Release data: Mathias Grassow – Rüdiger Gleisberg – Amir Baghiri – Arcanum CD, Groove Unlimited, 2009 Rüdiger Gleisberg must have had quite an exhausting year, as he also found time to compose a solo-cd next to a cd of Solitaire. Well, “Arcanum” is a excellent cd he composed together with his musical companions Mathias Grassow en Amir Baghiri, which I’m…
Release data: Magic Sound Fabric – Uplift Drift CD, Spiralight, 2002 This is the second cd from the American musician Cameron Akhunaton, who hails from Virginia, which carries the subtitle “hifi downtempo ambient groove”. The cd contains nine tracks offering a fresh sound of dub and occasionally some chill-out styles, which can vaguely be compared to Nu Ambient Groove. But…
Release data: William Linton – Traveler’s Tales CD-R, Private Release, 1986/2002 “Traveler’s Tales” should be the first cd of William Linton, if I’m well informed. It carries the subtitle “music for inner travel”, which aptly describes what Mr Linton is trying to establish with the 40 minutes of classic floating space music contained on this disc. The title track is…
Release data: Klangwelt – Weltweit CD, Spheric Music, 2002 Weltweit” is the debut cd of the near Hamburg residing German musician Gerald Arend a.k.a. Klangwelt, who puts forward a both intriguing as attractive album. The album offers 77 minutes of commercially infused electronic music without getting annoying in any way or sounding too straight-forward. No, Gerald leads us with steady…
Release data: Brannan Lane – Hypnotic Drift CD-R, Private Release, 2002 It seems that drifting space/ambients has become a heavy trademark of Brannan Lane, who again knows how to impressive the lovers of the genre. “Hypnotic Drift” is another beauty with slowly morphing and shifting layers of sound, accompanied by some choral swells here and there, not to forget some…
Release data: Ishq – Orchid CD, Interchill Records / Dakini Records, 2002 Ishq is the ambient chill-out project of the English musician Matt Hillier, who has traded his guitar in ’91 for a synthesizer, after which he made music using various aliases. He set the personal goal to compose music that was able to alter the human perception and the…
Release data: H.U.V.A. Network – Distances CD, Ultimae Records, 2004 H.U.V.A. Network is the “North-South collaboration” of Sweden’s Magnus Birgersson (aka Solar Fields) and Vincent Villuis (aka Aes Dana) from France, resulting in 78 minutes of downtempo-ambient. Within eleven tracks, we find a tickling mix of fluid textures, deep sequences, rhythms and fx’s making up a vast array of sonic…
Release data: Jeff Greinke – Wide View CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2002 Ambient-landscape music is made in various forms, and on this new recording of Jeff Greinke (known from both his solo and collaborative efforts for many years) we find a nice blend of both the physical as mental component of the subject. “Wide View” consists of nine tracks, all together…
Release data: Matt Coldrick – Music for a Busy Head CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Absolute Ambient, 2002 Matt Coldrick has established to taking a turn in his career after being founder of a trance band. Next to composing for film and Tv, he now has put out an album with soothing mind-music to shut down the many things that keep out head…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Music for Cloudwatching CD-R, Private Release, 2002 This cd by English ambient composer Peter Challoner contains two long tracks of over 30 minutes. They are a perfect musical companion while gazing at cloud masses passing by. The freeform soundscapes remind of the airy compositions of David Parsons (“Himalaya”), the sophisticated textural ambiences of Thom Brennan,…
Release data: Ashera – Enviro CD, Private Release, 2001 “Enviro” is the fifth album of Anthony Asher Wright aka Ashera. It continues where his former albums already took him. In addition to his former albums, this one features the Hammond B3 organ, which gives things a twist. Each of the eleven tracks hold the key for a slow drift into…
Release data: Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express CD, EMI, 1977 In the period between the pioneering “Autobahn” and the band’s breakthrough-album “The Man Machine”, Kraftwerk road the edge with the cool avant-garde album “Trans-Europe Express”. The lyrics on this album are quite sparse, giving way to a great portion of hypnotizing music which captures a feeling of almost “eerie warmth”.…
