Release data: Jeffrey Koepper – Luminosity CD, Air Space Records, 2009 On the threshold of the new year, I received the fourth album of “AnalogueJeff” Koepper which is due for mid-January 2009. With “Luminosity”, Jeffrey Koepper wanted to explore ambient emotional places. To achieve this, he made each track a unique atmospheric landscape on which he wanted the electronic textures…
Release data: Axess – Voices of Dawn CD, Spheric Music, 2008 If I’m right, “Voices of Dawn” is the fourth album by German synthesist Axel Stupplich, aka Axess, who’s also known as a member of the band Pyramid Peak. The album, released on December 8th 2008, contains seven accessible tracks of traditional instrumental and typically German sounding electronic music blending…
Release data: Ran Kirlian – Elements in Motion CD-R, Private Release, 2003 This release from Spanish ambient composer Ran Kirlian is another long form journey encompassing dark landscapes and ideas, taking the listener on an extended trip of 78 minutes. As Kirlian explained to me, synthesizers aren’t that prominent compared to his other recordings, they act more as support for…
Release data: Ran Kirlian – Sleeper CD-R, Private Release, 2003 The album “Sleeper” was born from two large floating sessions the Spanish ambientmusician Ran Kirlian recorded in the summer of 2003. Both are based on pure improvisation, with some treated field recordings played randomly. Later on, as Kirlian ran over the recordings, he added voice, some additional sounds and grooves…
Release data: Ran Kirlian – Melting Point CD-R, Private Release, 2001 Ran Kirlian is a Spanish ambientmusician who I came across surfing the site of Max Corbacho. Kirlian started loving ambient at the start of the ’90’s after he heard Steve Roach’s concept-albums “Western Spaces” and “Desert Solitaire”. In 2000 he started to explore his own musical pathways, and after…
Release data: Diatonis – An Abstract View CD-R, Private Release, 2008 Many starting elements on this album where created by Stuart White (aka Diatonis) after he came home from visiting abandoned townships, an extended walk, or a long drive. The sonic content of “An Abstract View” has moved away from previously executed dense and darkening soundscapes. It now focusses on…
Release data: Dave Luxton & Aaron Gates – Futurus CD, Wayfarer Records, 2008 “Futurus” is a concept album of electronic musicians Dave Luxton and Aaron Gates, which initially started with the goal of creating musical representations of prominent themes that the future might hold for life on planet Earth. Each artist contributed solo compositions to the album, the last three…
Release data: Numina & Stephen Philips – Descent of The Falcon CD-R, Dark Duck Records, 2008 “Descent of the Falcon”, listed as part one of two releases, is a recording taken out of massive six hour live collaborative jam in May 2008 between Stephen Philips and Jesse Sola at Jesse’s Denver-based Mysterium studio. The 61-minutes of music presented here is…
Release data: Australis – The Gates of Reality CD, Essential Noises, 2008 It took Australis, aka Oscar Aguayo, three years to compose a follow-up to his debut-album “Lifegiving”. For the new project, Oscar collaborated with young poet Virginia Luna, Andean musician/singer Alvaro Aguayo, composer/producer Roger Subirana, and singers Mornie Sims and Rebecca Farraway, which resembles the path of Amethystium took…
Release data: David Parsons – Earthlight CD, Celestial Harmonies, 2008 About “Earthlight”, David states there’s nothing particularly special about the music, as its just a continuing evolution of what he does. He had, of late, preferred to use synthesisers almost exclusively over samplers and therefore this release is almost 100% “synthetic”, or in other words almost no natural ingredients. To…
Release data: Numina – Sound Symbols CD, NuminaMusic Recordings, 2008 The first shapes of this album were put down almost three years ago as the “Almost Live” project for the Ambient Ping download project. Over the years, Jessa Sola (aka Numina) expanded the outcome with the intention of releasing it as a full-length album. As life got in the way,…
Release data: Brunette Models – Last Poem CD, Generator.pl, 2008 The musican behind Brunette Models is one Piotr Krzyzanowski of which “Last Poem” is his fifth release. It’s a work of edgy atmospheric ambient with crispy elements, offering a strange combination of occasional female voices, down-tempo break beats, dreamy textures and experimental/abstract sonic outings. Despite several harmonious chords and contemplative…
Release data: Robert Fox – Evergreen CD, AD Music, 2008 I was very impressed by Robert’s previous album “Adonai”, so I had high hopes for “Evergreen”, a 65-minute concept album inspired by his homeland England. What we got here is a kind of sonic storytelling, for which Robert focussed on his melodic, accessible and overall gentle style of composing. Next…
Release data: Steve Roach & Erik Wøllo – Stream of Thought CD, Projekt, 2009 “Stream of Thought” is the long-awaited outcome of these two skilled musicians, of which the first drafts were already put down in 2007. Spanning exactly 70 minutes, this “continuous stream of sonic conciousness in 19 parts” is a complex, emotionally charged and very diverse sound painting.…
Release data: Tomasz Zawadzinski – Follow Me CD, Generator.Pl, 2008 The Polish Generator PL label must have a lot of faith in the music of Thomasz Zawadzinski as “Follow Me” is the musician’s second release this year. On the other hand, the moody and well produced music of this guy is made up of nicely layered textural, highly cinematic soundscapes…
Release data: David Helpling & Jon Jenkins – Treasure CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2007 “Treasure” took over six years in the making, but is certainly worth the wait as it offers the best of both worlds from these skilled musicians. Its musical content is highly cinematic, ranging from beautiful ethereal soundscapes to rhythmic spiced compositions. There’s a nice flow recognizable…
Release data: David Helpling & Jon Jenkins – Beyond Words CD, Deep Exile Music, 2008 “Beyond Words” -subtitled “rare live treasures”– contains six tracks originally from the duo’s 2007 release “Treasure”, but now recorded at a live concert on August 25, 2008 at the University of California San Diego. The album is released as a limited edition of 1000 pieces…
Release data: Max Corbacho – BreathStream CD, Private Release, 2008 “BreathStream” is the first of a series of releases made available as digital download only. The sonic content is described by the Max Corbacho as “seven atmospheric spaces built out of synthetic textures and floating harmonies” which also graced the previous album “The Talisman”. This 73-minute work indeed is a…
Release data: Acheloo – Ishtar CD-R, AD Music, 2008 On “Ishtar” (the follow-up album to “Sirens”) Carlo Luzi intended to deepen his search for the sound, getting closer to the essence and the core of sounds in a more minimalist style. On the concept, Carlo explained the dualist aspect continues as well: the beneficent goddess and terrifying demon at the…
Release data: Ian Boddy – Sid Smith – Jane Molloy – Other Rooms DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2013 “Other Rooms” is a digital-only release to accompany the three-vinyl box set “Spectroscopic”, featuring four early tape delay experimental tracks Those of you who wondered about the formative years of UK-synthesist Ian Boddy hereby have the chance to learn more. It comes with…
Release data: Acheloo Sirens CD-R, AD Music, 2008 “Carlo Luzi is an Italian musician who started playing instrumental music around 1980. He founded the band “Terra della Sera” with Paolo de Gregori (Kaj Norrijus) and the project “SeraSidereA”, again with Paolo de Gregori and soprano Daniela Massi in 2008. That same year, Carlo also started releasing music under the alias…
Release data: Redshift – Turning Towards Us CD, Distant Sun, 2008 Those who know or own the previous Redshift releases will be surprised as the cd-cover has been completely overhauled for the bands 10th release, for which the typical Redshift also has left the scene. Recorded between March-September 2008, “Turning towards us” contains five tracks, three longform and two short…
Release data: Bluetech – Phoenix Rising CD, Somnia, 2008 Bluetech is a project by Evan Bartholomew, whose last release under that monniker came out in 2005. Referred to as a sort of “mini album”, the exactly 51-minute “Phoenix Rising” is the precursor to an expansive album entitled “The Divine Invasion”, coming early 2009. I’m not familiar with Bluetech’s previous music,…
Release data: Klaus Schulze & Lisa Gerrard – Rheingold DVD, Synthetic Symphony/SPV, 2008 After their surprising strong album “Farscape”, Klaus Schulze and Lisa Gerrard did a live concert on July 18th, 2008 at the “Night of the Prog III” on the open air stage “Loreley” in St. Goarshause, Germany. The double-dvd “Rheingold” contains the full concert on the first disc…
Release data: Enya – And Winter Came CD, Warner Music, 2008 November 7th, 2008 saw the release of Enya’s seventh studio album “And Winter Came”, an album reflecting the feel of the winter season. Don’t expect anything new here, as the typical, at times sweeping and orchestral instrumentation has remained exactly the same, as has the velvet voice of Enya…
Release data: Patrick Schouten – Soul of the Mountain CD, Private Release, 2007 Patrick Schouten is a Dutch sound designer, composer and producer. “Soul of the Mountain” is a moody (“emotionally charged”) ambient release, which explores airy environments, on which one can’t miss the slight influence of Vangelis. “Heights” lifts off in slow pace, carefully taking the listener to higher…
Release data: Joe Frawley – A Book of Dreams CD-R, Private Release, 2008 Joe Frawley hails from Norwich, Connecticut, who’s album “A Book of Dreams” (subtitled “works for processed found sounds and piano”) comprises two previously released EP (“The Hypnotist” and “Tangerine”). Imagine the processed piano sounds of Brian Eno or Harold Budd, to which a wide range of environmental…
Release data: Abandoned Toys – The Witch’s Garden CD, Mythical Records, 2007 Abandoned Toys is a one-man project of American film music composer Brett Banning. “The Witch’s Garden” contains nine tracks, of which the style shifts between new age, contemporary electronic and film music. Containing lots of nice piano work, the music consists of haunting melodic melodies and orchestral, string…
Release data: ModularWhite – Canada CD-R, Private Release, 2007 For the concept album (Four Visions of) “Canada”, the four members of the Dutch electronica band ModularWhite decided to present musical ambiences which would transfer their own feelings, visions and ideas of Canada in four separate 15 minute solo tracks, paying a tribute to its landscape and certain (historical) aspects. The…
Release data: Dan Pound – Night Watch CD, Private Release, 2008 Mr Pound keeps up releasing music in quite a high tempo, as November 2008 saw the release of “Night Watch”, music made for inner transformation and mind expansion. The 70+ minutes on this album realm in the ambient/space genre, but infused with lots of tribal influences. Next to field…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Journey CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 The sound of the duo’s previous two vintage albums continues on the follow-up “Journey”, nicely venturing in more interesting corners of the Berliner School style. The 8-minute title-track opens with great vintage sequencing, dressed by warm soundscapes and a grabbing solo by Gert. The sound of dripping…
Release data: Spectral Lore / Underjordiska – split CD-R, New Age Dawn/Stellar Auditorium, 2008 This is a split instrumental ambient album of 67 minutes, divided in two parts made by two “experimental black metal one-man bands”. The press sheet states the album is of a cyclical nature, visualizing the descent into the abyss and subsequent returning ascent into the world.…
Release data: Glyn Lloyd-Jones – From Time to Time DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008 Many years after his last release, Glyn Lloyd Jones (who now resides in Italy) surprises us with his new release “From Time to Time”. The biggest part of the 57-minute album is filled by the two-part title track, which consists of 20 minutes each. Part one…
Release data: Vir Unis – Mercury and Plastic CD-R, AtmoWorks, 2002 Vir Unis, aka John Strate-Hootman, is known for his interesting new approaches in the field of ambient music. The ten tracks, making up a total of 76 minutes of music, is another well executed effort, displaying great fractal groove/rhythm creation, pulse beats/percussion and expanding textural landscapes as displayed on…
Release data: Sempervirens – Dirge of the dying year CD-R, New Age Dawn/Stellar Auditorium Productions, 2008 Sempervirens is a dark ambient project by Margus Mets. The eight tracks on the album are of a slight experimental manner, featuring lots of environmentals and slowly unwinding dense drones and textures, together creating a disturbed, shadowy and thick atmosphere with an organic edge…
