Release data: Mathias Grassow – The Darklight Quest CD, Gterma, 1998/2016 Mr Grassow’s “The Darklight Quest” comes with an “explicit warning” printed on the backside of the booklet “Ambient Nocturnal Expanding Thought”. This line sums up most accurately what the hypnotizing and haunting textural music (mainly based on a same-titled privately released cd-r in 1998 and for this new edition…
Release data: SiJ & Sergey Gabbasov – Perseides CD, Gterma, 2016 “Perseides” is the second ethnographical aural journey by Vladislav Sikach (aka SiJ) and Sergey Gabbasov on the Swedish Gterma label. This time around, the continuous, almost 80-minute outcome is a blend 12 tracks, all travelling on the mystery road to places far away in the Mongol region. The music…
Release data: Various Artists – Star’s End 30th anniversary (anthology cd) CD, Private Release, 2007 Fans (especially those living in the USA),loving atmospheric ambient and Berlin School inspired cosmic music may be familiar with Chuck van Zyl. The latter is producer and host of the renowned radioshow Star’s End and also organizer of the many concerts in Philadelphia’s Gatherings Concert…
Release data: Suzanne Ciani – Seven Waves LP/MC/CD, Finnadar/Victor/Seventh Wave, 1982 “Seven Waves”, expressing the composers love for and fascination with early electronic instruments along a mystically bonding to the sea, was Suzanne Ciani’s first commercial album. Not only took the record two years to produce, it also demanded a long journey to find a record label to release it.…
Release data: Peter Miller – The Violet Flame CD, Archon Music, 1993 Peter Miller is an Australian sound designer, musician and digital image artist whose sonic artistry at first reminded me of the abstract ambient paintings by Andrew Thomas Wilson occasionally. Then again, Peter’s third album “The Violet Flame” fits in its own league of cinematic/orchestral electronic music, featuring surreal…
Release data: Kurtz Mindfields – The Dreaming Void LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Nuage 7 Production, 2016 The 41-minute “The Dreaming Void” by Kurtz Mindfields (aka French synthesist Jean-Luc Briançon) is meant as homage to early Berlin School EM. The outcome sees him play music on a vast and impressive range of vintage gear such as the first ARP 2500, various Moog Modular…
Release data: Mindglide – Tangent DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2010/2013 Rafael De Julián’s “Tangent” is an electronic space album with a slight Berlin School edge, the latter applying to the use of some sequencing. The 36-minute “Vast Dominion” kicks things off with lush but rather bare atmospherics, after nine minutes followed by some sequencers. It can be me, but I…
Release data: Detlef Keller – The Breakfast Event CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manikin Records, 2016 This album contains the continuous 46-minute live set (and one of his rare solo concerts) performed by German synthesist Detlef Keller at the Schallwende EM-Breakfast in December 2015. I’m not familiar with Keller’s solo music, but it immediately struck how much more melodic, emotive and joyful this…
Release data: Michael Meara – Timeworn DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Aural Films, 2016 When it comes to deep inner journeying, the somber and dark textural ponderings featured on Mr Meara’s dark ambient album “Timeworn” are just that. The two 20-minute explorations, created with processed guitar and synths, are slow morphing and slightly foreboding, drifting inward and descending into deep crevasses where daylight…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – Volume 7 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/CD-R, English Electronic Music Company, 2016 This disc features two lengthy pieces: a studio take from March 2009 and the last concert Pollard/Daniel/Booth played at UK’s Awakenings festival in September 2010. The 24-minute “Red Gryphon Dream State” starts out with psychedelic soundscaping followed by some lovely vintage sequencing surfacing around 8 minutes which…
Release data: Tim Story – Glass Green LP/CD/MC, Windham Hill Records, 1987 Painter of introspective sonic miniatures is a description that fits well to American composer Tim Story. The mood and feel of “Glass Green”, presenting a lovely interplay of piano ands warm synths, is a fine companion for quiet, reflective and thoughtful times featuring ten instrumental musings displaying rays…
Release data: Richard Bone – Aera USB-DRIVE/DIGITAL DOWNLOA, Quirkwork Laboratories, 2016 Electronica/ambient collectors out may be pleased to learn US-synthesist Richard Bone has released “Aera”, a 2-hour collection of 25 rare and obscure tracks released on an engraved rosewood USB drive limited to just 25 copies along a download-version. The work contains Mr Bone’s ambient work (“This Serene Life”), rather…
