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…
Release data: James Johnson – Linger CD-R, Mp3.com/AtmoWorks, 2000 “Linger” contains the live performance of James Johnson as played at The Ambient Ping 2000. This purveyor of tranquil ambient performed some great mood music, taking the whole concept to a new, soft glowing level. The 13-minute highly atmospheric title track kicking things off contains some sounds of thunder and rain.…
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 content of “Entering Twilight” is a completely different story as it features one 66-minute track which follows through on the…
< 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 Holmes hits the streets. In Hollan’s words, the double album “Prayer to the Energy” has easily been the most challenging…
Release data: James Johnson – Unity CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zero Music, 1998/2016 “Unity” is the debut album by ambient composer James Johnson, of which the music at the time of its initial release was compared with Steve Roach’s releases “Quiet Music” and “Structures from Silence”. This certainly applies to the first track “Forward”, a beautiful exercise in tranquil, gentle lingering and…
Release data: James Johnson – Surrender CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Zero Music, 1999 With his second album “Surrender”, ambient composer James Johnson presents an even smoother sound compared to his debut “Unity”. The outcome is a nice introspective album that combines elements of Liquid Mind, Brian Eno, Jeff Pearce and kindred spirits. “Surrender” takes the listener into a quiet environment of somewhat…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Following the Ether Sun CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projektt, 2017 Besides synthesizer, violin and an assortment of hand-based percussion instruments, Chinese-American sound-sculptor Forrest Fang also plays some far lesser known and uncommon stringed instruments on “Following the Ether Sun”, once more blending a refined hybrid of Western and Eastern influences. This time around though (and contrary to…
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 most amazing one until now, and a real discovery is Germany’s Synestem, aka Gerald Wirtz, who’s also an artist of…
Release data: Silentwave – Kilauea CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hiss Noise Records, 2017 On the 31-minute dronescape “Kilauea” (the youngest and most active Hawaiian shield volcano), Yoshinori Noguchi expresses the beauty of nature in the first half while the second one reflects on the scarier side of nature. The improvised outcome starts out as an overall smooth, drifting affair of gentle evolving…
Release data: Kai Harster – Return to Nature & Other Delights LP/CD-R, Private Release, 1985/2011 The self-produced “Return to Nature & other Delights” by German composer/painter/lyricist Kai Harster (which received some critical acclaim from Hubert Bognermayer of Erdenklang fame) welcomes its listeners to a strange world of collected acoustic visions. In the distance, some of the meditative/avant-garde and rather psychedelic…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Particles CD-EP, Eastgate, 2016 “Particles”, the third release in The Quantum Years series, contains two cupdiscs in cardboard sleeve featuring a mixture of previously unreleased studio (Muon; 52 minutes) and live material (Tau; 36 minutes). “Muon” kicks off nicely with the fully improvised and edgy sounding 29-minute “4.00pm Session” which sees Thorsten Quaeschning, Ulrich Schnauss…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Urban Decay CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2014/2016 The six tracks Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij created for “Urban Decay” were mainly based on and inspired by their well-accomplished performance at the Dutch E-live Festival in 2012 and completed in February 2013. Due to a change in their style of music (ambient atmospherics…
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 1978 and 1980. These (as it seems) were highly influential art /sci-fi story combinations for folks interested in hardware oriented…
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 Becoming”, a collaborative project by Lav (aka Christopher Landin) and Purl (aka Ludvig Cimbrelius). The 57-minute outcome slowly unfolds its…
Release data: Boreal Taiga – Polar Reflections DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Wayfarer Records, 2016 Here’s (finally!) a very nice opportunity for all ambient fans out there get to know Norwegian’s Boreal Taiga’s sophisticated sound art whose work is dedicated or inspired by the great white outdoors, frozen oceanic environments, (Ant)arctic natural splendor and ancient populations still living in those remote places. “Polar…
