s 2015 Ep “Sine Dust”, again draws inspiration from the endless themes of space while giving a beautiful free form ambient voice to its overwhelming, intriguing expansiveness and splendor. This time around the enveloping, gentle morphing walls of sound of synths…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Sequencer Rarities CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2017 “Sequencer Rarities” is a collection of six lone and special tracks composed between 2000 and 2007 that (unfortunately) never made it to any of the albums released by Groove Unlimited. Those familiar and fond of the driving rhythmic Berlin school sequencing on Rudy’s “Sequencer Sketches” album series or…
Release data: Between Interval – Legacy CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 “Legacy”, Between Interval’s fifth chapter in something that was started with “Radio Silence” around 2003/2004, appears after almost eight years of silence. Life caught up with Swedish composer Stefan Strand, leaving him very little time to create new music and compositions for which he needs to immersive totally…
Release data: Darshan Ambient – Skyful of Bliss CD-R, Private Release, 1998 “Skyful of Bliss” is one of the early recordings by Michael Allison, aka Darshan, before he would end up on James Johnson’s Zero Music label. The release contains three long pieces and one short composition of ambient music, all made between 1996 and 1998. The almost 22-minute title…
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 “Seed” with MaJaLe. A pallet of self-generating soundscapes form the basic building blocks of “The Butterfly Chamber” to which James…
Release data: Chris Russell – Labyrinth CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2017 Meant as an audio soundtrack for circling to the center of oneself, the spacious, slow evolving, subtle shapeshifting and overtly subdued soundscapes making up each of the six freeform tracks on “Labyrinth”, Mr. Russell’s debut solo on the Spotted Peccary label, represent different twists and turns on the…
Release data: Gandalf – Visions 2001 CD, Sony Music , 2000 It was somewhere in the year 2000, Austrian sound magician and multi-instrumentalist Heinz Strobl (aka Gandalf) looked back on 20 years as a recording artist and decided to record a special album to celebrate this 20th anniversary. He imagined it to be a kind of a homage to J.R.R…
Release data: John Kerr – Embracing the Inevitable CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2016 Facing a life-threatening disease and suffering from the severe physical and mental consequences of it has been what John Kerr’s life has been all about the last few years. In its own way, “Embracing the Inevitable” celebrates the beauty of life along focusing on the positive side…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Cerulean Skies CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2017 From Gregory Kyryluk I learned the fundamentals and framework for “Cerulean Skies” were already laid out somewhere in the later 1990s. Most of the albums music, inspired by the beauty of the ever changing sky, was improvised using loops, minimal hardware and no computer sequencing, while…
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 inspired by and rooted firmly in the Berlin School territory, vents is own style, sounding overall mellow and emotive while…
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 entirely instrumental 48-minute outcome offers dreamy and atmospheric, yet melodic compositions with a recurring musical guiding theme which sees Heinz…
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 zither-player Laraaji) also looks for different perspectives and introspection in the ordinary world of life. Similar to “Fire & Remembrance”,…
Release data: James Johnson & Stephen Philips – Lost at Dunn’s Lake CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zero Music, 2001 Created for continuous playback, “Lost at Dunn’s Lake” contains one 62-minute ambient sojourn James Johnson made with Dark Duck label-owner Stephen Philips. It’s a contemplative but also slightly mysterious flavoured aural affair blending sustained glacier bell sounds, soft piano and slow unwinding, overtly…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Exile DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 The four-track “Exile” is a jolly nice and solid album full of spatial, multi-layered sequential electronics accompanied by vintage textures. The musics dynamic and lovely pulsating yet circular patterns along some moody textural parts sketched out here create a recurring tantalizing effect on each piece. This works out especially…
Release data: James Johnson & Robert Scott Thompson – Forgotten Places CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zero Music, 2001 Next to his solo releases, ambient composer James Johnson also collaborated with several other musicians (such as Vir Unis and Stephen Philips) which resulted in some beautiful results. The 60-minute “Forgotten Places” is a slightly bit harder to chew, as the accompanying musician this…
Release data: Betzler & Brückner – Triplet CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2016 The 76-minute “Triplet” is a collaborative project by Tommy Betzler (drums) and Michael Brückner (synths) joined by Sammy David (e-guitar) on most tracks and Fryderyk Jona (Moog synth) on a few of them. The first three pieces, all clocking between 16 and 22 minutes, are in the same…
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 his friend/neighbour/collaborator Mikael Ögren to an unreleased (and unedited) road movie filmed in Russian Karelia, where Mr. Agebjörn’s grandfather was…
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 passages. Moreover “Tale from a long forgotten Kingdom” focuses on calming atmospheres and sacred/dreamy moods than on creating melodies. Accomplished…
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 hypothesis of Eternal Return. Lush and light sequences along a subtle melodic line fill the space on the opener “Return…
Release data: Van Zyl, Gulch & Rath – The Sound Museum CD, Groove Unlimited , 2001 The classic electronic and Berlin School-based music featured on the 74-minute “The Sound Museum” hails back to the late ‘80’s when Chuck Van Zyl, Peter D. Gulch and Andrew Rath were making music as Xisle. As the latter they released a double cassette in…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Velocity CD, Spheric Music, 2017 Although “Velocity” is a release of contemporary and general-melodic instrumental electronics, it also sees Robert wander back to several of his classic roots that marked the start of his EM-career back in 1979. Besides some catchy melodies and a few mellow sounding solos, the 64-minute “Velocity” features seven sequencer-driven and…
Release data: Various Artists – Greenosophy chapter II CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2017 Here’s a second batch of minimal, contemporary, progressive trance and hypnotic electronics by various artists compiled by Swiss dj Mizoo aka Cyril Miserez. What starts out in a lovely tranquil, reflective and dreamy vein by OM and Claudio PRC slowly evolves in a few throbbing rhythmic pieces…
Release data: John Lyell – Planetary Artifacts CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 Although just started, the year 2017 has already seen a few space music releases. With his fourth album “Planetary Artifacts”, mastered by Robert Rich, John Lyell presents his listeners nine atmospheric soundscape pieces that dwell in freeform along sequenced and gentle pulsating cosmic territory for 53-minutes. Mystery, alienation…