Release data: Chad Kettering – Into the Infinite CD, Soniclayers Music, 2008 Chad Kettering is an electronic ambient artist from Texas, USA. He started out as a professional trumpet player, and for many years he performed with various orchestras and small ensembles before he discovered the genre of electronic music. Being captured by the great effects and impact of sound…
Release data: [‘ramp] Doombient.Three – Kalte Sterne CD-R, Private Release, 2008 “Doombient.three – Kalte Sterne” is the third and final cd-r in the series of “doombient” albums which came into being in 2003 and 2006 respectively. The music of “Kalte Sterne” was recorded live in concert at Bochum Planetarium in February 2007, and is (as the press sheet states) by…
Release data: Pantha du Prince – This Bliss CD, Dial/Kompakt, 2007 Don’t be fooled by the title, as this album features instrumental minimal-techno music by German DJ, producer and composer Hendrik Weber, who operates under the alias Pantha du Prince. His second album “This Bliss” is an independent release featuring intelligent electronica with a drive, open sound, spatial sphere and…
Release data: Evan Bartholomew – Secret Entries into Darkness CD, Somnia, 2008 “Secret Entries into Darkness” is the second sonic storytelling by Portland based musician Evan Bartholomew (aka Bluetech) on his newly founded Somnia-label. Like it predecessor, it’s a limited release of only 777 hand numbered copies and comes as beautiful designed hand stamped on hand made paper, hand sewn…
Release data: Galactic Anthems – Semper Fidelity CD-R, Private Release, 2007 A couple of years ago, Radio Massacre International did a concept album based on a story by sci-fi storyteller Matt Howarth. Galactic Anthems, aka Glenn Adams, now comes with a similar kind of release, an enhanced cd offering a moody and dynamic musical score to the story which is…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo & Mathias Grassow – Ambessence – piano & drones CD, ad21 Music, 2008 After his introspective solo album “Piano Textures”, Spanish composer Bruno Sanfilippo collaborated with German ambient musician Mathias Grassow to create the transparent, sedate soundings of “Ambessence”. The album contains seven reflective sonic excursions, in which Bruno’s delicate piano playing beautifuly compliment the fluid,…
Release data: Robert Schroeder – D.MO Vol. 2 CD, Spheric Music, 2008 Back in 1998, Cue Records released volume 1 in this series of unreleased original recordings 1978-1982, and I remember that one sounded and looked rather amateurish. February 2008 saw the release of “D.MO Vol. 2”, which sticks to unreleased original music from 1980, 1981 and 1983, all mostly…
Release data: Hol Baumann – [Human] CD, Ultimae Records, 2008 “[Human]” is the first cd of Lyon-based sound designer and musician Hol Baumann, aka Olivier Orand. To me, Baumann’s peculiar form of down-tempo music is rather different from the usual stuff that I know from this established French label. It contains rather rough edges next to lots of glitchy sounds,…
Release data: Ion – Future Forever CD-R, Infection Music, 2007 Ion is a new solo venture by David J. Hughes, by many known as founder member of T-Bass and the last man standing in the Skin Mechanix collaboration. Ion cuts off at a tangent and is, according to Hughes, an attempt to get back to basics, to shift the emphasis…
Release data: Spyra – High Phidelity CD, Ricochet Dream, 2007 I’ve always considered it a pleasure to discover the new musical adventures of German musician Wolfram “Der” Spyra, who now brings us his double album “High Phidelity”. It offers over 140 minutes of great live music which he performed on several locations and moments in time: The Gatherings in Philadelphia…
Release data: David Parsons – Surya CD, Celestial Harmonies, 2008 After a very long wait, we can finally welcome “Surya”, an album which nicely continues the deep atmospheric realms which David explored on his album “Inner Places” release. For the highly atmospheric music, David only used hardware synthesizers and oscillators to give the outcome a more electronic sound. “Surya”, Parsons…
Release data: Various Artists – Ricochet Gathering Mojave 2003 CD, Ricochet Dream, 2004 The outcome of this double cd was realized during sessions recorded live on April 25-29, 2003, in the Mojave Desert in California. On this occasion, several musicians drew inspiration from the retro electronic and Berliner School of music, in particular Tangerine Dream’s album “White Eagle“. Among the…
