Release data: Steve Roach & Michael Stearns – Beyond Earth & Sky CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2021 Soundsculptors Steve Roach and Michael Stearns are both electronic music veterans with an extensive list of solo and collaborative releases under their belt. Their last collaboration (“Kiva”) though saw the light of day some 26 years ago, so what a joy to see…
Release data: Mathias Grassow – Isola CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Gterma, 2021 The sacred, the expansive, the mystic, and the introspective are imminent and most present on “Isola”. The 79-minute release features four extended tracks by Mathias Grassow composed between 2009 and 2012 of which the music was inspired originally by the islands of Spitsbergen and their eventful history. Expect a…
Release data: Rhea – Close to Moving IceCD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Littl’ Antenna Records, 2020 For whatever reason, I missed out on this album by Belgian synthesist Mark de Wit, aka Rhea. “Close to Moving Ice” contains one 35-minute track (a sonic tribute to the massive eternal ice of Greenland) performed live in October 2018 at PostX, Merelbeke, Belgium. The…
Release data: Sequentia Legenda – Celestial CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 With “Celestial”, Laurent Schiebert adds another chapter to his extended vision of classic Berlin School music while prolonging the cosmic style explored on his previous album “Beyond the Stars”. This time around though, drummer Tommy Betzler isn’t joining him on “this entrance into a new horizon” that features…
Release data: Altus – Hypoxia CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 The initial music of “Hypoxia” was created over the course of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as the composer’s way to process isolation, loneliness as well as channel lots of profound, negative emotions and thoughts upon him during that time. Well, the expansive, textural waves and atmospheres…
Release data: Kloob – Parallel States CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Winter-Light, 2021 Shorter, colder, and darker days are upon us once again, a proper period to enjoy some dark ambient. Kloob’s “Parallel States” is a haunting, gloomy drift into deeper lands expanding on themes and ambient-drone landscapes explored in previous releases. As such it makes another fine candidate for attentive headphone…
Release data: Ian Boddy – Nevermore CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2021 “Nevermore” -representing the 100th DiN release- features Ian Boddy’s live set created at the DiN studio on March 27th, 2021 as part of Steve Roach’s Soundquest Festival. With the exception of the two beautifully moulded, slowly unfolding rhythmic excursions “From Here To There” and the melodic-spiced title track, the 60-minute…
Release data: Uni Sphere – TempUS CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2021 Some 6 years ago Eric van der Heijden and Rene Splinter surprised the EM scene with their project Uni Sphere and its fine debut “EndLess EndeavoR”. The latter proved a solid, well-made, and highly emotive work of sonic art sketching out various moods and atmospheres. After a lot of…
Release data: Craig Padilla & Skip Murphy – Waveforms CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Sea Peace Music, 2020 More than once an artist digs through his archive and finds something tucked away in there, a discovery bringing back fond memories. This is the case with “Waveforms”, featuring two live performed long-form tracks (the 22-minute “Waveforms” and 27-minute “Glaciers”) made back in 1993…
Release data: Ben Swire – Equilibriums CD-EP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, The Foundry/Hypnos Recordings, 2002 In collaboration with the ambient label Hypnos, Michael Bentley’s Foundry label started releasing cd ep’s in mid-August 2002, a mini-cd with a playing time between 15 and 30 minutes. San Francisco resident Ben Swire kicks off the series with “Equilibrium”, featuring four tracks that all clock around 4-5…
Release data: Martin Stürtzer – Illumination Cycle CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Synphaera Records, 2021 Any fan of captivating and smooth sequencing in new Berlin School style paired with spacious, cinematic atmospheres should have a go at Martin Stürtzer’s “Illumination Cycle”. The consistent high quality and transparent sound design known from Martin’s previous releases is prolonged here as is the attention to creating…
Release data: Max Corbacho– Lost Links II (The Complete Collection) CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, SilentSun, 2021 In 2011, Max Corbacho released “Lost Links”, a set of atmospheric and space music tracks that were shelved although they were composed initially to fit on a concept album, compilation or project that fell through. Those tracks are now found on the second disc of “Lost…
