Morpheus Music

Zero Cult - Vacuum

2012-01-20T04:43:00.000-08:00

STYLE
December 2011
Ambient chillout and blissful downtempo.
Vacuum is a delicate and sensitive album of lush, evocative electronica where languid beats and dream-like soundscapes support subtle melodies. These softly unfolding themes heave with hypnotic beauty, yet always retain plenty of complementary shade and dignity. Most tracks have extended, unhurried introductions where Zero Cult's ambient atmospheres can fully spread like multi-coloured mists before the rhythmic material sets everything in motion. There are also plenty of beatless interludes where the percussion falls away completely and sometimes the whole melodic framework too, leaving the listener gliding upon faint air currents ready, anticipating the second coming. Overall, Vacuum has a fine balance of light and shadow, delivering attractive compositions that feed the attention whilst neatly avoiding the clichés of the psychill mainstream.

IN DEPTH
Vacuum opens gradually with a hypnotic interplay of misty pads and lustrous echoing effects; sonic winds curl around ascending tones and a gentle rhythmic structure slowly coalesces: vibes, synth arps, bass pulse and, about three minutes in, a ponderous programmed groove. This track - Muse - establishes what the album is all about: saturated colour; serene harmonies and breezy beats. Heartworks sees the trance elements of Zero Cult's sound solidify around a bubbling bassline and measured beat, but this denser sound quickly evaporates as the next track once again takes on a more weightless approach. The album has at its centre the gorgeous Second Breath, this is a wonderfully transportational piece that revolves around a mesmerising motif that carefully evolves and repeats with a tender, insistent intensity. 8 Hertz introduces a more mechanistic tone arising out of dark drones and reverberating voice samples: here a sparse, thumping kick and grumbling bass line give the track a slightly sinister edge. For the most part this is a purely instrumental album, however, just before the end there is a track that casts a different spell: a soporific, meandering piece of hazy euphoria where an unusual female vocal hangs in the air, haunting the synthetics with a wistful song from New Zealand's Aviatrix.

ARTWORK
The cover artwork for Vacuum features a hi-key design where a complex tangle of synthetic grey-white thorns lies upon a smooth, pale, infinite plane. Like some hollow, plastic urchin or structure of artificial cactus spines this jagged, monochrome formation is in stark contrast to the curving, fluid music within. I don't yet have a physical copy of this album and so can't comment on other artwork except to say that I have had a number of Cosmic Leaf releases over the years and the graphic quality is of a consistently high standard.

OVERALL
Israel's Emil Ilyayev returns here with his sixth album of downtempo trance and follow-up to the 2010 release: Clouds Garden. Once more on Cosmic Leaf Records, Zero Cult delivers a maturing sound that luxuriates deep within the reverie of ambient chillout. The ten tracks here include two versions of the deliriously laid back Second Breath: an original mix and a second vocal radio edit featuring Aviatrix with the distinctive voice of Kerensa Stephens. Dying Dolphin has an accompanying video aimed at raising awareness of the plight of these endangered mammals. The footage displays some of the horrors of the 30 000 or so dolphins slaughtered around the world each year. You can further learn of Vacuum at the Cosmic Leaf website or you might like to visit the official Zero Cult pages at Myspace and Facebook.

ARTIST'S THOUGHTS
Vacuum is an album of almost two years of creation, it reflects my emotional experience
within that time. I advise listening to the album as one complete whole, then you'll get the fullest pleasure from listening to the music.

LABEL'S THOUGHTS
Release Info:
Zero Cult is back with his new 6th ambient chill album, Vacuum.One of the most selling and high feedbacked cosmicleaf artists.His wonderful trance influenced soundscapes that creates, combined with the mysterious downtempo melodies and rhythms, promising a great sound pleasure for the downtempo listeners.
Label Info:
Cosmicleaf is one of a new wave of labels from the global progressive and psy-trance underground that is reinventing dance music for the ambient zone beyond just stripping away the fast tempos. The global talent such labels are attracting is inspiring. Cosmicleaf releases have both darkness and light, familar genre sounds and strange new sounds, a mindset open to genuine variety and which understands "beautiful" is something profound, not cheesy or trite.
The ambient spaces between electro, trance, rock and world fusion are fertile ones, and the richness here suggests a group of artists diving headlong into them with passion, open minds and impressive programming skills.