Release data: AirSculpture – TranceAtlantic CD, Neu Harmony, 2005 After “Fjord Transit” and “Quark Soup”, the English trio Adrian Beasley, Peter Ruczynski and John Christian aka AirSculpture treats its fans with another live album. “TranceAtlantic” documents two different live appearances of the band on a double cd: The Gatherings and the Stars End radio show in the USA . Known…
Release data: John Lakveet – The Last Nine Convoys from Magoria Station CD-R, ad21 Music, 2008 This release –celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Spanish label- is a live album containing a concert Spanish musician John Lakveet played in Barcelona-based cultural centre “Magoria Station” on September 28, 2007. After the sounds of an arriving train, the music (divided in nine…
Release data: Procer Veneficus – Saltwater & Glassmoon CD-R, New Age Dawn/Stellar Auditorium Productions, 2008 Procer Veneficus is the alias of one Derek Schultz, who composed the music of this 42-minute ambient recording in December 2005. On his site, Derek says you cannot understand the sound of Procer Veneficus unless you have walked at the edge of Los Osos past…
Release data: Javi Cánovas – Nights of Brightness CD-R, Neu Harmony, 2008 This is my second encounter with the retro-oriented music of Javi Canovas. The 60-minute album kicks off very nicely with the 17-minute” Nimbus”, which features peppy, sequencer-driven Berliner School sequencing and engaging solo lines. “Eclipse” is a shorter, dynamic track with beats, drums and lots of tweaked sequencers,…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Desert Realms CD, Lotuspike, 2008 Finally, two years after his nice ambient album “Moonwater”, New Zealand-based musician brings us the follow-up “Desert Realms”. The music of the cd is inspired by a weekend Rudy spent in the serene,remote and expansive desert landscapes of the American Southwest back in 2002. In that respect, the eleven tracks…
Release data: Byron Metcalf, Mark Seelig & Steve Roach –Nada Terma CD, Projekt, 2008 “Nada Terma” is the second collaborative effort between Byron Metcalf, Mark Selig & Steve Roach after their successful album “Mantram” (2006). “Nada Terma” (meaning: the world of sounds reveals spiritual treasures) is a continuous 73-minute voyage split in seven segments, venturing into deeper mysterious lands, in…
Release data: Robert Rich & Faryus – Zerkalo CD, Faria Records, 2008 “Tangential glimpses remotely echoed, untethered from touch. No time nor place, no past nor future, internal, external. Sculpting from energy, clouded motion vaguely slipping. Evanescent vibration, without meaning apart from its own open secret”. These phrases -taken from the press sheet- describe and depict the sonic content and…
Release data: Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder – Live @ Dorfkirche Repelen 2 CD, Manikin Records, 2008 This release by the well-known trio Bas Broekhuis, Detled Keller and Mario Schönwälder is a double live album, which sees the musicians play with Raughi Ebert (electric and acoustic guitar) and Thomas Kagermann (violin) during a concert on January 20th 2008 at the Dorfkirche…
Release data: Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij – Silent Witnesses of Industrial Landscapes CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008 This is the fourth release of the duo Emmens & Heij, which was officially released on September 20th, 2008 at Electronic Circus in Bielefeld. As on their previous albums, the album features a blend of attractive vintage-oriented electronic music that made its…
Release data: Synth.nl – AtmoSphere CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 October 11th, 2008 saw the release of the second album of Dutch synthesist Synth.nl, aka Michel van Osenbruggen, a concept-cd inspired by the layers of air in the atmosphere surrounding our globe. Listening to the 12 tracks (ranging between four and seven minutes) feels like an relaxed journey, offering a nice…
Release data: Cosmic Hoffmann – Outerspace Gems CD, Manikin Records, 2008 This is the second release of vintage rarity recordings (1978-1985) from Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock, aka Cosmic Hoffmann, now put out as a pressed cd on the established Berliner-based Manikin label. Retro fans will find lots of their liking here, already set in good mood with the energizing, vintage sequencing and…
Release data: Ron Boots – Mea Culpa CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 “Mea Culpa” is the unexpected, quick follow-up to “See Beyond Times, Look Beyond Words”, the latter being released in Spring 2008. Although the music on this new album shows the trademarks of Ron Boots, it also chooses new pathways. After a quiet opening, “Mea Culpa part I” fires all…
Release data: Craig Padilla – Vostok CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2002 I remember playing and reviewing this album at the time it came out in 2002. At that time, I was kind of disappointed by its outcome, finding it rather dull and not varied enough. Now, ten years later, I’ve given Craig’s first longform album “Vostok” some new spins, and…
Release data: Diatonis – Invisible Order CD-R, Private Release, 2001/2008 This is actually a re-release of the same album from 2001, for which California-based musician Stuart White completely remixed the original music next to adding the two-part piece “Devine Shadow” as a bonus. On the album, Diatonis combines spoken word, poetry and floating, ambient textures, for which he extensively applied…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Remembrance CD-R, Lunisolar Records, 2008 Juta(ro) Takahashi is a Japanese ambient musician residing in Sendai, Miyagi, who prefers using analogue gear. “Remembrance” is his third official album, of which the improvised music shows distinct influences of Brian Eno and Harold Budd. The three extended pieces of 18, 20 and 17 minutes on the cd feature…
Release data: Emanuele Errante – Humus CD, Somnia, 2008 Emanuele Errante is a Napoli-based Italian ambient composer, of which “Humus” is his second album. The cd contains 11 tracks, forming a slowly unfolding symphony of quiet soundscapes and carefully crafted sonic intermissions. The outcome is assembled from elegantly meandering and slowly cascading organically flavoured string tapestries, textures and subtle micro…
Release data: Diatonis – Pond CD-R/DVD-R, Private Release, 2008 Diatonis, aka Stuart White, describes his album “Pond” as “a mildly dark ambient album with moments of intense sound”, consisting of eight songs (of which four of them have music videos), which uses real percussion, synths and guitar. The album, lasting just over an hour, continues in the same style as…
Release data: Near the Parenthesis – L’Eixample CD, n5MD, 2008 Near the Parenthesis is the musical (dis)guise of San Francisco-based musician Tim Arndt, of which “L’Eixample” is his third full length release. Arndt himself describes his compositional style as “melancholic aesthetic”. The album, which was inspired by the overall impact and environment of the city of Barcelona, contains nine ambient…
Release data: Food for Fantasy – Fruits of Fantasy CD, Spheric Music, 2008 This cd is the third album release of Food for Fantasy (of which each album release has a certain fruit as a theme). Food for Fantasy is the follow-up of Robert Schroeder’s project Double Fantasy. Under the latter moniker, Robert was playing together with Charly Buchel (aka…
Release data: Mythos – Surround Sound Offensive CD, Private Release, 2008 Mythos, aka Berlin-based musician Stephan Kaske, has come up with the idea to revive surround sound, which was introduced several years ago in hifi-world, but also rather quickly abandoned by the major manufacturers of audio equipment. “Surround Sound Offensive” offers a range of 11 accessible, contemporary electronic tracks which…
Release data: Dan Pound – Trance Meditation CD, Private Release, 2008 This version of “Trance Meditation” is actually a re-release of most of the music from the same album, which California-based ambient composer Dan Pound put out in 2006. This time, ambient legend Steve Roach gave a hand by lending his expertise on the sonic enhancements, arrangement and mastering of…
Release data: Johan Agebjörn – Mossebo CD, LotusPike, 2008 The album title “Mossebo” is named after the house where the actual music was composed and recorded. Composed and played by Swedish electronica producer Johan Agebjörn, it marks his ambient debut, as Johan seems to best know as the creative mind behind a dance project called Sally Shapiro. “Mossebo” contains a…
Release data: Various Artists – Din 30 Index 03 CD, DiN, 2008 For the third time, label owner Ian Boddy has put together an almost 74 minute compilation, on which he has nicely cross-faded and mixed two tracks of titles DiN 21 – 29. It all makes a perfect companion to stroll through and discover new artists in both the…
Release data: Gandalf & Friends – Live in Vienna CD & DVD, BSC/Prudence, 2008 The material contained on this release celebrates the 20th anniversary of Austrian multi-instrumentalist Heinz Strobl, aka Gandalf, as a performing artist. The nicely designed and documented digipack features a live cd and dvd. The latter contains the concert in the Ronacher Theatre in Vienna (which Gandalf…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Stories from the Forest CD, TMB Soundworks, 2008 “Stories from the Forest”, is the long awaited tenth release of Thom Brennan, which was delayed as material was not hitting the mark Thom had envisioned. As was the case on his previous albums, the music is inspired by the living biomass that makes up the old…
Release data: Steve Roach – Empetus CD, Projekt, 1986/2008 This is the long awaited re-release of the classic album from 1986, which now comes as a collector’s edition double cd with brand new artwork. The first disc contains the original, fully remastered album in all its glory, featuring a great bunch of dynamic sequencing and electronic drums with strong minimal…
Release data: Ian Tescee – A Traveler’s Guide to Mars CD, Private Release, 2007 “A Traveler’s Guide to Mars”, Ian Tescee’s fourth release, was inspired by the same book by space scientist and friend William K. Hartmann. The writings of the latter led to a phone call from the Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh to create a full-dome digital Mars show,…
Release data: Mark Rownd – Painting Twilight CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1998 The title of this 1998-release on the ambitious, high-quality label Spotted Peccary, pretty well describes the overall atmosphere and feel of the music. The type of music covered on “Painting Twilight” (the second album by Los Angeles-based musician Mark Rownd) is “tribal ambient-space music”, for which an assortment…
Release data: Create – Lost on an Island of Adventure CD, Groove Unlimited, 2008 As Stephen explained in a previous interview, he wanted to push the Create sound further and offer something new whilst at the same time making sure the tracks flowed well together. In addition, the track titles reflect the music and mood more than ever and this…
Release data: Harold Budd – The White Arcades CD, Opal Records, 1988 “The White Arcades” is the follow-up to Harold Budd’s critically acclaimed album “Lovely Thunder”, offering 42 minutes of soothing ambient bliss. Especially the opening (title) track and the following two pieces already show why this work still stands the test of time: the stunning beauty and stillness captured…
Release data: Harold Budd & Clive Wright – A Song For Lost Blossoms CD, Darla, 2008 “A Song for Lost Blossoms” (74:52) comprises the best music composed between 2004 and 2006 by minimal ambient musician Harold Budd and guitarist Clive Wright, both residing in the beautiful and remote Southern California desert community of Joshua Tree. The highly reflective piece smoothly…
Release data: Giles Reaves – Wunjo CD, MCA, 1986 Giles Reaves has working in the music business in Nashville since 1984, mostly in the studio. Around 1986 he was a staff engineer at a studio where country music was being mixed, working with synthesizers in a back room. This is where producer Tony Brown often heard these “strange and beautiful”…
Release data: Giles Reaves – Sea of Glass CD, Hearts of Space, 1992 This classic space music recording by Nashville-based synthesist Giles Reaves is one of those milestones that can stand the test of time for decades, as it still sounds fresh and inspiring after all these years. After the immense success of Giles debut-album “Wunjo”, Stephen Hill of Hearts…
Release data: Deepspace – The Barometric Sun CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2007 A few months back, my first encounter with the music of Brisbane-based musician Mirko Ruckels, aka Deepspace, was a pleasant one with the flowing textural work “Another Empty Galaxy”. “The Barometric Sun” is an almost 71 minute kindred album, offering a collection of 11 non-rhythmic, well-balanced ambient excursions…
