Release data: A Produce & M. Griffin – Altara CD, Hypnos Recordings, 1999 After quite a period of radio silence, Barry Craig (aka A Produce) re-enters the ambient stage with “Altara”, a collaborative project with Hypnos owner Mike Griffin. Well, the music on the album follows what has become some sort of tradenmark of the label: dense, slightly macabre sound…
Release data: Cosmic Hoffmann – Space Gems CD-R, Heart and Mind, 2007 As vintage electronic music is very popular the last couple of years, several musicians and band have released stuff from their archives. Well, the same goes for Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock, aka Cosmic Hoffmann, who started composing electronic music around the middle of the ’70. “Space Gems”, subtitled “vintage rarities…
Release data: David Parsons – Shaman CD, Celestial Harmonies, 1999 This world/ambient project had been announced for long time, fortunately in the same form as David Parsons originally had it mind. The album, inspired by the major shamanic traditions on the globe, breaths a heavy ethnic flavour from cultures like Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. These are…
Release data: A Produce – White Sands CD, Private Release, 1995 This cd bears the subtitle “An Anthology 1988-1994”. It contains a nice selection of tracks taken from his previous four albums, to which five unreleased and slightly changed pieces have been added. Listening to the music shows that Barry Craig’s trance-kindred music remains something special: it ranges from spacey…
Release data: A Produce – Smile on the Void CD, Hypnos Recordings, 2000 This is the first solo release from Barry Craig, aka A Produce, since four years (his previous album “Inscape and Landscape” came out in ’96), although 1999 saw “Altara”, a joint-release with Hypnos owner Mike Griffin. Barry’s former trance-inducing music always held something special, but as he…
Release data: A Produce – Reflect like a Mirror, Respond like an Echo CD, Trance Port, 1997 This cd by A Produce, aka Barry Craig, is a special re-release from his first album from 1992, which comes with a cd-cover like those of Vidna Obmana. This new edition is a completely remastered version of the original album, to which three…
Release data: A Produce – Inscape and Landscape CD, Private Release, 1996 First of all, the “post-processing & digital preparation” of “Inscape and Landscape” was in the capable hands of no other than Robert Rich. A Produce’s chosen concept for the cd was “to contrast the individual’s interior with his or her exterior environment, to explore that idea in sound”.…
Release data: Create – Space Time Continuum CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 Stephen Humphries, aka Create, explains in the booklet he found it time to release an album of shorter tracks as the previous two cds contained only very long tracks. Well, the five tracks on “Space Time Continuum” continue in the characteristic Create-tradition, featuring both prominent and more hold back…
Release data: Vir Unis – The Drift Inside CD, Greenhouse Music, 1999 This is the second release of the new Minneapolis-based ambient soundscape label Greenhouse Music, made by John Strate-Hootman aka Vir Unis. Since his fantastic collaborative projects with Steve Roach & MaJaLe, he has become someone to expect a lot from. With this first full length solo excursion Vir…
Release data: Rising Star – Totally Space CD-R, Private Release, 2001 “Totally Space” is one of the quite remarkable creations of American musician Marc Handschuh aka (Marc) Rising Star. The last twelve years he has been focussing to implement serenity, relaxation and (most of all) Space in his music to establish inner harmony and healing. This album features eight lengthy…
Release data: Steve Roach & Vir Unis – Body Electric CD, Projekt, 1999 With the cd “Body Electric”, a new chapter was opened in the ongoing list of co-operations Steve Roach has done with various kindred musicians through the years. The name Vir Unis (aka ambient musician/composer John Strate-Hootman) may be familiar to some listeners of ambient music, as he…
Release data: Various Artists – Analogy 3 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 This is the third volume of the “Analogy”-series, which started about three years ago as sort of “fun project” on EMForum. Since the first album, it appeared there were far enough enthusiastic contributors from all over the globe who were more than willing or daring to find out if…
Release data: Rising Star – …By Imagination CD-R, Private Release, 2002 “… By Imagination” is acompilation album of exactly 48 minutes, for which Marc Handschuh, aka Rising Star, selected seven tracks from four previously released albums. The first two tracks, taken from his album “Destination”, sound very new-age, which also partly goes for the third piece (from the album “Meditation…
Release data: Steve Roach – Slow Heat CD, Timeroom Editions, 1998 Here’s another fine addition of ambient wallpaper intended for infinite playback. The continuous 71-minute soundscape making up “Slow Heat” is inspired by the desert environment and severe heat conditions surrounding Steve’s habitat. Imagine slow morphing textural spheres interacting with and sustaining each other in a constant minimal framework where…