Release data: Kraftwerk – The Man Machine CD, EMI, 1978 “The Man Machine” was released in May 1978 and is still regarded as one of the best recordings of Kraftwerk. The cover features the four musicians in red outfit looking East, which implies they see themselves as music-workers inspired by the Stalin-regime. Already known in those days for their static…
Release data: Various Artists – Ambienism Volume 1 CD, Spiralight, 2004 This great looking Spiralight-sampler offers a 74 minute collection of tracks by known and not-so-known ambient musicians. The first two tracks by Zero One and Mystical Sun set a great mood, offering up-tempo music with a profound atmosphere in which deep drone bass beats and effects are mingled together.…
Release data: Synth.nl – AeroDynamics CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 The musician behind Synth.Nl is the Dutchman Michel van Osenbruggen, who started recording music for his concept album “AeroDynamics” in 2006. Although I can’t say the cd-cover to it is that attractive to me, the twelve tracks on the disc speak their own language. It’s a nice collection of mellow-melodic pieces…
Release data: VoLt – Nucleosynthesis CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 The duo Michael Shipway and Steve Smith continue their grand tour of accessible and attractive sequencer-based electronic music with “Nucleosynthesis”. The cd contains three long tracks, on which the typical UK electronic music sound melts with Berliner School inspired sequencing and textures. The music pulsates and flows in the opening track…
Release data: Synthetic Block – Sonic Approach CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2003 There has been quite a gap between the release of Jonathan’s second release “The Opposite of Staring into Space” and this one. Nevertheless, “Sonic Approach” (eight tracks, almost 60 minutes) has been worth the wait, offering another blend of classic electronics & the sophisticated infusion of modern approaches, so-called…
Release data: Sylken – Illusions of Light CD-R, Atmoworks, 2000 Sylken is actually the Canadian musician Eric Hopper, who is joined in the Sylken-Ensemble by Wally Jericho, Arnold Sprogis, Steve Sauvé and Joe Galifi. “Illusions of Light” contains seven tracks of very nice and delicately composed electronic ambient in which the ambient-guitar has a core position. Next to the fact…
Release data: Liquid Mind – VI: Spirit CD, Private Release, 2003 Like its predecessors, the sixth Liquid Mind-album “Spirit” sounds very relaxing and well-balanced. It is typical music that turns you inward within a few minutes. Warm, encompassing textures surround the listener for over an hour, taking out every trace of stress in mind and body. Sometimes the background features…
Release data: Ixohoxi – Ambient Tone Poems Volume 1 CD-R, Private Release, 2003 This is the first volume of a series of introspective ambient music which Ixohoxi has started a short while ago. The album features lengthy floating ambient textures kept in a quite simple and elemental way. Next to soft layers of electronic sound also some organic additions like…
Release data: UK Heights – Ambients CD, Private Release, 2002 UK Heights (also on the cd written as U. Kay Hytz) is a UK-based band of three musicians whom have been making music since 1991. “Ambients” as such is the final outcome of the persistent demand of a radiostation for quiet, more introspective versions of their music. Well, “Ambients” contains…
Release data: Arc – Fracture CD, DiN, 2007 This cd and its music premiered at the E-Live 2007 festival on October 13 in Eindhoven, where Mark Shreeve and Ian Body, aka Arc, also performed a great concert. Like the previous albums, their fifth album continues in their well-known retro sequencer style, kicking off with the mellow soundings of the title…
Release data: Emergence Music – EveryOne 432 CD, Private Release, 2002 “EveryOne 432” expresses the joy of life in a way of a symphonic-oriented instrumental poem which lasts for over 70 minutes. The composer, one David McCarthy from Washington State, is first of all a flutist who also knows his way in implementing electronic layers of sound and worldmusic-elements and…
Release data: Epiphany – Mindscapes CD-R, Private Release, 2000 The guy behind Epiphany is the Dutch amateur musician Erik Teljeur. Years back, I heard some music of him which had been compiled on the album “Images”, which generally lacked a sense of direction. Erik remixed a few tracks from his debut and added some new compositions to what has become…
