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…
Release data: Steve Roach – Dynamic Stillness CD, Projekt Records, 2009 Steve Roach has brewed another inner sanctuary of quietetude which has ended up as the double cd “Dynamic Stillness”, which has been in the works in his Timeroom studio over the past three years. Those familiar with his expansive longform textural works can hereby welcome another chapter to his…
Release data: Free System Projekt – Narrow Lane CD, Private Release, 2008 The album “Narrow Lane” by Free System Project contains two long vintage pieces, both played live in the UK. The 29-minute “Narrow Lane Part I”, recorded in 2006 during the bands concert at the National Space Centre in Leicester, is performed by the trio Frank van der Wel,…
Release data: Paul Sauvanet – Nomad CD, Hearts of Space, 1997 This is the third cd of the skilled French musician Paul Sauvanet, of which both the cd-cover and overall atmosphere are slightly similar to the album “Nomadic Impressions” by Open Canvas (aka Gregory Kyryluk). On the five tracks, Paul plays his digital symphony orchestra of synthesizers expertly, taking the…
Release data: Create In the Blink of an Eye CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Stephen Humphries’ (aka Create) “In the Blink of an Eye” contains five long tracks, of which two are live-in-the-studio improvisations, making up almost 70 minutes of retro-inspired electronic music. The 22-minute “No Inhibitions” is a good example of a progressive retro style, put together of various sequencer…
Release data: Odyssey – Syntharsis CD, Generator.pl, 2001/2009 Odyssey is a project of the Polish electronic media artist and contemporary electronic music producer Tomasz Pauszek, who previously published the track “The Space Inside” on the “Awakenings 2007 vol. 1″ compilation. The Generator.PL version of „Syntharsis” is actually a special re-edition of Odyssey’s debut album (which appeared in 2001), as it…
Release data: Scamall – A World behind the Silence CD, Generator.Pl, 2009 Scamall is a project of Jakub Kmiec, who found the main inspiration for this album in desolated places in Sweden and Ireland. “A World behind the Silence” is a 49-minute work of adventurous music that “consists of soundscapes incorporating abandoned and originally useless noises”. Neurotic break beats, harsh…
Release data: John Dyson – Darklight CD, Soddett Hall Music, 2009 After a big hiatus, John Dyson returns one more time to the EM-community to bring a final (?) album featuring his distinct, gracious and accessible style which comes as an overall retrospective and reflective sound document. The ten tracks of “Darklight”, having some smashing space images from the Hubble…
Release data: Between Interval – The Edge of a Fairytale CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2009 After a hiatus of three years, there’s finally another album by Between Interval, the musical moniker of Stefan Jönsson, who as of November 2008 is known as Stefan Strand instead. The outcome of “The Edge of a Fairytale” sure has been worth the wait, offering…
Release data: Nemesis – Trajectory of Sound (Live Archive Vol. 3) CD-R, Retroduction, 2007 “Trajectory of Sound” (Live Archive Vol. 3) is the last third and final part of the Nemesis live archive trilogy (focussing on the more recent years when the live sets featured more improvisation than before) by the Finnish trio Hassinen, Kastman, Virtanen. For this album, music…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Moonlit Flowers CD-R, Lunisolar Records, 2008 Three long ambient tracks fill Juta(ro) Takahashi’s fourth release “Moonlit Flowers”. “Sadder Shore” starts out with nice drifting analogue and soaring textures and a more pronounced synth lead, to which an accompanying choir soundscape shows up now and then. This immersive, reflective space lasts over 15 minutes. The 17-minute…
Release data: Phillip Wilkerson – Early Works CD-R, Private Release, 2009 As the title already suggests, this is a compilation album of archival tracks originally composed between 2005 and 2007, representing Phillip’s first successful steps in creating ambient/space music. The seven free form ambient space tracks create an introspective, warm and spacious ambience of fluid and dreamy synth textures. Highlights…
Release data: Syndromeda – The Twilight Conjunction CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009 “The Twilight Conjunction” is the 18th album by Belgian electronic musician Danny Budts, aka Syndromeda, released as a limited edition of 300 copies. The 18-minute “Inside the Lophophora”, a mature piece of rhythmic space music taking its time to unfold, kicks off nicely with captivating and varied sequencing patterns,…
Release data: Antrilon – Mind Erase CD, Dead Earnest, 2008 Antrilon is a project of American musician Greg Kozlowski, whose also guitarist of the progressive and spacerock bands Architectural Metaphor and Secret Saucer. His debut album “Mind Erase” is a work of abstract, mind-altering, disorienting and psychedelic ambient electronics. “A soundtrack from a 60’s sci fi B movie”, as Kozlowski…
Release data: Airwaves – Ambient Tracks CD, Opcion Sonica, 1994 Due to the kind gesture of Gregory Kyryluk I was able to get to know this album of quiet ambient/space music, which was composed by the (Mexican?) composer Oscar Menzel, aka Airwaves. “Ambient Tracks” –which seems to be hard to find these days- contains seven electronic music pieces creating a…