Release data: Ruben Garcia – Colors in Motion CD, Close Tolerance Music, 1992 “Colors in Motion” is the debut album of New Mexico-based minimalist composer, self-taught pianist, engineer, and producer Ruben Garcia, whose also a close friend of A Produce. This album is the most electronic compared with his later albums, which more and more featured extensively modified piano sounds.…
Release data: Green Isac – Groundrush CD, Spotted Peccary/Wanderings, 2001 “Groundsrush”, the second release on Spotted Peccary’s sublabel Wanderings, is made by the Norwegian duo Andreas Eriksen and Morten Lund, aka Green Isac. The cd-box has a sticker with the text “ethno-techno trance dance”, which covers quite some musical territory for sure. The almost fully instrumental album clocks a bit…
Release data: David Wright – Dreams and Distant Moonlight CD, AD Music, 2008 Although I’m not into the music of David Wright nor his side project Code: Indigo, I had a pleasant introduction to his music when I encountered his album “Momentum”. “Dreams and Distant Moonlight”, which is supposed to be a cross of styles of his previous albums “Walking…
Release data: Darshan Ambient – From Pale Hands to Weary Skies CD, Spotted Peccary, 2008 This cd by Michael Allison, aka Darshan Ambient, is a positive, uplifting work of both rhythmic and free form textural ambient, initially inspired by the art of surrealist painter Yves Tanguy. But while working on the music, life came in the way: Michael became deadly…
Release data: Mara’s Torment – MT96061 CD-R, Private Release, 2007 Mara’s Torment is a project that was brought to life back in 1997 by Toronto-based musican Rik MacLean, who’s also an active member of the Canadian Ping Things ambient music community. “MT96061” is a limited edition double retrospective work, comprising tracks from the past ten years, to which some new…
Release data: Mathias Grassow & Jiří Mazánek – Inner Path CD, NextEra, 2008 As the press sheet to this meditative album explains, the idea of the music was “combining pure hand played acoustic instruments with modern electronics, samples and nature-sounds. With a spiritual sight behind, “Inner Path” is open for free direction and interpretation nevertheless with a strong focus inside…
Release data: Resonant Drift – Resonant Drift CD-R, Private Release, 2004 This album is the debut release of California-based musician Bill Olien. The almost 64 minutes of music, divided in ten tracks, offers a blend of ambient soundscape and sequencer-oriented music accompanied by tribal oriented percussion. Although the album starts out nicely with the Steve Roach-kindred “Towards”, offering gliding textures…
Release data: Amethystium – Isabliss CD, Neurodisc, 2008 Almost four years after Øystein Ramfjord concluded his Dragonfly-trilogy, he now returns with “Isabliss”, which sound wise was to travel in a new direction. More concise sound experiments and sketches have been implemented in the relaxed music of “Isabliss”, which features more pronounced rhythms/beats and wordless female vocals complimenting warm synth and…
Release data: Altus – Macro DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008 “Macro” offers 22 short “behind the scenes” sounds covering a broad range of sounds, from melodic ambient to atonal soundscapes, and a few oddities in between. As explained by Mike, they are the outcome of the things found after he starts noodling with different sounds while working on new music,…
Release data: Exuviae – Setting Density CD-R, AtmoWorks, 2003 Exuviae is actually Brooks Rongstad, one of the guys who participated in the now defunct Greenhouse label. In fact, “Settling Density” goes on where his debut-cd “Echoes in the Emptiness” (2000) left us: it’s another fine collection of freefloating ambient driftmusic, bathing the listener in harmonious synth washes of electronic bliss.…
Release data: Exuviae – The White Underneath CD-R, AtmoWorks, 2008 “The White Underneath” is the long-awaited fourth album by Brooks Rongstad, aka Exuviae, also know as co-founder of the Greenhouse ambient label that -sadly enough- had to be shut down several years ago. The new album, described by Brooks as an experimental Ep featuring remixes of each track by fellow…
Release data: Robert Jíša – Space Voices CD, NextEra, 2007 This cd is a continuation of a series, as I found out on Robert’s website he previously released albums such as “Sea Voices”, “Forest Voices” and even “Rain Forest Voices”. The initial idea for “Space Voices” started after Robert Jíša had heard the NASA recordings of the “sounds” of the…
Release data: Chris Armstrong – A.I. Awakens CD, Private Release, 2007 This is the first album in the Spaceage Furniture Music series by L.A.-based musician Chris Armstrong. The concept album on the evolution of artificial intelligence contains furniture music, a term coined by Erik Satie, which refers to music used as a sonic backdrop rather than as the primary focus…
Release data: Ishq – Timelapse in Mercury CD, Virtual, 2001/2007 “Timelapse in Mercury” is the fourth release on the UK-based Virtual-label and the first in a new deeper series called “Virtual Space” which is all about deeper and more outer space inspired music and explorations and music to float to. From the press sheet I learned the album was written…
Release data: Resonant Drift – Flow Mingled Down CD, Private Release, 2006 Resonant Drift is a music project of the USA-based musician Bill Olien, who mentions in the cd-booklet he was inspired by Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Jonn Serrie, Paul Ellis, Brian Eno and even TD. The 55-minute disc takes off with the peculiar, heavy sequencer-based “Until”, thereafter shifting to…
Release data: Various Artists – Dreams of My Space Vol. 1 CD, Spheric Music, 2008 This compilation is an initiative of Robert Schroeder to promote some artists from MySpace, with the aim to attract the attention from record labels. The 67-minute album contains 13 tracks with accessible music, but I doubt the statement that these are “very talented artists”, certainly…
Release data: Jonathan Hughes – Circumflex CD-R, AtmoWorks, 2008 Ambient musician Jonathan Hughes might be known by some as the man behind SubSpace. Under the latter moniker, he previously released a handful of releases which he put out privately, later on releasing two other projects through The Foundry using his own name. The tracks on “Circumflex”, his first album for…
Release data: Steve Brand – SoulSpiral CD-R, AtmoWorks, 2008 Steve Brand’s album “SoulSpiral” contains two expansive textural zone worlds, both clocking over 31 minutes, of which the music was inspired by stunning Hubble/NASA space footage and channelled writings. The meandering, freeform sound worlds of the opening title track have a deepening, hypnotizing but most of all a time shifting impact.…
Release data: Steve Roach – Landmass CD, Timeroom Editions, 2008 The music on “Landmass” was especially composed and played live in the studio in May 2007 by Steve Roach for Chuck Van Zyl’s Star’s End radio program. In Steve’s words, the surreal shape shifting adventure recording “transcends the idea of what a live recording can be”. Those familiar with his…
Release data: Vir Unis & Disturbed Earth – Drawn from the Well CD-R, AtmoWorks, 2008 “Drawn from the Well” is the first chapter of a collaborative series between Vir Unis (aka John Strate-Hootman) and Disturbed Earth (aka Dean Richards). The lengthy album of 78 minutes contains only three tracks, kicking off with the 49 minute “Flicker”, which roams in quiet,…
Release data: Marconi Union – A Lost Connection CD-R, MU Transmissions, 2008 Marconi Union are the Manchester-based duo Richard Talbot and James Crossley. “A Lost Connection” is their third release, the outcome being a concept album shaped around themes of isolation and disconnection, inspired by images of withdraw from the world. In all, there are seven tracks with a mellow…
Release data: Robert Jíša – Signs of the Zodiac CD, NextEra, 2007 Musician Robert Jíša, a graduate from Berklee College of Music, hails from Prague, Chech Republic, and has established himself as a mature soundtrack composer for the last couple of years. The title of this concept cd can be translated as “The Signs of the Zodiac”. The 12 symbols…
Release data: RON BOOTS Derby! CD, Hearts of Space Records, 1988 As Michael explains in the cd booklet, this album –subtitled a journey in the key of space- is the first to focus on space as a theme, while his previous albums had been written and recorded in the flavour of space. The music on this cd easily takes the…
Release data: Akikaze – The Age of Deception CD-R, SynGate, 2008/1995 The musician behind Akikaze is the Utrecht-based Dutch musician Pepijn Courant, who studied classical music for over seven years. The concept album “The Age of Deception”, Pepijn’s seventh by now, was already finished in August 1995, but only saw the light of day as physical release due to Lothar…
Release data: David Wright – Momentum CD, AD Music, 2008 Next to being one of the driving forces behind the successful project Code: Indigo, Suffolk-based musician David Wright is also pursuing a solo-career since 20 years. “Momentum” contains a studio re-imagining of new, mainly improvised music David performed at the USA Gatherings Series concert in September 2007. The 70 minutes…
Release data: Steve Brand – Bridge to Nowhere CD-R, Hypnos Secret Sounds, 2008 Steve Brand is an US-based musician who previously released music in the experimental genre using the name Augur. Brand considers music not only a way of looking inward and expressing one’s self, but a way of reaching out to others and ultimately expanding the boundaries of the…
Release data: Jon Mark – A Celtic Story CD, White Cloud, 1995 “A Celtic Story” is Jon Mark’s fourth album, this time released on his own White Cloud label. In just an hour, the listener is taken on a sonic journey through the rough times and overall history of Ireland, which is nicely sketched in the cd-booklet. Again, Jon’s music…
Release data: Jon Mark – Land of Merlin CD, Kuckuck Schallplatten/Celestial Harmonies, 1992 Paying another tribute to his English heritage, Jon Mark’s “Land of Merlin” descends a level deeper, exploring the “time” of his stunning debut album “The Standing Stones of Callanish” once again. “Land of Merlin” contains the translation into melodic music of the King Arthur story and the…
Release data: Jon Mark – Alhambra CD, Kuckuck Schallplatten/Celestial Harmonies, 1992 Concept wise, this third album by New Zealand-based musician Jon Mark, takes a different direction compared to the previous two concept albums “Standing Stones of Callanish” and “Land of Merlin”, as it’s dedicated to character and history of the Spanish Alhambra region. Again, Jon has delivered a masterpiece of…
Jon Mark is best known as one half of the Mark-Almond band, session guitarist and producer, who now resides in New Zealand. Situated on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the Callanish Stones (also called the Stonehenge of the north) is a megalithic site that inspired composer Jon Mark to compose this classic ambient album on his Celtic…
Release data: Daniel Blanchet – L´Harmonie des Mondes CD, Editions Rubicon, 1991 Daniel Blanchet is a Canadian musician hailing from the Quebec area, who began experimenting with synthesizers in 1985. The concept album “L’Harmonie des Mondes” is inspired by the treatise “Harmonies of the Worlds” by German astronomer Johannes Kepler, to which it’s also a homage. Produced and mixed by…
Release data: Peter Challoner – Lunar Tide CD-R, Private Release, 2008 As Peter tells on the cd-sleeve, the ambient long form piece “Lunar Tide” is the outcome of an experiment in applying extreme sound processing to a piece of music to produce sonic textures contrasting radically to the nature of the original source recording. Well, the 60-minute meandering soundscape is…
Release data: Paul Haslinger – Planetary Traveler OST CD, Third Planet Entertainment, 1998 This is the original soundtrack album former TD-member Paul Haslinger composed for “Planetary Traveler”, the brainchild of two-time Emmy award winning director/producer Jan C. Nickman, noted for such projects as the computer animated hit “The Mind’s Eye”. The twelve dynamic tracks feature a powerful blend of symphonic…
Release data: Synco – Evolution of Events CD, Cue Records, 1991 The Berliner band Synco (short for SYNthesizer COoperation) was founded in 1984 by Frank Klare and Mirko Lüthge. In 1985 Werner Brandt (nickname Chaos) joined them. “Evolution of Events” is a amazing recording as it contains 70 minutes of well executed highly melodic and rhythmic music. The tasty outcome…
Release data: Evan Marc & Steve Hillage – Dreamtime Submersible CD, Somnia, 2008 “Dreamtime Submersible” features the exiting collaboration of Tech House project Evan Marc (aka Evan Bartholomew, Bluetech,) and Steve Hillage (System 7). Released in strictly limited edition of 777 signed and numbered copies, this 74-minute album presents a great blend of hypnotizing, sometimes minimal shaped trance electronica with…