Release data: Purl – Evighet DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Eternell, 2016 “Evighet” is an Ep by Purl, aka Swedish composer and producer Ludvig Cimbrelius. The four atmospheric, minimalist-ambient dub/techno tracks feature warm, fluid, light-melodic soundscapes set in motion by deep but calming beats, while a slight groovy feel slumbers occasionally under them. Soundshaping and dynamics are in harmony in these unhurried sonic…
Release data: Sine Amplitude – Hypnotized CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, BI-ZA Records, 2016 Sine Amplitude hails from Germany and is made up by Torsten M. Abel, aka TMA (synthesizer, sequencer and programming), Andreas Aulke (drums, cajon and percussion) and Martin Rohleder (acoustic- and electronic guitars, keyboards). Their album “Hypnotized” present 73 minutes of fresh melodic-instrumental music that connects the sound of classic…
Release data: Altus – The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow (Singles Collection Vol. 3) DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 With this almost 80-minute compilation, Mike Carss comprises six tracks written between 2011 and 2015 that were contributions to various netlabel compilations along three unreleased tracks. Opener “Such Fleeting Advancement” (Stoic Mix) kicks off with a much stronger, sequenced/rhythmic sound contrary his…
Release data: Jos D’Almeida – Awaken CD, caPe Recordings, 2014 Jos d’Almeida is a musician hailing from Setúbal, Portugal, who studied at the Regional Music Conservatory in the same town. d’Almeida has always been driven to music for electronic environments and created themes for live shows and advertising. During 2010 and 2013, Jos created his debut “Awaken”, of which the…
Release data: The Gateless Gate – Oceans are moving from the Arctic to the south reflecting the light DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 Allister Thompson’s “Oceans are moving…” is a 65-minute atmospheric and serene ambient journey with tasty use of field recordings. It kicks off with the beautiful 18-minute title track with most pleasant early Tangerine Dream/Pink Floyd influences and…
Release data: Andrew Lahiff – Suspended Twilight DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008 The entrance to this album (“Unexplained Stillness”) is a very dense, most mysterious and clouded affair, fortunately shifting to gentle sparkling, spacious and more accessible textures after that. The recording offers a selection of tranquil meditations and slow evolving nocturnal soundscapes, wandering into melancholic lands occasionally. Of all…
Release data: Shaded Explorer – Empatia CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Silent Season, 2016 Like in every subgenre of music, there are lots of mediocre recordings floating around. When it comes to electronic ambient-dub, Italian composer Emanuele Pertoldi (aka Shaded Explorer) is one of those positive exceptions. His second album “Empatia” recounts a personal vision of empathy with people and nature who still…
Release data: Kurtz Mindfields – Journey Through the Analog Adventure CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Nuage 7 Production, 2015 Kurtz Mindfields is a vintage synth project by Lyon-based synthesist Jean-Luc Briançon who started out as a jazz player initially. Nowadays he works for three records companies (Cristal Records, Warner, Feverdog Music) and owns a very large and versatile range of analogue hardware synths.…
Release data: Stephen Bacchus – The Keep CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Deep Tracks/Oasis Productions, 2010 The 79-minute “The Keep” is a three decade retrospective featuring tracks by Canadian artist Stephen Bacchus, aka Grant Mackay. According the liner notes it compiles the best unreleased material of Bacchus’ career from 1979-2009, complimented by one new track (“Gratitude”) which is actually from a music soundtrack…
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 offers a full-length recording (his third album) on the same label, a cinematic downtempo soundscape aesthetic with a deep, detailed…
Release data: Radiant Mind – Sense CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, The Periphery/Timeroom Digital, 2012 The title “Sense” is most appropriate to this debut release by US artist Radiant Mind, which no other than Steve Roach helped nurture into being with skilled production and sonic contributions. Radiant Mind’s emotive ambient draws from space music and textures, offering long unfolding drifts and slow suspensions…
