|
|
 |
|
------The
Spirit Level - Of Earth And Sky |
| STYLE |
|
Light, groove-oriented, airy
world fusion with the geographical emphasis on Asia and
the Far East. Of Earth And Sky is filled with bright,
danceable breakbeats, ethnic instruments and uplifting
electronica. Female vocalists Kyoko Kigasawa and Annie
Lai bring a further exotic, ethereal element to the mix,
singing, whispering and talking among well-chosen samples
from Thailand and Nepal.
|
| |
| MOOD |
|
Dreamy multi-cultural
soundscapes with a hypnotic elegance. The electronica drifts
into floating ambience at times, and at others, bubbles
along over delicate drum loops - warm and inviting. The
overall effect is sensual, soothing, occasionally spacey
even heavenly. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
artwork is a definite draw to this CD - an imaginary computer
graphic scene leads us in to the package. Oriental pagodas
on a deeply furrowed bank catch the sun near the sea whilst
a heavy sky with three green planets adds weight to the image.
A fairly accurate description of the music can be found on
the back cover. The inside of the booklet is in black and
white with separate credits for each track. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
This
is certainly one of the more appealing global fusion albums
out there; the exotic aspect flows quite naturally and leaves
the listener with a sense of floating peacefulness. Shamisen
sounds interweave with clear synths and angelic voices. Mark
Adams Allison who also records as Phobos and currently as
Mysteria released this CD in 1998 on Neurodisc Records. |
| |
| WHO WILL
LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Ethnic
electronica enthusiasts looking for an oriental flavour. This
is worldbeat that leans somewhat toward tranquil ambience,
but at the same time is gracefully upbeat and positive. This
music would work equally well as a calming background sound
or as a focussed listening experience. |
| |
|
 |
|
------Steve
Roach - Places Beyond: The Lost Pieces 4 |
| STYLE |
|
A
collection of ambient pieces recorded between 1997 and 2001
- some beatless and drifting, others driven by persistent,
mesmerising grooves and rhythms. Most are relatively minimal
'soundworlds' that capture and present intriguing snapshots
of possible 'places beyond'. Percussive loops originally
created by Byron Metcalf and Vir Unis work as part of the
trance-inducing beats on Resolution Point, Trancefusion
and Serpent's Birth, whilst collaborating artist vidnaObmana
brings his own unique slant to Calm Before The Storm. Most
pieces are vaporous and warm, some emanating a throbbing,
urgent heat - not a cold album by any means. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
Each piece has it's
own distinct mood - some feel mechanically organic or organically
mechanical, others roll lazily along among languid beats like
oil twining around upon water, some passages are completely
beatless like soft masses of sound ruffled only by the odd
rainstick. There is a solemnity, a gravity about most pieces
that stops even the most unstructured ambiences here from
feeling insubstantial and floating too far away - something
like the way that early morning mist sits in the valleys hugging
the earth. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
computer-graphic front cover image reminds me a bit of an
Andy Goldsworthy sculpture. A spiral of stones linked by bridging
sticks is set out on a desert floor graven with electronic
circuitry. Similar circuit layouts on the other panels appear
as wall carvings and mystic scribings. In places the circuitry
suggests primitive figures surrounded by purposeful hieroglyph
diagrams. Sleeve notes explain the original projects that
spawned the individual compositions, crediting the appropriate
collaborators. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
Although
written originally for a variety of different projects the
chosen tracks here have taken on "an interconnected life
of their own". Steve describes the selection process
"like shuffling through a large box of puzzle pieces
looking for the shapes and colors from which to begin telling
a particular story that I'm discovering along the way. It's
very much a mosaic, formed out of the richness that each piece
or soundworld passage holds on its own." The result is
a compelling collection of ambient music that has interesting
variety yet sufficient consistency to work well as this single
entity. |
| |
| WHO WILL
LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
There
are tracks here with strong 'hybrid grooves' and rhythmic
elements, pieces with tribal hints that would appeal to
ethnic ambient fans and there are deep beatless ambient
soundscapes that purists and aural drifters will surely
enjoy. Collectors of Steve's work will find that this is
no gathering together of second-rate left-overs ..... Places
Beyond has some very beautiful moments. |
| |
|
 |
|
------Alpha
Wave Movement - Cosmology |
| STYLE |
|
Pure spacey electronica effortlessly gliding
from dark moody ambience to sequence-driven and melodic
synth work. There are pieces with up-tempo drums and electric
guitar strains reminiscent of early Tangerine Dream, retro-analogue
patterns and moments that linger around the edges of 'lounge'
music. Deep, moody sonic beds support sparkling melodies
and twinkling loops. There are plenty of well-placed sweeps,
swishes and special effects woven into the rich synthetic
fabric of this generally relaxing collection of nine tracks.
