Release data: Chihei Hatakeyama & Dirk Serries – The Storm of Silence CD, Glacial Movements, 2016 “The Storm of Silence” is a soundscape recording by Chihei Hatakeyama, a Japanese sound artist and musician living on the outskirts of Tokyo, and Dirk Serries (known previously as vidnaObmana). In 40 freeform minutes, the duo sketches out four longform, isolationist and distant ambient…
Release data: Stefan Erbe & Steve Baltes – S-thetic CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Erbe Music, 2015 Intelligent, contemporary and energizing are the key words for “S-thetic”, a fine debut album by Stefan Erbe & Steve Baltes. The 70+ minute recording contains the music played in December 2014 at a concert in Planetarium Bochum. Quite danceable occasionally, the spatial sounding mood music is…
Release data: Phobos – An October Evening CD-R/DVD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLO, Private Release, 2015 Since I’ve been following the nicely crafted atmospheric works of Phobos, David Thompson has been offered several opportunities to perform at UK’s Awakenings festival. If I’m not mistaken, “An October Evening” is his third live album recorded at that venue, featuring his full gig of October 17, 2015.…
Release data: Various Artists – Digiseeds CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2015 “Digiseeds” is the first in a series of conceptual compilations compiled by Czech artist Lubos Cvrk aka Ambientium. The outcome is a 66-minute dreamscape and playground which sees 11 composers (established and new) from all around the world displaying their ambient craft. Helped by the excellent mastering of Vincent…
Release data: Kitaro – Daichi / (From the) Full Moon Story LP/CD, Zen/Polydor/Geffen, 1979 This album sees a further continuation of the cosmic space sound explored on the composer’s debut-release “Ten Kai/Astral Trip”. Present once more are tribal drums/percussion and repetitive melodic lines, as are an overall sweetness, tranquil nature sounds and Kitaro’s fusion of eastern sound worlds and those…
Release data: The Great Schizm – For the Ancient Ones DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cloud Hunter Records, 2015 As the composer states, this album is dedicated to the lost cultures of the world, and the fallen cities and ancient monuments they have left behind. The music that UK synthesist Anthony Bloxham (aka The Great Schizm) composed for “For the Ancient Ones” is…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – Dream Access CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spheric Music, 2015 With “Dream Access”, Robert Schroeder stays close to his signature sound, playing lush solos and creating melodic/moody spheres without getting the least complicated. It’s nice though to see the composer try a few new things, such as the less structured, more atmospheric-oriented “SpacePort” featuring nice choir pads, a…
Release data: Navigator – Northern Consequence CD, Invisible Shadows, 2000 What got here is the debut album by the band Navigator (aka Tony Anderson, Kent Eskildsen and Jens Peschke, presenting their brand of energetic and spiralling electronic music. The spicy music found on the first half of “Northern Consequence” will be a treat for all who love to listen to…
Release data: The Roswell Incident – Adrift CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 This album is the start of a new series or trilogy featuring further highly atmospheric and cinematic music by the Belgium duo Koen and Jan Buytaert. The soundscape entrance of “Adrift” is beautiful and dense, leading the listener into a surreal, uncanny world existing somewhere beyond imagination. The…
Release data: Mank – Solipsism DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Manky Music, 2015 Composer Ben Powell (aka Mank) told me some of the tracks on “Solipsism” have been around for a long time as he spent a long time getting the mix how he wanted it. As happened on previous Mank-releases, there is a definite two half thing going on: the first half…
Release data: Paul Ellis – Wrapped in Silence DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2010 For “Wrapped In Silence”, containing one 58-minute piece, Paul Ellis set up all his keyboards with various string pad sounds and dialed in every sound to fit together for the mood he wanted. He made sure each sound was to be distinct, but not clashing in any…
Release data: Numina – Dreamsleep CD-R, Private Release, 2000 The title of this album may suggest tranquil and relaxed music from start to end, but the start proves much more active and upfront sounding. “Dreamsleep” features 13 ambient tracks, kicking off with two pieces containing quite loud and heavy drums paired with layered soundscapes and ethereal pads. The next few…
Release data: René van der Wouden – Stargazer CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, REWO Records, 2015 It’s been a while since I reviewed an album by Dutch synthesist René van der Wouden, so I’m glad to investigate one of his recent endeavours. “Stargazer”, released in June 2015, is a smoothened-dynamic and melodic recording featuring nice sequencer/rhythmic underlayment paired with sound effects along classic…