Release data: Alio Die & Martina Galvagni – Eleusian Lullaby CD, Projekt, 2008 “Eleusian Lullaby” is a harmonious, serene collection of acoustical improvisations with voice, psaltery, zither, cithara, bells, metals and field recordings by Alio Die, aka Stefano Musso. Music wise, it follows in the footsteps of his previous recordings “Mei-Jyu” (with Jack and Jive) and “Apsaras” (with Amelia Cuni).…
Release data: Gulan – Sphere CD-R, Private Release, 2005 Since a while I’m familiar with the nice ambient space music by Gulan, aka Andrei Gulaikin, who seems to compile albums from various tracks of the same name. “Sphere”, which comes with great cover art, starts in the same manner as his album “Cassiopeia”: warm, drifting textures of the title track…
Release data: Philippe Emmanuel Gueble – Fire & Remembrance CD-R, Oasis/Mirage, 2007 This album is an extended and improved re-release by the Canadian label Oasis/Mirage, composed by the French ambient composer Philippe Emmanuel Gueble. For a review of the original cd, see elsewhere on this site. The album, previously released through the Polish Underwater Music label in 1993, now has…
Release data: Vic Hennegan – Desert God CD-R, Space for Music, 2004 The album “Desert God” is the second album sent to me by this American musician, which investigates a complete different world of music, the realms of the ambient/space genre. “Gaya” is a haunting free floating track with great textures, but sadly enough this atmosphere and impact is withdrawn…
Release data: Vic Hennegan – Pure Creative Spirit CD-R, Private Release, 2004 In the huge pile of promo cds I encountered “Pure Creative Spirit” from the North Hollywood-based musician Vic Hennegan. He says to combine influences of the old (Schulze, TD) and new school of artists (Moby, Paul Oakenfield, DJ Sasha) in his music. Well, it’s a techno-trance album with…
Release data: Michael Stearns – The Storm CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2001 The content of this album by ambient master Michael Stearns is not as new as one might think. In fact, half of the twelve tracks on the album are really new, and contain music Michael composed for various films and documentaries. Nevertheless, it’s always a great joy to…
Release data: Jeff Pearce –Bleed CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2002 With “Bleed”, his seventh album on Hypnos recordings, ambient guitarist Jeff Pearce present us a very personal piece of work. Inspired by recently-revisited entries to his teen-age journal, the outcome represents moments of remembrance, exploration, and a catharsis. In an interview with Instrumental Weekly, he said the album is quite the…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – The Light Beyond CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2001 “The Light Beyond” is a live album, recorded at Chuck van Zyl’s Star’s End radio show after string master Jeff Pearce did a concert at The Gatherings in Philadelphia. The outcome is a engaging, continuous flow of freeform textural soundscapes, all created with a guitar and various processing…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – Vestiges CD, Private Release, 1998 “Vestiges”, the third album of the skilled American ambient musician Jeff Pearce, comes in the typical trademark cover of Hypnos recordings. Pearce composed and recorded all music at night with his beloved e-guitar, using a whole range of studio magic and reverb techniques to let the outcome sound like pure…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – To the Shores of Heaven CD, Hypnos Recordings, 1999 “To the Shores of Heaven” is the fifth album by Indiana-based ambient musician Jeff Pearce, by many better know as composer of “spacious music for strings”. There were some darker and foreboding passages to be found on his previous albums, so it’s a surprise to find…
Release data: Mantaray – Numinous Island CD, Silent Records/Demon Tea, 1995/1999 This is in fact a re-release of an album that already came out in 1995 on Silent Records, but I found out it was also re-released in 2003. Mantaray is the duo Ray Castle and Susumo Yokota, who hereby present an intriguing hour of ambient/chill out music. There’s only…
Release data: Galactic Anthems – Galactic Anthems CD, Private Release, 2002 The musician behind Galactic Anthems is Glenn Adams. He attended Berklee College of music for several years and later on graduated in music composition at California State University. This is his debut cd, which looks solid and nice from the outside. The music inside is best classified as space…