|
| |
| MOOD |
|
The tone, of
course is one of, overwhelming interstellar imagery - bathing
in the sublime, slow-motion beauty of planetary movement;
soaring, weightless through infinite starscapes; cold and
isolated far, far from earth. One moment gently pulsing
sequences punctuate drifting synth textures, carrying the
listener into restful reverie, the next nimble drum loops
light up the night sky and the electronics burble, sparkle
and coat everything with a bright sheen. Easy to listen
to, easy to drift with in the lighter passages - Cosmology
surrounds the listener carrying him away to places so distant
that it takes a while to mentally return. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
dark, sharp, dense-blue imagery of technology sunken deep
among the stars is shot through with an orange radiance and
a bold title. A perfect balance for the sounds of Cosmology,
Pablo Magne's graphics convey an alien sense of mystery pervading
distant human exploration. Track titles maintain a consistent
atmosphere - Sailing Orion, Deep Outpost, Astral Navigator
and The Far Side of I.O.. Sleeve notes explain that the tracks
Sailing Orion and Teutonic Voyage were actually recorded "live
direct to CDR". |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
A
comfortable album with some beautiful moody clouds of ambience
that are brimming full of atmosphere. Lively drum programming
is plentiful and sequencers are in abundance - but the abiding
impression is one of gliding serenity, of willing abandonment
to the infinite. Ghosts of the past float in and out of
this mix of synthesisers reminding us openly of the musical
heritage that Gregory T. Kyryluk has so ably built upon.
|
| |
| WHO WILL
LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Smooth pads and resonant arps make for an album that will
be enjoyed by those liking melodic spacey electronica or programmed
synthetics transmitted from the other end of the galaxy. Cosmology
will appeal to those who like to hear hints of an electronic
musical history that has been picked up and developed with
a twenty-first century polish. |
| |
|
 |
|
------Zer0
0ne - Zer0
0ne |
| STYLE |
|
Zer0 0Ne's self titled debut
could well be described as intelligent digital-chill, ambient-groove
or Electronic beats, burbling sequencers, crystal clear electronic
leads and sampled voices combine to form a CD that feels like
'pure' programmed electronica. This is computer music taking
the analogue synth music from a decade or two ago and reforming
it in present terms. Bass lines are sharp and at times almost
dubby. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
There is a feeling
of mathematical precision to Zer0 0ne both in the tightly
structured patterns and the choice of synth voices. However,
the mood is not cold and lifeless - Kevin Dooley has managed
to weave bleeps, pulses, swishes and evolving cycles into
a warm whole. The vocal snippets that punctuate the tracks
add to this warmth - sometimes these are spoken phrases,
at other times wordless singing.
|
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
mathematical theme is highlighted in the artwork and sleeve
notes - the phrase "calculated adventures in electronica"
is centrally placed on the rear jewel case artwork. Rows
of digital zeros and ones are juxtaposed against a very
organic photograph of green islands in blue/mauve water.
Information on French mathematician Pierre Simon de Laplace
is included inside the CD booklet. Overall, a tasteful package
with vibrant colours on the outside, black and white within. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
A
solid album of thoughtfully composed crisp beats, sparkling
beeps, deep basses, and sci-fi sound effects. Pure, clean
electronica with a generally laid-back groove and introspective
tenor. Tracks tend to build gradually as harmonising sequences
are individually set out in parallel, musical intensity
rises and falls away into soft moments where the beats click
softly before fresh melodic climaxes are hit. Most pieces
fade fluidly away into nothingness inviting the swell of
the following piece. |
| |
| WHO WILL
LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
If
you like clean electronica with an almost clinical precision
- yet humming with human feeling, then Zer0 0ne is well
worth checking out. Lovers of seventies and eighties synth
music might well find that this album develops the tradition
in a pleasing direction. Restful, thoughtful, well produced
music. Visit the Zer0
0ne web site to hear some samples.