Release data: Lyonel Bauchet – The Diver CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, DiN, 2021 “The Diver” by French library music composer Lyonel Bauchet -released a decade after his download-only album “The Secret Society”- is a tactile, highly imaginative ambient concept album. It centers on the exploration of the hidden vistas and dark spaces of the deep sea, a fascinating world holding many secrets.…
Release data: Carbon Based Lifeforms – Refuge (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Leftfield Records, 2014 After they left their label Ultimae around 2014, the experienced Swedish ambient music producers Johannes Hedberg and Daniel Segerstad (aka Carbon Based Lifeforms) continued their passion firmly, creating captivating yet soothing psyambient that touches the soul. They spend over a year remastering and re-releasing…
Release data: Eleon – Dreams beyond Terra CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Heart Dance Records, 2018 Let’s turn to some music with a vibrant, uplifting and contemporary sound design as well as expert mastering and production that I ran into as was investigation David Helpling’s discography. It appeared David helped producing as well as contributed two tracks of Eleon’s debut album “Dreams…
Release data: Man from Mars – A Dream of Mars DIGITAL DOWNLOAD EP, Valley View Records, 2021 “A Dream of Mars” is a short story about the beauty of life and Mars, the planet on which humanity plans to continue human life. The tracks on this 16-minute space music Ep are imagined as healing music tuned to 432Hz, made mostly…
Release data: Tacit Blue – Dreamland CD/Digital Download, Private Release, 2000 The year 2000 saw the release of “Dreamland” by Tacit Blue, a.k.a. the Missouri-based duo Chris Crabtree and Jim Rogers. They’ve dedicated the band to the exploration of space in all its forms with the aim to discover and capture a moment in a kind of musical impressionism.…
Release data: Oar – Adrift CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Gterma, 2021 Oar is a side-project by Norwegian artist Odd Jensen, who was released previously under the Havdis moniker. Havdis’ music was inspired by nature and the sea as well as the sound/silence surrounding the composer at his home at the arctic coast of Norway’s Nordland. That inspiration also applies to Oar’s darker-flavored…
Release data: David Helpling – Sleeping on the Edge of the World CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1999 This is the second album from accomplished ambient-electronic artist and film composer David Helping which -like almost all of SP’s releases- is graced by a beautiful cover. Predecessor “Between Green and Blue” on the whole reminded quite a bit of the fine…
Release data: Ruben Garcia – I can feel the heat closing in CD, Close Tolerance Music, 1998 On his fourth album “I can feel the heat closing in” (for which Harold Budd provided the title) New Mexican artist Ruben Garcia manages to find a beautiful balance between minimalism, piano, and synths, so again a comparison with the music of…
Release data: Sayer – Future City CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, New Territory Records, 2019 Sayer’s music I got to know so far has been contemporary, dynamic and fresh. With the 75-minute “Future City” -a themed release accompanied by a short story- he brings his audience a mix of dreamy, uplifting and uptempo pieces (of which a few carry on bit to…
Release data: Keith Richie – Ambient Highways CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Other Worlds Than These Music, 2015/2021 Keith Richie is an ambient, electronic, and soundtrack composer hailing from Mesquite, Texas. Keith has been releasing soundtrack-ish stuff since 2006 after he became obsessed of electronic music in the early ‘80’s when he ran into the music of John Carpenter and Tangerine Dream. Mr…
Release data: Mychael Danna & Tim Clément – North of Niagara CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hearts of Space Records, 1995 “North of Niagara” (subtitled “Impressions along the Bruce Trail”) is actually a sister release to Mr Danna’s solo effort “Skies”. It makes an appropriate companion for anyone in a bit somber, melancholic state of mind while it will also slow down and…
Release data: Ruben Garcia – The Gatekeeper CD, Close Tolerance Music, 1994 “The Gatekeeper”, Ruben Garcia’s second release, is dedicated to both Claude Debussy and Erik Satie featuring “11 improvised piano pieces for a simpler life”. No electronic music, but rather an album that showcases beautifully understated acoustic compositions in which the musician builds an interesting bridge between classical…