Release data: Loren Nerell – Lilin Dewa CD, Side Effects, 1996 “Lilin Dewa”, the follow-up album of Loren Nerell’s 1986- release “Point of Arrival”, takes us on a deep sonic trip into the culture of Java and Bali. The 5-track outcome offers gamelan (an ensemble of instruments, mostly tuned percussion similar to xylophones) along loops and assorted field recordings, making…
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 much darker, enigmatic and sometimes even abstract flavor. The slow-paced 4-track EP “Black Knight” contains a fine dose of choir…
Release data: Skoulaman – Andros Awakenings CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 In the week after his live performance at UK’s Awakenings festival in October 2015, Hans van Kroonenburg (aka Skoulaman) worked very hard to have this album done for E-Live 2015, as he was offered to play there as well. “Andros Awakenings” contains the 50-minute set played in the UK,…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Harmonic Currents CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2015 Travels to the coastlines of Southern Oregon and Northern California along the hypnagogic lure of the vast ocean were the inspiration for Gregory Kyryluk to create the music of “Harmonic Currents”. According further liner notes, the outcome was conceived on a very minimal arrangement of electronics,…
Release data: Altus – Komorebi DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 “Komorebi”, a Japanese word describing sunlight filtering through foliage, sees Altus return with another fine nature-inspired release for which he applied similar composition techniques from the Elements-series. The chosen concept though reminds me of the older albums by Thom Brennan, who also feels a strong connection with the natural beauty…
Release data: Mario Schönwälder – Traum & Trauma CD, Manikin Records, 2015 Berlin-based Mario Schönwälder, well-known as synthesist of the trio BKS, hereby present a new solo album after a lengthy pause of 19 years. I would rather call the outcome an Ep, as it contains only 40 minutes of music. The two-track “Traum & Trauma” though doesn’t stray that…
Release data: Edgar Froese – Pinnacles LP/CD, Virgin Records, 1983 Being fascinated by the outback found in Western Australia, Edgar Froese named his fifth album after strange stone figures found in Western Australia, north of Perth. Sonically, “Pinnacles” lines up nicely next to TD’s output made at the beginning of the ’80’s (“Hyperborea”, “White Eagle”), and the sampling techniques, sequencing…
Release data: The Grey Encounter – State of Decay CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2015 Since 2013, The Grey Encounter (aka UK synthesists Xan Alexander and Phil Booth) starting building a nice collection of gloomy, spacious and dark sound collages, only suitable for the experienced ambient listener. The 75-minute “State of Decay” is dominated by strings of post-apocalyptic, dense, desolate and…
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 follow-up to the 2008 “Club Genetica” release), I was reminded quite often of Schiller’s instrumental tracks. Mr Erbe’s music though…
Release data: Pyramaxx – Distance CD, Private Release, 2015 Well, what a surprise to see this joined project-release of Axel Stupplich and Andreas Morsch (aka Pyramid Peak) accompanied by Max Schiefele (Maxxess). All are known as respected, successful and talented Germany musicians for many years within and outside the EM-genre. “Distance”, referring to the traveling distance between the composers, sees…
Release data: Eddie Jobson – Theme of Secrets LP/CD, Private Music, 1985 When we have a look at ’80’s synth albums, Eddie Jobson’s “Theme of Secret” is a most interesting and creative one. The 40-minute release, composed solely on the polyphonic Synclavier synthesizer offering lots sampling techniques to the user, sees Mr Jobson exercise his great playing skills and explore…
Release data: Martin Nonstatic – Granite CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2015 I’ve encountered the name of German producer, sound designer and composer Martin Nonstatic (aka Martin van Rossum) on various compilation albums previously, but this is the first full-length release I get my teeth into. “Granite” is a 70-minute dub/down-tempo ambient album inspired by natural rock formations, featuring lots of…
Release data: Harold Budd – The Room LP/CD, Atlantic Records, 2000 The core inspiration for this quiet album was drawn from a painting of the same name LA-composer Harold Budd encountered in the late ’80s. “The Room” eventually ended up as a base and the start to explore the various aspects of what rooms can actually be or become, which…
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 recording, which lines up nicely to his collaborative effort “The Pearl” with soul mate Brian Eno. Composer and sound engineer…
Release data: Steve Roach – Ultra Immersion Concert CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Timeroom Digital, 2007/2013 In the summer of 2007, Steve Roach performed a 12-hour nocturnal concert at his Epona Range for a selected audience. Of the full set, a 2,5 hour montage ended up on two cd-r’s (limited to 50 copies) that were given to the people who attended as part…
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 and post-apocalyptic world, aptly depicted on the cd cover. Moreover, it deals with suffering in different aspects, which is also…