Release data: Ron Boots & Friends – Joie de Vivre CD, Groove Unlimited, 2003 Actually, this is the second live cd of MORE (Music Of Ron and Eric) and in that sense the successor of the very succesful MORE cd “By Popular Demand”. The last mentioned cd was re-released on April 10 at the Alpha Centauri Festival in Huizen (Netherlands)…
Release data: Revival – The Longest Dream CD, Private Release, 2000 “The Longest Dream” is an extraordinary release of the Canadian-based composer Sorin Pavelsco, his secondone until now. The concept deals with dreams, there impact and the different angles it holds deep within itself. Through his music Sorin masterfully builds a bridge between contemporary, classic and ambient music in which…
Release data: Remote Spaces – Silos CD-R, Requiem Records, 2004 “Silos” is a release of the Polish band Remote Spaces (aka Konrad Jakrzewski and Krzysztof Rzeznicki) which is nicely packaged in a dvd-box. It features six extended tracks of contemporary electronic music which is a switching maelstrom of elements. In their accessible music one can hear echoes of the electronic…
Release data: The Omega Syndicate – Analogue Waves CD, Neu Harmony, 2004 The Omega Syndicate is a band from Northern England which consists of Xan Alexander and David Gurr. Well, the title of the album already states what profile their music has. The album contains three extended tracks of progressive, improvised Berlin School-based music, the closing track clocking at 35…
Release data: John Luttrell – A Sense of Impending Levitation CD-R, Private Release, 2003 This seems to be the second cd of multi-instrumentalist John Luttrell, also founder of his own label Ottersong Records. Next to composing ambient music he’s also singer/songwriter of progressive rock music. This album offers a nice combination of original sounding piano- and ambient compositions which all…
Release data: Paul Lawler – Bronx Shadows CD-R, Ricochet Dream, 2004 “Bronx Shadows” is a live album from 1997, containing a recording of Lawler’s “Electric Cafe” concert in Derby, UK. The version reviewed here is not the original version featured on Paul’s website, but a copy of the limited re-release edition (100 numbered cps) which includes three exclusive bonus tracks…
Release data: Aetopus – Memories of the Elder CD, 12 Ton Productions, 2002 AeTopus is multi-instrumentalist Bryan Tewell Hughes from Washington. The album opens with a dynamic piano-sequence (sounds a bit like Frank Van Bogaert) but also reveals some classic elements. What we got here is progressive electronic music with flavours of pastoral new age and symphonic music in which…
Release data: Brannan Lane & Amir Baghiri – Lucid Circles CD-R, Private Release, 2004 Lucid Circles is the first collaborative outcome of the rather well-known ambient composers Brannan Lane (USA) and Amir Baghiri (Iran/Germany), which was already recorded in 2002. It’s an atmospheric album of 64 minutes in which the strongest elements of both have come to the surface. Introspective,…
Release data: Ixohoxi – Micronicom CD-R, Private Release, 2004 “Micronicom” is a concept-album about the hidden world of molecular and chemical processes taking place in the microworld. There’s an overall mechanical effect noticeable in the music, which shifts between electronic tribal ambient grooves and vast waves of shimmering soundscapes (“Molecular Resynthesis”) and drone-loops (“Amorphous Electron Clouds”). The contemplative “Filtered Luminescence”…
Release data: Ruben Garcia – Maybe Forgotten Forever CD-R, Trance Port Special Editions, 2003 The last decade or so I’ve collected all five solo cds of American ambient musician Ruben Garcia, of which the reviews have been published the demised Dutch electronic music fanzine KLEM. “Maybe Forgotten Forever” is the second release on Trance Port Special Editions, containing two cds…
Release data: Ryan Farish – Beautiful CD, Neurodisc, 2004 This is the first commercial release of the English composer Ryan Farish who previously built quite a name on MP3.com. Well, the instrumental music on “Beautiful” is very accessible and will surely appeal to a varied audience with it’s electronic, poppy tunes. Farish’ style leans towards Robert Miles (especialy his piano…
Release data: Starseed Transmission – Metamorphic Illumination CD, Nova Zembla, 1994 The Australian band Starseed Transmission are Steve Law and Andrew Orion, the latter calling himself Andrew Orion on the album. The duo initially met in 1988 through a Melbourne radio station who did a compilation of local electronic musicians. In 1993 Steve invited Andrew on composing a cd of…
