Release data: Paul Lawler & Paul Speer – Wonders CD, Rainstorm Records, 2009 “Wonders” is a 67-minute musical journey “to awe inspiring places on planet earth”, which sees a collaboration of UK-based musician Paul Lawler, and US-based musician Paul Speer (who are joined on two tracks by French vocalist Satine Orient). After meeting each other on MySpace, Lawler first suggested…
Release data: Vincent Clarke & Martyn Ware – Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle CD, Mute Records, 2001 The cover of this cd is pure white with a bar code right in the middle of it, which is actually the spectrum mentioned in the title. The album sees an interesting collaboration of the pioneering duo Vincent Clarke, co-founder of Erasure/Depeche Mode, and Martyn…
Release data: Altus – City of Ashes DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Music, 2009 On the audio/visual concept project “City of Ashes”, Canadian musician Mike Carss pairs his orchestral-oriented and minimal/fluid ambient work with the extraordinary photography of Shawn Sintzel. Well, listening and experiencing the mysterious, highly atmospheric outcome is like stepping through a mirror and landing in an alternate world among…
Release data: Emerald Web – Nocturne / Lights of the Ivory Plains CD, Fortuna Records, 1989 The project Emerald Web was founded in 1978 by the Florida-based duo Bob Stohl and Kat Epple, both experienced flautists. This cd comprises the albums, “Nocturne” and “Lights of the Ivory Plain”, released in 1983 and 1984 respectively. They offer a fine blend of…
Release data: Forrest Fang – Phantoms CD, Projekt Records, 2009 A couple of years ago, I was impressed by the album Forrest Fang made with Carl Weingarten, so it’s nice to see him now show up with a solo album, which took him eight years to finish. Building on gamelan-influenced textures, “Phantoms” offers a multi-layered tapestry of rich, transparent atmospheres…
Release data: Pollard/Daniel/Booth – Pollard/Daniel/Booth CD-R/Digital Download, English Electronic Music Company, 2009/2019 Synthesist Brendan Pollard has a great eye for collaborating with fellow musicians who love the sound of vintage gear while pushing the boundaries, such as Free System Project and Javi Canovas. For this project he invited Michael Daniel (aka Hashtronaut) and Phil Booth in his Bedford-based Radial Velocity…
Release data: Bob Holroyd – Fluidity & Structure CD, Soundscape Music, 1993 “Fluidity and Structure”, of which the sonic content has been inspired by travels to Africa and Asia, was originally the soundtrack to an audio visual art exhibition Bob Holroyd staged at “The Big Chill ” amongst other venues in 1993 The twelve tracks breath a highly atmospheric ambience,…
Release data: Yarek – Organix CD, Generator.Pl, 2009 Jaroslaw Degórski , aka Yarek, did leave a good impression on me with his previous recording “Noc Na Zamku”, and it’s great to see him continue the same path on “Organix”. The album isn’t exactly new though as the cd-booklet learns the music was already created in 2005. Nevertheless, the melodic and…
Release data: Aquavoice – Memories CD, Generator.pl, 2009 The cover of the cd shows a picture of a totally ruined building, a metaphore for the disturbing, uneasy ambient music presented here. Composer Tadeusz Luczejko, aka Aquavoice, takes the hard way on his album “Memories”, which offers 70 minutes of harsh and experimental sonic impressions. The recording contains a mixture of…
Release data: Solitaire – Plains and Skies CD, Musique Intemporelle, 1992 On their second album “Plains and Skies”, Solitaire is reduced to German duo Elmar Schulte who heads for a sonic, tribal-flavoured journey into barren, desolate and desert landscapes (something one may have imagined after looking at the nice cd-cover). Moreover, it shows Elmar’s sincere admiration for the music of…
Release data: Steve Thomas – More People have been to the Moon CD, Heliotrinox Records, 1997 I recently rediscovered this peculiar album in my cd-collection, which made me decided to give it a few good listens again and a review after all. Back in 1997, the Wales-based professional British cave diver Steve Thomas (who has worked with ex-Tangerine Dreamer Steve…
Release data: Mako – In Other Regions LP, Seagull Music, 1986 Mako’s second album “In Other Regions” sees a continuation of the compelling symphonic tone poems as heard on his debut “Meeting with the Sea“. This time, the 42 minutes of music was initially inspired by the tales of Herman Hesse. At the very heart of the music, one still…