Kamil Kowalczyk - Aurora

2011-06-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

STYLE
June 2011
Minimal spacedrone, ambient abstract.
Aurora is made up of two longform recordings; dark, isolationist and spacey. The first of these beatless compositions fades in gradually as a single undulating thread of tone. Almost imperceptibly, additional elements trickle into the mix, percussive clicks and mechanical blip-click patterns thickening the sound. This relatively high pitch ambience alters little for almost eleven minutes before the central drone is joined by a deeper note an octave or two lower. Around the twenty two minute mark a second notable drop in pitch occurs. Gossamer electronic flutters dance faintly through the shadows and other distant sounds appear to hang deep within the music on the edge of hearing. Track two likewise fades out of nothingness to morph and evolve in ponderous, pulsing sparcity. Low beds of shifting tone writhe uneasily: clean and glassy here on 'plasma' as opposed to the more matt textured sound of 'model II'. The dominant texture-drones undulate in subtle rhythmic form, layered with surges and infusions of higher sound; pattered in places establishing partial cadence; atmospheric in others suggestive of faint nebulous colour.

ARTWORK
Artwork for Aurora is as minimal as the music: black and white graphics presented in a standard jewel case. The two-tone front cover image centres on the circling dots and blots of what appears to be a spiral galaxy. A second, more intense whorl is contained within two horizontal lines on the rear cover. Here beneath a repetition of the main title are track titles and brief website, email and writing/production details. The insert is a single sheet: the flip side repeating the letterboxed galaxy design with only the two track titles above.

OVERALL
Of Polish origin, writer/musician Kamil Kowalczyk currently resides in Scotland. An early interest in unusual audio and experimental synthetic sound led Kamil to begin recording his own music in 2002 resulting in a series of albums, six released in mp3 format on US Zenapolae net label. More recently he has begun taking on live performances and has established his own record label Prototyp Produktions Ltd. Aurora is Kamil's debut CD album on his own label, containing two long tracks, “model II” and “plasma” at thirty two minutes eleven seconds and twenty five minutes eight seconds respectively. Promotional material explains: "The main concept for album was conspiracy theory about Aurora – a top secret, ultra fast US Military aircraft, also called TR-3B, which has very advanced technology, and special engine driving by plasma… I have used almost exclusively Virsyn Tera for most sounds, which I create from scratch on this stunning synth."
You can hear the music at Kamil's record label website Prototyp Produktions Ltd.as well as purchase the CD.

ARTIST'S THOUGHTS
A debut CD album from sound artist/composer Kamil Kowalczyk. It contains two long tracks, “model II” and “plasma”. The main concept for album was conspiracy theory about Aurora – a top secret, ultra fast US Military aircraft, also called TR-3B, which has very advanced technology, and special engine driving by plasma…

Dan Pound - Medusazoa

2011-04-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

STYLE
March 2011
Smooth, oceanic ambient electronica.
Medusazoa is an album of warm, fluid, mostly beatless synth environments. Drifting pads and velvety drones waft and mass around emergent pulse formations and rhythmic digital fragments. Liquid clicks and flecks trickle against synthetic vibrations or burble alongside repeating motifs; lazy scale patterns meander upward, downward; peculiar disturbances rustle and murmur and there are occasional sussurant flushes of turbulence. A downtempo beat arises midway through the title track, lazy and uncluttered; beguiling watery purring sounds cycling around. Some tracks centre mostly on the ponderous heave of layered drones, the flutter and flicker of rhythmic ephemera deep within. Others have subtle melodic elements: hypnotically repeating motifs; sparse piano phrases, electric guitar touches; these buoyant centres of regularity suspended in sequential tides or wandering afloat through ambient densities.

IN DEPTH
The title track opens with a luminous, repeating synthtic chime motif echoing upon an undulating low drone. Soon the melodic repetition drops off and an ambient bed opens out as if the listener has strayed into deeper water. Here a variation on the previous motif begins to well up with more of a piano sound, evolving and meandering until a second evaporation. Now a distinctly different liquid environment emerges that is more suggestive of surface water or at least of the presence of trapped air: laps and splashes rippling about a sybilant purring noise that recurrs in organic pairings establishing a loose rhythm. Drfiting piano notes once more provide intriguing melody, deep single tones and lazy higher runs. At around this mid point of the twelve minutes fifty three seconds of Medusazoa a serene beat fades in, simple hihats, programmed snare and lazy kick building around the nodding measure of the pulsing purr. For a while now this dreamy rhythmic pool of lilting piano melody floats in blissful reverie until the beat ebbs away at around the nine and a half minute mark. The purring remains a while upon a much more distant memory of percussion, reverberating piano phrases thinning out upon a low drone echoing the introduction until stillness. A very relaxing composition, highly evocative of the underwater environment Dan is summoning up and the delicate life forms upon which this album concentrates.