|
| |
|
 |
|
------Thought
Guild - Context |
| STYLE |
|
Spacey cyber-ambience
and sequence based retro-electronica. The official web site
describes the musical intent this way - "Context suffuses
the sound of Berlin-school electronics circa 1976 with a
global consciousness". There is undoubtedly a strong
mid 1970's European influence in the choice of sounds and
compositional structures employed, nevertheless, Thought
Guild wrap all of this up in a contemporary package that
is clearly at home in the new millennium. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
Context is primarily
a gentle, tranquil album where warm ambient clouds swell
and swirl like backlit mists, where bright, crystalline
sequencers mesmerisingly revolve around and around, where
the digital percussion is light and the programmed melodies
optimistic and pretty. The mood is spacey but not as strongly
so as Alpha Wave Movement, here there is also an earthbound
sense of looking inward, a sense of the wonder of existence,
a cerebral flight of fancy. |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
front cover photograph is suitably ambiguous, the textures
of metal and glass glowing under the sun. Darkness bathed
and bleeding with orange light. Text here is minimal, not
competing with the imagery. Inside we have a solarised image
of the musicians and their studio, clearly proud of the vast
array of equipment surrounding them. Track titles suggest
the distant, the esoteric and the technical - Distant Star,
Lifepools, Silicon Alchemists, Moebius Phase. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
Gregory
Kyryluk (Alpha Wave Movement) and Christopher Cameron came
together to become Thought Guild with Johannes Neuer playing
guitar on the final track Memento. The result is an delicate,
atmospheric collection of pieces that could have been painted
with light - at times flushed and subdued, at times glittering,
pulsing, shimmering, just occasionally incandescent, aflame.
Many of the tracks are rhythmic carried either by bubbling
sequencers or deft electronic drum loops. Sampled sounds
introduce some subtle organic elements to the mix and there
are some beautifully presented textures layered in certain
passages. |
| |
| WHO WILL
LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
If
you enjoyed 70s/80s Berlin electronica and wonder what it
could sound like revisited, if you like flying around inside
your own head accompanied by warming synthesiser music, if
you enjoy Alpha wave Movement - this could be just what you
need. |
| |
|
|
|
|
------Thom
Brennan - Silver |
| STYLE |
|
Eight of the most beautiful,
dense, evolving ambient beds, full of shifting, fluttering
depths and scintillating variety. Thom's new album builds
confidently on the pure, floating ambience of previous releases,
but here the liquid smoothness is constantly shot through
with myriad pulses, bells, twinkles and submerged voices like
veins through marble. There is a lot more movement in 'Silver'
than in some earlier CDs, distant melodies drift in the heady
atmosphere and bright sequences ebb, flow and cycle in and
out of earshot. Some pieces have elements of rhythm and occassional
sounds of nature are expertly immersed into the mix. |
| |
| MOOD |
|
An inviting, embracing
silky warmth adrift amid a vast shimmering cold. The working
theme for the album was originally "The Fall of Winter"
and this is evident still within many of the heaving, fluid
pieces. If now 'silver' is the embracing concept, then it
is not simply a polished silver trinket, it is silver in
all its rich association and imagery - a shafting gleam
of moonlight full of airborn ephemera, the clutching fingers
of a glassy, frozen waterfall, the crusted crystal sheeting
of a fresh hoar frost, the cracked sheeting of layered ice
over deep, dark waters. Thom said of this CD "I tried
to tie all the pieces together by recurring similiar chords,
and similiar timbres making up the sounds. This is my most
composed album from the standpoint of relating the tracks
to each other, and creating a "story" that resolves
with the last track "AfterGlow"." |
| |
| ARTWORK |
|
The
inspiration for the music is reflected in the atmospheric
photography that floods all of the graphic panels. On the
front cover crystalline, skeletal twigs and branches vein
a grey-pink mistscape silvered with winter's breath. Text
is minimally functional creating as little disturbance of
the imagery as possible; elsewhere this same pattern is
followed, listing only titles and credits. The inside booklet
opens out to reveal more of Thom's photography with bare
trees forming a lattice work looming over some beautiful
purple rushes. If you enjoy the pictures have a look at
more of Thom's visual work on his web site HERE. |
| |
| OVERALL |
|
Released
in January 2005, this album is right at the forefront of
modern ambient music - a sparkling clear sound with top
notch production. Abstraction from nature again forms a
canvas to work with. Thom says "A lot of my music is
inspired by seasons, landscapes, and environments. An image
as simple as the skeleton of a tree against a gray background
is enough to inspire something, and thats where the original
idea came from." The eight pieces of silver are packaged
up into relatively short tracks similar to Signals In Moonlight
making them easy to listen to and emphasising the pleasing
variety on the album. |
| |
| WHO
WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM |
|
Thom's
fans will be spellbound - I think this is one of his most
instantly appealing and enjoyable albums. It is certainly
among the most readily accessible of ambient music. If you
enjoy variety and movement in your ambience, if shorter
themed soundworlds appeal to you - then Silver might be
just the thing. You can read our interview with Thom HERE
and you can hear samples of the new CD on Thom's web site
HERE.
|
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|