Release data: Robert Carty & Brannan Lane – Climatic Infusion CD-R, Private Release, 2002 Well, both these artists have done very well until now regarding their own solo music. Their first collaborative cd “Climatic Infusion” holds the key to a next chapter in deep atmospheric music presented to you in seven extended sound textures with lots of organic undercurrents. In…
Gulan is the pseudonym of Andrei Gulaikin, an ambient/space musician hailing from Latvia. “Cassiopeia” is an album filled with 71 minutes of very interesting electronic space music. It is nicely kicked-off by the title track, split in three parts. Some grand velvet textures merge with some twinkling sequencing while some light solo’s float on top. This rather active part is…
Release data: Steve Roach – Stormwarning CD, Timeroom Collector Series, 1999 This is the second re-release (but the “third” version now available as 24 –bit remaster) of Steve’s live-album “Stormwarning”, a dynamic live document that originally contained two long tracks. When it was re-released in 1992 on Lektronik Soundscapes, a third track (“Aftermath”) was added to the original SoundQuest-release as…
Release data: The Glimmer Room – Grey Mirrors CD, A-Frame Media, 2004 If I’m correct, “Grey Mirrors” is the second release of Andy Condon, who calls himself “a bedroom recording artist, keyboard fetishist and convicted technophile”. As I had never heard any of his music before, I was pleasantly surprised to hear it’s some kind of mellow ambient with rhythmic…
Release data: Gandalf – Colors of a New Dawn CD, Real Music, 2004 The music of the Austrian multi-instrumentalist Gandalf, aka Heinz Ströbl, has always been something special to me. But after his switch from Sony to the Sattva label his music became more and more new age with influences of world music. Since his former album, his music is…
Release data: Steve Roach – All is Now CD, Timeroom Editions, 2002 This, beautifully packaged, double live-cd comprises outtakes from the long list of intensive concerts Steve Roach gave during his US-tour in 2002. Concerts included Sedona Arizona, Oakland, San Francisco California, Portland Oregon, and the SFMOMA / Yoko Ono event in June 2002. Those familiar with his albums “Innerzone”,…
Release data: Steve Roach – Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces CD, Projekt, 2004 Steve wrote that the first ideas for this box-set came to life around 1996. From then on, it was accomplished and polished bit by bit, culminated to this form in the first months of 2003 in several nightly Time Room-sessions. Well, the outcome is impressive: four cds…
Release data: Steve Roach, Byron Metcalf & Mark Seelig – Mantram CD, Projekt, 2004 This tribal album is referred to as “eight parts in a continuous flow”, “grounded in a reverence for the slowing of time which allows the natural reflective process to emerge”. Well, it’s 70+ minutes of quiet, almost meditative environment in which delicately molded soundscapes shapeshift while…
Release data: Steve Roach – Holding the Space: Fever Dreams II CD, Timeroom Editions, 2004 “Holding the Space” is the second chapter of the Fever Dreams-trilogy. Steve is accompanied by Byron Metcalf on assorted percussion and drums, and Jennifer Grais lends her voice to a few tracks. Although the overall content is strongly tribal, it seems to me that Steve…
Release data: John Rose – Cosmogenesis CD-R, Space for Music, 2001 John Rose is one of the founding members of the band Spacecraft. From the start of that band, I expected some deep space music, but their approach didn’t quite match my taste. This cd by John Rose, a musical pioneer in the field for over 25 years using self-built…
Release data: David Parsons – Vajra CD, Groove Unlimited, 2004 After several years of silence and only the sampler “In Retrospect”, fall 2004 finally saw the release of “Vajra”, a new album inspired by the extensive journey’s Parsons undertook in Tibet and especially the Himalaya’s. The six tracks of “Vajra” display the remarkable musicianship Parsons his known for since he…
Release data: Harald Nies – Space is Everywhere CD-R, Private Release/Syngate, 2004 A promo of this cd was handed over to me at E-Live 2004. Well, Harald Nies hails from Xanten, Germany, and has a fascination for electric guitars, guitar effect-boxes and Krautrock. The album appears to be an instrumental one which offers quite some rocking guitar next to several…
