Release data: Rudy Adrian – The Healing Lake CD, White Cloud Music, 2000 The music of Rudy Adrian’s atmospheric recording “The Healing Lake” is rather similar to “Twilight”. The album features nine reflective tracks (making up 57 minutes of music) with an emphasis on serenity, but this time there are no up-tempo sequencer-based pieces. The delicately flowing and meandering music…
Release data: Erez Yaary – Nibiru CD-R, Private Release, 2003 “Nibiru” is a concept album by the Israeli musician Erez Yaary, who already has composed five albums. The cd depicts the musical voyage of “Niburu, which is thought to be the 10th planet of the solar system that is affecting Neptune and Pluto’s orbits. Well, overall this is an atmospheric…
Release data: Yarek – Noc Na Zamku CD, Generator.pl, 2008 “Noc Na Zamku” (which can be translated as “A Night in the Castle”) by Yarek, aka Jarek Degorski, is the fourth release of the Polish Generator-label. This seems to be a live recording (part of the Polish event “Olsztyńskie Lato Artystyczne 2007”) although it overall sounds like a studio work.…
Release data: Mathias Grassow – The Lanzarote Concert CD, NO-CD Records, 1995 The double cd “The Lanzarote Concert” is a live recording with basic–tracks from DAT, documenting Mathias’ live performance in the “Cueva de los Verdes”, Lanzarote, on October 18th, 1994. At this event, Mathias played synthesizer and singing bowl, to which he added his own voice and environmental/nature sounds.…
Release data: Wave World – Cloudseeder CD, VFR Records, 2003 “Cloudseeder” is a double album by the Dutch trio Gert van Santen, Harry Kessels and graphics designer Rolf van Slooten. It’s a pity it isn’t graced with such a beautiful out-of-this world- cd cover as their previous albums “Species”, “Structures” or “Dimensions”. The first cd contains two previous released studio…
Release data: Klaus Wiese – Perfume CD, NextEra, 2006 “Perfume”, released as a limited edition digipak of 1019 copies, contains 12 electro-acoustic recordings using Tibetan singing bowls, chello, tabla, keyboards and nature sounds from ocean and wind. Gliding, warm atmospheric textures nicely kick off on the 15-minute soundscape-trip “Velvet Octaves“, which is a bit in vein of David Parsons “Himalaya”.…
Release data: Tomasz Zawadzinski – Sounds like Pictures CD, Generator.Pl, 2008 According to the press info, Thomasz Zawadzinski’s “Sounds like Pictures” is a highly cinematic sonic experience whose sound is deeply rooted in the Berliner School sequencing tradition. The almost 20-minute title track starts out atmospheric with rather flat and artificial sounding mellotron textures, but soon TD-kindred sequencing, rhythms and…
Release data: Fanger & Schönwälder – Analog Overdose 4+ CD, Manikin Records, 2007 This is my first encounter with the music of this duo, although I know the music of each of these established musicians is thoroughly rooted in the Berliner School sound for years. “Analog Overdose 4+” (which seems a kind of bonus cd to the regular cd/dvd release…
Release data: Konrad Kucz – Railroad Paths CD, Generator.pl, 2008 “Railroad Paths” contains lots of beautifully rendered vintage sounds and choir textures, fx’s and sequences, which almost immediately made my mind wander back to the great analogue days of the late ‘70s. The music is split in five “paths”, which creates a great moody atmosphere, featuring some very nice mellotron…
Release data: Exposed – Dive Master 08 CD-R, MellowJet Records, 2007 From the press sheet I learned this album is a new recompiled and completely reworked version of the album “Divemaster” by Exposed, aka K.H. Reiers. For this purpose, six tracks were added to the original album to extend the playing time with about 30 minutes. Well, “Dive Master 08”…
Release data: Deepspace – Another Empty Galaxy CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008 Deepspace is the moniker of the Australian musician Mirko Ruckels, who has established himself as a mature composer of well-rendered electronic space music in a short period of time. This album is offered for free as a “thank you” to the Last FM fans and all others who…