Release data: Andrew Thomas Wilson – Carnarvon – Rain Forest CD, EMI Japan, 1984 “Carnarvon” is a Japanse import album by Australian composer, producer and musician Andrew Thomas Wilson, who describes the concept of the album in the linear notes as “an electronically orchestrated journey into landscapes imagery and real”. To compose the ten movements on the cd, he used…
Release data: Logic Gate – Voyages DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008 “Voyages”, a musical tribute to human exploration, is the second album by Steve Grace (aka Logic Gate), who describes it as dreamy ambient old school electronica. The 48-minute release features lots of warm synths/mellotron pads and morphing drone soundscapes along sequencer patterns, of which the most part is in…
Release data: Charles Crevier, Francois Kiraly & Jean-Francois Crevier – Music from the Sky CD, Disque Rubicon, 1987 This is the debut album of the trio Charles Crevier , Francois Kiraly, and Jean-Francois Crevier, all hailing from the Canadian Quebec-area. The album is graced with five compositions (the first and the last made as a trio, with solo pieces of…
Release data: Francois Kiraly & Charles Crevier – Calypso CD, Disque Rubicon, 1989 “Calypso” is the second release by the Canadian duo Francois Kiraly and Charles Crevier. It’s a slowly evolving album of ten tranquil, slowly passing, occasionally slightly sequenced space music tracks creating exactly the right mood and state of mind. The warm, flowing textures of the opening title…
Release data: Xolotl – Procession CD, Erdenklang, 1982/1993 This classic album by the German Erdenklang-label is a re-release of the Bernhard Xolotl album that originally came out back in 1982. For this occasion, the 18-minute bonus track “Saturn Return” was added. “Procession” celebrates the harmonious fusion of violin and viola (played by the international acknowledged Daniel Kobialka) and the serene,…
Release data: Xylon – Mooncafe CD, Hypnotic/Cleoplatra, 1995 “Xylon is a German ambient duo consisting of Alfred Gregl and Torben Schmidt which originally released on Aural X-Perience in 1994. “Mooncafe” is a moody electro-ambient and chill-out trance release which could be a early release on a down-tempo label, although its has an overall uplifting, soothing effect, especially when velvet textures…
Release data: Max Corbacho – The Resonant Memory of Earth CD, Space for Music, 2002 After a long search, the talented Max Corbacho has found a new home at the US-label Space for Music. “The Resonant Memory of Earth”, of which the outcome again is one of pure beauty, sees Max return to the basics of “Vestiges”. His passion for…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Far Beyond The Immobile Point CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2000/2011 This is the second release of Spanish composer Max Corbacho, presenting a collection of seven non-rhythmic, highly atmospheric ambient space tracks, so taking a different road than was heard on his nice debut “Vestiges”. The inspiration for “Far beyond the Immobile Point” actually came from…
Release data: Steve Hillage – Rainbow Dome Musick CD, Virgin Records, 1979 The music captured on this classic blissed-out ambient album was recorded for the “Rainbow Dome” installation at the festival for Mind-Body-Spirit at Olympia London April 21-29 1979. The cd contains two lengthy tracks of 20 minute each, of which “Garden of Paradise” gently takes off with water and…
Release data: Nono Orchestra – Angels Breakin’ CD, Aurora/Amplexus, 1999 Nono Orchestra is an ambient project by Klaus Wiese, Mani Reisser and Rick Rummler, of which “Angels breakin” is their second release. As the cover explains, the central idea behind Nono Orchestra is to create abstract soundscapes with newly constructed natural instruments, which in this case are a huge steel…
Release data: Hagen – Logos CD, Private Release, 1993 “In my opinion, this privately released recording by Bonn-based German musician Hagen is a remarkable one. The cd itself contains very little additional info, stating that ARP, Hohner, JEM, MFB Moog, Oberheim and Roland instruments were used in the making of the music. The outcome of six tracks is an original…
Release data: Michael Stearns & Ron Sunsinger – Sorcerer CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2000 “Sorcerer”, Michael Stearns’ fourth album in 2000, is a concept album made in collaboration with Ron Sunsinger (“Kiva” and “Singing Stones”). The cd is dedicated to the surrealistic works of the late writer Carlos Castaneda, and is different from the regular releases of Spotted Peccary Music.…
Release data: Rob Essers – A Lizards Walk CD, Cue Records NL, 1997 Those familiar with Rob’s very nice debut album “Raincolors” know TD’s music from 1973-1985 holds a special place in his heart. The linear note on the cd-sleeve says it all: “vintage pieces were prepared to sound just that: vintage”. For “A Lizards Walk” Rob chose to construct…
Release data: Max Corbacho – Vestiges CD, Free Records, 1999 “Vestiges” is the beautiful debut album by Spanish ambient musician Max Corbaxo, who later would start his own label ad21Music with his friend Bruno Sanfilippo. More than once, he has been described as the Spanish Steve Roach, due to the fact that he composes tribal-influenced desert music, although I think…
Release data: Catalin – First Breath CD, AD Music, 1999 “First Breath” is the debut album by Catalin Marin, of which the overall sound carries distinct flavours of Vangelis. The nice booklet contains several Biblical phrases, which lends a certain evangelistic feel to the whole release. The 44:44 minutes are split in eight attractive pieces of which “Opening” strongly ventures…
Release data: AirSculpture – Fjord Transit CD, Neu Harmony Records, 1999 “Fjord Transit” came out rather unexpectedly at E-Live ’99. It contains the music the English trio played at the second Eurosonic Festival on the Swedish island Valo. In all, there are three extended pieces, of which the title track (clocking over 30 minutes) contains lots of nicely sculptured soundscape…
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…
Release data: Robert Davies – Shadow Dreams CD-R, DataObscura, 2007 “Shadow Dreams” by graphic artist and ambient musician Robert Davies is a concept album dedicated to the strange worlds created by writers and cinematographers. It comes as a double cd, offering two hours of free form soundscapes and slow morphing drone textures. It’s a sonic painting which descents in shadowy,…
Release data: Brainwork – Ten CD, Cue Records, 2008 “Ten” is the tenth studio album by Cologne-based musician Uwe Saher, which he totally dedicated to the Berliner School. It was this style that ruled the genre when Uwe started off at the end of the ‘70s. The cd contains four lengthy, well composed pieces, featuring a very nice range of…
Release data: Richard Bone – Short Waves Short Waves CD-R/DVD-R, Quirkworks Laboratory Discs, 2008 March 20, 2008 saw the release of Richard Bone’s beautiful packaged audiovisual project “Short Waves”, which was carefully crafted over the course of a year and a half. It is available as a limited edition cd, which contains the actual soundtrack of the dvd plus extended…
Release data: Jeffrey Koepper – Sequentaria CD, Air Space Records, 2008 As the title suggests, the listener undergoes a sequencer-ride through vintage electronic music, for which skilled hands combined a whole bunch analogue gear with some modern instruments of today. While recording the music of his third album “Sequentaria” (of which Steve Roach again did the final mastering), Jeffrey remembered…
Release data: Phillip Wilkerson – Starjournal CD-R, Clinical Archives, 2008 “Starjournal” by ambient musician Phillip Wilkerson is a collection of 11 tracks, all composed around a series of field recordings made from a radio telescope. Those who are familiar with his gentle flowing soundscape music will be surprised, as the experimental oriented sonic content of “Starjournal” isn’t that easy to…
Release data: Carboneids – Synthsyg CD, Mellowjet Records, 2007 “Synthsyg” is Carboneids’ debut album on the German Mellowjet label, but it’s actually a re-release of the same album that already came out on HZ-Records in 2005. Carboneids are the Danish duo Bjorn Jeppesen (also known as Nattefrost) and Claus Holm Lynglund, presenting a fresh portion of synth-pop tracks. From the…
Release data: Kerry Leimer – Lesser Epitomes CD, Palace of Lights, 2007 The ambient music on this cd is a collection of modern chamber music made with electronics. Split in three long suites, it’s a textural free form piece of work. In the first part, the strongest of the three in my opinion, the flowing sound of the electronic instruments…
Release data: Arrocata – In the Distance CD, Sonoran Winds Music, 2006 Arrocata is a project from Arizona-based musician Robert Straub, a long time resident of the Sonoran Desert. “In the Distance”, which draws inspiration from the expansive open spaces and deserts in the American Southwest, transports the listener to the very heart of the Sonoran desert where the timeline…
Release data: Altus – Rapid Eye Movements DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2008 Mike Carss, aka Altus, explains that this album is not meant as a sleeping aid, but as a sonic voyage through one’s dreams and the secrets they can reveal. Sonically, the seven flowing textural parts follow a rather darkening path that stretches out in the direction of his…
Release data: Static Flux – Minus (-) 6 CD-R, Oasis Productions/Akasa, 2006/2008 The first album under Oasis Productions’ “Sound As Music” concept on the Oasis label division Akasa is a release from Static Flux, aka the Canadian musician Jona Stuart. The sonic outcome is described as “ambient layers, created by sampling environments and objects with a stereo microphone, then modifying…
Release data: Origen – Electro CD, Private Release, 2004 “Electro” is the debut album of the Origen, aka Alexsey and Denis Zakharenko, a duo from the Ukraine who established the band in 1996. “Electro” is a collection of 13 melodic tracks which overtly roam in overall relaxing, strong new age kind of music. The cover is rather misleading, as those…
Release data: Kwook – Skywave CD, Blue Oasis/DataObscura, 2008 Kwook is an ambient project of the Australian musician Simon Bennett. Where his previous album UFO was quite outer-space themed, Bennett’s second album “Skywave” is a musical survey of shortwave radio. Sonically, a varied array of distorted signals are very nicely matches with sequenced parts and minimal, flowing melodic structures and…
Release data: M. Persson – Sounds: Strange Skies CD-R, Lunar Flower I discovered this excellent ambient release through a blog-message on the Altus website. Mats Persson is a Swedish composer who’s intimate sounding album Sounds: “Strange Skies” is intended on conveying a musical experience of complete immersion. Well, he succeeded very well, as the free flowing textures on the seven…
Release data: Konrad Kucz – Vita Contemplativa – Litania – CD, Generator.pl, 2008 This is the first release of the Polish Generator-label, and as the title already suggests, it’s a nice contemplative affair into symphonic ambient music. I got the impression “Litania” is part of a series of albums of Mr Kucz, as I found at least one other album…
Release data: Robert Rich & Ian Boddy – React CD, DiN, 2008 For me, these two talented and experienced musicians have already proved what they are capable of on their previous two studio albums. “React” is proof of their first ever live performance, which took place at the Star’s End radio show 30th anniversary celebration concert in June 2007, which…
Release data: Memory Geist – Funereal Cavern CD, Musica Maxima Magnetica, 2007 Memory Geist is a collaborative project of the Greek musician Bakis Sirros (aka Parallel Worlds) and Australian composer Steve Law (aka Zen Paradox, Starseed Transmission). “Funereal Cavern” is their debut album, for which Bakis send some soundscape recordings to Steve, which he proceeded to edit and process into…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Fuzzstars – music for planetariums Vol. 2 CD-R, Private Release, 2008 “Fuzzstars” is Parsick’s second release of planetarium music, again released as a limited edition of only 25 copies. As Stephen tells in the press sheet, the music is the outcome of a series of late night rehearsals and improvisations between November 2007 and January…
Release data: Craig Padilla – Below The Mountain CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2008 “Below the Mountain” is a beautiful ambient and deep space offering by skilled electronic musician Craig Padilla. Created on analogue synthesizers for the most biggest part, the concept album was inspired by the environments surrounding Mt. Shasta. This has led to seven pieces of carefully moulded in-depth…
Release data: Aquavoice – Cold CD, Generator.pl, 2008 From the first tracks of this carefully moulded and shaped ambient album, it becomes clear that the composer Tadeusz Luczejko has invested a lot of attention and time to the outcome. “Cold” is a gently morphing and flowing textural piece of work which comes in 13 “parts”, breathing a beautiful soft glowing…