Release data: Simon Lomax – 5 Textures CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Council of Nine, 2015 Dissolving and immersion in the beckoning silence of a foggy world would be an appropriate description in a nutshell for Simon Lomax’s release “5 Textures”. The spacious, gentle evolving glide of emotive, cinematic-flavored and at times slightly blurred soundscapes on each of the six tracks merges the…
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 in Planetarium Bochum, Germany, where an outtake from the album was performed live in concert. Next to 90 minutes of…
Release data: Kitaro – Ten Kai/Astral Trip/Astral Voyage P/CD, Zen/Polydor/Geffen Records, 1978 After having joined the progressive Far East Family band, Kitaro decided to pursue a solo trip, starting with the spiritual, heavily synth-based “Ten Kai/Astral Voyage”. The latter proves a rather weird and trippy release featuring both calm and more dramatic passages that not yet connect to the stronger…
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. Well,the 60-minute “The Stargazer’s Journey” is exactly that, a full-length release of traditional cosmic music with no weak spot. Words…
Release data: [‘ramp] Doombient.Two – A Declaration of War CD-R, Private Release, 2006 When we talk about menacing, intense and gloomy ambient music, the output of the German project [‘ramp] has always something special to offer. In this case it’s a live-set Stephen Parsick and Frank Makowski played at the German Emil EM festival 2003, accomplished under very hard circumstances…
Release data: The Circular Ruins – Confluence CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, In the Bubble Music/DataObscura, 2002 The Circular Ruins is one of the four projects that Canadian ambient musician Anthony Paul Kerby -alias APK- is involved with, yet The Circular Ruins seems to be the most important of them all. “Confluence” dates from June 2001 and was originally only available in…
Release data: Deborah Martin – Eye of the Wizard CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2015 More than once I’ve felt US-composer Deborah Martin was the female sonic equivalent of Austrian multi-instrumentalist Gandalf in a certain way. “The Eye of the Wizard”, an epic musical odyssey through a realm of wizardry and sacred alchemy, weaves an enchanting tapestry of sounds of…
Release data: Urenga – Pacific Depths CD, Gterma, 2015 This album, assembled from various recordings made between 2011 and 2013, extends on Urenga’s album “Mu”. Andras Kiss delivers another dedication to the beauty and wonders of the water element while expressing the exotic nature of the vast Pacific Ocean. The 73-minute spacious sounding and continuous outcome (including the two lengthy…
Release data: Michael Padilla – Atmospheres (Ambient Works Vol. One) LP + CD, Fruits de Mer Records/Strange Fish, 2016 What I got here is a beautiful designed 40-minute ambient album (strictly limited to 400 copies) by one Michael Padilla, who seems to be known as front man of various psych rock and pop bands. Released on a vinyl picture disc…
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 Heijden and René Splinter under the Uni Sphere moniker has led to an emotive, sparkling and evocative outcome on their…
Release data: Skare – Solstice City CD, Glacial Movements, 2009 Assorted field recordings, found sounds and treated/manipulated instruments were the means used to create the narrative outcome of the 50 minute “Soltice City”, a project by Swedish trio Mathias Josefson, Fredrik Olofsson and Per Åhlund. The minimalist ambientdrone soundscapes delivered on the three tracks was inspired by their fascination of…
Release data: Mark Shreeve – Nocturne CD, Sonic Images, 1995 “Nocturne” -released on Chris Franke’s Sonic Images label- is the last solo album by British synthesist Mark Shreeve he would out out under his own name. Just a year after, he founded the notable band Redshift. The 15 tracks/65-minute “Nocturne” serves a varied meal: it ranges from melodic-, energetic, up-tempo…
Release data: Fryderyk Jona – Wind Experience CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synth Musik, 2014 Fryderyk Jona is a young Polish synthesist now living in Mainz, Germany, who hereby presents his debut album of contemporary, Berlin School-oriented electronic music. On the 56-minute overall mellow sounding “Wind Experience”, Mr Jona pairs smooth pulsating and sequenced music with textural spheres. Already on the opening (title)…
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 highlighted in this recording are Alchemy – a view from the metaphysical point in both spiritual development and liberation –…
Release data: As if – Havet CD, Gterma, 2015 “Havet” is the second full-length album by musician/visual artist Kenneth Werner (Jensen) on Johan Rehn’s Gterma label. The almost 80-minute outcome, melting dubtechno and ambient moods, was highly inspired by the vast ocean that surrounds the composer’s home island of Bornholm along the passing of the various seasons in the southern…
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 as the big and fat sounding modular machinery again was treated by the very capable Mark Shreeve, who seems to…