Release data: Robert Scott Thompson – Poesis Athesis CD, Lens Records, 2008 “Poesis Athesis” by composer Robert Scott Thompson is his debut release on Lens Records. Robert and Chi Kung Master Terrence Dunn worked together in the mid-80’s, and contacted Thompson once again to compose music for his current series of video releases. Thompson composed the music to work specifically…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Planetary Music CD-R, Private Release, 2008 This cd-r contains the one hour concert Stephen Parsick performed in front of a small audience in the Planetarium of Osnabrück on March 29, 2008. Musically it continues in the footsteps of “Fuzzstars”, offering a nice tapestry of well crafted textural ambience, slowly wrapping the listener in the realms…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Cold Storage CD-R, Private Release, 2008 “Cold Storage” contains the music Stephen Parsick played at the final rehearsals for the concert in the Gasometer (which he considered his best-rehearsed concert that far), which later ended up on the album “Cryotainer”. It’s no surprise the music on this album resembles the sonic content nicely captured on…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Traces of the Past redux CD, Private Release, 1998/2007 This version of “Traces of the Past” is a reworked, improved version of the album that originally came out in 1998 on Spheric music. It comprises a collection of ten tracks which Stephen composed between 1994 and 1997 with only limited gear and sound tools. As…
Release data: I Awake – The Core CD, Ultimae Records, 2008 The musician behind I Awake is the Stockholm based sound designer, soundtrack producer and musician Thomas Huttenlocher. “The Core” comes in a deluxe digi-pack with great digital art work by David Vineïs. The sonic outcome of the well produced and mastered “The Core”, for which Mr Huttenlocher collaborated with…
Release data: Dave Luxton – Hidden Music CD-R, Wayfarer Records, 2008 Dave Luxton is a musician from the Lawrence Kansas area. The concept-album “Hidden Music” -intended to facilitate a meditative process- is centred around the idea that natural places and phenomenon withhold an underlying energy, order and beauty that can be perceived and experienced emotionally by the human observer when…
Release data: Natural Frequencies – Tranquility in Motion CD, Ozella Music, 2007 Natural Frequencies is an ambient/chill-out project from the late Andreas Leifeld, who sadly passed away on February 1st 2006, only 50 years old. The music on “Tranquillity in Motion”, the second album under this moniker if I’m correct, is of an overall slow, minimal nature, carefully shaped with…
Release data: Robert Fox – Adonai CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, AD Music, 2008 The concept album “Adonai”, originally created for theatre, is Robert’s evocative sonic telling of the Easter Story and a remarkable man from a human point of view. Assembled of grand orchestral soundscapes, vocal textures, guitar and piano, the album unmistakeably reveals a new side of Robert’s music. The 17…
Release data: Amin Bhatia – Virtuality CD, Private Release, 2008 Amin Bhatia’s new album “Virtuality” was released on May 23, 2008, the birthday of synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog. It’s presented as a double concept album featuring a sci-fi trip inside the computer using a whole array of real and virtual orchestral instruments, while the second half contains an innovative realization…
Release data: Paul Hartzog – Faces CD, Cydonia Records, 1996 Only recently someone pointed my attention to this “forgotten” recording from American musician Paul Hartzog, which has remained the only one until now. The impressionistic idea Paul Hartzog wanted to put forth on “Faces” was a story of a cosmic traveller finding solace and illumination among the ruins of an…
Release data: Paul Speer – Oculus CD, Rainstorm Records, 2008 Some might know this musician from his collaborative works “Natural States” and “Desert Visions” with David Lanz. In a way, the music on this cd sounds vaguely familiar to that, still remaining more guitar-based than electronic. This cd is the sonic companion to the video album “Oculus”, creating a warm,…
Release data: Entheogenic – Flight of the Urubus CD, Universal Symbiosis Records, 2008 The electronic band Entheogenic, founded in 1999, are the UK-duo Helmut Glavar and Piers Oak-Rhind which seem to be known for their peculiar mixture of tribal instruments, Eastern and Western (sampled) vocals and creative doze of electronics. Furthermore I learned the Entheogenic project considers it their mission…
The contemporary instrumental album “Glow in the Dark” is the follow-up of Mr Bartlett’s 2003 release “Near-Life Experience”, which blends a varied mixture of emotional electronics with lyrical guitar work, again slightly following in the footsteps of Mike Oldfield. Kevin’s haunting, heartfelt musical style brings a whole array of progressive, symphonic and ambient elements together (overall breathing simple, straightforward honesty…