Release data: Ian Tescee – IO MC/LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, E-N Records, 1984/2004 The music of Ian Tescee was among the range of talented electronic musicians from the US that slowly found their way to Europe when import channels and European distribution opened up in the heydays. Like many others it was inspired by the beauty and magic of the cosmos, more…
Release data: Rainbow Serpent – Futuregate CD, Ardema Musik, 1995 A great off-shoot of cosmic Berlin School-spiced electronics was founded in 1994 by German synthesists Gerd Wienekamp and Frank Specht as Rainbow Serpent on the occasion of their concert at the 1st Astrofest Sittensen, Germany. For their debut “Futuregate” they found a home at Arndt Maschinski’s Ardema-label (who labeled it…
Release data: Create – Reflections from the inner light CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2004 Ok, let’s have some further nostalgia. In 2004, Groove added a new artist to their roster who composed well-crafted Berlin School music: Create (a.k.a. UK-synthesist Stephen Humphries) who instead of any hardware synths used Reason software technology only to realize his sonic creations. On his strong…
Release data: Rainbow Serpent – Mosaique CD, Ardema-Musik, 1997 The musical development of the German act Rainbow Serpent, aka Frank Specht and Gerd Wienekamp, has always been strongly influenced by the available technology as well as gained experiences over the years and other musicians. After “Futuregate” and “Voyager”, the duo once again manages to convince with this beautifully produced “Mosaique”,…
Release data: Steve Roach Stephen Kent Kenneth Newby – Halcyon Days CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Hearts of Space/Fathom, 2018 It’s time for another heavyweight from the past. This particular collaboration between Steve and the aforementioned duo is definitely foddering for fans of Suspended Memories and Newby’s solo album “Ecology of Souls.” Kent and Newby have already made their mark in groups…
Release data: David Helpling – Between Green and Blue CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 1996 A great discovery I made in the mid-90s comes from Southern California musician and producer David Helping, who was nominated for the NAIRD (National Association of Independent Record Distributors and Manufacturers) Indie Award in the US in 1997 with his debut “Between Green and Blue”…
Release data: Erik Wøllo – North Star CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2021 With “North Star”, accomplished musician Erik Wollo brings his audience a highly emotive and imaginary journey inspired by The North Star, the beacon up in the sky which guided human travel for many years. It’s another quality recording with a lush, expansive sound design, most of all guitar-oriented as…
Release data: Ruben Garcia – Room full of Easels CD, Close Tolerance Music, 1996 In the mid-’90s I was fortunate to be introduced to New Mexican artist, sound engineer, producer & self-taught pianist Ruben Garcia by Barry Craig (aka A Produce) with whom he collaborated on and off at the time. Ruben didn’t like computers, e-mail, and stuff, so instead…
Release data: Aes Dana – (a)period CD/LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2021 Vincent Villuis, operating under the Aes Dana guise for many years by now, is composer, sound designer, Dj & co-owner of the French Ultimae-label. “(a)period” is a 72-minute cinematic aural canvas, an extended echo of longing, conceptwise going a similar road as Steve Roach travelled for “As it is”.…
Release data: Frank Makowski – Canon der Finsternisse CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2019 Ambient music comes in many forms, and several of them are not suitable for the faint of heart. The major of the works by German composer Frank Makowski (former member of [‘ramp], the musician behind Speed of the Dark, Tranquility and various collaborations in his 30-year musical…
Release data: Stephen Bacchus – The Memory Tap CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 With “The Memory Tap”, Canadian musician Stephen Bacchus (aka Grant Mackay) delivers his 10th album, a release tapping into Grant’s most distant sound and music memory with the aim to integrate earlier sound and music explorations (that started in the mid ‘’80s) into his overall composer…
Release data: Michael Brook – Hybrid LP/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, EG Records, 1985 “Hybrid” is the solo debut by Canadian Michael Brook –featuring Eno and Lanois as backing musicians-, a 42-minute album full of organic, none-dynamic, trance-inducing yet thoughtful ambient music. Mood and darker-shaded atmospheres take center stage on each of the eight instrumental vignettes, all airing distinct ethnic-world flavors due to…