Release data: Tangram – Tepidarium CD-R, Private Release, 2009 Tangram is a Berliner School project started by Hungarian musician Péter Fabók in 2005, who very nicely shows his admiration for the ’80’s style of Tangerine Dream. The outcome on “Tepidarium” sounds transparent, sparkling and detailed, featuring some catchy, well rendered sequencing, warm and multi-layered synth tapestries and some lofty soloing…
Release data: Mako – Meeting with the Sea LP, Seagull Music, 1984 Mako is the alias of the Austrian musician Manfred Batko, who used the first and last two letters of his real name for his artist-name. The concept album “Meeting with the Sea”, made using a 4-Channel taperecorder, was originally meant as a 1983 Christmas-present to his friends, which…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Quiet Rain CD-R, Lunisolar Records, 2009 Juta Takahashi’s sixth album “Quiet Rain” brings four 15-minute free form pieces of solace and contemplation, nicely sculptured out of warm analogue sounds, mellotron and some acoustic piano. It’s great, at times even minimal, music to take a break from it all, as the slow washes of strings gently…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Views from a Red Train CD, Eastgate, 2008 It seems “Views from a Red Train” has been announced for a couple of years as a solo-album of Edgar Froese, but now has seen the light of day under the Tangerine Dream moniker, seeing Edgar play with some faithful musical compagnons. After years of rather mediocre…
Release data: The Redundant Rocker – Heart CD, Unsung Records, 2009 “Heart” is the second album by Bernhard Woestheinrich, aka The Redundant Rocker, who puts forward a progressive electronica album with the emphasis on both song and emotion. Although I’m not a fan of this rock-oriented style of electronic music (of which the fully analogue mix comes courtesy of Clemens…
Release data: Dan Pound – Living Planet CD, Private Release, 2009 Mr Pound states the album “Living Planet” is a companion disc and sequel to his formerly released release “Esoterica”, one filled with ambient electronic, Shamanic space music for the new millennium which sure is to transport you to another place and time. Starting out with heavy dronescapes, the 72…
Release data: The Nebula Project – In Search of Converging Sounds CD, UFO Music Productions, 2008 The Nebula project is a collaboration of the US-based duo Dennis Young (bass and guitars) and Rick Coffee (synthesizers and guitars), who have been working together since the start of the ’80’s in various formulas. According to the bands website, the music captured on…
Release data: Cosmic Hoffmann – Hypernova CD-R, Private Release, 2009 “Hypernova” offers another bunch of restored tracks from the old days, coming from the music archives of Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock. The nine pieces (partly inspired by Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and NEU) on this third instalment of vintage rarities of the ‘70s & 80s feature the usual analogue suspects (mellotron, minimoog,…
Release data: Robert Carty – Starlight Volume 2 CD-R, Private Release, 2009 “Starlight Volume 2” is Robert’s second release in a trilogy of cds, which are inspired by the magical experiences of star gazing in the death of night. It again contains a nice selection of smooth and highly atmospheric music which continues where the previous volume left off, creating…
Release data: Terra Ambient – Wanderlust CD, Lotuspike, 2009 After a hiatus of five years, Jeff Kowal, aka Terra Ambient, returns with “Wanderlust”, described by Jeff as an emotional sketchbook of some major changes in my life. In more than one way, the music on it has something of a grand design, featuring some sort of soundtrack with both expansive…
Release data: Andrew Lahiff – Somewhere under the Sky CD-R, Private Release, 2008 Australian musician Andrew Lahiff has released quite a list of atmospheric ambient music during the last decade (of which parts where available as free download through his site and beyond), to which now “Somewhere Under the Sky” is added. The eight long tracks on the album offer…
Release data: Aes Dana – Leylines CD, Ultimae Records, 2009 “Leylines”, the fourth release by Vincent Villuis, presents ten ambient downtempo tracks of “luminous darkness”. The music of the 78-minute concept album, named after the invisible lines of forces that connect centers of geomagnetic power to one another, has a great organic feel running through the whole soundspectrum. It features…