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 – The Last Gate CD, Invisible Shadows, 2003 Due to the big amount of releases in foreign countries I would almost forget their’s also a lot of interesting electronic music produced almost next door. There’s for example this musician Boele Gerkes hailing from Zutphen, The Netherlands, who operates under the monniker Something Completely Different. I…
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…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Shimmer CD-R, Private Release, 2001 On “Shimmer”, Thom Brennan continues his quest for nature-inspired music. It kicks off with the short piece “Radiant Ice”, which returns at the end of album in a longer version. It is followed by the engaging soundings of the 15 minute “Cavelight”, which also contains some modified e-guitar and several…
Release data: Thom Brennan – Satori CD-R, Private Release, 2002 “Satori”, originally released on James Johnson’s Zero Music-label, contains music in line of what is featured on “Mist”. “Satori” (which is Japanese for Spiritual Enlightment) is part of Thom Brennan’s live improvisations, and contains 71 minutes of drifting and ongoing textural sound worlds. The deep, but always transparent soundscapes with…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – Phaedra 2005 CD, Eastgate, 2005 For this project, father and son Froese took the music of the classic “Phaedra” album and reworked and remixed (read: tangenitized) it to make it fit in a more modern jacket. This, by TD-fans, much feared treatment meant it would wash away the strong sense of mystery and magic from…
Release data: John Lakveet – Epikus CD, Groove Unlimited, 2003 The Spanish musician John Lakveet is one of the members of the band At-Moos, who decided to pursue a solo career like his band companion musician Dom F. Scab. “Epikus” is Lakveet’s debut cd on the Dutch label Groove Unlimited, and is a beautiful example of Berliner School inspired electronic…
Release data: Zero Ohms & Brannan Lane – Soundfall To The Infinite CD-R, Space for Music, 2002 “Soundfall to the Infinite” is a well composed ambient space album, divided in three parts. It originated from the Space for Music festival in 2002, where both musicians did a solo performance, but after they heared each others music they decided to do…
Release data: Various Artists – Fahrenheit Project Part 3 CD, Ultimae Records, 2002 This is the third compilation from the small French label Ultimae, which continues releasing some fine “panoramic music for panoramic people”. The cd contains “a selection of ambient downtempo soundscapes and ethereal rhythms”, presenting ten unreleased tracks (with the exception of the piece by Mystical Sun) by…
Release data: Gaylene – Journey to the Surface CD-R, Private Release, 1995/2001 Gaylene is a synthesist from Norwalk, Connecticut, and one of the few female musicians within nowadays electronic music scene. Her album “Journey to the Surface”, which was already released on mc in 1995, was originally recorded as a soundtrack for an exhibit at the Norwalk Maritime Center. The…
Release data: Astrogator – Dreamlight CD-R, Private Release, 2007 “Dreamlight” is the second release of the duo Astrogator, aka Stephen Humphries (aka Create) and his musical pal Jez Creek, which initially appeared as a limited edition cd-r of only 50 copies. Later on, and after popular demand, the duo decided to do a re-release I fall 2007 with full colour…
Release data: Frank Klare – Digitalic CD, Groove Unlimited, 2007 Frank Klare describes “Digitalic” as the musical successor of the his album “Analogic”, containing six recordings made between 2003 and 2007. Mr Klare has an energetic way of composing electronic music, which overall is strongly sequencer based and rooted in the modern Berliner School of music. The outcome on “Digitalic”…
Release data: The Nightcrawlers – Traveling Backwards CD, Manikin Records, 1997 The Nightcrawlers was a US-band from New Jersey, consisting of Peter and Steve Gulch and David Lunt, who by now are regarded as composers of classic electronic music. The trio applied vintage analogue gear to compose three albums between 1982 and 1987: “The Nightcrawlers” (1983), “Space Walk” (1985) and…
Release data: Spyra – Excerpts 1 CD, Ricochet Dream, 1992/2004 “Excerpts 1” comprises eight tracks Wolfram Spyra composed between 1986 and 1992. This version is actually the cd version of an album which originally was released as a limited edition mc back in 1992, now complemented with one bonus track. I’ve always considered Spyra as one of the innovators in…
Release data: Jean Michel Jarre – Oxygene (New Master recording) CD & DVD, EMI/Capitol, 2007 To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his classic album “Oxygene”, Jean Michel Jarre had the plan to completely re-record the original music with the original instruments. The outcome on the cd is great, as Jarre sticked to the original music, which still shines in all…
Release data: The Speed of Dark – The “Dark Water” Edition CD-R, Private Release, 2007 Frank Makowksi started The Speed of Dark project after [´ramp] (the dark ambient project with Stephen Parsick) had reached a dead point from an artist point of view. I’m glad he decided to continue and further investigate his own musical pathways, of which “Dark Water”…
Release data: Steve Joliffe – Poland CD, Ricochet Dream, 2006 What I got here is actually a live recording made at the Ricochet Festival in September 2004. “Poland” contains three long tracks, kicked of by the strange mixed bag “Spring ‘67”. It starts out with solo piano with quite some discordant notes, later on even getting experimental with some awful…
Release data: Robert Fox – Touching the Serpent’s Tail CD, AD Music, 2007 By whatever reason, I lost touch of the music by the English musician Robert Fox after his third release or so, although I liked his music quite a lot. In the meanwhile he has become a member of Code Indigo, but also continued releasing solo music. “Touching…
Release data: Various Artists – Oxycanta – Winter Blooms CD, Ultimae Records, 2007 “Winter Blooms” is the second compilation under the Oxycanta-monniker, compiled by labelmanager, musician and dj Mahiane. It features over an hour of new, modern electronics by the musicians Hybrid Leisureland, Solar Fields, Amos, Antonio Testa & Maurizio Piazza, Malik Trey, Aes Dana, Sgnl_Fltr, Subgardens, bOb tracKer, James…
Release data: Inade – Aldebaran CD, Cold Spring, 1996/2007 I received this cd together with the re-release of Sleep Research Facility’s “Nostromo”. “Aldebaran” appears to be the debut album of Inade, aka the German duo Knut Enderlein and René Lehmann . They have the intention “to go beyond the in part static and often repetitive working principle of Ambient Music…
Release data: Sleepresearch_Facility – Nostromo CD, Cold Spring, 2007 “Nostromo” is actually a re-release of an album by Sleep Research Facility, aka Kevin Doherty, which was already put out in 2001. It’s a concept album inspired by the spaceship Nostromo from the sf-movie “Alien”, and especially the mindblowing interior of it, which is featured in the first five minutes. Kevin…
Release data: Solar Fields – EarthShine CD, Ultimae Records, 2007 November 2007 saw the the release of the fifth Solar Fields album “EarthShine”. This time, the Swedish composer Magnus Birgersson presents eight lenghty tracks which are firmly rooted in atmospheric trance music. There’s plenty of melody implemented in the uptempo groove tracks with powerful, straightforward sequencers, pulling the listener deep…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Terra DVD-R, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2006 The audiovisual production “Terra” is a journey into the hidden natural landscapes of New Zealand, which comes with an exclusive ambient soundtrack by Alpha Wave Movement. The dvd contains 37 minutes of beautiful nature footage by Rudy Adrian, who shot some tranquilliscapes” of mountains, forests, and various water…
Release data: Evan Bartholomew – Caverns of Time CD, Somnia, 2007 “Caverns of Time” is the first release on the new Somnia-label, founded by Evan Bartholomew, aka Bluetech. Evan explains the music “explores a mythical journey into subconscious realms, and is an attempt to explore the deep waters through an experience of sound”. The cd contains six free form tracks…
Release data: Deep Sky Divers – Highlands & Skylands CD, Any Robinhood, 2002 “Highlands & Skylands” by David Jones and Jon Short, aka the Brittish duo Deep Sky Divers, is a haunting album filled with highly cinematic music inspired by the beauty and landscape of the Scottish Highlands. The almost hour-long cd contains nine compositions which reflect the passion and…
Release data: Kerry Leimer – The Useless Lesson CD, Palace of Lights, 2007 Mr Leimer explains this cd is comprised of constructed and deconstructed pieces juxtaposed to disclose the contrasts and commonality of organizing and recognizing sound into music. Well, I don’t have the slightest clue what he means by that, but the result is a remarkable form of precision…
Release data: Sunya Beat – The Jelenia Gora Sessions CD, Ricochet Dream, 2005 The music of this cd was recorded live in Jelenia Gora, Poland at Teatr Jeleniogorski during the Ricochet Gathering September 10, 2004. It features Harald Grosskopf and Steve Baltes (from Ashra and Ash Ra Tempel fame)on percussion and synthesizer, plus Axel Heilhecker on guitar. The seven tracks…
Release data: Mark Jenkins – This Island Earth CD, Ricochet Dream, 2006 The 66 minute cd “This Island Earth” comprises music recorded and composed on analogue and digital equipment on various locations on our globe, presented in three suites. For Mark himself, the album is an over flight of compositions and recordings methods which made evolve the art, since the…
Release data: Conrad Schnitzler – Conviction CD, Ricochet Dream, 2006 “Conviction” is a limited edition cd of only 300 copies, released on the American label Ricochet Dream. It’s my first encounter with the hypnotizing, industrial sound experiments of Mr Schnitzler, also known from the Krautrock days of the German band Cluster. Although the cd-sleeve lists 18 different tracks, the music…
Release data: Various Artists –Various Artists – The Collective, Vol. 2 CD-R, SynGate, 2006 “The Collective Vol. 2” is actually the 100th cd-r of the German SynGate label, a double-disc release with 24 different (often unreleased) pieces of music from various musicians. For all fans of modern electronic music, a nice range of music is put forward by e.g. Keller/Schönwälder…
Release data: Telomere – The Stellar Sea CD, Evenfall, 2007 Six years after his second release, Christopher MacDonald aka Telomere presents us his long awaited album “The Stellar Sea”. Like the previous recordings, it is merely composed with the Serge Modular synthesizer (which many in the genre know so well through the music of Michael Stearns and Kevin Braheny), although…
Release data: Harald Nies – Dual Systems CD-R, Syngate, 2007 This album is my second encounter with the music of German musician Harald Nies. I wasn’t satisfied by his 2004 album “Space in Everywhere”, but this time things have improved considerably on behalf of sound and production. “Spacejuggler” begins with tasty, melodic music and a nice sequence, later followed by…
Release data: Realtime – Lights of the Universe CD-R, SynGate, 2007 “Light of the Universe” is the second album of Realtime, aka the Cologne-based musicians Thomas Bock and Norbert Hesnellek, who are joined by Thorsten Sudler-Mainz (aka Deep Imagination). The well composed melodic music on this album offers a nice dose of well proportioned sequencers, which takes the listener “out…
Release data: Stockman – Future Science CD-R, SynGate, 2007 Stockman is actually the Belgium musician Godfried Stockmans, who’s third album “Future Science” is a concept album about the wonders of science. It begins with the 11-minute, two-part “Electricity”, which overall hypnotic sound is bit repetitive to my ears. Fortunately, things improve from the second track on, as the listener steps…
Release data: Michael Meara – The Last Days of Autumn CD-R, Private Release, 2007 Michael Meara’s “The last days of autumn” is an ep of 25 minutes, containing one uninterrupted free form ambient track. The album starts out with warm string textures, which is soon accompanied by nice violin, soft piano and flute. It’s a slow moving piece with a…
Release data: Eric van der Heijden – Da Capo CD, Groove Unlimited, 1998 After seven long years of waiting and ongoing requests from fans for new music, October 1998 finally saw the release of Eric van der Heijden’s second album “Da Capo”. The music on “Da Capo” shows a far stronger influence from the warm music by Vangelis, who’s output…