Release data: Force Majeure – Total Eclipse CD, Periferic Records, 1999 Force Majeure, aka Laszlo Kovacs and Zsolt Vidovenyecz, hails from Hungary. “Total Eclipse” is their debut cd, dedicated to the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999. The music shows some distinct traces from the Berliner School, especially Tangerine Dream. The latter applies to the use of sequencers used on…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Cryotainer – music for gasometers CD-R, Private Release, 2007 As the titled already suggests, the 64 minutes of long form music found on “Cryotainer” is of a frosty and cold nature. It is in fact a live recording of a concert performed in Oberhausen at the Gasometer (an abandoned industrial gas tank) in November 2007.…
Release data: Deep Imagination – Gemstones CD-R, Syngate, 2008 “Gemstones” is Deep Imagination’s second release, a project by Thorsten Sudler-Mainz and friends. The album starts out with “Planetary System”, followed by four live tracks. They all start out rather nice in a cosmic atmosphere, but after that there’s not much going on, as I couldn’t detect any real develop in…
Release data: Various Artists – Future Memories CD, Interchill Records, 2008 “Future Memories” is the first Interchill release of 2008 and continues in the musical tradition as the previous compilations such as “Interior Horizons”, “Infinessence” and “Bliminal”. The cd, compiled by Interchill label DJ/A&R Nathalie Edell, holds ten previously unreleased tracks by top ambient and down tempo producers. Although the…
Release data: John Foxx & Harold Budd – Translucence & Drift Music CD, Edsel Records/Metamatic Records, 2003 Ambient fans who love to listen to delicate, introspective music should make sure to find a copy of this brand-new delicacy. Packaged in a beautiful designed double gatefold digipak, Foxx and Budd present “Translucence + Drift Music”, a double-cd with 47 and 50…
Release data: Dan Pound – Return to Other Worlds CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, PoundSounds, 2012 “Return to Other Worlds” is a commemorative retrospective double-album by US-composer Dan Pound, and also his third re-master project based on older material . This package covers the six albums (“Other Worlds”, “Return”, “In a Hummingbird´s Dream”, “Heart´s Core” , “Horizon” and “Door Beyond Time”) that were…
Release data: Numina – Evolving Visions CD-R, Private Release, 2001 “Evolving Visions” is an adventurous audio-excursion which ambient composer Jesse Sola, aka Numina, has put together. In my opinion, the outcome doesn’t disappointed at all. Imagine you take a dive into an ocean filled with vast, encompassing ambient soundworlds. The sonic scenery, which contains elements of Brian Eno or Harold…
Release data: Art of Infinity – Dimension Universe CD, BSC/Prudence, 2004 Art of Infinity is a German band founded by Thorsten Sudler-Mainz and Thorsten Rentsch. The concept album “Dimension Universe” is their second release, described as their endless journey into space. Well, my first impression of the music was that it had a slight IC-flair from the old days (but…
Release data: Cyber Zen Sound Engine – Moonscapes: How Stones become enlightened CD, N-Light Records, 2000 “Moonscapes” is the debut album of the Houston based duo Cyber Zen Sound Engine, aka the anonymous duo GraceNoteX and Smith6079. The music contained on this album is what I would describe as progressive, cinematic ambient with a slight high-tech touch. On several occasions,…
Release data: Cyber Zen Sound Engine & Matt Borghi – The Intercepted Transmissions CD, N-Light Records, 2001 For their second cd, the duo CZSE have successfully worked together with Houston-based ambient composer and writer Matt Borghi. The overall music gives a cinematic feel, which the composers themselves describe as “a sonic exploration of an emotional place”. Well, they succeeded in…
Release data: Cyber Zen Sound Engine – Ausländer CD, N-Light Records, 2002 “Ausländer” is the third album of the mysterious American duo Smith6079 and GraceNoteX, aka Cyber Zen Sound Engine. The concept album is “dedicated to everyone who know how it feels to be an outsider”. The duo describes the outcome as a more “active” form of ambient music which…
Release data: Paul Avgerinos – Muse of the Round Sky CD, Hearts of Space/ Round Sky Music, 1992/2002 This album by Greek bass player Paul Avgerinos has stayed unnoticed for many for a long time, but when it was given extensive radio play on Hearts of Space radio at the start of the ’90, it soon became a classic in…