Release data: Fanger & Schönwälder – Analog Overdose 4 CD & DVD, Manikin Records, 2007 Fanger & Schönwälder’s “Analog Overdose 4” comes in a Manikin-style double-digipak holding an audio cd and a dvd. The cd contains three extended tracks of which the first one features a rather monotonous sequence on which improvised solo’s hover over a blanket of vintage textures.…
Release data: Picture Palace Music – Symphony for Vampires CD, Manikin Records, 2008 Picture Palace Music is a project by Berlin/Vienna based keyboarder Thorsten Quaeschning, who joins Edgar Froese in Tangerine Dream very often. His band’s goal is to reproduce the musical dynamic and experiments of old live accompaniment for silent movies and give them a modern soundtrack with nowadays-technical…
Release data: Immersion Theory – The [Icarus] Foray CD, Private Release, 2007 Those of you out there looking for a good release in the genre of deep ambient space music, should make sure to get a copy of this beauty. “The [Icarus] Foray”, holding a strong element of sonic story telling, is one of the several creative outlets by Los…
Release data: Kevin Kendle – Light of the Pleiades (Deep Skies 3) CD, Eventide Music, 2008 “Light of the Pleiades” is the third instalment in Kevin’s Deep Skies series, on which he attempts to capture the vast spaces, nebulae and shimmering stars from the cosmos into sound, and where the atmospheres and sonic textures take the place of melody to…
Release data: Steve Roach – A Deeper Silence CD, Timeroom Editions, 2008 Steve Roach continues his quest into the deep end of the soundcurrent, and has come up with “A Deeper Silence”. Reflecting back on his beautiful ’84 classic recording “Structures from Silence”, it’s a continuous playback recording of almost 74 minutes, about which Steve says it’s “minimal and infinite…
Release data: Bryan El – Out Of This World CD-R, AMAdea Records, 2008 Bryan El is a young musician hailing from Roeselare, West Flanders, who states the music of Amethystium, Vangelis, Ryan Farish, ERA, Tiësto and Armin van Buuren are among his favourites and a big influence. “Out of this World” actually contains ten tracks from his digital album “Secrets…
Release data: Carbon Based Lifeforms – Interloper CD, Ultimae Records, 2010 Premiered live in concert at Stockholm’s Cosmonova Planetarium in November 2009, “Interloper” is the third full-length acid ambient album by the Swedish duo Johannes Hedberg and Daniel Segerstad. Although the duo initially had another album ready around May 2009, the two musicians decided not to release it and invest…
Release data: [‘ramp] Looking Back in Anger – a decade of misfits CD, Doombient, 2006 The Doombient-release “Looking Back in Anger” is 78-minute retrospective compilation by the duo Stephen Parsick and Frank Makowski. It provides an overview of nine rare or elsewhere unreleased tracks spanning the first decade of [´ramp]´s work, which saw them collaborate with e.g. Stefan Kraft, Martina…
Release data: Gert Emmens – The Nearest Faraway Place Vol. 1 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 This cd, the first part of a trilogy, contains the music Gert composed for the Gasometer concert-gig on November 10th, 2007 in Germany. The outcome is an uninterrupted 71-minute piece of music, for which Gert invited a guitarist to add a few fine guitars licks…
Release data: Rainbow Serpent – Live @ Liphook 2007 CD, Manikin Records, 2008 I lost sight of the interesting German band Rainbow Serpent, aka Frank Specht and Gerd Wienekamp, after Arndt Maschinski’s label Ardema Music (which released their music) discontinued back in 1999. Fortunately, the band is still live and kicking’, as they were able to re-release quite a number…
Release data: Klaus Schulze & Lisa Gerrard – Farscape CD, Synthetic Symphony/SPV, 2008 “Farscape” is a double cd containing the track “Liquid Coincidence”, which comes in seven different “Parts”, all ranging between 13 and 32 minutes. From the start, it becomes clear this for sure is a passionate, and at times even breathtaking album: it blends Schulze’s warm, flowing soundscapes,…
Release data: Various Artists – Texture -A Compilation of Minimal Ambient Guitar- CD-R, SloBor Media, 2003 “Texture” -A Compilation of Minimal Ambient Guitar- was the debut album of the SloBor media label, started by Matt Borghi and Jason Sloan in 2002. The 70-minute release offers a selection of (mostly previously unreleased) music from a global range of ambient artists. The…