Release data: Eric van der Heijden – Cosmic Flight No. 3 CD, Groove Unlimited, 2003 “Cosmic Flight no. 3” is Eric’s third album, which was released five years after his great cd “Da Capo”. It actually premiered on E-Live 2003, where Eric also performed live. The music shows a more own style, although his roots can still be detected in…
Release data: Eric van der Heijden – Universal Time Zone CD, Synteam/ Groove Unlimited, 1991/1998 Musician Eric van der Heijden is a close friend of Ron Boots, who met each other at the Klemdag 1989, which actually was the start of a long-time friendship which lasts until today. Ron invited Eric at his home and encouraged him to make more…
Release data: Thomas Ronkin – Symmetric CD, Tristissima Records, 2009 Four years after his very nice debut album “Within: Distance”, Thomas Ronkin presents us the double cd “Symmetric”, featuring strong musical contrasts and nice stereo effects. It also reflects the composer’s fascination with illusions of parallel, alternate realities and visual effects, which is also expresse in the artwork of the…
Release data: Thomas Ronkin – Within; Distance CD, Tristissima Records, 1997 Thomas Ronkin hails from Manhattan Beach, California, who’s music was recommended to me by “Mr A Produce” Barry Craig. Thomas, who seems to have worked with Steve Roach at the begin of the ‘80s, has a background as a classic pianist and video artist, but since quite some time…
Release data: Free System Projekt & Dave Brewer – Ricochet Gathering Okefenokee 2000 CD, Ricochet Dream, 2007 This is actually some kind of re-vamped edition of the same titled cd which was released in 2000 on Groove Unlimited. It now comes as a limited edition digi-pack of only 300 copies from Ricochet Dream, a label started by Vic Rek not…
Release data: Hypnosphere – Magnetism CD, Spheric Music, 2007 This is my first encounter with the music of the German project Hypnosphere, aka Lambert Ringlage (electronic musician and owner of Spheric Music) and Wolfgang Barkowski (aka Alien Nature). The duo describes the 76 minute “Magnetism” as a thematical follow up to their 2003-debut album “Within the Whirl”, which both deal…
Release data: René van der Wouden – Pro Sequentia CD-R, Private Release, 2005 The music on “Pro Sequentia”(which is Latin for the sequential hymns sung by monks and musicians at around the year 1100) of Dutch synthesist René van der Wouden shows a few musical steps forward. Above all, it features a warmer, better produced sound, which makes the general…
Release data: GoGooo – Long, lointain CD, Baskaru, 2007 GoGooo is a music project of the French composer Gabriel Hernadez. “Long, Lointain” (“Long, far”) is a peculiar ambient release with miniature ambient music, assembled with what I would call a whole range of lost and found sounds. The outcome of ten short tracks is derived from field recordings, guitar, melodica,…
Release data: Psicodreamics – The Garden CD-R, Private Release, 2000/2006 Like his album “Mythomusic”, the Spanish musician Salva Moreno aka Psicodreamics also give his 2000-album “The Garden” a proper remastering. The album contains 64 minutes of spiritual, slightly fantasy-like electronic music. There’s a touch of romance to be found in the uplifting textures and choral passages of these modern electronics,…
Release data: Ololiuqui – Other Side of Odra CD, Ricochet Dream, 2007 The beautiful designed “Other Side of Odra” contains a live recording from Ololiuqui, aka the German musician Volker König, at the Ricochet Gathering Poland 2004. The album was released in February 2007 as a limited edition of 300 copies. The music is a sort of psychedelic trance music,…
Release data: Ken Davies – Floating Galaxy CD-R, Pattisan Records, 2007 Ken Davis is a Mississippi based musician, who already got several releases in different genres under his belt. The 70 minute “Floating Galaxy” is his attempt to compose a space music album of elegant, electronic ambient music. The album starts out with the two-fold title track, which sounds very…
Release data: Dan Pound – Tantra Majik CD-R, Private Release, 2007 Dan Pound’s goal with this music is “to help enhance an erotic, meditative state where a couple may find that massage and touch become more intense and absorbing”. What we got here is a kind of sensuous ambient music which Mr Pound classifies as shamanic space music with quiet,…
Release data: Gulan – Prologue CD-R, Private Release, 2007 “Prologue” is a 64 minute compilation cd from the Latvian musician Gulan, aka Andrei Gulaikin, which was released October 8, 2007. The cd contains eleven tracks which range from general melodic to cinematic kindred music. The eight minute opening track “Prologue” offers different tempi while roaming in progressive rock and classical…
Release data: Bernhard – Down on Earth CD-R, Private Release, 1998 “Down on Earth” is the solo debut-album by Bernhard Wöstheinrich, also known as one half of Centrozoon. It contains 37 minutes of meandering ambient music, composed between 1996 and 1998, which breaths an overall pastoral impact. But don’t think this flowing music is that cheesy, as there are quite…
Release data: Syndromeda – A Day in the Fields CD, SinSyn, 2005 Syndromeda (The Synthesizer Syndrome of Andromeda) is the moniker of Belgium synthesist Danny Budts. “A Day in the Fields” is a concept album, which was commissioned by the art centre Hof De Bist museum for an exhibition by Lieve Pettens about the Oude Landen. The latter is a…
Release data: Cymphonic – Strataradialis CD, DataBloem, 2007 “Strataradialis” is the second album by Cymphonic, aka the Dutch ambient sound sculptor and musician Stanley Swinkels. I must confess it took me quite some time and several extra spins in the cd player before I decided to write a review on this remarkable ambient release. The fact that the music created…
Release data: Robert Carty – The Inexplicable CD-R, Private Release, 2000 “The Inexplicable”, by Utah-based musician Robert Carty, is an album that is best classified as ambient-space music. The album last one hour, and starts with the two-fold “Dark and Drifting”, in which quite darkening soundscapes melt with each other. From the third track on, the overall atmosphere seems brighter…
Release data: Amir Baghiri & Wee Bandits – A Brief History of Light CD-R, DataBloem/BlueBox, 2007 “A Brief History of Light” is a concept album by the skilled German musician Amir Baghiri. It was established with the help of a few co-composers, a vocalist on one track, and guest musician Max Corbacho, who lend a hand on the opening track.…
Release data: Robert Carty – Skyhearts CD-R, Private Release, 1994 According to his website, ambient musician Robert Carty seems to have around 30 albums under his belt, of which the biggest part was released on cd-r. “Skyhearts”, subtitled “deep native earth space music”, is his fourth cd, which actually is a very nice one. Carty’s music uses nature sounds quiet,…
Release data: Robert Carty – Natural Wonder CD-R, Private Release, 1992 “Natural Wonder” is one of the first cds of the US-based ambient musician Robert Carty. As I liked his 1994–album “Skyhearts”, I decided to check out this earlier album which came out two years before that. The music contained on this cd is overall quiet and atmospheric, a times…
Release data: Vincent Bruley – Dauphins et Baleines CD, Origins, 1997/2004 “Dauphins et Baleines” is no. 14 out of the series “Collection Oxygène”, which mixes nature sound with electronic music. The cd contains four long tracks, making up for 48 minutes of accessible, dreamy, and most of all relaxing music. Next to the various sounds of dolphins the music just…
Release data: Vincent Bruley – La Nature s’endort CD, Origins, 1997 Well, most of the description of the album “Dauphins et Baleines” also applies to music on “La Nature s’endort”, which is no. 7 of the series “Collection Oxygène”. It features flute next to the electronic orchestration and the various sounds of birds. The music can be compared to the…
Release data: Brain Laughter II – Not Far from a Distant Sun CD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1995 This is the long-awaited second album of Brain Laughter, a project of Howard Givens who’s assisted by nine guest musicians, which includes Steve Roach. “Not far from a Distant Sun” is a typical desert album which takes the listener on an instrumental, cinematic…
Release data: Kevin Braheny – Galaxies (Original Soundtrack Music) CD/MC, Hearts of Space, 1988 Kevin Braheny composed this soundtrack for the Hansen Planetarium-show. “Galaxies” offers some great floating space music which a lot of fans of the genre will like. For the music Kevin applied his self-built Serge Modular synthesizer together with the EWI (Electronic Woodwind Instrument). The latter would…
Release data: Ron Boots – Liquid Structures in Solid Form CD, Groove Unlimited, 2002 “Liquid Structures in Solid Form”, which comes in special metal cd-case, marks Ron’s return to overall analogue sounds. Put in his own words: “it’s like going back ten years in the approach of creating music”. Well, the cd contains six tracks, which kicks off with the…
Release data: Ron Boots – 80’s Box CD, Groove Unlimited, 2000 This six cd-box “80’s Box”, which comes with an extended booklet with lots of information and photo’s. It contains five long out-of-print cassette albums by Dutch musician Ron Boots, all composed before his stunning debut cd “Dreamscape”. For the box, Ron revisited his old albums, which were all carefully…
Release data: Ron Boots – Area Movement CD, Groove Unlimited, 2003 The music of the 2003-album “Area Movement” is the outcome of 1,5 year of hard work. Again, it was assembled, composed and produced in Ron’s own Dreamscape Studio, although Ron received some generous help of his Belgium friend Frank Van Bogaert on the closing track. As the album title…
Release data: Ron Boots – Of Desolate Places And Urban Jungles CD-SINGLE, Amplexus, 1997 Early 1997, Ron Boots was asked to contributed some music to a special project on the Italian Amplexus-label, run by Stefano Gentile. The label released a number of limited and numbered cd-singles, which all were packaged in nice cardboard digipack with beautiful photographs. Of each cd-single,…
Release data: Ron Boots – Detachment of Worldly Affairs CD, Cue Records NL/ Groove Unlimited, 1994/1999 For Dutch musician Ron Boots, the album “Detachment Of Worldly Affairs” is a very personal one. The origins of the music go back to a concert performed at the “Kruimeltheater” in Oldenzaal, where Ron played some new material that became the framework of the…
Release data: Altus – The Grand Expanse DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2007 “The Grand Expanse” by Canadian musician Mike Carss is a symphonic excursion into the endless worlds surrounding the Earth: the cosmos. The music is a well produced, refined and nicely sculptured piece of free floating music made of embracing, warm plains of sound breathing lots of emotion. The…
Release data: RON BOOTS Acoustic Shadows CD, Groove Unlimited, 2006 “Acoustic Shadows” is an amazing concept album by Ron Boots on the theme of war, different war periods and the various reasons which caused them. It is also a tribute to the numerous soldiers that died in numerous useless battles. The album title is derived from “acoustic shadow”, a phenomenon…
Release data: Ron Boots – Different Stories and Twisted Tales CD, Cue Records NL/ Groove Unlimited, 1993/2004 Ron Boots always had a great interest in fantasy and the stories of Tolkien in particular, which partly became a source of inspiration for the music of this album. Well, the outcome is far more lively and dynamic compared to his previous albums,…
Release data: Ron Boots – Ghost of a Mist CD, Cue Records NL/Groove Unlimited, 1991/2002 After the tremendous success of Ron’s debut cd “Dreamscapes”, lots of fans had been eagerly waiting for his next album. “Ghost of a Mist” inhabits influences from Steve Roach, but most of all contains the special and emotional sound of Ron Boots. Since his debut,…
Release data: Ron Boots & Friends – By Popular Demand CD, Cue Records NL/ Groove Unlimited, 1993/1999 “By Popular Demand” is the first live cd by Ron Boots and Friends, which contains photo’s on the cd-sleeve taken by yours truly. The music on it demonstrates what a great vibe happens on stage when Ron and friends start performing live. The…
Release data: René van der Wouden – Altostratus/Cirrostratus CD-R, AmbientLive Records, 2007 Over the years, I got to know a couple of electronic music cds which had clouds as a subject, such as Peter Challoner’s “Music for Cloudwatching” and Kevin Kendle’s “Clouds”. To them, we can add this double album by the Dutch musician René van der Wouden, who recorded…
Release data: Ron Boots – Kees Aerts – Harold van der Heijden – BAH! Live in Sweden CD-R, Groove Unlimited, 1998 “BAH!” is an individually numbered cd-r, containing the original live music (no overdubs, no sound adding) the trio Ron Boots, Kees Aerts and drummer Harold van der Heijden played on June 1, 1998 on the Swedish island Valö during…
Release data: John Kerr & Ron Boots – Offshore Islands CD, Synteam/New World Artists Music / Groove Unlimited, 1990/1998 “Offshore Islands” is a classic album released on Synteam/New World Artists Music in August 1990. On this concept cd, the classic/symphonic oriented style of John Kerr melts with the warm, more cosmic kindred sound textures of Ron Boots. The outcome is…