Release data: Paul Avgerinos – Words Touch CD, Round Sky Music, 2001 “Words Touch” is the follow-up to Paul’s album “Sky of Grace”, which again blends soft-symphonic and tribal-kindred ingredients. It’s done in a keen way, as things stay overall accessible, but overall sound more fluid and introspective compared to his previous record. Again, Paul is joined by some guest…
Release data: Paul Avgerinos – Sky of Grace CD, Round Sky Music, 1998 Greek/American musician and producer Paul Avgerinos hails from Redding, Connecticut, where he started his own professional analogue/digital Unicorn studio in 1984. Some might know him from his previous album “Muse of the Round Sky”, released on Hearts of Space in 1992. This album, which has been re-released…
Release data: Jeff Pearce – Lingering Light CD, Private Release, 2005 Back in 1993, ambient musician Jeff Pearce released his first album “Tenderness and Fatality”, after which he continued to impress me by releasing beautiful, floating and meandering ambient music on his following albums. Here we find more melodic, short compositions compared to the free form electronic ambient washes of…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Deltaplan – muziek voor polders CD-R, Private Release, 2006 Stephen states in the press sheet that the music (he actually calls it his “water album”) for this cd began to take shape as he was rehearsing with Phelios for the live music which later would end up on “It always rains in Wuppertal”. The lap…
Release data: Phelios & Parsick – It Always Rains In Wuppertal CD-R, Private Release, 2006 This recording contains the live concert these two musicians gave in Wuppertal on November 24, 2006. Phelios, a dark ambient project by Martin Stuertzer, and Stephen Parsick (who got to know each other through a German synthesizer forum) both played one solo set and ended…
Release data: Erik Seifert – Aotearoa CD-R, Syngate, 2006 I think I’m one of the many who were impressed by Seifert’s album “Trust Avis”, and listening to his new concept album “Aotearoa” even gives me more thrills. It’s a well produces concept-cd on New Zealand, the land of the long white cloud, on which Erik mixes harmonious chords, and great…
Release data: Erik Seifert – Astronomical Unit CD, Spheric Music, 2008 “Astronomical Unit”, Erik Seifert’s fourth album (but his first on Spheric Music), was officially released February 8th 2008, and actually is a live album. The music of the concept album, dealing with the astronomical unit that refers to the distance between the sun and the earth, contains some great…
Release data: Various Artists – The Other World CD, Hypnos Recordings, 1998 Hypnos owner Mike Griffin again has succeeded in a great effort: he managed to select an extraordinary cast out of today’s best ambient- composers, who contribute to this double cd sampler of over 142 minutes. The listener can step stones in sonic explorations ranging from space and trance…
Release data: Hans-Joachim Roedelius & Tim Story – Inlandish CD, Grönland/Rough Trade, 2008 I’ve never been a fan of the rather experimental sounding works of former krautrock musician Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and I also had a rather hard time after Ohio-based composer Tim Story started putting out abstract/experimental ambient in various collaborations in the last decade. So for me it was…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Schwartzschild – music for planetariums CD-R, Private Release, 2007 I’ve always been a fan of space music, so when Stephen Parsick send me a copy of his very limited release “Schwartzschild”, I almost knew I would love it (and in fact I wasn’t the least disappointed). The album was recorded in January/February 2007 at Stephen’s…
Release data: Soundician – Still CD-R, Private Release, 2007 “Still” is the sixth release by the duo Odette and Kit Johnson, which was officially released on the January 25th, 2008. The album is an almost 40-minute trip of slightly darkening and contemplative soundscapes compositions. After all these years their style is still quite hard to pinpoint, although one always recognises…