Gear List
Synthesiser.com analog modular system; Nord lead 2; Korg R3; Yamaha AN200, Korg Electribe; Dave Smith's Evolver; Roland XP-10, Fender Stratocaster, various effects, processors and sound shaping equipment..

ARTWORK
Medusazoa arrives in a jewel case with a single sheet insert. Artwork is all of saturated blue hues with soft-edged jellyfish forms hanging transparent in mid-distance. The front cover features a beautifully orange lit specimen, curling streamers and slender tentacles arcing in a graceful curve below. On the rear cover a number of the creatures form a loose cluster; some luminous and distinct, others vague, transparent. Track titles are here with times alongside, also website details and an email address. Within, the insert flip side presents an almost circular aspect with geometrical horseshoe shaped organs pinkly lit. A concise gear list sits here at the left foot. Behind the disc itself a veined close-up image, highlighting the inconsistent densities of these intriguing lifeforms.

OVERALL
US based Dan Pound has a discography as long as your arm and a musical resume to match. Having classical training for piano, guitar and double bass, Dan is an experienced composer for orchestra. He also has degrees in recording engineering and electronic music technology and currently specializes in producing music for film and multi-media. Dan works from his own studio and releases his music via his own recently established label Pound Sounds. This latest release, Medusazoa presents seven mid-length tracks ranging from the four minute six second Living Fossil to the fourteen minute plus Tentacles. Promotional material explains that this music was "made to accompany the fluid movements and colorful bio-luminescence of the jellyfish, flowing and drifting with the currents". Sound samples can be found on the Dan Pound website as well as a further description of the music.

ARTIST'S THOUGHTS
My personal feelings about this album are simply that this is exactly where I need to be right now musically and creatively. I finally feel like I have come into my own as an artist. No compromises or expectations. Just pure expression.
This is exactly the kind of music that I would listen to, even if it was not my own.

LABEL'S THOUGHTS
Get ready for your own liquid space aquarium music environment.
Based and built from analog modular synth drones, patches & effects, this is pure underwater dream zone music.
Made to accompany the fluid movements and colorful bio-luminescence of the jellyfish, flowing and drifting with the currents, the blend of sounds are surprisingly organic in their textures, and mix well with crustacean-like effects and poly-sequential, fractal rhythms & pulses.
Expansive, slow moving, aquarium-like environments are penetrated and felt deeply here.

Instruments used:
Synthesizer dot com modular system, Nord lead 2, Yamaha AN200, Korg Electribe, Dave Smith?s Evolver, Roland XP-10, Korg R-3, Fender Stratocaster, various effects, processors and sound shaping equipment.

Tracks:
1. Liquid Body 12:38
2. Under Her Spell 5:09
3. Living Fossil 4:06
4. Medusazoa 12:53
5. Tentacles 14:02
6. Bioluminescence 9:56
7. Currents 12:35

Inspired by the movements of fluidity and bio-luminescent colors of the jellyfish, this is an all out analog excursion of ambient liquid space.
Get ready for deep liquid space immersion with Medusazoa.

2011-03-30T04:06:00.000-07:00

STYLE
March 2011
Downtempo psychill, lush electronica and acoustic performance. Inspirational Power opens with a gentle, beatless melodic piece built around a cycling, sequential pattern; distant male vocals hang wordlessly in the bright Autumn air; warm atmospherics; tranquil harmony. Chronos appears to be revelling in the beauty of digital sound on these tracks: gradual developments and expansive interludes in no rush to a final destination; beats that seem to inhabit the music rather than dominate; attractive melodic phrases and the intertwined twinkle of arpeggiators. There is a distinct sense of a musical journey to the album as the earlier restfulness develops into more climactic pieces with heavier grooves around the midway mark. Finally the music ascends spaceward via the synthetic sci-fi tones and philosophical musings of Optimistic Future and the meandering, ethereal, beat free concluder Forgiveness.

MOOD
The shifting mood here is often one of deep serenity and unhurried reverie. The intricacies of the beats are frequently offset by drifting ambient progressions and mesmerising evolving repetitions. There are spacey sections in places where the electronics take on a more sinewy, sharper-edged nature. Occasional global elements introduce touches of earthy exotica; most prominent on the folk remix of Sky Path: here flamenco style acoustic guitars juxtapose tribal drumming and Indian vocals before the track breaks wide open with an Irish reel played on distinctive uilleann pipes. There is even a progressive section with flute improvisation and a brief but distinct nineteen seventies vibe that arises during Deus Ex Machina.