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 a recording gave Jonn an opportunity to put forth his deepest ideas about space and to experiment with new textures,…
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 on his deep space excursions only. Coming with a much nicer cover than the first volume, the spatial outcome features…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Tingri CD, Miramar, 1990 On his third album “Tingri”, situated in a remote village in Tibet, composer Jonn Serrie started infusing spiritual, feel-good romantic flavors into parts of his music. While still sounding spacious and sticking to his signature sound, the album turns out far less “space” overall. On his later album “Midsummer Century”, Mr…
Release data: Bob Holroyd – Blueprint CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Real World Works, 2015 What I got here is a 46-minute album with 14 cyclical ambient tracks, in part inspired by work in therapy, and in part by the creative process itself. Moreover, each piece on Bob Holroyd’s “Blueprint” explores the relationship between repetition and progression where the music develops over time,…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Ixlandia CD, Miramar, 1995 “Ixlandia” is the sister album of “Midsummer Century”, following the poignant sense of romance of the previous album while its melodic, song-written music describes the environments and places of the classified story. Jonn again used soft romantic images and traditional songwriting techniques which were more common to everyone while introducing the…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Midsummer Century CD, Miramar, 1993 On this emotive recording, Jonn Serrie takes the mixing of romantic elements into his space music (as introduced previously on “Tingri”) to an even higher level while moulding it into narrative storytelling. “Midsummer Century” is the first of two concept albums where the composer unfolds a musical sf-story based on…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – Tauern DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008/2015 When we look at imaginative and narrative ambient, the works of Matthew Florianz always stir a different pair of emotive strings for me that I find rather hard to pinpoint. The version of “Tauern” reviewed here is actually a re-release of the original 2008 album in a revised, 24-bit…
Release data: Paul Ellis – Listen Silent DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2014 The words in the title of this release use the same letters as well as being descriptive of the overall mood the outcome generates. For “Listen Silent”, composer Paul Ellis had the idea to create some music that would generate a very gentle, quiet nature. The free form…
Release data: Jonn Serrie – Flightpath CD, Miramar, 1989 For his second album “Flightpath”, Jonn Serrie didn’t want to repeat the concept of his debut-album “And the Stars go with you”. Instead, being an experienced pilot himself, he decided to return to his boyhood love for flying, aerospace and the various aspects of flight. He delivered six compositions commemorating the…
Release data: Jaja – Starlight CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Cyan, 2015 The signature sound wrapped up in expansive freeform soundscapes as known from Jana Rockstroh’s previous album “Stellamare” are only present on “Starlight” to a certain degree. In 70+ minutes and four correlated chapters, the listener once more travels through vast and freeform galactic realms. This time around, the morphing trails of…
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 Europe through distributors in the mid ’80’s. After nine years of shaping his skills and building quite an extensive library…
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 analog sound firmly while putting Steve Roach at the helm regarding final assembly, enhancements and mastering to meet ends there…
Release data: Andrew Lahiff – Quiet Correlations DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Pocket Fields, 2012 Serene, lush and gently morphing are the keywords applying to the nature-inspired/related outcome featured on “Quiet Correlations”, coined by the label as high-level primeval innerspace deep ambient. The cosmic, meditative and reflective atmospheres filling the ten spacious soundscapes pass by as a comfortable glide, glistening smoothly as they…
Release data: Bryan Carrigan – Fall into Winter CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Peonies Music, 2015 The winter season has already inspired many electronic musicians to compose music, those in the ambient genre especially. With his sixth album “Fall into Winter”, accomplished American producer, engineer, and electronic composer Bryan Carrigan invested two years of production in refining and sculpting his creative output, coming…
Release data: Von Hallgath – Easterfield DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Private Release, 2015 von Hallgath is a side project of Jörg Erren and Jochen Schöttler, both members of the fine German quartet Erren-Fleissig-Schöttler-Steffen. “Easterfield” is a four-track EP with mature, Berlin School-inspired electronic music. At first glance, it takes on a bit more abstract approach on opener “Engine”, later shifting to…