Release data: W.A.dePhul – When aliens meet a drop of water CD, Manikin Records, 2008 Some might remember this musician from the short period he worked with Tangerine Dream back in the late eighties. Ralf, who nowadays works as freelance recording and sound engineer, states the music on this album was inspired by the tracks composed during TD’s ’88 North…
Release data: Craig Padilla & Skip Murphy – Analog Destination CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 “Analog Destination” is a actually a live album, which finds the two American musicians in excellent musical shape. The cd, described by the duo as “a scorcher with our “Northern California-School style”, contains four live-recorded tracks, of which three were recorded at the Dancing Astronaut studio.…
Release data: [‘ramp] Oughtibridge CD, Doombient, 2005 “JaThe music of “Oughtibridge” was recorded live at Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory on June 23, 2001, containing 12 tracks of live, improvised and unrehearsed of music by Stephen Parsick and Frank Makowski aka [‘ramp]. “Dron(e) field” sets out with slow morphing soundscapes. The energetic second track “Ozone” is a great piece of music,…
Release data: Nattefrost – Transformation CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 “Transformation” is the third album on Groove Unlimited by Danish musician Bjørn Jeppesen aka Nattefrost. Clocking at exactly 56 minutes, it offers ten melodic, up-tempo sequencer tracks, with Robert Schröder collaborating on two pieces. “Decadence” is a great start with deep bass grooves, dynamic sequencing and a positive vibrating, Kraftwerk-like solo…
Release data: Adrian Beasley – Powerhouse CD-R, Private Release, 2007 Adrian Beasley is one of the members of the UK-band Air Sculpture, which has ran a bit out of sight since a couple of years, although they did perform several concerts and compose a few tracks for samplers. With this solo album, Adrian likes to share his passion and excitement…
Release data: Serge Blenner – Musique de Chambre CD, MdeC Editions, 2008 “Musique de Chambre” is the 17th album by the French/German musician Serge Blenner, who lives in Hamburg for quite some years now. The 12 tracks on the 24-bit audiophile recording are completely composed on a virtual chamber orchestra of electronics, for which Serge applied e.g. VSL Vienna Orchestra,…
Release data: Ron Boots – See Beyond Times, Look Beyond Words CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 After the impressive as haunting concept album “Acoustic Shadows”, Ron Boots returns with a “lighter” cd. It was inspired by his love for books and reading of all kinds, which initially started his lust for electronic and symphonic music. The latter genre certainly plays an…
Release data: Spyra – Gasoline 91 Octane CD, Manikin Records, 2008 Wolfram “Der” Spyra” continues his successful Berliner-School inspired sonic explorations with “Gasoline 91 Octane”, released April 4th 2008, which contains six wonderful electronic compositions. The almost 63-minute album is the first part of a trilogy inspired by Spyra’s many travels by car when he has to drive to concert…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – The Mystic & The Machine CD-R, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2007 On this release, Gregory Kyryluk departs his previous ambient excursions as Alpha Wave Movement, as the nine tracks on “The Mystic & the Machine” move into electronic based progressive rock music. It focuses on the classic 1970’s sound and feel created with modern day…
Release data: VoLt – HjVi CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 This cd contains the music VoLt played at their concert at Hampshire Jam 6 at Liphook, UK, on October 20th 2007. The disc offers over 76 minutes of music, split in four lengthy tracks. The 21-minute “Primaeval” kicks off with great sequencing with xylophone-effect and uplifting synth pads to which engaging…
Release data: Tim Story – In Another Country CD, Eurock, 1982/1995 This album, the second full-length release by Ohio-based musician Tim Story, originally only came available on cassette, a year later followed by a vinyl release (for which two tracks had to be left out due to format limitation). The cd “In Another Country” (of which the title was taken…
Release data: Remy – This is Not The End CD, AKH Records, 2008 April 13th 2008 “This Is Not The End” saw he light of day at E-Day 2008. This new album by Remy Stroomer, aka Remy, opens the door to a new sound in his catalogue. My first impression of the musical content was it resembled the sculptured modern…
