Release data: Michael Stearns – Planetary Unfolding CD, Sonic Atmospheres, 1981/1985 Fans of deep space music shouldn’t miss out on the immersive journey into the depths of the cosmos which is presented on the state-of-the-art “Planetary Unfolding”. The album was originally released in 1981 on lp on the Continuum Montage label. Composed completely on the Serge synthesizer (built by Michael’s…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Morning Jewel CD, Groove Unlimited, 1979/2000 “Morning Jewel” is a digitally remastered and optimized re-release of Michael’s original 1979-album “Jewel”. Containing two extended ambient pieces of 27 and 23 minutes, it’s also Michael’s first work on which he introduces the (Mighty) Serge synthesizer. “Morning” kicks off with a smooth and gentle live ambience featuring a…
Release data: O-Head – Steps Across the Cortex CD, Centaur Discs, 2005 “Steps across the Cortex” is the second album by English musician David Hendry, who hereby steps forward with a nice album of powerful contemporary electronics complimented with a good dash of vintage sounds. Firmly rooted in the typical sound of English electronic music, this more than once can…
Release data: Michael Stearns – Floating Whispers CD, Earth Turtle Music/Groove Unlimited, 1987/1998 “Floating Whispers” contains music that appeared to be the predecessor of space music that would later end up on “Planetary Unfolding” and “Chronos”. It’s one of the classic space music albums of Michael Stearns which was re-released in 1998 in collaboration with the Groove Unlimited label after…
Release data: Kitaro – Impressions of the West Lake CD, Domo Records, 2009 For over a decade, I’ve been out of touch with the music of Kitaro, so this release may be a good opportunity to catch up on his current whereabouts. “Impressions of the West Lake” contains Kitaro’s score to a modern day opera conceived and directed by internationally…
Release data: Alex Theory & Daniel Pinchbeck – Emergence 2012 CD, Sounds True, 2009 “Emergence 2012” is a rather peculiar ambient release by San Francisco-based ambient-sound technician/sound healing visionary Alex Theory and philosopher-journalist Daniel Pinchbeck. Inspired by Baktuns, the cycles of the classical Mayan calendar, the shamanic and healing music of “Emergence 2012” is presented as a soundtrack for global…
Release data: Outer Space Alliance – Outer Space Alliance CD, Holy Feather Productions, 1998/2009 Outer Space Alliance are Arto Koivisto (electronics) Jari Pitkänen (electronics) and Tommi Björk (guitar/keys), an electronic music collective from Helsinki. This same-titled cd is actually a completely re-recorded and reworked version of their 1998 debut release “Outer Space Alliance Promo-cd-r”, offering a slightly shuffled track listing…
Release data: David Lange – Return of the Comet CD, Hearts of Space, 1985/1988 David Lange is a California-based independent filmmaker whose album “Return to the Comet”, created in the early days of digital recording, is generally regarded classic electronic space music for star gazing, comet tracking and other celestial experiences. Lange creates his music visually first, starting with the…
Release data: Raphael – Angels of the Deep CD, Hearts of Space, 1995 “Angels of the Deep” is the third album by Raphael, an Hawaiian-based spiritual teacher and musician. The uplifting, smooth atmospheres and themes captured on the 62-minute “Angels of the deep” are all strongly connected to the “water” theme, sounding like a celebration of its otherwordly beauty. The…
Release data: Robert Rich & Steve Roach – Strata CD, Hearts of Space, 1990 The previous short collaborations on “Dreamtime Return” and “Desert Solitaire” between ambient musicians Steve Roach and Robert Rich have finally ended up on the full-length album “Strata”, a work of “geologic” ambient, unlocking the entrance to a deeper sound experience. Aiming to create sounds that evoke…
Release data: Steve Roach & Robert Rich – SoMa CD, Hearts of Space, 1991 “SoMa” is the follow-up to the duo’s strong debut “Strata”, offering another 57-minute blend of fine tribal ambient music. A gentle wash of organic and shamanic soundworlds continue the journey, a nice melting pot of melodic flute and mystic synthscapes while quite an extensive portion of…
Release data: Mako – Forms of Life CD, Seagull Music, 1991 Mako’s third album “Forms of Life”, which took him three years to finish, is the only release of this Austrian musician that made it onto cd until now. This time, the concept focusses on underwater life, delivering ten atmospheric tracks in which underwater sounds are melted with warm synthetic…
Release data: Robert Rich – Humidity CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2000 “Humidity” is a triple cd-release containing three different live concerts which Robert Rich performed in 1998. For the most part, the release contains new music, except an occasional existing track from the Lustmord/Rich album “Stalker”, found on disc one and three. Overall, the outcome is a dark, damp, highly atmospheric…
Release data: Tim Clark – Tales of the Sun People CD, Hearts of Space, 1990 “Tales of the Sun People”, composed by American planetarium composer and versatile musician Tim Clark, can be classified as one of those “forgotten” electronic albums in the genre of space music that never received the proper attention from the moment it was released. The album,…
Release data: Con_Sense – Code Sent CD-R, DataBloem, 2009 “Code Sent” is the second full-length release by Con-Sense, of which no further background information is offered (as the music should suffice to speak for itself). But after had a few good listens to the whole recording, I must be very mistaken if this is not a project of producer Tomas…
Release data: Blutiger Fluss – Dawn of Mars CD-R, Sonneneruption Music, 2008 Blutiger Fluss is the Iowa-based synthesizer duo Jeff Hutchison and Jim Duede, whose music is heavenly rooted in the early space music made at the start of the ‘70’s by Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. Some influences of Mr Schulze are evident in the four long tracks, which…
Release data: Klaus Schulze & Lisa Gerrard – Dziekuje Bardzo CD, Synthetic Symphony/SPV, 2009 The triple-cd set “Dziekuje Bardzo”, recorded live during concerts in November 2008 in Warsaw and Berlin, is the next chapter in a cooperation between Klaus Schulze and Lisa Gerrard. This release also sees a return to lengthy tracks, as there are only six pieces in total:…
Release data: Serge Laporte – Sea of a Thousand Stories CD, Edge Music/Rubicon, 1996 Serge Laporte is recognized as one of Canada’s foremost composers, next to being a renowned guitarist, producer and sound engineer. The 47-minute “Sea of a Thousand Stories” is completely instrumental piece of work, featuring a versatile blend of female voices, lots of acoustic and electric guitar,…
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,…