Release data: Ron Boots – Tainted Bare Skin CD, Groove Unlimited, 1998 “Tainted Bare Skin”, released in October 1998, comes in a yellow cd-case with some very nice photography of Ron’s wife Monique on the cover. The disc contains 70 minutes of music which this time is more accessible. But it is still amazing to see how complex and smart…
Release data: Markus Reuter & Robert Rich – Eleven Questions CD, Unsung Records, 2007 “Eleven Questions”, which comes in a Super Jewel Box packaging, is a collaborative album of ambient musician Robert Rich and ambient guitarist Markus Reuter. The cd contains thirteen tracks (short, concise statements) of overall electro-acoustic and acoustic nature, in which synthesizers only play a minor role.…
Release data: Steve Roach – Fever Dreams III CD, Timeroom Editions, 2007 This is the closing chapter of the “Fever Dreams” project, a double album on which Steve Roach taps another time into the pool of ambient sonic scenery. On his website, Steve describes the album as “psychoactive music for the body, mind and soul” which “expresses a craving to…
Release data: Bernd Kistenmacher – Un viaggio attraverso l’Italia CD, BSC/Prudence, 2001 “Un Viaggio attraverso l’Italia” is the outcome of several visits Bernd Kistenmacher made to Italy during spring and summer 2000. The album contains his performance, which at first glance already made an honest and lush impression on me. Of course one cannot deny some faint influences from the…
Release data: Ron Boots –Ron Boots – Current CD, Cue Records NL / Groove Unlimited, 1997 The album “Current” was presented at the “Truth or Dare” concert of Ron Boots and friends on September 13, 1997 in Eindhoven. The cover looks simple, dark and sober, and musically things have changed a bit as well. The music on this album ventures…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Drifted Into Deeper Lands CD, Groove Unlimited/ Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2000/2007 The music of “Drifted Into Deeper Lands” was inspired by Gregory’s dreams and journeys into the Great Southwestern deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. It contains more extended tracks compared to his previous work, dwelling in a slightly Steve Roach-like ambient style. It…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – Transcendence CD, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 1995/2007 “Transcendence” is actually the first cd by Gregory Kyryluk, aka Alpha Wave Movement. It contains 50 minutes of beautiful, well composed, sculptured and refined electronic music which journeys into great and ambient territory. It features marvellous, soft swelling layers of sound which drift on and off, sometimes nicely…
Release data: Steve Roach – Immersion: Three CD, Projekt, 2007 “Immersion: Three” is the next chapter of the Steve Roach’s Immersion-series. It’s a triple cd released in a very nice looking fold-out dvd digipack limited to 1000 copies. Like the previous two albums, it contains “an ongoing series of long-form, steady state “zones” created specifically as tone meditations for the…
Release data: Project Two Point One – Hydrythmix CD, Groove Unlimited, 1996/2004 The two musicians behind Project TWO Point ONE are no other than Ron Boots and Bas Broekhuis. This first cd-version of the same titled double mc from 1989, which was released in fall of 1996. The music is the same as on the tape, although Ron’s track “Rivers”…
Release data: Richard Bone – Infinite Plastic Creation CD, Quirkworks Laboratory Discs, 2007 September 10th 2007 saw the release of “Infinite Plastic Creation”, which comes with a beautiful designed cd booklet. The press–release describes it as an exquisite new work of primarily rhythmic ambience, created during a period composer Richard Bone was going through a time of personal crisis and…
Release data: Alpha Wave Movement – The Regions Between CD-R, Harmonic Resonance Recordings, 2007 Gregory Kyryluk, aka Alpha Wave Movement, also started digging his back catalogue, of which this disc is the nice outcome. “The Regions Between” is a 48-minute compilation album, containing unreleased tracks 2001-2006. In addition, Gregory has included some liner notes on all tracks in the booklet.…
Release data: Ulrich Schnauss – Far away trains passing by CD, Domino, 2001/2005 This is the first release of the skilled German ambient musician Ulrich Schnauss. Listening to the stunning music on “Far Away Trains passing by” is a great experience, as it feels like a movie-experience . The album contains six tracks of warm, nicely layered textures, rhythms and…
Release data: Dan Pound – Dream Spaces CD-R, Private Release, 2007 Dan Pound is an American, classically trained musician hailing from Santa Rosa, California. The last couple of years he specialized to composing ambient electronic and new age like music, and built quite a catalogue of privately composed and released works. “Dream Spaces” is a work of introspection, in which…
Release data: Mark Biehl – Landscapes CD, Acuity Soundworks, 1999 “Landscapes” is the debut cd from the American composer/multi-instrumentalist Mark Biehl. It embraces the mind travel theme, which serves to take listeners on an invigorating musical journey to distant lands and exotic places, described in detail in the full-colour booklet. “Landscapes” contains a varied range of cinematic, adventurous and ethnic…
Release data: Ron Boots – Too Many Secrets CD, Groove Unlimited, 1994 “Too Many Secrets” was originally released as a cd-r in 1994. It was a limited edition of only 50 copies by Nik Tyndall on his Real Space Music-series, sold for around 80 Dutch guilders. As far as I know, Ron never liked limited editions, but here he got…
Release data: Ron Boots – Screaming Whispers CD, Cue Records NL, 1996 The music on the album “Screaming Whispers” marks a change in the style of music Ron Boots has followed until now. The overall sound is more daring, adventurous and rhythmic, featuring a bit less pumping sequencers and percussion as heard on previous albums. The warm, varied atmospheres have…
Release data: Richard Bone – The Spectral Ships CD, Hypnos Recordings, 1998 As far as I know, this is the ninth cd of the American musician Richard Bone, but his first release on the dark ambient label Hypnos. “The Spectral Ships” is a non-rhythmic abstract recording, featuring dense, foreboding textures which occasionally blend with some lighter, spacy soundscapes, creating an…
Release data: Richard Bone – The Eternal Now CD, Quirkworks Laboratory Discs, 1996 Richard Bone’s fully instrumental album “The Eternal Now” is divided in two parts: “Zone” and “The Millennium Pages”. The musical approach is rather industrial/ambient, and I wouldn’t call the music “warm” either. Especially the experimental passages in the first part were getting on my nerves as they…
Release data: A Blue Ocean Dream – The Sea CD-R, Private Release, 2002 “The Sea” is the first release of the Swedish musician Owe Emfestav, who formerly made techno-trance music with a Kraftwerk-touch. The music itself was made with Reason 2.0 software without the use of any hardware instruments. “The Sea” contains slight techno-trance rhythms, but handled in an atmospheric,…
Release data: Chris Bocast – Through the Airlock CD, Private Release, 2004 “Through the Airlock” is described as a sci-fi ambient minimalist journey” by Colorado-based musician Chris Bocast, who utilizes e-guitar, ebow, piano and moog. The twelve tracks shapeshift from rather eerie, transitional pieces (happily enough these are the shorter ones) to overall flowing, textural music. I’m not fond of…
Release data: Michael Thomas Berkley – Arctic CD, Numinous Records, 2000 This is the second cd by Mr Berkley, who’s debut album “Images from Earth” impressed me a lot. “Arctic” is a concept album inspired by the Canadian Ellesmere islands, and consists of highly cinematic music describing these remote plains. There are eleven tracks, including “Ellesmere Island pt I-IV”, which…
Release data: Sleepresearch_facility – Deep Frieze CD, Cold Spring, 2007 I actually discovered this album through a recent electronic newsletter of Steve Roach, who recommended it a lot. After I heard it, I absolutely agree with him. “Deep Frieze” is the third album by the English composer Kevin Doherty, aka SleepResearch_Facility, but his second one for the UK-label Cold Spring.…
Release data: Centrozoon – Lovefield CD, Unsung Records, 2007 “Lovefield” is an ambient/experimental album by Centrozoon, aka Bernhard Wöstheinrich (fm synthesizers) and Markus Reuter (guitar), which seems all about improvisation. This is not an easy album, as the five tracks just seem to realm in chaos, fx’s and experimentalism. And although I did my best, I couldn’t detect much structure…
Release data: Can Atilla – Ave CD, EAT, 1999 “Ave”, which came out in Spring 1999, is the work of the Turkish musician Can Atilla. The album was privately released on the EAT-label (Essers Audio Tools) by the Dutch musician Rob Essers, who himself composed some great music which seems to pay tribute to Tangerine Dream’s 80’s music. Well, Mr…
Release data: Ashera – We Gaia CD, Private Release, 2002 “We Gaia” is the fourth tour-de-force of Australian-based ambient-composer Anthony Asher Wright. His both peaceful as intimate music still holds strong influences of Harold Budd and Brian Eno, and that approach hasn’t changed for this new album. The lengthy album, divided in eleven tracks, lingers on just over 77 minutes…
Release data: Alien Nature – Anna CD-R, Syngate, 2006/2007 “Anna” is the second album by the German musician Wolfgang Barkowski, aka Alien Nature, but also known as one half of the project Hypnosphere. To me, it’s an album with a typical German sound. It features whale and environmental sounds, which are melted with contemporary, fairly melodic and accessible electronica. When…
Release data: Ashera – Cobalt 144 CD, Private Release, 1999 “Cobalt 44” is Ashera’s second album, on which Antonia Asher Wright nicely continues the same kind of music he presented on his debut “Ambient Selections”, as the strong influence of Brian Eno is still to be heard. The almost 70 minutes of music consists of introspective ambient soundscapes in which…
Release data: Ashera – Ambient Selections CD, Private Release, 1997 Ashera is the artist name of the Australian musician Antonio Asher Wright. “Ambient Selections” is his great looking debut album, a double cd, which comes as a digipack. It contains music on which he worked about seven years. Antonio states his music is strongly influenced by the output of Brian…
Release data: Tangerine Dream – DM 2.1 CD, Moonpop, 2007 Jerome Froese was responsible for the production of all ten tracks on “DM 2.1”, the first ever compilation of the “Dream Mixes” series. This part, mine is a special edition with a red cd, contains back catalogue tracks from “Dream Mixes” one and two selected by Jerome, including two previously…
Release data: Arcane – Alterstill CD, Neu, 2001 “Alterstill” is the third album by Arcane, aka Paul Lawler, and again it’s a great one. The fantastic retro style has remained, featuring engaging melodic sequencer music in which echoes of TD’s album “Encore” and alike is masterfully melted with their music of the ‘80s, such as “Logos”. The tracks are quite…
Release data: Vincent Gabriel Antonini – Unforeseen CD-R, Under The Eave, 2002 Listening to the music on the very atmospheric album “Unforeseen” feels like visual introspection. Mr. Antonini’s sophisticated blend of electronic and acoustic sounds create a very dense atmosphere in which a lot is going on. Sometimes melancholic and semi-dark in nature, you still remain the feeling that there…
Release data: Alquimia & Rüdiger Gleisberg – Garden of Dreams CD, BSC/Prudence, 2005 “Garden of Dreams” is a collaborative effort of the female singer Alquimia and German symphonic keyboarder Rüdiger Gleisberg (known from Solitaire and his solo-albums). It’s a poetic rendered vehicle featuring angelic choirs and lots of classic string-arrangements in all eleven tracks. Sometimes, the music turns rather fairytale-like,…
Release data: Alemis – The Music of Alemis Vol. 1 CD-R, Private Release, 2002 “The Music of Alemis Vol. 1” is a collection of eight soundscape miniatures by ambient musician Peter Salemi. The first four have an emotive yet slight new-age feel, but never getting too soft. Opener “The Enchanted Brook” is a introspective track combining bubbling water sounds with…