Release data: H.U.V.A. Network – Ephemeris CD, Ultimae Records, 2009 H.U.V.A. Network, aka Magnus Birgersson (also known as Solar Fields) and Vincent Villuis (aka Aes Dana) have come up with another collaborative project, in which their ambient sound architecture keenly combines elements of groovy down tempo and textural electronic music. The ten instrumental tracks of “Ephemeris”, described by the label…
Release data: Phillip Wilkerson – Still Point CD-R, Earth Mantra, 2008 “Still Point” (inspired by the poetry of T.S. Eliot) is an ambient project by Phillip Wilkerson, spanning almost 60 minutes, published by the Earth Mantra netlabel. It’s a collage made up of eight free form textural pieces and lossless dronescapes that make up nice evening and night music. Sombre…
Release data: Romerium – Pharaoh’s Immortality CD, Private Release, 2008 “Pharaoh’s Immortality” is the debut album by Rene Montfoort, aka Romerium, who’s a member of the Dutch electronic project Modular White. All tracks were composed, played, mixed and mastered between May 2005 and February 2008, for which (according to the linear notes) Rene mainly used the SY99 synthesizer next to…
Release data: Ideation – Adrift CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009 “Adrift”, the 40th release of the label Ricochet Dream, is a collaboration between Paul Nagle and Pete Ruczynski (of Air Sculpture), aka Ideation, who’s motto is to compose music “to float your mind” and make you smile. I couldn’t detect much structure in the improvised sounding 9-minute “Function and Disorder”, which…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper –Radiate CD, Ricochet Dream, 2009 “Radiate” is the first live cd of “AnalogueJeff” Koepper, documenting the concert he did at The Gatherings on 14th April, 2008 in Philadelphia. Well, the outcome is an 71-minute energetic, analogue feast, featuring all tracks (except “Near Machinery”) from his album third album “Sequentaria”, to which “Byzantine Machine” (the opening track…
Release data: Schiller – Sehnsucht CD/DVD, Universal Domestic, 2008 Schiller, named after poet Friedrich Schiller, is the musical moniker of German electronical composer and producer Christopher von Deylen. Von Deylen is inspired by electronic bands like Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre, and started to create his own universe of new electronic, and overall emotionally charged music somewhere round 1998.…
Release data: Various Artists – Shapes and Phases of Ambience CD, Ghost Sounds, 2008 This peculiar, limited edition compilation (which seems to be the first one in a series) by the Scandinavian label Ghost Sounds, comprises music from three different ambient projects: Quantec (aka Sven Scheinhammer), Deer (aka Martin Hirsch) and Relapxych.0(aka Anders Peterson). Moulded around drone and rhythm, the…
Release data: Dan Pound – Esoterica CD, Private Release, 2009 “Esoterica” is the first release of ambient musician Dan Pound in 2009. What this album especially reveals for me, is the fact that Dan has been further refining and shaping is own sound. The cd contains the title track, divided in eight parts, in which sequenced parts are mingled with…
Release data: Stephen Parsick feat. Cosmic Hoffmann – Blasters of the Universe CD-R, Private Release, 2008 “Blasters of the Universe” is a compilation of eight live and improvised tracks from the vaults of Mr Parsick from the period 1999-2001, in which he collaborated with Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock, aka Cosmic Hoffmann. Created during various spontaneous sessions and rehearsals, I consider it a…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Seabound CD-R, Lunisolar Records, 2009 “Sea Bound”, released at the beginning of March 2009, is the fifth album by Japanese ambient composer Juta Takahashi. Juta himself describes the sonic content as “tunes from the ocean, painted with synthesizers, acoustic pianos and voices”. The three extended tracks (23, 17 and 20 minutes respectively) offer overall calming,…
Release data: Azul y Negro – Deja Vu CD/DVD, Vaso Music, 2008 “Déjà Vu” is a limited edition cd/dvd release by Spanish musician Carlos Vaso, aka Azul Y Negro, containing electronic synth & techno pop music created between 2005 and 2007. The 50-minute instrumental albums starts with the 12-minute “Flash-Back”, featuring up-tempo electronics, catchy melodies and rhythms plus some bass…
Release data: Altus – Excursion Two DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2009 As one might expect, the music of “Excursion two” nicely continues where the first one left us. Again, Mike Carss offers a beautiful sonic painting that breaths total relaxation and peacefulness. The recording consists of two lengthy, cinematic soundscape tracks of 27 and 38 minutes, made up of velvet,…
Release data: Craig Padilla/Zero Ohms/Skip Murphy – Beyond the Portal CD, Lotuspike, 2009 February 10th, 2009 saw the release of “Beyond the Portal”, which is the follow-up album to the 2005-cd “Path of Least Resistance”. This time, Craig’s collaborator Skip Murphy joins the duo Craig Padilla and Zero Ohms (aka multi-flutist Richard Roberts) on an elegant and smooth sonic journey.…