Release data: Deutsche Wertarbeit – Deutsche Wertarbeit LP/CD, Sky Records/Bureau B, 1981 When we talk about German electronic Krautrock, one shouldn’t overlook the instrumental, hypnotic/rhythmic synth music of Deutsche Wertarbeit. This solo-project by Dorothea Raukes, who’s better known as leading member of the band Streetmark, was one of the few female characters within the German progressive rock scene. The same-titled…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – The New Kingdom CD, AD21 Music, 1995 “The New Kingdom” is the second album by Bruno Sanfilippo. It’s a medieval/classical work of art that next to synthesizers also features guest musicians on flutes, vocal treatments and violin. Stylistically, the release shows the composer’s preference for classical themes. The cinematic outcome resembles classic Gandalf, Richard Burmer,…
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”, Mr Alvarez has succeeded blending the sound of vintage Schulze and TD along evocative atmospheres of Jarre (“Pictures 3”) when…
Release data: Jim Ottaway – Invisible Vortex CD, Private Release, 2015 Energetic-rhythmic synth music is what’s on the menu on Jim Ottaway’s “Invisible Vortex”, revealing the other musical side of this synthesist from Down Under. It’s an album full of song-based, up-beat and sometimes even dancy compositions revealing a commercial and contemporary sound. The album offers totally different stuff compared…
Release data: Sequentia Legenda – Amira CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Sequentia Legenda (aka Laurent Schieber), hereby presents another Berlin School oriented work with lots of emotional currents and sensitivities at its core. “Amira” (a tribute to the composer’s future wife) is featured in a short and a long version. It’s painting a slow evolving, shapeshifting, elevating and rather complex…
Release data: Sabled Sun – 2145 CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cryo Chamber, 2012 Sabled Sun is a dark, post-apocalyptic and futuristic ambient endavour by Swedish composer Simon Heath (aka Atrium Carceri) started in 2012. The highly cinematic and expansive ambient-drone project features a profound narrative: it sketches out the story of a lonely hero’s quest for life after a long period of…
Release data: Jaja – Stellaris CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cyan Music, 2016 With “Stellaris”, German synthesist Jana Rockstroh presents her first double album, once more featuring imaginary space music that (like all predecessors) was recorded live-in-the-moment. Next to the subtle female touch she brings to her textural ambient, Jana takes her listeners into most tranquil and enchanting cosmic environs with three long…
Release data: Alpha Lyra – Between Cloud and Sky CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, PWM Distribution, 2016 With his album “Between Cloud and Sky”, French synthesist Christian Piednoir (aka Alpha Lyra) delivers a 60-minute album full of light, warm and heavenly-dreamy soundscapes along a few sequences. In the distance, the gentle outcome with symphonic characteristics, repetive structures and celestial vocal pads reveals influences…
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 of serenity, gentleness, drifting beauty and blissful magic. The aforementioned is paired with a slice of mellow dub/techno on opener…
Release data: Various Artists – Musique Intemporel – Bernd Kistenmacher, Mario Schönwälder, Rolf Trostel LP/CD, Timeless Sounds/Titan, 1988 It’s time for another trip down memory lane. We’re back in the year 1988 when Bernd Kistenmacher made the decision to release this compilation on his private Timeless Sounds label (a name he would change into Musique Intemporel one year later) with…
Release data: Steve Roach – This Place to be DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Editions, 2016 The Bandcamp-exclusive “This Place to be” is a 72-minute longform set of atmospheres in the same spirit as “Invisible” or “Bloodmoon Rising”. It’s offered on a name-your-price basis while simultaneously trying to raise appetite for two purely atmospheric releases scheduled for August 19, 2016 (“Shadow of…
Release data: John Kerr & Ron Boots – Juxtaposition CD, Groove Unlimited, 2015 “Juxtaposition” is the long-awaited follow-up to the duos most successful release “Offshore Islands”, a landmark made 25 years earlier. The highly accessible, neo-classical/symphonic and occasional even romantic flavours from back then are key-references on the new 79-minute album, which kicks off with the 30-minute title piece. Here…
