Release data: Darshan Ambient – Autumn´s Apple CD, Lotuspike, 2004 Until now, I’ve heard quite nice ambient music from Darshan Ambient, aka Micahel Allison. For example, listen to his last album “The Zen Master’s Diary”, from 2003. In 2004, he founded a new label called Lotuspike with some friends. “Autumn’s Apple” is their second release. Well, fans of his music…
Release data: Michael Diamond – Atlantis Rising CD-R, Private Release, 2004 I found this California-based musician on the independent music site CD Baby. Well, both cover and music match as this is what one could call positively new age oriented music. No room here for difficult roundabouts, as we enter a world of ethereal floating soundscapes, some guitar and tabla…
Release data: Continuum – Volume 1 CD, Soleilmoon, 2005 Continuum is the duo Vidna Obmana and Steve Wilson, of which “Volume 1” is the first in a series of limited edition releases scheduled for the coming years. Fans of freeform, rather depressive and at times eerie ambient music can eat their heart out, as this album features three tracks of…
Release data: Robert Carty – Oceanic Space CD-R, Private Release, 2005 I have been familiar with the music of this American ambient space musician for quite some years, and must say I enjoy most of it. Well, “Oceanic Space” won’t disappoint those who love to listen to relaxing, deep space textures, which Carty now has carefully implemented into the water…
Release data: Between Interval – Radio Silence CD-R, Private Release, 2004 After I heard his stunning album “Secret Observatory” a while ago, I thought it would be a good idea to also track down the debut-album of Stefan Jönsson aka Between Interval. The album features quite a lot of distorted radio sounds, which don’t always make that much sense to…
Release data: Various Artists – Ping Ambience 2 CD-R, Private Release, 2004 This is the second sampler of the Canadian Ambient Ping concert series, this time filled with 13 studio tracks from the same amount of musicians. The disc starts with a weak piece from dreamSTATE, but track two sounds much better with the beautiful textural soundscapes of Alpha Wave…
Release data: Wave World – The Winds of Laax CD, VFR Records, 2005 I must confess I absolutely enjoyed the first three albums of this remarkable band, but after that I got rather confused by the direction of their music, which appeared not to be that mind thrilling and visual at all when compared to their first output. First of…
Release data: Michael Whalen – Like Rain Through My Hands CD, Alchemy Records, 2004 I already knew Mr Whalen’s music from his very nice ambient album “Nightscenes”, which was re-released by the same label in 2004. A strong feeling of melancholy and the passing of time is imbedded in the emotional music of “Like rain through my hands”. There’s a…
Release data: Various Artists – Waterhaven CD, Earthaven, 2001 The Canadian concept-album “Waterhaven” is a kind of celebration of the water element. Relaxing ocean sounds and seascape environmentals meet with quiet electronic compositions on five tracks. Two tracks are by the duo Danna/Clément, the other three by Stephen Bacchus (aka Grant Mackay). The wonderful 24-minute suite “To the Land beneath…
Release data: Alex Tiunaiev – Artificial Symphony CD-R, Ottersong Records, 2005 This album was released in March 2005 on the US-label Ottersong. Alex Tiuniaev is an ambient composer and electronic music artist from Moscow. On “Artificial Symphony” he combines the symphonic elements of neo-classical music with ethereal ambient atmospheres and soundscapes. “The Gray Wanderer” starts with gentle symphonic strings and…
Release data: Various Artists – Wilderness Mysterium CD, Earthaven, 2001 “Wilderness Mysterium” does the same thing as former concept album “Waterhaven”, but now focusses on the beauty and grandeur of the remote Canadian wilderness. Again there’s music of Stephen Bacchus, two tracks by Danna/Clément (“Ontario” and Summerland”) plus two solo-pieces (“Deserted Inlet” and “Wolfsong Night”) by Tim Clément. Although also…
Release data: Various Artists – Albedo CD, Ultimae Records, 2005 “Albedo” is another beautifully packaged concept-cd of the French Ultimae-label featuring “11 ambient refractions and kaleidoscopic grooves” by the same number of bands. he cd starts of with a quiet, meandering track by Carbon Based Lifeforms, before things move into the “Wishful Thinking”, a track by Between Interval with lots…