Release data: Mind over Matter – On the Wings of the Wind CD, Heart & Mind, 2004 “On the Wings of the Wind” is the first Mind over Matter- cd on Klaus’ own Heart & Mind-label. The concept of the album is gasballooning and the uplifting experiences and feelings which occur during the sky-high journeys. This subject as such isn’t…
Release data: Deborah Martin & Cheryl Gallagher – Tibet CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2004 Multi-instrumentalist Deborah Martin and world class harpist Cheryl Gallagher made a trip to Tibet in 1999 in search of the spiritual and musical heart of the land, its culture and landscape. The impressive outcome is “Tibet”, which is a celebration of various ancient Tibetan percussion, religious…
Release data: Liquid Mind – VII: Reflection CD, Real Music, 2004 Chuck Wild aka Liquid Mind found a new home at Real Music, which now releases and distributes his whole catalogue from now on. The Liquid Mind concept is all about offering relaxation music for the accelerating world we live in, to make us slow down to a more natural…
Release data: August When – The Hour Before Midnight CD-R, Private Release, 2002 This almost instrumental album by the Scottish musician Martin Gillespie (who is assisted on a few tracks by Elaine Crawford & Tj Stirling on vocals) is a concept cd, and also his debut album. It musically tells the story of a young man’s journey from childhood to…
Release data: Ian Tescee – Breathwork CD-R, Private Release, 1990/2000 Some might remember musician Ian Tescee from his albums “IO” and “Continua”, after which he somewhat “disappeared” from the scene. What a happy surprise it was when I saw him turn up on several electronic music forums, which proved he’s still around and making music. “Breathwork” was originally released in…
Release data: Terra Ambient – The Gate CD, Lotuspike, 2004 “The Gate” is the second cd of Jeff Kowal aka Terra Ambient, which took him over two years to complete. In the meanwhile Jeff also established the brand new label LotusPike with two companions, on which “The Gate” is the first release. Well, the new album is a welcome and…
Release data: Terra Ambient – The Darker Space CD-R, Space, 2002 Well, ambient space-music can count another pioneer to their community: Jeff Kowal alias Terra Ambient is a good friend of reviewer & Ambient Visions-contributor Jim Brenholts, who hereby present a strong debut with “The Darker Space”. The intriguing sound worlds, as inspired by fellow-musicians like Roach, Pearce etc. contain…
Release data: Soundician – The Beauty is Knowing CD-R, Private Release, 2001 Soundician’s second album “Beauty of Knowing” is a bit shorter compared to their debut cd. It contains just 35 minutes of music, but musically it digs in the same territory as its predecessor. From the beginning is is clear that the expressiveness of their music has grown, and…
Release data: Steve Roach – Life Sequence CD, Timeroom Editions, 2003 As Steve states in the cd-booklet, this album chronicles five unreleased pieces recorded between 1988 and 2003 which re-visit his roots in analogue sequencer style music. The cd nicely takes off with “Lightness of Being”, a bubbling soundscape with swirling fractal groove samples. Next we enter “Living the Dream”,…
Release data: Craig Padilla – Genesis CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2004 US-synthesist Craig Padilla already brought us the very nice album “Echo System” with Paul Ellis in spring of 2004. Well, he’s not done yet, as his second Spotted Peccary solo-release “Genesis” has been released. And what an awesome music it has become. Padilla’s exquisite blend of analogue and digital…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Music in Ambient Motion CD-R, Private Release, 2002 This is the second release of the trilogy which musician Peter Challoner started with the album “Music for Cloud Watching”. The album is as quiet as its predecessor. Again, there are two long tracks with contemplative, minimalist piano in Brian Eno-style, which beautifully merges with meandering, floating…
Release data: Dan Barrio – The Physical World CD-R, Private Release, 2002 To say that this work of 45 minutes is just an ambient-floater with some darker edges would be far too easy. Dan Barrio is a 26 year-old musician and audio-editor for film and tv, and has contributed some of his sound genius to the film The Blair Witch…