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 Pole, to get inspired.
After being accepted as the official composer, Rudy Adrian traveled down for a week and made lots of atmospheric recordings which, but when he came back he discovered had bad hum on them.

So Rudy went for a totally synth approach, and after a whole year of false starts, eventually had an album of music.
Next to it, he added two bonus tracks from the end of the ‘90s, to make the cd last about 50 minutes and to make it more in line with his current preferences.

One of the great bonus tracks (“Clouds over the Horizon”) was originally planned for release on the album “The Healing Lake”, but was refused by the label .

Well, “Subantarctica” features some great introspective sounding and very relaxing space-ambient which drifts somewhere between Brian Eno (which is due to the sustained piano sounds) and Michael Stearns/Jonn Serrie kindred territory.

Especially the two long opening tracks “Wind of Antarctica” and “Adrift” are excellent pieces which show the great capacities and musicianship of this musician from New Zealand.

Rudy also told me that the exhibition at first didn’t know what to do with the music, so they played it on a ghetto-blaster which was put in a corner of the exhibition room.

Although the sound quality isn’t always that fancy, to me “Subantarctica” remains a stunning work of ambient music.

Website: www.rudyadrian.magix.net

You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Rudy Adrian artist page