Release data: Brendan Pollard – Expansion CD, Private Release, 2005 “Expansion” is the debut cd of Brendan Pollard, one half of the vintage band Rogue Element, which released the much acclaimed album “Premonition” last year. In their music they use the original Tangerine Dream sound effects frame dating from 1975, which now also has been applied in a further improved…
Release data: Sonic Adventure Project – Exergonic CD, Starmill, 2004 For quite a while electronic chill-out music is around, to which we now also can add the band Sonic Adventure Project, alias the Austrian duo Peter Köllerer and Thomas Vieböck. They are co-producers of several new acts in the Austrian popscene and also made music for videogames and websites. “Exergonic”…
Release data: Charlie Case & Jonn Serrie – Out of the Blue DVD, Starchronicles, 2004 This is the second dvd by visual artist Charlie Case. “Out of the Blue” (subtitled “Music and visuals for the mind”) again uses previously released deep space music of Jonn Serrie. It follows in the footsteps of the first dvd as it features one long…
Release data: Exuviae – Response CD-R, Atmoworks, 2003 “Response” is Exuviae’s (aka Brooks Rongstad) third instalment in a trilogy of ethereal ambient releases, which takes us on a similar journey through aural landscapes as his former albums. The eight tracks consist of floating textural plains of sound, drifting by in almost liquid form. Intimate, lush and spacious synth washes and…
Release data: Alio Die & Jack or Jive – Mei Jyu CD, Projekt, 2005 “Mei-Jyu” is a concept album inspired by Zen practice, composed by Alio Die (aka Stefano Musso) and the Japanese duo Jack or Jive. The rather serene music consists of nine tracks of rather non-rhythmic, mystic/melancholical ambient of etheral voices (of which parts made me think of…
Release data: Cyclotimia – Wasteland CD, StateArt, 2002 Cyclotimia is the Russian duo Maks K. and Leonid M., who describe their cross-over soundscapes as “L’Electronique Mondial”. Experiencing the content of “Wasteland” is like entering a world of dark, cold atmospheric ambient soundscapes, where things turn into something quite disturbing and apocalyptic. The first three tracks step into the deep with…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Silver CD -R, Private Release, 2005 It took almost two years before Brennan’s long awaited ninth album “Silver” saw the light of day. The album offers music that nicely follows in the footsteps of predecessors like “Mist” and “Satori”, presenting another collection of slowly morphing textural space music. The title track is divided in six…
Release data: Dolores Castro – Fifth Dimension CD, Musea Records, 2005 As we know since a lot of years, female musicians form a minority in the world of electronic music. To them we can now add Dolores Castro from Spain, who has a background in music theory and piano, composing music based on her intuition. Her output is symphonic kindred…
Release data: Robert Carty & Gerard Geary – Mount Meru CD-R, Private Release, 2003 “Mount Meru” is a collaboration between space musician Robert Carty and Gerard Geary. The latter is reading four mystical poems with his deep voice (which reminds a bit of Vincent Price) on the album. Next to great expansive space textures, there’s also a dynamic angle to…
Release data: Dene De Benedictis – Salvaging the Past CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2005 This album by ambient musician Dean de Benedictis was composed between 1992 and 2005. The sleeve notes on the concept album state the music is not only a homage to the electronic music of the past, but stretches its meaning to the present. Well, it offers…
Release data: Amir Baghiri & Nimh – Entities CD-R, Silentes, 2003 I discovered this collaborative release through a link on Amir Baghiri’s website, which referred to the site of the Italian ambient composer Nimh (aka Giuseppe Verticchio). “Entities” contains four extended tracks, making up over 70 minutes of ritual-ambient atmospherics spiced with ethnic influences. The drifting textures and dronescapes also…
The Spotted Peccary label already proved to have a good nose for fine ambient music. But this time they really have done a great job by releasing an album by Between Interval, aka the Swedish musician Stefan Jönsson. “Secret Observatory” is Jönsson’s second album, who also handles two other music projects in the techno/trance genre. This album features four extended…