Release data: Numina – Shift to the Ghost CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2006 With “Shift to the Ghost”, Numina, aka Jesse Sola, brings us a one long form piece of carefully shaped and sculptured ambient music, which is subdivided in seven tracks. Free form, slow morphing, nicely layered space textures set out for a deep ambient exploration, which cocoons the listener…
Release data: Free System Projekt – Gent CD, Private Release, 2007 “Ja“Gent” documents a live performance of the trio Ruud Heij, Marcel Engels and Frank van der Wel, recorded on May 28th 2005 at the Backstage in Ghent, Belgium. The cd cover-image features a nice stage line-up of vintage instruments, which mirrors with the great retro feel contained in the…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Light Echoes CD, Neu Harmony, 2006 Although the title might suggest something different, the sonic content of “Light Echoes” is a spiralling, high-energy drive of vintage electronics. Like his previous recording “Impasse”, the 66-minute “Light Echoes” by Spanish musician Javi Canovas contains three lengthy tracks. The music on all three pieces features dynamic, up-tempo Berliner…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – One Times One EP, Eastgate, 2007 “One Times One”, a cupdisc, is the first of a new format from the TD-factory, offering 35 minutes of music offered for a lower price than a regular cd. The Ep holds six tracks, of which two are instrumental versions of previous released tracks (“Man” and “Loved by the…
Release data: Ulrich Schnauss – Goodbye CD, Independiente Music, 2007 The German musician Ulrich Schnauss, who now has settled down in the UK, definitely has reshuffled the cards for the music on this album. “Goodbye”, his first album in about four years, introduces further songwriting, more vocals (especially those of Judith Beck) and much multi-layered guitars. As Ulrich states, this…
Release data: Jerome Froese – Precooked Munchies EP, Moonpop, 2007 “Precooked Munchies” is a limited edition Ep containing 34 minutes/five tracks of music. The first two tracks are taken from his forthcoming second album “Shiver me Timbres”, and like on “Neptunes” the overall sound is mainly based on guitars. Well, the outcome really makes me look forward to the complete…
Release data: Jerome Froese – Shiver me Timbers CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 October 29, 2007 finally saw the release of Jerome Froese’s cd “Shiver me Timbers”. It’s his second full-length album, on which he sonically further detaches himself from the TD-sound. His Ep “Precooked Munchies” already contained two tracks taken of the new album. On “Shiver me Timbers”, Jerome presents…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Soundmill Navigator CD, TDI Music, 2000 “Soundmill Navigator”, a Tangerine Dream Classics Edition, contains a vintage live recording from 1976, where the trio Baumann, Froese and Franke performed a concert at the Philharmonics. The almost 42-minute track finds the musicians in good spirits, as the set features lots of mellotron and antique sound textures, which…
Release data: Colourform – Visions of Surya CD, Virtual Records, 2008 Colourform is an ambient project of Matt Hillier (aka Isqh) and the late Jake Stephenson. Like the previous two Virtual-releases “Visions of Surya” comes with a beautifully designed cd-booklet. Being in the works since 2002, it’s a 66-minute psychedelic chill-out album with a strong Eastern flavour. Rather otherworldly in…
Release data: Uwe Reckzeh – Altitude 30000 CD-R, Mellowjet Records, 2007 This is my first encounter with a full album of this musician, of whom I only knew a few single tracks from the E-dition sampler cds. Uwe Reckzeh’s fifth album “Altitude 30000” is an contemporary instrumental album of which the sound design and sequencing are strongly Berliner School-based. The…
Release data: Wintherstormer – Electric Fairytales CD, Bajkal Records, 2008 The Norwegian quartet Wintherstormer, playing analogue instruments only, recorded the “live-in-studio” music of “Electric Fairytales” in front of an audience. Although retro in vein, their improvised output always continued to contain a rough, surprising and unconventional edge, which is again the case here. The four lengthy pieces on this 77-minute…
Release data: Kettel – Myam James Part I CD, Sending Orbs, 2008 Kettel is the alias of the Dutch intelligent dance music composer Reimer Eising, of which “Myam James” is the first of a series of albums. His gear consist of software and a faithful laptop, on which he composes his rhythmic, wicked and quirky electronic pieces. Next to lots…