Release data: Damm – Nautical Dawn LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, A Strangely Isolated Place, 2020 “Nautical Dawn” (inspired by majestic cloud formations at nature’s finest hour when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon) is an electronic chill-out release by Damm, an early ’90 alias of Swedish techno artist Joel Mull, featuring a personal selection of after-hours morning portraits. Sonically…
Release data: Nigel Mullaney – The Navigator LP/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Behind The Sky Music, 2021 Here’s a recording about (personal) exploration and discovery as well as seeing beyond the mind’s eye. “The Navigator” is a concept album inspired by the mythical voyage of St. Brendan, an early Irish monastic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland (who’s also known as The…
Release data: Ma Ja Le – Dreams in the Orchards of Saturn CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, A.J. & Grey Sound, 1995 The ambient project Ma Ja Le was conceived in the ’90s by Christopher Short and Paul Vnuk with the aim for spontaneous improvisation, an exploration of sonic texture and atmosphere. If I understand the info correctly, this album is from…
Release data: Jon Mark – A Sunday in Autumn CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, White Cloud Records, 1995 I had lost the thread of releases from this New Zealand-based artist after “Alhambra”. It turns out that after this, Jon founded his own label White Cloud Records, which has featured a slew of his own new releases and those of other musicians. With…
Release data: Moodswings – Horizontal CD/Digital Download, Water Music, 2002 The central man behind Moodswings is English musician James Hood, whose double album “Horizontal” is the third album. According to the cover, the music is quite different from its predecessors “Psychedelicatessen” and “Moodfood” (of the latter, some 600,000 are said to have been sold worldwide). Hood describes the new…
Release data: Bart Hawkins – Vision of Eden CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2021 Compared to his rather weird debut “21 Pulse Eclipse” (which was pure sonic exploration), Bart Hawkins second album “Vision of Eden” is a somewhat different breed. Still being a completely modular production with some strange, harrowing moments, it features a futuristic, rich pallet of synthetic sounds…
Release data: Loneward – Pure CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 Emotive, elegant, absorbing, and intrinsic are keywords applying to the music of Loneward’s fourth album “Pure”. The 6-track/58-minute outcome of clouds of sound –with the aim to hold the listener in stasis- is a panorama of drifting, expansive, full-blow, slow evolving textures where the sense of calm is imminent and…
Release data: Todd Fletcher – Arcane Energies CD-r/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Microrelease/Editions100, 2001 “Arcane Energies” is the first release by Arizona resident Todd Fletcher on his Microrelease label with six longer tracks of around 8-9 minutes each. Todd describes the outcome as “a combination of desert atmospheres of “Star” with the dense rhythmic interplay of the album “Byzantium”. The music is characterized…
Release data: Stephen Felicetti – Imagination CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Delta Tauri Records, 1994 The cd-print already mentions the description Symphonic New Age, and that pretty much covers the musical content of this – without a doubt – remarkable cd. The American Stephen Felicetti is responsible for this 1st official release (he appears to have already composed six symphonies for synthesizer in…
Release data: Ron Boots & Gert Emmens – One Night at Blackrock Station CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Groove Unlimited, 2021 After his second collaboration with Synth.NL, Ron Boots now joins forces with another powerhouse electronic composer from The Netherlands: Gert Emmens. It’s no surprise lots of dynamics get in the works when those two get together. After creating various basic tracks…
Release data: Meg Bowles – From the Dark Earth CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Kumatone Records, 1999 “From the Dark Earth” is Meg Bowles’ fourth album, which delivered a wonderful sample of space music with predecessor “Blue Cosmos”. For this release, Meg collaborated work with internationally renowned trumpeter David Bilger (and some contributions by Cynthia Bilger on horn) of the Philadelphia Orchestra.…
Release data: Sequenced Reality – Almost Morning Now DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 After Syndrone was put to an end, André Theelen continued to listen to electronic music, only making music on his own took a back seat. In the past 10-15 years he’s been mainly been involved in video (music videos and a short sf film) aside from building…