Release data: Vangelis – El Greco – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD, Universal Music Greece/Polydor, 2007 December 2007 saw the release of the soundtrack “El Greco” to the motion picture by Iannis Smaragdis, for which Vangelis collaborated with The Choir of the Greek Radio and Television. The album is divided in 18 parts of very nicely sculptured musical miniatures, making…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Tektonik – music for earthquakes CD-R, Private Release, 2006 Many will know German musician Stephen Parsick as one half of the dark ambient duo [‘ramp]. Between September 2004 and January 2006 he created the first recordings of the 57 minute, deep ambient album “Tektonik” in his private studio, a concept album of slow morphing ambient…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Gronland – music for glaciers CD-R, Private Release, 2006 While Stephen Parsick was finishing up his album “Teknonik” in January/February 2006, he decided to use the remaining tracks for a second “geological album”: “Gronland”. This concept album contains 65 minutes of improvised, highly cinematic soundscape music, composed in a period Stephen was checking out some…
Release data: FutureMusicCorp – Etoile Nord CD-R, Private Release, 2006 FutureMusicCorp is a studio-bound, one-man project which started in 1999. “Etoile Nord” is the first proper album release of Mike65, aka the Irish musician Michael Carter, of which I knew some tracks from his previous recording “Lost in the Stars”. “Etoile Nord” holds twelve ambient/space tracks which nicely starts off…
Release data: John Lakveet – The Force of Reason CD, Groove Unlimited, 2004 John Lakveet’s “The Force of Reason” contains some vintage electronic music, presented in shorter tracks than is common in the genre, in which the sequencer plays an important role. The album kicks off with the sparkling, up-tempo sequencing of “Leibniz And Contingency” in which quite some retro…
Release data: Heavenly Music Corporation – Lunar Phase CD, Silent Records, 1995 The musician behind the project Heavenly Music Corporation is sound designer and musician Kim Cascone, who founded his own label Silent Records around the mid ‘80s. For “Lunar Phase”, he compiled material composed especially for St. Giga, Japan, a satellite broadcast radio station that transmitted ambient music 24…
Release data: Something Completely Different – Book Of Love CD, Invisible Shadows, 2003 Almost around the same time as “The Last Gate” was released, the album “Book of Love” also came out on the same label. This cd contains 78:30 minutes of vintage music, divided over 14 accessible tracks. Again, the musical approach is quite original, as Boele Gerkes’ output…
Release data: Steve Roach – Arc of Passion CD, Projekt, 2008 Although Steve Roach has been around such a long time in ambient space music, he’s still able to suprise me after all these years. The origins of the double album “Arc of Passion” came forth from a three month period of intensive touring and studio sessions, in which Steve…
Release data: Markus Reuter & [‘ramp] – Ceasing to Exist CD, Doombient, 2000/2007 The album “Ceasing to Exist” is what I would call a beautiful but intensive journey into the darkening lands of ambient music. For this 63-minute release, Frank Makowski & Stephen Parsick (aka [‘ramp] ) collaborated with experimental guitarist Markus Reuter. The latter delivered some great touch guitar…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Wind Journey CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2001 This is Erik’s second cd on Spotted Peccary’s sublabel Wanderings, and this time the content is much more electronic. “Wind Journey” contains 70 minutes of beautiful instrumental music, divided over 23 tracks. It indeed feels like a great journey as we take off with great uplifting textures, lyrical…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Guitar Nova CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2000 “Guitar Nova” came out in the middle of October 2000 and is the first release of the Norwegian musician Erik Wollo on Spotted Peccary’s sublabel Wanderings. As the albums title suggests, the music on this cd isn’t that electronic, but still very well executed. All tracks on this…
Release data: Deep Sky Divers – Momentum CD, Any Robinhood, 2001 Deep sky Divers are the Scottish duo John Short and David Jones, who have previously released three other albums (“Natural Power”, “Every Generation” and “In the Northern Sky”). “Momentum” contains a selection of tracks from these ’90 albums plus a couple of unreleased pieces. The cd nicely kicks of…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Vibrant Water CD-R, Private Release, 2001 “Vibrant Water” is Thom’s next album after “Mist”, and again is a beautiful sound and listening experience. The disc contains three extended soundscapes, all filled with transparent, slow drifting textures. The slightly melodic sonic tapestries feature very nice vibrant effects and would be a proper soundtrack to a film…