Release data: Australis – Lifegiving CD, Private Release, 2005 Australis is a project of Oscar Aguayo, established in the middle of 2004, which is described as the natural expression of the human heart beyond languages, cultures and distances. Well, “Lifegiving” features 45 minutes of accessible, melodic instrumental songs which feel both emotional and visual at the same time. In a…
Release data: The Amaranth Signal – Penumbra CD-R, Private Release, 2004 Although I’m quite familiar with bands and musicians who operate in the ambient-space genre, I hadn’t heard of The Amaranth Signal. The band hails from Tennessee and consists of Mark Mahoney, Roger Hausmann and Michael D. Peck. “Penumbra” is their second album, containing five tracks (in all 50 minutes).…
Release data: A Produce – Black Sands CD-R, Private Release, 2005 The last couple of years, quite a lot of vault and retrospective recordings have been shown up and released by various e-musicians. The three disc set “Black Sands”, the second release of A Produce’s own Trance Port Special Editions, is a nicely packaged retrospective work exploring the ambient/trance music…
Release data: Valley Forge – Live and Session Tapes CD-R, Syngate, 2005 On this album, Valley Forge is Thomas Bechholds, Michael Seitz, Jurgen Winter accompanied by guest musician Bernd Kistemann. Although the title might suggest something else, “Live and Session Tapes” is not an album filled with leftovers. It captures various tracks from the “Leaving to nothing” concerts and studio…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Anthology CD, Neuronium Records, 2005 Bruno Sanfilippo’s “Anthology” comprises previously released tracks composed between 1991 and 2004. The tracks are taken from the albums “Sons of the Light”, “The New Kingdom”, “Solemnis”, “Suite Patagonia”, “Visualia” and “Ad Libitum”. The album opener “The Nobles come back” is an intimate, medieval-like track with lots of grandeur. The…
Release data: Stephen Philips – Dagboken CD-R, Hypnos Recordings, 2005 The album “Dagboken” (the word is Swedish for “diary”) is the first release by Stephen Philips and the Hypnos-label. Philips is owner of the ambient label Dark Duck Records and also initiator of the Drone Download project which is linked to it. Well, the album consists of one uninterrupted piece,…
Release data: Remanence – A Strange Constellation of Events CD-R, Mpath Records, 2005 Remanence is the ambient duo John Phipps and Brian McWilliams, who’s new album comes in a beautiful, special designed cd box. “A Strange Constellation…” assembles a long series of musical experiments which began in 1997 soon after their release “Apparitions”. It contains ten deep ambient excursions which…
Release data: Luis Alberto Naranjo – Total Eclipse CD, At-Mooss Records, 2004 Luis Alberto Naranjo hails from Murcia, the south of Spain. He started making his own music in 1993, which led to seven demo releases, so far. Nowadays he also makes music for radio shows and local TV. “Total Eclipse” is his first official solo-release, a concept-album dedicated to…
Release data: Nunc Stans – The Cerulean Suite CD-R, DataObscura, 2005 Nunc Stans, (translation: “The Eternal Now”) hails from the Canadian arctic circle. The album features four extended tracks which range between 11 and 17 minutes, creating an relaxing atmosphere of free form ambient wanderings. The music’s impact is overtly introspective with its nice flow of transparent but complex textural…
Release data: Philippe Emmanuel Gueble – Fire & Remembrance CD-R, Underwater Music, 2003 The album “Fire & Remembrance” by the French composer P.E. Gueble is a perfect example of quiet minimal music. Its smooth freeform soundscapes breath introspection and contemplation as they subtly shapeshift between darker and lighter shades, sometimes combining electronic with acoustic instruments. Not that I’m that fond…
Release data: Tom Heasley – Desert Triptych CD, Farfield Records, 2005 This cd carries the subtitle “three meditations for didgeridoo, voice and electronics”. It contains three live recorded extended soundscapes from 2003, all mixed by Robert Rich. It indeed is quite deep stuff, at times even psychedelic with its slow morphing organic textures, treated vocal sounds and overtone singing. These…
Release data: Global Communication – 76:14 CD, Discotheque, 2005/1994 I thought it might a good idea to focus, again, on this album (originally released in June 1994) as an expanded, remastered version of this classic album came out a short while ago, including a bonus cd. Since its release, “76:14” has always been described as some kind of soundtrack, one…