Release data: Filter-Kaffee – 100 CD-EP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manikin Records, 2016 From the start of the 45-minute “100”, which compiles tracks from 2009-2016, it is clear Frank Rothe and Mario Schönwälder stick to their trade mark of contemporary and overall moody electronics with hindsight on some retro-stuff made in the mid ’70’s. T his time around, the result is an atmospheric…
Release data: Enya – Amarantine CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Warner Music, 2005 Enya’s album “Amarantine” took five years in the making. Although I only know her first two albums, her typical musical signature hasn’t changed when you hear the first sounds of this record. There still are the lush and overall warm symphonic chords, bell sounds and piano, accompanied by Enya’s serene…
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 headphones, “The Longing Daylight” by Lee Anthony Norris and Porya Hatami will prove a most enjoyable and satisfactory listen. The…
Release data: Hemisphere – Beyond the Darkness CD, Cue Records NL, 1996 Most of Hemisphere’s recordings have a strong cinematic impact, and “Beyond the Darkness” by the combo Ralph Knappe-Heinbockel and Thorsten Reinhardt is no exception. Although kicking off with a rhythmic piece with some progrock guitar, the music descends into deeper atmospheres of synthetic spaces soon thereafter. It’s a…
Release data: Radio Massacre International – Knutsford in May CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Centaur Records, 1997 “Knutsford in May” captures a concert of Goddard, Dinsdale and Houghton live on stage, the one they did in May 1996 at Jodrell Bank Space Research Centre in Cheshire, UK. The usual retro-TD aural suspects (vintage synths, prog e-guitar) are shown-off, but somehow the five improvised…
Release data: Radio Massacre International – Republic CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Centaur Records, 1996 The UK-trio that caused a blast with their debut “Frozen North” hereby presents another winner, lining up very nicely next to to TD’s “Phaedra”, “Ricochet” and “Encore”. In three expansive pieces, Duncan Goddard, Steve Dinsdale and Gary Houghton guide you through a vibrant electronic landscape featuring lots of…
Release data: Vauxia Errante – Primigenia DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Altera Orbe, 2013 The 75-minute “Primigenia” is a highly-atmospheric piece of dark ambient art. It’s a continuous ride tapping deep in the primordial soup, in that respect connecting with Mr Errante’s “La Création du Monde” EP. The intense spacious drone-textures unfolding and evolving slowly before the listeners ears evoke a profound subterranean…
Release data: Vauxia Errante – La Création du Monde DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Altera Orbe, 2013 The 22-minute “La Création du Monde”, mastered by Ran Kirlian, is the third instalment in the Woomh EP series which involves Altera Orbe artists. The concept reminds of the Amplexus mini-album cd series, offering sonic explorations in deep ambient. The long form piece is a…
Release data: S1gns of L1fe – Branches in the Sky CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Arecibo Records, 2013 The emotive music of “Branches in the Sky” is a five track EP (40 minutes in length) picking up the sonic trail where the debut “Language of the Ancient” left us. Once again, Chris Bryant takes his listeners on a subconscious journey using melodic textures,…
Release data: J. Arif Verner – From a Distant Horizon CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2005 The imaginative ambient magic of John Arif Verner has proved to be most satisfying on his previous albums “A Vision beyond Light” and “Through the Timeless”, which applies also to his third release “From a Distant Horizon”. The overtly mellow and quiet outcome is…
Release data: Kebu – Perplexagon CD/LP, Secret Entertainment, 2016 It’s quite easy to understand why the music of Sebastian Teir (aka Kebu) is so popular and appreciated by many. His music is highly accessible, melodic and sequencer/up-beat, bearing hints of Jarre (“Equinoxe”/”Rendez-Vous”), Schiller along a dose of contemporary dance/trance music. Especially the latter plays an important role on his second…
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 you’re going to embrace this transcendental mind-music if you have a preference for the freeform, deep and expansive textural works…
Release data: Perge – Aural Coefficients witin a Fractal Plane (The Secret Tapes Volume 1) CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 This time around, the duo Getty and Stringer (aka Perge) has focussed the almost 80 minute outcome on the sound and impact of TD’s classic album “Rubicon”, playing pleasant variations on the Teutonic sequencing, vintage pads and lots of mellow…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Kinetic CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2016 Contrary to his previous soundscape and ambient efforts, AWM’s “Kinetic” sees a switch toward melodic, happy sequencing and more uptempo electronic excursions drawing on classic EM sound tools and composition. The catchy title piece kicking off the album heads into the direction of ’80’s Tangerine Dream among…