Release data: Dan Hartman – New Green Clear Blue CD, Private Music, 1989 A while back, my long-time review colleague Bill Binkleman pointed my attention to this release, which appeared to be sadly out-of-print since quite some years. I think that’s a real pity, as “New Green Clear Blue” is an excellent ambient release. It cannot be denied Brian Eno…
Release data: Ian Boddy – Ron Boots – Harold van der Heijden – Phase 3 CD, Cue Records / Something Else Records, 1997 “Phase 3” (of which the actual working title was “Bad Boys”) is a live recording of over 70 minutes comprising the best qualities of three great musicians, who only used analog electronic equipment for this performance. Tracks…
Release data: Hemisphere – Liquid Mirror CD, Musique Intemporelle/Groove Unlimited, 1991/1999 “Liquid Mirror” is the first album of Hemisphere (aka German musician Ralph Knappe Heinbockel), which originally came out years ago on Bernd Kistenmacher’s label Musique Intemporelle. The original version was sold out for a long time, and hardly sought after by many collectors of nice electronic music. Therefore, it’s…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – Emotional Landscapes CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2003 “Emotional Landscapes” is Erik’s third cd for Spotted Peccary’s-sublabel Wanderings, and again it’s an excellent one. In the first few minutes you remember the overall impact of his former awesome album “Wind Journey”. Hearing the beauty of these new serene sound textures makes clear that a lot of…
Release data: Zhu – Inner Sanctuary CD, Private Release, 1998 According to the press-sheet, “Inner Sanctuary” is the second release of the Vancouver-based Reiki master & musician Robert Jennings, aka Zhu. Subtitled as “soothing music complementing the healing arts”, the album immediately gives a new-age impression, which is even emphasized by the cd cover. The disc contains twelve tracks from…
This follow-up to Char-El’s critically acclaimed debut album “Worlds Without End” is divided in two sections: a space-trip and an overall symphonic tour-de-force. “Heaven” offers more capturing space music in the tradition of Charles’ former album, moving further on into unknown regions of our galaxy. But then there’s “Earth”: which is something different. Here we encounter more rhythmic, symphonic music…
Release data: Char-El – Worlds without End CD, Private Release, 1996 “Worlds Without End” is the debut cd of Ohio-based musician Char-El aka Charles Thaxton. He is convinced that his music has a positive influence on both spiritual health and the soul. I must confess Charles has released some very nice space music that can compete with some of Jonn…
Release data: Telomere – Astral Currents CD, Evenfall, 1998 Well, well, here we have a cd which features some music which is perfectly in line with those made some years ago in the classic tradition of spacemusic. The musician behind Telomere is one Christopher John Macdonald, who’s “Astral Currents” is his first release. Christopher owns a nice piece of electronic…
Release data: Telomere – Zoetosis CD, Private Release, 2001 “Zoetosis” is the second cd of space-music composer Christopher MacDonald, inviting the listener to another fascinating virtual trip into space. Like his previous album “Astral Currents”, “Zoetosis” is primarily made on the Mighty Serge Modular (which almost immediately still remind of Michael Stearns’ masterpieces “Planetary Unfolding” and “Chronos”), offering handsfull of…
Release data: Mark Mercury – Music of the Domes CD, Private Release, 1992 Mark Mercury is an American composer of electronic music with a strong cinematic feel. The music on this cd is actually real planetarium music, split into five long tracks. Listening to it is a special experience as the descriptive, light symphonic angles and orchestral timbres shapeshift on…
Release data: Mark Mercury – Music from the Cycles of Spheres CD, Private Release, 2001 This album is actually a rebuilt version of the “Deep Spaces” album that space and planetarium composer Mark Mercury had in the works for quite a while. Now it is being used for the identically-titled art exhibition of Mary Edna Fraser, carrying the subtitle “Mapping…
Release data: Ashera – Colour Glow CD, Private Release, 2000 “Colour Glow” is the third album from Australian-based ambient musician Antonio Asher Wright aka Ashera. Again,the same two female vocalists on his former album contribute in a marvelous way to a few of the eleven tracks available. Was I a bit remembered of the music of Eno in the past,…
Release data: Rob Essers – Raincolors CD, Groove Unlimited, 1994/2002 Rob Essers debut album “Raincolors” was originally released in 1994 on Cue Records NL. A couple of months before that, Rob gave me a demo of the album, which resulted in quite some goosebumps when I heard the extraordinary music on it. The music on it is made in the…