Release data: Kurtz Mindfields – Synthr3 The Burning School Tape CD-r, FeverDog Music, 2020 Synthesist Jean-Luc Briançon was so fortunate to be chosen as an artist to test and musically develop Rémy Wasselin’s self-built semi-modular Synthr3, an instrument for both studio and live-on-stage performance. The latter is based on a modular patchable modulation matrix that can be stored in personal…
Release data: Juta Takahashi – Gems CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Lunisolar Records, 2021 Through the years, Juta Takahashi composed various tracks that appeared on compilation albums from various labels. These all -with the exception of the last track- have now been compiled on the 63-minute “Gems”. The six emotive pieces feel like a warm bath due to the overall spatial sound…
Release data: Cell – Live in Corfu DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Ultimae Records, 2020 This fine recording reminded me how much I miss the quality and lush down-tempo music that once came out for many years on the French Ultimae label (that nowadays puts out experiments in minimalist dub-tech soundscapes only). Well, the 70-minute “Live in Corfu” (of the eight tracks, four…
Release data: Brannan Lane – Lost Caverns of Thera CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, World Circle Records, 2000 The end of the ‘90’s and the first half of the 2000’s, marked a very productive period for US-composer Brannan Lane. “Lost Cavern of Thera” (inspired by the volcanic Greek island of Thera or Thira, but better known as Santorini) is a slow progressing dark-shaded…
Release data: Johan Agebjörn & Michael Ögren – Artefact CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Spotted Peccary Music, 2021 In 2017, Johan Agebjörn and Mikael Ögren impressed me a lot with their well-crafted debut “We Never Came to the White Sea”. From the press-info of this one, I learned “Artefact” is an “unofficial sci-fi soundtrack” inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s classic novel “Rendezvous with…
Release data: Martin Stürtzer – Temporal Paradox CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Echo Elberfeld, 2021 Here’s another fine release by Wuppertal-based synthesist Martin Stürtzer for those like like to to space out in rather bright celestial environs. It’s an overall gentle unfolding sonic journey which sees Martin merge slow Berlin School sequences with smooth textures and floating pads to drift-off, unwinding effect.…
Release data: Man from Mars – Mars Memory DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2020 Man from Mars is a project by two Serbian brothers who started listening to Vangelis at a young age, ending up producing trance and psy-trance music. A few years back they translated one of their trance tracks into a beatless electronic track. As the outcome was satisfactory…
Release data: Distant System – Infinite Continuum DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 2021 Many have been waiting for a second album of this American composer, who’s “Spiral Empire” gained lots of critical appraisal among fans of melodic chill-out, slow-trance and atmospheric down-tempo in a spaced-out fashion. Well, the wait is finally over. Tyler Smith’s “Infinite Continuum” continues the signature sound and…
Release data: Steve Roach – As it is CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Projekt Records, 2021 I confess I had various doubts about the clinical vibe and digital-ish sound design surfacing on some of Steve’s sonic creations of late. Fortunately, none of this is present or sensed on “As it is”, a work Roach describes as a simmering, churning, moving appointment with reality,…
Release data: Dino Pacific – Hallowed Ground CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Private Release, 1999 Montreal, Canada-based Dino Pacifici has been active in music since 1984, with some forays into jazz. This “Hallowed Ground” is his fifth cd, filled with just under 70 minutes of distinct ambient. Opener “Solace” stands out most positively for my taste: 22 minutes of soft engaging ambient…
Release data: Stephen Parsick – Moon Musick DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Doombient, 2021 “Moon Musick” is an atmospheric work of ambient art of which the original music dates back to 2006/2007 when the idea surfaced for a cd to go with an illustrated picture book for children, something that didn’t happen in the end. Fortunately, Stephen rediscovered the music (featuring Markus Reuter…
Release data: Ghosts in Mirrors – Cold Dust CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, Littl’ Antenna Records, 2020 The Belgium electronic music scene is expanding for years with own festivals (Cosmic Nights, B-Wave, AntennA/ Littl’ Antenna festival, Sonic Emissions), Belgian Neumusik, two labels promoting this genre of music thoroughly (Littl’Antenna and Wool-E Records) as well as the media Channel AntennA for Electronic Music. With…