Release data: J. Arif Verner – A Vision beyond Light CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1996 Multi-instrumentalist, J. (John) Arif Verner, one of the many accomplished musicians within the Spotted Peccary stall, published his debut album “Clear Colors” in 1988. His “A Vision beyond Light” blends acoustic and electronic music with MIDI guitar synthesis, a rather unusual and specialized form…
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 Robert Rich coined it as a celebration of life’s resilience and a meditation on the consequences of human’s heavy footsteps.…
Release data: Vanderson – Vandisphere CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music, 2016 Vanderson belongs to the league of musicians delivering attractive and accessible electronic music. The outcome of “Vandisphere” (awful title by the way) is no exception, this time though sounding more easy-going, contemporary and groovier than before. Deep bass grooves, sax and vocal samples fly are present on the biggest part…
Release data: Electronic Sound Project (ESP)- The Chernobyl Disaster DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2016 This 45-minute concept recording commemorates the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster that took place in 1986, its global impact and the many victims of the devastating incident. Dutch recreational music composer and graphic designer Marc van Oers, aka Electronic Sound Project (ESP), has constructed a nearly continuous narrative…
Release data: The Gateless Gate – Sibir CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Offshoot/Psychonavigation , 2014 Here’s another album by the Canadian duo Allister Thompson and Teri-Lynn Janveau commited to cold weather environments, this time on the wild land- and seascapes of Siberia. While the cover art of the 60-minute “Sibir” strongly resembles those of the Glacial Movements label and its sonic content also…
Release data: Syn – The Glass Bridge DIGITAL DOWNLOAD/CD-R, Private Release/SynGate, 2001/2013 Syn’s album “The Glass Bridge” contains three long cosmic pieces from 2001, all featuring those lovely and captivating sounds that are characteristic for and so much appreciated from the classic Berlin School style and classic Vangelis. Next to some fine sequences on the title piece, Scottish composer David…
Release data: J. Arif Verner – Through the Timeless CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2000 “Through the Timeless” is the second album from this American ambient-composer turning out even better than his much acclaimed “A Vision beyond Light” also published by Spotted Peccary. Arif composed and produced all the music himself, but asked some help from fellow-musicians on a few…
Release data: Graham Getty & Stephan Whitlan – Even Higher Green Session CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Retrochet Records , 2016 This 71-minute follow-up to the duos “Higher Green Session”, created on the fly during various sessions on December 30, 2015, still takes its inspiration from the classic Berlin School sound. This time around, spicy sequencer patterns though are a far less important…
Release data: Steve Roach & Robert Logan – Second Nature CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2016 “Second Nature”, a work of processed grand piano and synth textures, was released simultaneously with the duo’s “BioSonic”. Sonically, it’s a totally different story though as the four tracks feature calming, ethereal ambient travelling into introspective, melancholic and mysterious territory. Lots of reverb and subtle…
Release data: Steve Roach & Robert Logan – Biosonic CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2016 “BioSonic” puts a new branch onto the long list of collaborations Steve Roach did in his long career, this time meeting up with UK-musician Robert Logan. I learned the hi-tech music has been in the works for a couple of years, first through online collaboration and…
Release data: Jim Ottaway – Southern Cross CD, Private Release, 2016 Jim Ottaway is a composer, producer and studio performer residing at the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia who has have released 23 independent albums in his homeland. The concept album “Southern Cross”, his ninth international release, is a work containing six lengthy compositions of cosmic ambient music made…