Release data: Kees Aerts – Slices of Time CD, Groove Unlimited, 1997 What I got here is the every first Groove Unlimited-release. With “Slices of Time” Kees Aerts (at that time business partner of Ron Boots’ Groove Unlimited label) also presents his debut. His name appeared previously on various “Truth” cds. The album -dedicated to the function that allows events…
Release data: The Circular Ruins – Empathy Test CD, DataBloem, 2003 I’m not that familiar with the music of Anthony Paul Kerby, aka The Circular Ruins, although I’ve heard his album “Confluence”. In a different way than usual, his organic-flavoured ambient creations on “Empathy Test” (containing works from late 2002 and 2003) are a slow drift, but one accompanied by…
Release data: Brian Vassallo – Beyond CD, Private Release, 1998 Well, what is got here is electronic space music from the Maltese (!) musician Brian Vassallo, who steps forward with an album he already seems to have released back in 1998. It’s a pity it remained so long in whatever vault, as this is a real gem for fans of…
Release data: Steve Roach – Fever Dreams CD, Projekt, 2004 A short outtake of this cd (announced as part one of a trilogy) could already be heard on the sampler “Space and Time” from end 2003. Well, “Fever Dreams” contains four extended tracks (the press-sheet describes them as hypnotic groove meditations) , which starts very nice with the 18-minute “Wicked…
Release data: Rasal.Asad – Space.Scape CD, Thisco, 2002 “Space.Space” comes in a simple, single-sleeve envelope, containing electronic soundscape music without rhythm made by one Fernando Cerqueira from Portugal. Fernando is owner of the Tisco-label and has made at least ten CD’s using the moniker Ras.al.ghul, but he considers Rasal.a’sad a “side-project”. The opening track “Ur” has a floating nature, sounding…
Release data: Rasal.Asad – Asuna CD, Thisco, 2003 “Asuna” is the second album of the Portuguese electronic project Rasal.Asad, aka Fernando Cerqueira, which contains eight quite active, repetitive and slow evolving soundscapes. In a way, you might call it almost dream-like, but the outcome is rather abstract, also due to the use of some philosophical and literal spoke words and…
Release data: Dorian Przystalski – Antimatter CD-R, Underwater Music, 2003 Dorian hails from Poland, and found his first home at Underwater music, but by now he has set up his on website. “Antimatter” contains of 45 minutes of rather traditional, accessible EM in which tasty ingredients as up-tempo sequencers, groovy basses, warm sounds and some solo’s make up the whole.…
Release data: Randel Osborne – Celestial Mechanics CD, Redshift Digital Audio, 1995 Randel Osborne is a recording studio manager of Redshift Digital Audio, hailing from Connecticut, who’s also half of a band called Parallax. The cd begins with the heavy symphonic title track, which sounds rather familiar to the stuff Synergy did years ago, but then in a more freaky…
Release data: Redshift – Last CD, Distant Sun, 2007 “Last” features music which Redshift played live on Hampshire Jam 5 in October 2006. For this concert, Redshift performed as a trio, as no other than Ian Boddy joined Mark and Julian Shreeve on electric piano, synthesizers, software and sampler. For years, Redshift is known for their strong retro music (with…
Release data: Ixohoxi & Numina – Starfarer’s Tales Vol. 2 CD-R, Private Release, 2004 This is the second chapter of the collaboration between these two ambient musicians, so I was expecting some kind of continuation of the previous album. Well, “Volume 2” is definitely a more darker-shaded free form ambient trip taking up 51 minutes. The opening track “Dark Matter”…
Release data: Ixohoxi & Numina – Starfarer’s Tales Vol. 1 CD-R, Private Release, 2002 This is the first collaboration between these two distinguished American ambient composers, both known for their remarkable soundscape music. They now joined forces which have led to this album (which has Poul Anderson sf-novel “Starfarers” as core inspiration) that won’t disappoint any fan of long-drifting textural…
Release data: Loren Nerell – Taksu CD, Soleilmoon, 2003 As far as I know, this is the sixth cd of Loren, his previous cd (“The Venerable Dark Cloud”) was released on Amplexus in 2000. “ Taksu” contains one uninterrupted, cinematic track of 69:17. It’s a slowly evolving, flowing blend of environmental soft drone sounds and Balinese/gamelan instruments, rather soundtrack-like atmospheric…
Release data: M. Griffin – Sudden Dark CD, Hypnos Recordings, 1997 Mike Griffin, owner of Hypnos recordings, hits the spot with his first solo effort “Sudden Dark”. The beautiful cd cover (which later on would become a trademark of the label) and title give a promise of what the listener can expect: ten tracks in all which head for darkening…
Release data: Laudanum – Laudanum CD-EP, ArcHana, 2001 “Laudanum” is a cd-ep by the German duo Amir Baghiri and Rüdiger Gleisberg, aka Laudanum, which was released on ArcHana, a sublabel of Stefano Gentile’s Amplexus-label. Rüdiger already had the idea for this album for quite a while, as he wanted to melt Medieval mystics with electronic music, which finally brought him…
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…