ARTWORK
A jewel case presentation, Inspirational Power is fronted by a sharp graphic image of running figures upon interconnected cogs. Bold, black, dynamic - stare long enough and the whole things aches to move - set against a sleek icy grey ground that reflects the man machine in the foreground. The rear cover tracklist includes writing, production and collaborative credits laid out over greys and gears familiar from the flip side. Within, the double page spread of the insert is a rich presentation of photographs and text. There are performance shots highlighting the acoustic/electronic blend of Chronos' music with colourful instruments displayed and engrossed players at work. As well as the usual contact and technical details there is an interesting paragraph of background information on the artist.

OVERALL
Russian musician and sound designer Nick Klimenko delivers his third album as Chronos. Having collaborated back in 2009 with Catalizer on the Ajana release Quid est Veritas? he now follows up his debut solo of 2007 Steps to the Greater Knowledge. For Inspirational Power Chronos has turned to the Beats & Pieces label. There are ten tracks in all here that rise out of restful introspection gradually into dynamic downtempo psychedelia and global chill before floating right off through the stratosphere into infinite space. This album reveals Chronos to be a multifaceted project with both carefully crafted studio work and live performance aspects in evidence. The depth and colour of sound benefits from Nick's work developing virtual instruments and sound libraries as well as his collaborative relationships that give rise to some engrossing instrumentation threaded through the electronica.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
Inspirational Power is one of those electronic albums that transcends the usual genre limitations; promotional material rightly claims that "it explores the paths between ambient, chillout, ethnic music and psychedelic hypnotic trance vibrations." Fans of colourful, deeply chilled psytrance will enjoy this release, so too will those with an interest in global dance music. The Beats & Pieces website holds listening material if you'd like to see for yourself.

Various Artists - Summer 2010 Collection

2010-08-19T09:35:00.001-07:00

STYLE
Contemporary electronic chillout. The Summer 2010 Collection from Cymbidium is a warm album of lustrous synthetic glitch and electro-beat both vocal and instrumental. There are pieces here with something of a modern lounge vibe; others that have a fractured, experimental feel; moments where the electro-pop of the nineteen eighties is called to mind; slick jazzy montage sounds and relaxing, soulful female vocals. Sensuous, muted sax juxtaposes dappled light textures and tinkling metallics on Sleep Mode, the opener from Saine; an effected beatbox groove contrasts the dreamy male voice singing on MC Hossni and DJ God Wind's track Traveling. Kaneel's Loquace ranges from dreamy wobbling arpeggios against flickering clicky percussion to an intense zappy tremolo sound collage. Cut and paste sampled speech, languid piano and static texture, crunchy programmed rhythms and serene melody - this collection doesn't stand still for too long.

ARTWORK
Summer 2010 Collection features the cover artwork that you can see to the above left. A vibrant female portrait in shades of saturated orange where photographic elements blend with hand drawn line art and graphic enhancements. Since this is a digital release this crisp design by Oliver Cartwright is the only visual content.

OVERALL
Helsinki based independent recording company Cymbidium Records delivers a sharp compilation of electronic downtempo fleshing out an already well established discography (the label having been in action since 2005). The ten tracks here feature artists from Finland and beyond, some that have released albums of their own via Cymbidium as well as some less well established acts. The music has been chosen for inclusion by Costi, supervised by Saine and delivers a constantly changing eclectic chilled landscape with influences ranging from IDM, ambient groove and experimental electronica to urban abstract, jazz and funk. The album is a digital release and can be sampled in full both at Morpheus Music as well as at the Cymbidium website.

2010-08-11T04:07:00.000-07:00

STYLE
Deeply chilled ambient electronic soundscapes. This latest compilation from the excellent Aleph Zero label pulls together some of the most cutting edge sounds in the world of drifting, glitch infested downtempo currently advancing over the horizon. The music ranges from intensely beautiful and dreamy to somewhat disconcerting and alien. Ovnimoon contribute a gorgeous track called Cajita De Sorpresas where buoyant hazy pads support a lustrous, fluid lead against an insectile, intricate beat. An interesting collaboration from Omnimotion and I Awake entitled Rebooting Daisy maintains the blissful, hypnotic floatational approach with a slightly dislocated groove lumbering aside sensuous female vocal layers and some delicately sparse melodic touches. Vataff Project's Owl is an example of the more disconcerting nature of darkness - a scratchy percussive track with a sequence of uneasy drones and sci-fi mechanisms. The album winds down with Shulman's One Step Closer; here remixed by Eitan Reiter and DJ Shahar. Maintaining the spacey vibe of the previous piece, this broad composition introduces a reverberating sax that luxuriates in the groove driven expanse before dropping away into a beatless pool of shifting synthetic currents. The concluding track is from Minilogue Feat. Inid Imman: a ponderous, gently thudding form with guitar manipulations and ample surface damage - light whispers and minimal melody - mesmerising light-headeness - heartbeat pump - fade to black.