Release data: 3 Seconds of Air The Flight of Song CD, Tonefloat, 2009 “The Flight of Song” is the debut album by the Belgium project 3 Seconds of Air, aka Dirk Serries (also known as vidna Obmana and Fear Falls Burning), Paul van den Berg and Dirk’s wife Martina Verhoeven. Being in the works since 2000, this entity of three…
Release data: Mon0 – Multifidus CD-R, Test Tube netlabel, 2009 “Multifidus” is the first full-length ambient release of the German musician mon0, aka Andre Zufall. The albums offers five extended pieces, making up 85 minutes of overall textural music with some occasional rhythms, in which the slow morphing pace nicely builds beautiful arcs of tension. These are very well rendered…
Release data: Jerome Froese – The Speed of Snow … EP, Ricochet Dream, 2009 June 2nd will see the release of the limited edition Ep (1000 copies) “The Speed of Snow” by Jerome Froese, who plays guitars, guitar effects, bass guitar and programming. The recording contains three tracks of six minutes each, starting with the twinkling, atmospheric tones of the…
Release data: Rüdiger Gleisberg – Chronicle 1986 – 93 CD, Ardema Musik, 1994 “Chronicle 1986-1993” is a limited edition, numbered and autographed release by classically trained German synthesist Rüdiger Gleisberg (known as one half of the ambient project Solitaire). It’s actually a compilation album including released, remixed and previously unreleased music, which was set in motion by ongoing requests for…
Release data: Robert Haig Coxon – The Silent Path CD, R.H.C. Productions, 1995 Robert Haig Coxon hails from Canada, and gained quite an international reputation with the “Cristal Silence” trilogy, produced by Steve Roach. “The Silent Path” is a musical journey into the light, portraying the essence of celestial sound, creating an overall harmonious space. The outcome is of a…
Release data: Sanjiva – Initiation CD, NinetySix Sounds, 1997 Sanjiva is a groovy trance-like ambient project by Berliner-based musician Vartan M. Quack, who tries to implement the lessons of the Zen philosophy into his music. “Initiation” contains five tracks, in which not too prominent slower and faster rhythm and sequencer structures are blended with ambient soundscapes. The outcome, occasionally quite…
Release data: Paul Sauvanet – Tristesse CD, Hearts of Space, 1995 “Tristesse”, subtitled five adagios for times of sorrow, is a contemplative, neo-classical oriented work of tenderness and contemplation, composed using a digital chamber orchestra of synthesizers. The five lengthy pieces, which feel like a requiem, carry on in a slow, gently soaring but never changing tempo, in which the…
Release data: Paul Sauvanet – Eleusis CD, Les Editions Rubicon, 1993 “Eleusis”, inspired by the works of Carlos Castaneda, by French synthesist Paul Sauvanet was initially released on the Canadian label Rubicon Records in 1993, and later re-released in 1998 on another label. It’s a beautiful cd which is still one of the many cherished albums in my music collection.…
Release data: Vidna Obmana & Jeff Pearce – True Stories CD, Mirage, 1999 The concept album “True Stories” features a full collaboration between ambient musicians vidna Obmana and Jeff Pearce (who already worked together on Vidna’s 1997 album “Crossing the Trail”), combining their mutual passion for beautiful, sedate and serene sonic environments. Subtitled as “New Stories for Themes” , the…
Release data: Ron Boots – Beyond the Boundaries of Twilight CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Musician Ron Boots did several planetarium concerts in the past seven years or so, but it never came to a cd-release. “Beyond the Boundaries of Twilight”, released at Ron’s Planetarium concert in Bochum, Germany on May 24, fills this “gap”, offering 71 minutes of both atmospheric…
Release data: Frank Van Bogaert – Air Machine CD, ACE Studio Editions, 2009 “Air Machine” by Belgian composer, producer and musician Frank Van Bogaert is a privately released cd, which sees him collaborate with Erik Wøllo on a few tracks, besides exploring quite some new musical territories. The digi-pack cd comes with some stunning, very clean artwork, of which the…
Release data: F.D. Project – Mountainway CD, Private Release, 2005 Since he started out making and releasing music as F.D. Project, Frank Dorittke has gained quite a large amount of fans worldwide, which isn’t that hard to understand when one listens to his work. His music has an open and accessible character, spiced with quite a lot melodic, straightforward and…