Release data: Diatonis – Ambient Life CD, Private Release, 2003 The album “Ambient Life” is a 3 cd set by Stuart White, aka Diatonis, which contains 23 tracks. This is a smooth journey through soft atmospheric drones, which seem to be a dedication to life, trying to capture its essence, beauty, remoteness, warmth and profoundness. As for the music, Stuart…
Release data: Richard Bone – Saiyuji CD, Quirkworks Laboratory Discs, 2005 The press sheet states that “Saiyuji” (meaning Dawn), named after the ancient Buddhist temple in Singapore, is the last part of the trilogy begun with “Disorient” and “The Reality Temples”. Bone explains that the foundations of each track were created and shaped on vintage gear, and later some melody…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Music in Suspended Animation CD-R, Private Release, 2004 This is the last title in the trilogy that started with “Music for Cloudwatching”. On the concept of “Music in Suspended Animation”, Challoner states: “it looks towards the future, where everything is man made and synthetic, and so high speed that things seem in slow motion, like…
Release data: Peter Challoner – The Other Side of Time CD-R, Private Release, 2004 I formerly reviewed three other cd’s of the sympathetic UK-based ambient composer Peter Challoner, who’s intriguing soundscape music I cherish a lot. “The Other Side of Time” is a concept album meant to cleanse the mind from the frenzied mental assaults brought about by the impact…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Rooms CD, Arya, 2001 “Rooms” is a cd-box from this sympathetic German/Iran-based ambient musician, filled with 3 cds, and released in a strictly limited edition of 500 copies. The first pieces and ideas of this music were born in 1996, but have remained in Amir’s mind all that time, until it was time to finish…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Exosphere CD, Bluebox / Databloem, 2005 “Exosphere” was created between January 2003 and June 2005. The album was already announced years ago by Amir Baghiri, but I guess he couldn’t find any proper label which was interested to release it, so he finally did it all by himself. “Exophere” offers ten tracks making up 68…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Cosmology CD, Groove Unlimited, 2003 On his cd “Cosmology”, Gregory Kyryluk alias Alpha Wave Movement moves into a grand way: the album sounds more massive, dynamic and orchestral than before, with a few references here and there to progressive electronic music of the ’70. Opener “Prologue Sequence” takes off with marvellous sounds and transitions…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Beyond Silence CD-R, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2005 Gregory Kyryluk returns with his inviting new solo album full of energizing sequencing and rhythms, warm melodies and a beautiful drive all the way through. The cd features eleven tracks which combine elements of the old and the new Schools of electronic music, nicely pulled off by…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement & Jim Cole – Bislama CD-R, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 1999/2005 This is a re-release on cd-r of the album which originally came out in 1999. The difference with the first release, beside a new cover, is the addition of the 15 minute bonus “Bali Twilight”, which is a live track from 2002. Still, the music…
Release data: Nik Tyndall & Bernd Scholl – Dreamspheres CD, BSC/Prudence, 2005 This German duo already knew each other for quite some years through various encounters on festivals. They also did a live-set on the Klemdag 1997 in Nijmegen. According to the press-sheet, “Dreamspheres” (chill out in space) captures their best collaborative works. Well, anyone whose looking or hoping for…
Release data: Dwight Ashley & Tim Story – Standing + Falling CD, Nepenthe Music, 2005 “Standing + Falling” is the duo’s third album, which took eight years to accomplish. Their music is heavy as it finds and explores “aural space”. It rides the experimental, adventurous edge, and the outcome on this album is no exception. It sounds harsh, dark and…
Release data: Dwight Ashley – Discrete Carbon CD, Nepenthe Music, 2004 Dwight Ashley, who I only knew from the music he did with Tim Story, characterizes his work as experimental. This is his first solo-album, containing unreleased ambient pieces from 1999-2003. Although his compositions are rather dark, there’s also a certain expansiveness and intimacy found, as e.g. heard in “It…