Release data: F.D. Project – Timeless II CD, Private Release, 2016 “Timeless II” (which actually has a loud sound level) saw the light of day exactly 10 years after the first album from 2006. This second chapter features a lot of sounds created back then (check “Return of O..part V”) along some infectious sequencing/drums parts and melodic lines. In addition,…
Release data: Brian Eno – Reflection CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Warp Records, 2017 It’s time to submerge in some tranquil soundscapes again. Fans that enjoyed Mr Eno’s long form ambient bliss such as “Thursday Afternoon” and “Neroli” will encounter a similar aural excursion on the 54-minute “Reflection”, Brian’s 19th studio album to date. The thoughtful, patiently crafted one track composition sounds overtly…
Release data: Altus – Below the Root DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2017 Since I got to know the music of Altus it’s been evident for me many -if not all- of his releases feature a lovely cinematic, imaginary and deeper quality that one enjoys best with quality headphones. To achieve this properly and satisfactory it’s important to dedicate enough time…
Release data: Ashen Simian – Momentum DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Retroduction, 2016 “Momentum”, released a few days before Christmas 2016, was realized using an Ipad along modern desktop synths apart from the usual Ensoniq Fizmo and Korg O1W/fd which Ami Hassinen uses a lot in his music and those of Nemesis. Compared to his previous album “New Horizons”, the character of most…
Release data: Steve Roach – Spiral Revelation CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2016 Since a couple of years I’ve found it very hard and too demanding to keep up with the high speed of Steve’s releases. Besides serious time constraints to investigate them properly, also the quality of some I listened to didn’t appear as solid and captivating anymore. “Spiral Revelation”…
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 and powerful statement of spatial Berlin School sequencers which are tweaked almost constantly along psychedelic-ish soundscapes swirling around them. The…
Release data: Hecq – Night Falls CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hymen/Ant-Zen, 2008/2016 This deep listening recording is not for the faint of heart. Nocturnal, neo-classical, semi-orchestral and dark cinematic mood music (including a passage with abstract/experimental hooks on “Dis”) is on the menu on Hecq’s fifth album “Night Falls”, a side-project by Berlin-based composer, producer and sound designer Ben Lukas Boysen. Marked…
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 also quite spellbinding ambient music. Its mesmerizing yet hypnotic outcome features eight pieces of music that have been split into…
Release data: Steve Hauschildt – Strands LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Kranky, 2016 With “Strands”, Cleveland-based composer Steve Hauschildt presents his listeners a fascinating analogue trip into spacey and surreal ambient landscapes without wandering in darker territory. The album is a song cycle about cosmogony and creation/destruction myths, its title alludes to the structural constitution of ropes as the artist wanted to approach…
Release data: Sverre Knut Johansen – Antarctica DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Origin Music, 2016 This is a concept album containing contemporary and quite joyous, at times even neo-classical-infused, electronic music dedicated to and inspired by the vulnerable Antarctic region that’s under attack of pollution, global warming issues and other threats. Despite these serious concerns, Sverre Knut Johansen has come up with nine…
Release data: Spyra/Lang – Achtundsechzig 24 (Live@Toskana-Therme) CD, Manikin Records, 2003 With this release the duo Spyra/Lang has come up with a fine work of long form, sequencer-driven and rather trancy Berlin School music carrying the spirit of both vintage and contemporary Schulze as a kind of torch throughout the whole outcome. Compared to Klaus’ modern work, there’s actually no…
Release data: Jim Ottaway – Timeless e-Motion CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 The title of this album wants to reflect the ‘almost’ endless motion of life along some of the emotions that we experience as we go through life’s journey. As such, Down Under-based composer Mr Ottaway came up with a quite energizing, rhythmic-oriented but not too busy outcome featuring various…
Release data: James Murray – Eyes to the Height CD-DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2016 Mr Murray’s seventh full-length solo album “Eyes to the Height” is a work of contemporary ambient poetry centred on the fragile beauty of life and loss. Next to a certain cinematic quality it features a strong pastoral, velvet and intimate feel. Still I don’t think this…