Release data: Nautic Depths – North Passage CD-r/Digital Dowwnload, Musical Philosophy, 2008 Nautic Depths is a collaboration between Tomas Weiss and Mathias Grassow, whose concept album “North Passage” (their second release if I’m not mistaken) is a tribute to the adventurous life and times of Willem Barentsz and his voyage over the ocean across the Arctic Circle in search of…
Release data: Free System Projekt – British Aisles CD-R, Private Release, 2008 “British Aisles” is a double cd-r containing the concert the duo Engels & Heij performed at St John’s The Baptist Church in Leicester on May 17th 2008. The recording -remastered straight from the soundboard recording- holds two tracks clocking over one hour, and a final piece of eleven…
Release data: Circulum Musicum – Phases CD-R, Thar Records, 2008 Circulum Musicum is an atmospheric ambient project of which I haven’t been able to track down the composer behind it, although I suspect it’s one Tomas Weiss. The 71-minutes of soundscape music on “Phases” offers a blend of organic textures, drones, and lush meandering plains of sound, occasionally flavoured with…
Release data: Gert Emmens – The Nearest Faraway Place Vol. 2 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 The second chapter of this concept cd, which was released and played live at “E-Day 2009”, continues the musical road with analogue, romantic flavoured electronics, fine Berliner School sequencing patterns, vintage drums and encompassing solos (which are kept to a minimum this time), all spread…
Release data: Kettel – Myam James 2 CD, Sending Orbs, 2009 This is the second and last chapter of the “Myam James” concept by laptop musician Reimer Eising. Presented as a far cry of the first part, the moody cd contains instrumental tracks of which tracks such as “Kingcourt Inn”, “Boekebaas” or “Nicola” continue in the up-beat/breakbeat style featured on…
Release data: Resonant Drift – The Call CD, Private Release, 2009 After meeting each other in 2008, original solo-member Bill Olien has invited multi-instrumentalist Gary Johnson to join him in his project Resonant Drift. Together, they developed a natural synergy and found common interests in the exploration of sound and music. Sophisticatedly combining synthesizers, guitar, ethnic instruments and wildlife recordings,…
Release data: Three-Six (36) – Hypersona CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, 3six Recordings, 2008 “Hypersona”, produced over a span of three years, is an ambient soundscape work by an English independent musician who prefers to stay anonymous, being part one of a trilogy. The sonic content with occasional experimental elements feels like a warm blanket, offering chill-out, uplifting and drifting soundscape tapestries and…
Release data: Lemonchill – Sentant CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009 Lemonchill is an ambient chill-out project hailing from Israel, made by one Idan Or. The eight instrumental pieces on “Sentant” offer a clear sound spectrum, featuring a balance of downbeat rhythms, cool sounding electronics and engaging melodies. Repetition and emotion seem a key element in his music, as beats, textures and…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Booster CD, Eastgate, 2007 The ongoing list of new contemporary electronic music and re-released/reworked cds put out by Edgar Froese under the Tangerine Dream-moniker has increased rapidly over the last five years or so. Sadly enough, they almost all proved to me the quality and soul of the music has deteriorated in the same speed,…
Release data: Christophe Bailleau – Air Resort CD, Soundscaping Records, 2008 “Air Resort” –which comes in beautiful designed, large-size digipack format- is the first album of the Norwegian label Soundscaping Records. The music is composed by the Belgium-based (but from French origin) multimedia artist Christophe Bailleau, who is joined by Mark Templeton (on guitar) and Sebastien Roux (manipulated sounds) on…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Auralspace CD, ad21music, 2009 Presented in a beautifully designed digipack, “Auralspace” marks the 12th album of Bruno Sanfilippo. The cd, which took nine long months of preparation and intense composing, offers a 71-minute spacious ambient tapestry. Its slowly spiralling, hypnotizing beds of continuous drifting synth textures (with no piano this time) are accompanied by occasional…
Release data: ModularWhite – Alpa CD, Private Release, 2009 The four guys of ModularWhite have chosen for a more futuristic and contemporary approach for their album “Alpa”, which already becomes apparent by the science-fiction cover art on the cd booklet. The first few tracks on the 53-minute album are a bit slow to my liking, but as the cd progresses,…