Release data: AirSculpture – Quark Soup CD, Neu Harmony, 2001 This is a double cd from the English trio Airsculpture, which only contains live material. What they acchieve live-on-stage is always something surprising, as their Berliner School inspired music relies a lot on improvisation. The first cd of “Quarksoup” contains the complete, very strong live set they performed on E-Live…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – SubAntarctica (Atmospheric Works Vol.1) CD-R, Private Release, 1999 This cd-r contains the original soundtrack for the national exhibition “Art in the Sub-Antarctic”, which Rudy Adrian composed as a commissioned work for the Southland Art Gallery & Museum. The project involved sending a dozen artists to the uninhabited islands halfway between New Zealand and the South…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Dreamresources CD, Neuronium Records, 2002 On “Dreamresources”, released on Michel Huygen’s (aka Neuronium) Spanish label Neuronium records, Amir Baghiri tried to melt relaxing, rather strange and mystic natural (re)sources of sound into a kind of background music. The general response on his performance at E-Live 2002 festival was his music sounded a bit too much…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Yalda CD-R, Vivo Records, 2003 This time, it’s the Polish Vivo-Records that has put out Baghiri’s album “Yalda” on de market. “Yalda” is Persian for the longest, darkest night of the year, in which various religious ceremonies take place. Amir himself describes the album as “a new trip in the mystic and hidden world of…
Release data: Amir Baghiri & Mathias Grassow – True North CD, Arya-Amplexus, 1998 On this concept cd, Amir Baghiri joined forces with his musical pal Mathias Grassow, who already made music together on the nice album “Arcanum”. Mr Grassow is known for his extensive use of ongoing, minimal, drone-like soundscapes, which he again presents on this album. These are counter…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Time CD, Arya-Amplexus, 1998 “Time” is the second solo cd from Amir Baghiri. Again, the outcome is an interesting one, proving he’s not a one-day fly. His tribal ambient music is often compared to the music of Steve Roach and Vidna Obmana, but when one listens more carefully there’s a strong personal trademark as well.…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Cages CD, NO-CD, 1997 “Cages” is the debut album by German/Iran musician Amir Baghiri. I remember I’ve seen his name appear as guest musician on a Solitaire album, beside the fact he made the impressive cd “Arcanum”, a joint venture with his musical companions Mathias Grassow en Rüdiger Gleisberg. Well, “Cages” is a professional piece…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Bluebox Collection CD, Arya-Amplexus, 2000 “Bluebox Collection” is the long-awaited cd box from the sympathetic German/Iran ambient musician Amir Baghiri. It contains four cds, all clocking over 70 minutes, which all reflect their own character and sphere: “City”, “Live”, “Night” and “Sleep”. The first cd “City” (also the oldest recording of the set) is a…
Release data: Amir Baghiri – Winterscape CD, NO-CD, 1999 For “Winterscape”, Amir again has chosen the ambient-oriented path in which he succeeded in reminding me of some tribal/soundscape material of Steve Roach’s “Dreamtime Return” in some parts. “Winterscape” has an overall organic feel, beginning with thrilling sequencers and catchy soundscapes, before moving into deeper dwellings and darker atmospheres, in which…
Release data: Stephen Bacchus – Pangaea CD, Oasis Productions, 1990/1991 “Pangaea” is the debut cd of Stephen Bacchus on the Canadian Oasis-label. Stephen, who plays synthesizers, is joined by quite a list of fellow-musicians (one of them is Ron Korb on flute) who play a variety of exotic instruments. The music on this album is no pure electronic music, but…
Release data: Stephen Bacchus – Ambient Origins CD, Oasis/Mirage, 1998 This cd, subtitled “Collected early works 1983-1987”, was released in The Time Capsule Series of the ambitious Canadian Oasis sub-label Mirage. It’s an retrospective work out of the kitchen of Stephen Bacchus, who has released three other cds on Oasis, but this one has undergone the 20-bit Technology treatment. From…
Release data: Michael Thomas Berkley – Images from Earth CD, Numinous Records, 1998 To me, the 26- year old Michael Thomas Berkley who hails from Oregon, is a new name in the genre of contemporary instrumental and electronic music. It seems this debut album “Images from Earth” created quite a fuzz on the other side of the ocean when it…
Release data: Brendan Pollard – Flux Echoes CD, Private Release, 2007 “Flux Echoes”, the second release of Brendan Pollard, premiered at “E-Live 2007”, which again is prove of a solid recording. Fact is, that all who love TD’s great analogue music from the’70 (as heard on “Rubicon”, “Richocet” and “Encore”) will surely get their hands on a copy of “Flux…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Kinetic Flow (Sequencer Sketches Vol. 1) CD, Groove Unlimited, 2000 Rudy’s two sequencer pieces on his previous overall atmospheric album “Twilight” must have made quite an impression at Groove Unlimited , as they have released “Kinetic Flow” (subtitled Sequencer Sketches Vol. 1). Well, I’m sure this sequencer album will please a wide range of music…
Release data: Rudy Adrian – Twilight (Atmospheric Works Vol. 2) CD-R, Private Release, 1998 David Parsons was kind to get me in touch with this musician hailing from New Zealand’s south island, whose full name actually is Rudy Adrian Hueting. Originally, “Twilight” (Atmospheric Works Vol. 2) was only meant for friends and relatives, but it appeared there was some distinct…
Release data: Nathan Youngblood – Asunder CD, SteveRoach.com, 2007 This the second cd in Steve Roach’s series devoted to bringing high-quality essential cd releases from the deep end of the soundcurrent. It is composed by one Nathan Youngblood, who got the opportunity to release this non-rhythmic ambient sound dwelling under the wings of this ambient master. If I’m correct, some…
Release data: Brian Parnham – Mantle CD, SteveRoach.com, 2007 “Mantle” is a 73 minute atmospheric ambient work from talented ambient musician Brian Parnham, which music has been privately released by Steve Roach, and who also did the refined, exquisite production of it. As a matter of fact, it is the first cd in Steve Roach’s series devoted to bringing high-quality…
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…
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…
Release data: A Produce – A Smooth Surface (Special Edition) CD-R, Private Release, 2004 This release is a special edition of the original ep which Barry Craig put out in 1994, now containing the full 24 minute version of the title-track. “A Smooth Surface” is best describes as tranquil and slow evolving ambient soundscape music, which absolutely pays debt to…
Release data: Various Artists – Awakenings 2005 CD-R, Private Release, 2005 “Awakenings 2005” is a triple cd-r set put together by John Sherwood, a guy who organized several EM-concerts in the past in the UK. Since last year he plans a series of similar gigs with Jez Creek using the moniker “Awakenings”. This compilation features unique and existing tracks from…
Release data: Isaiah Toran – Whispering Quietly CD, Private Release, 2004 This is the second release of this Ohio-based musician, of which I found his debut album “Another Way Home” rather mediocre. “Whispering Quietly” (another journey exploring the self interior) begins with some Roach-like textural guitar before whale-sounds and abstract soundscapes fade in. “Dark Knight” offers some heavy piano-keys, wind-sounds…
Release data: Isaiah Toran – Another Way Home CD, Private Release, 2003 “Another Way Home” is a new age cd with warm textural atmospheres. It is designed to evoke self awareness, made by the Cincinnati-based musician Isaiah Toran. This debut cd (composed and performed since 1990) is well designed, and opens with soft, warm layers of floating sound, relaxation music…
Release data: Sylken – Dreamlife CD-R, Private Release, 2004 “Dreamlife” is the fourth album composed by Sylken, aka Eric Hopper, assisted by a few fellow musicians, therefor The Sylken Ensemble. “Night Wings” (composed with Alpha Wave Movement) kicks off beautifully, offering “sylkie” space textures, which also show up on “In Astral Flight”. The third track (which Hopper easily calls his…
Release data: Surface 10 – Borrowed Time 2000 CD-R, Space for Music, 2004 “Borrowed Time 2000” is a compilation of unreleased pieces spanning the period 1994-1999. As the press-sheet explains, these tracks were originally intended for the first Surface 10 cd on Hypnotic Records in 1996, which unfortunately never happened. The music has a more vintage sound which especially reminds…
Release data: Soundician – Tranquilicity CD-R, Private Release, 2003 “Tranquilicity” contains a special melange of rather challenging ambient music from this Scottish duo. “Freefall” offers an inviting welcome, followed by the laidback and light atmosphere of “Cherryblossom” with a great melody that runs the surface. “Adrift” is a piece of traditional ambient music with distinct, soft dwelling soundscapes and echoing…
Release data: Solar Fields – Blue Moon Station CD, Ultimae Records, 2003 I hadn’t heard before of Solar Fields aka the Swedish ambient soundsculpter Magnus Birgersson, of which “Blue Moon Station” is his second album. Well, this one is impressive, as this guy knows how to handle his electronic gear. In a way, you might say “Blue Moon Station” features…
Release data: Bruno Sanfilippo – Ad Libitum CD-R, ad21 Music, 2004 “Ad Libitum” is Sanfilippo’s first solo recording on the new label ad21 music, which he started with his friend Max Corbacho. To me, it contains a certain feel of romance and infiniteness. At times it’s quiet, but it can also grow out to beautiful symphonic grandeur like in the…
Release data: Steve Roach – Places Beyond: The Lost Pieces 4 CD, Timeroom Editions, 2004 This is the fourth collection from Roach’s Timeroom-cavern, offering a nice cross-over collection of fractal and organic groove music next to deep end atmospheric and ethereal music. It’s not just a collection of outtakes and pieces that didn’t make it to other cds. Steve explains:…
Release data: Robert Rich Open Window CD, Soundscape Productions, 2004 In the period after “Calling Down the Sky”, Robert Rich took a necessary brake before he could sit down and make up his mind about “Open Window”, an album filled with 60 minutes of solo piano music . Piano music was often part of his live-concerts, and the pieces heard…
Release data: Dino Pacifici – The Float Zone CD, Private Release, 2004 Dino Pacifici has been around in electronic music for quite some time. By whatever reason it took longer before this new album saw the light, as the last album I heard from him (“Hallowed Ground”) is from 1999. As the album-title already indicates, the listener awaits an ambient/space…
Release data: Maitreya – .74 CD, Council of Nine, 2004 Simon Lomax aka Maitreya has already impressed me with his former albums “From the Mothership” and “Telluric Waves”, and it was also great to meet him and art designer Kama Glover in person at E-Live 2004. The cd begins with the same opening track as in his performance at E-Live,…
Release data: Logic Gate – From the Silence CD-R/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2003 Vintage electronic music has been made by quite some musicians, and to this list we now can add the output of Logic Gate. The guy behind this project is one Steve L. Grace hailing from California, who’s vintage music carries influences of TD (period 1974-1977) and Redshift.…
Release data: Lance Lenehan – Soundscape CD, Private Release, 1996 Electronic music from Down Under from a musician named Lance Lenehan. According to some photo’s on his site, Lance has a private studio with a nice collection of analogue and digital equipment. His interest in electronic music was triggered after hearing Tomita’s version of Moessorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. Since…
Release data: Lance Lenehan – Analogue Days CD, Private Release, 2004 “Analogue Days”, released in January 2004, is a compilation of archived tracks from the period 1983-1988. It contains music Lance Lenehan composed using quite a bunch of analogue equipment, such as a Roland System 100M and Roland System 100. The cd offers ten tracks with lots of warm, vintage…
Release data: Lance Lenehan – Ambient Spaces CD, Private Release, 2004 My first encounter with the music of the Australian musician Lance Lenehan was back in 1996 with his album “Soundscape”, which couldn’t convince me. Now he’s back with this brand new album “Ambient Spaces”. It begins with the beautiful “Song of my Heart”, a warm and intimate piece with…
Release data: Matthew Florianz – The Tone T(h)ree CD, H/S Recordings, 2004 “Jack This is the first cd from this Dutch ambient musician, whose music I hadn’t heard until now. “The Tone T(h)ree” is a collection of older tracks recorded in spring 2000, which have been re-mastered for this album. Like the tree branches featured on the cd-inlay, this is…
Release data: Brian Eno – Music for Civic Recovery Centre CD, Opal ltd, 2000 This is another chapter in the series of ambient music Brain Eno is known for. The cd (part of Eno’s “Quiet Club” series) contains a 44:52 minute section from the “Civic Recovery Centre Proposal” installation at the Hayward Gallery in London in May/June 2000. In fact,…