Release data: AirSculpture – Vanishing Point Volume Two CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 This follow-up to Volume 1 features the music played live in concert at The Gatherings 2011 concert in Philadelphia USA. What strikes quite a bit is the imminent cinematic yet darker quality embedded in the highly improvised often abstract-oriented ambient/soundscape outcome on the first disc contrary to…
Release data: Stefan Erbe – Selectronique Debussy CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Erbe Music, 2016 What you get on this recording is Debussy’s classical music taking the Tomita-avenue but executed in a contemporary “German” fashion. I actually gave the release several extra spins to make up my mind as it puzzled me the first time, but proved doing the same later on. There’s…
Release data: Nothing but Noise – eXistence Oscillation Past CD/DIGITAL DOWWNLOAD, Wool E-Discs, 2016 The Belgian Wool-E label has coined Belgian NeuMusik (Belgian ambient, Berlin School and other experimental-instrumental EM) to label Nothing but Noise’s album “eXistence Oscillation Past”, the first part of a brand new series. The intense aural journey of five long tracks, ranging from sequenced ambient to…
Release data: Mathias Grassow – The Nightquest Sessions CD, Gterma, 1998/2016 Looking at the range of releases on Gterma its clear label owner John Rehn is an avid fan of the darkening ambient-drone works of German musician Mathias Grassow. This version, a slightly altered and edited version of the album Mr Grassow released privately on cd-r in 1998, is a…
Release data: Ulrich Schnauss – No Further Ahead Than Today CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Scripted Realities, 2016 This album is a kind of journey down memory lane as the impact of the nine complex and emotive songs making up “No Further Ahead Than Today” strongly echo the style, approach and aural design of Ulrich’s first releases “Far Away Trains Passing By” (2001)…
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 emptiness, is a musical interpretation of the ultimate non-dual reality where all movement is seen as an expression of stillness…
Release data: Jean Michel Jarre – Oxygene 3 LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sony Music, 2016 Mr Jarre keeps busy the last couple of years and even set himself a deadline to compose a third chapter of “Oxygene” for its 40th anniversary. Well, the nearly 40-minute album –still without any drums- turns out a minimalist work with lots of sound experimentation on analogue…
Release data: Various Artists – Spheric Music: Silver CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music, 2016 With the compilation album “Silver”, Lambert Ringlage’s label Spheric Music celebrates its 25th anniversary offering ten exclusive tracks by established and forthcoming artists on the label. The opening track by Frenchman Joel Fajerman (who seems to have a release forthcoming on Spheric) is a very nice vintage…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Piano Textures 4 CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD21 Music, 2016 “Piano Textures 4” sees a continuation of Mr Sanfilippo’s journey through refined electro-acoustic aural realms. It contains nine narrative compositions of intense piano minimalism, treatments, field recordings and sophisticated electronics evoking both mystic and dreamy moods. The timeless, at times even fluid character of the outcome is…
Release data: Rene de Bakker – Almost Human CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 Rene de Bakker’s “Almost Human” was launched on “E-Live 2016”, another album of sequencer-based, Berlin School inspired electronic music. Several interesting moves and sounds are present on each of the seven tracks on the 79-minute album, but (as noted on previous recordings) I again discerned several superficial,…
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 unconsciousness. The 70-minute “Daiyuzan” features three slow evolving longform ambient pieces of a minimalist, improvised, drifting and profound introspective nature…
Release data: Arcane – Automaton CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2016 Arcane aficionados -including myself- who have been following and appreciating this artist’s accessible vintage sequencer works should now be very cautious. Mr Lawler’s “Automaton” proves a hard nut to crack with its profound experimental/abstract approach and sound (meant to mimic the nature of the Automaton) built from layers of self…
Release data: Seetyca – Zwischenwelten CD, Winter-Light , 2015 “Zwischenwelten”, worlds in between, starts out with mysterious whispers and blurred, expansive dronescapes. It’s an entrance into another deep ominous and ghostly world made by of e-maschinen, samplers, ocarina, recorder, zither, voice, trombone, flute and various environmental recordings and sample food where the dark-atmospheric atmospheres reign. This time around though, experimentation…