Release data: Ruben Garcia – Through the Looking Glass CD-R, Trance Port Special Editions, 2009 After a wait of nine years, there’s finally a new album by pianist and synthesist Ruben Garcia, known for his minimalist style and sounds, whose music more than once resembles the quality heard on the ambient works of Harold Budd and Brian Eno. As mentioned…
Release data: Robert Rich – Trances / Drones CD, Extreme Special Editions, 1983 At the start of the ‘80’s, while graduating in psychology at Stanford University, Robert Rich had a special interest in microtonality and the effects of music on the brain. It was also the time he organized his rather famous sleep concerts. At times hypnotizing and ethereal, the…
Release data: 33 Tetragammon & Human Metronome – Resonating Earth CD, Private Release, 2009 33 Tetragammon (aka Wasili Papadopoulos) and Human Metronome (aka Eelke van Hoof) are two composers hailing from Eindhoven, The Netherlands, who played several live sets during “E-Day 2009” in Oirschot. At the same occasion, they also presented their ambient release “Resonating Earth”. The first impression I…
Release data: Circular – Substans CD, Ultimae Records, 2009 With “Substans” (which as all Ultimae releases comes with expert photo footage in the cd-booklet), the Norwegian duo Bjarte Andreassen and Jostein Dahl Gjelsvik aka Circular, deliver their long awaited fourth album. The 13 tracks on the cd (which took four years in the making) offer a collection of cinematic and…
Release data: Gandalf – Sanctuary CD, Real Music, 2009 “Sanctuary” is Gandalf’s fifth release on the American Real Music label, the latter being a haven for contemporary relaxation and wellness music for many years. Over one and a half decade ago, Gandalf’s distinct music has undergone a slowly but surely transformation to a more reflective, meditative and new age kind…
Release data: Megatone – Pure Land CD-R, Private Release, 2008 The musician behind Megatone is DJ and classically-trained electronic composer Marcel Gherman, who hails from Moldova Republic. “On Land”, inspired by one of Gherman’s recent fantasy literary projects, contains 18 tracks of highly cinematic and neo-classical music, which at times slightly reminds of the visual music of Vangelis, having the…
Release data: Mark Isham – Film Music CD, Windham Hill, 1985 Composer Mark Isham is regarded as skilled synth programmer, a pioneer in electronic music, as well as an accomplished trumpet player, but most of he has become an important soundtrack composer in the last two decades. His album “Film Music” collects some of Isham’s earliest soundtracks, proving his expert…
Release data: Airwaves – Second Shift CD, Opcion Sonica, 1995 This album is the second and (last?) release by Oscar Menzel, aka Airwaves. Having enjoyed his first one, “Ambient Tracks”, it’s nice to hear Mr Menzel has further explored his own style on this successor, this time blending his atmospheric, slightly minimalist style with a sparse dose of rhythms. This…
Release data: Paul Ellis – The Last Hiding Place of Beauty CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Those who love rather complex and dynamic sequencer music with an acoustic edge and an occasional high-tech feel should check out the music Paul Ellis’ has put down on his amazing album “Last Hiding Place of Beauty”. The cd contains four long tracks, all making…
Release data: moonbooter – Cosmoclimax CD, Mellowjet Records, 2009 With “Cosmoclimax” by Moonbooter, aka Bernd Scholl, adds another chapter to his growing catalogue of what he likes to call “hybrid electronic music”. With one exception, the whole cd features the studio version of Moonbooter’s live concert “Sun, Moon and Stars”, performed at Planetarium Bochum in February 2009, although the sequence…
Release data: F.D. Project – Timeless CD, Private Release, 2006 F.D. Project is a project of the German musician Frank Dorittke, whose accessible instrumental music has proven to be quite a success until now. “Timeless”, his fourth release if I’m not mistaken, contains nine tracks, of which the 15-minute opening track “Time Traveler” almost instantly creates a warm and inviting…
Release data: Uwe Reckzeh – Unnatural Light CD, Mellowjet Records, 2009 The accessible music of Uwe Reckzeh’s “Unnatural Light” (of which all tracks were composed and arranged between 2007 and 2009) is still firmly rooted in the style of the Berliner School, but this time Uwe’s output has been further valvanized and smoothened, ending up in a nice groovy, and…