Release data: Kelvin L. Smith – The Dreaming Mind CD-R, EMMA, 2005 With such a title one might expect a quiet, light atmospheric work, but things turn out totally different: the content roams in dark ambience and its nature is rather active and rhythmic. I don’t know what Kelvin was thinking while composing this album, but to me the outcome…
Release data: Thought Guild – Continuum CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Harmonic Resonance, 2005 “Continuum” is the second cd from Gregory Kyryluk (also known as Alpha Wave Movement) and his companion Christopher Cameron. On their debut album “Context” the duo already handled their analogue and digital synthesizers in an inventive manner. The result on “Continuum” turns out even better, offering 56 minutes of…
Release data: Solar Fields – Leaving Home CD, Ultimae Records, 2005 “Leaving Home” is the third album by the Swedish musician Magnus Birgersson aka Solar Fields. It contains almost 80 minutes of high-tech down tempo groove music with occasional some floating textural electronica, although also veena and sitar are applied in the second track “Time Slide”. The third and fourth…
Release data: Steve Roach – New Life Dreaming CD, Timeroom Editions, 2005 The seed for creating “New Life Dreaming” began to germinate in December 2004 as Steve Roach started remastering his epic album “Dreamtime Return” (DR). This new album contains 5 extended tracks, all beautiful examples of freeform dreamy and quiet ambient sound painting, nicely kicked off by “Perfect Dream”.…
Release data: Solar Fields – Extended CD, Ultimae Records, 2005 The album “Extended” is actually a limited edition companion to “Leaving Home”. It’s an almost 80 minute atmospheric extension coming close to space music. The three tracks were used at a Swedish art installation. Overall it sounds very laid back and spacy in nature, and I must say I prefer…
Release data: Off The Sky – Gently Down The Stream CD, DataBloem, 2005 This is my first encounter with the music of the South California-based Off the Sky, aka Jason Corder. He’s one of the new protégées on the Databloem label of which this is his sixth album. The twelve tracks on this minimal sculptured (at times) album consist of…
Release data: Robert Rich – Electric Ladder CD, Soundscape Productions, 2006 The music on “Electric Ladder” is a smooth and sophisticated blend of vintage analogue synthesizers and acoustic tonalities. The latter are created on lap steel guitar, flutes, bassoon, soprano sax and acoustic guitar, played by either Robert or the two skilled session musicians who are his accompanists. I would…
Release data: D Loop – Mystery´s River CD, Ear Waves, 2004 D Loop, aka Dwight Loop, hails from Sausalito and has been performing electronic music since the late 70s in both solo and ensemble settings. Dwight is also a long-time radio host of “Earwaves,” a new and experimental music public radio program heard on public stations in New Mexico for…
Release data: Kevin Kendle – Light from Orion (Deep Skies 1) CD, Eventide Music, 2003 In the days of the former Dutch Em-fanzine KLEM I reviewed a couple of cds by this UK-based musician, who’s music was often categorized as New Age. ” Light of Orion” is the first in the Deep Skies Series, focussing on space music. Next to…
Release data: Cosmic Hoffmann – Electric Trick CD, Heart and Mind, 2005 The album “Electric Trick” is the sixth cd of Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock aka Cosmic Hoffmann. It features recordings made between 1978 and 2003. Stephen Parsick joins him on several tracks of what is described as a 70 minute vintage/psychedelic ride through time and space. The album offers a nice…
Release data: Tim Gerwing – Being to Being CD, Lascaux21, 2002 “Being to Being” is the debut album of the Canadian autodidact musician Tim Gerwing who’s cd offers a simple but very nice looking cover, stating that the musical content concerns “mystical ambiences in the 4th world”. Well, Tim’s approach is quite unusual and very difficult to find the proper…
Release data: Tim Gerwing – The Butterfly Effect CD, Lascaux21, 2004 I must confess that it’s a challenge to listen to this second release (which took over two years to complete) from the Canadian ambient musician Tim Gerwing. Listening to it is an adventure in itself, as it investigates deeper worlds and their meaning. The first five tracks are accessible,…