MOOD
Dark Room Beats is an album full of brooding low-light atmosphere where periodic surges of warmth course through the night shadows and luminous colours twinkle and glow. The name is well chosen - this is certainly one for enjoying with a good sound system in a darkened room - or maybe for creating your own relaxing, dusky mindscape elsewhere during your day. Full of feeling, with an unhurried approach and ample room given over to building up mood and ambience.

ARTWORK
In keeping with the theme, artwork for Dark Room Beats is resolutely black across every panel. The front cover holds a simple image of a glowing lamp, yellow-orange and warm upon an infinite darkness. Flipping over, a tracklist is on the rear, set alongside a duplicate of the lamp. Turning to the insert, this opens out into three panels with a second tracklist on the outer first, simple logo on the central. Inside there is a section given over to thanks, a second with a more graphic representation of the familiar lamp form, contact details below, the third section presents an expanded tracklist, this time with writing credits and some additional performance information.

OVERALL
Aleph Zero compilations are always something of a delight. This one took three years of meticulous work to "design the room's sonic surroundings". The label is clearly intent on setting the standard for others to follow with this collection, Shahar and Shulman having selected thirteen pieces of visionary ambient glitch-chill that are of amazing quality and gratifying consonance. A number of Aleph Zero favourites are of course here: Shulman, Hibernation, Omnimotion, Vataff Project and Krusseldorf. Label head DJ Shahar brings his talent to bear in sharing with Eitan Reiter to remix the Shulman track One Step Closer. Other artists include Altair, Phasephour, Ovnimoon, I Awake, Good Rester, Alexander Daf, Aligning Minds and Minilogue Feat. Inid Imman. Robert Rich provides another highlight with Moth Wings: a lush, coruscating piece of sonic chiaroscuro featuring a meandering, sonorous flute.
Promotional material suggests "Come relaxed and open minded, turn off the lights, and let us take you somewhere else without ever leaving your room." Why not explore the eflier and see if you'd like to take up the invitation.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
Dark Room Beats will appeal to downtempo fans that enjoy the more ambient side of the genre. This is a high quality release that the more discerning listener will appreciate. Aleph Zero and Ultimae seem to excel in this type of lush, glitchy chillout.

SOLAR CAMEL - TRAIN IN A RAINBOW (REISSUE)

2010-07-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

STYLE
Warm, inviting new-age electronica with strong emphasis on melody and thematic development. Many compositions here, such as Sailing and Solemnis are formed around carefully constructed lead lines where the melodic arrangements take centre stage, whereas tracks like Hunting, for example, are more rhythmic at heart, allowing layered phrases and sequencial patterns to drive the music.With percussive content often to the fore, Train in a Rainbow sees each track unfold to a different programmed beat, most of which are bright, lively synthetic affairs of mid to uptempo pace. Sometimes, as with The Lake, grooves are accompanied by percolating arpeggios, other pieces feature fusion rhythms with ethnic percussion.

MOOD
Train In A Rainbow has a positive, light mood for the most part, combining the warmth and overt passion of new-age music with the electronic mechanism of much Berlin school electronica. There are some dramatic pieces with orchestral or string sections, whilst at the other end of the spectrum there are some dance tracks with something of an 80s synth pop feel. The liquid clarity of the sonic palette and the uncluttered nature of the arrangements give the album a rather high-tech sound with a peaceful, lucid quality.

ARTWORK
The updated album arrives in a jewelcase with single sheet insert. The front cover image features a colourful graphic locomotive apparently travelling along a twisting rainbow. This same image is repeated on the rear cover only here it is faded away into ghostly pallor with track titles overlaid. At the foot of this back panel can be found website details and an email contact address.

OVERALL
Agostino Mascarello's solo project Solar Camel released the Train in a Rainbow album (previously reviewed at Morpheus Music) in 2009. The disc has since been given an overhaul with attention paid to providing a more consistent track list focussing on electronic sounds. The classical side of Agostino's personality can be experienced through the Roots and Wings album also reviewed recently at Morpheus. Once again Agostino's digital piano/synth/vocals are accompanied by the voice of Brazilian born Déia. The new disc consists of no less than eighteen tracks and can be found at CD Baby or alternately you can sample some tracks and keep up with new developments at the Solar Camel Myspace page.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
Train in a Rainbow is an album for lovers of synthesiser music with a new-age pop sensibility. Working a similar territory to Zer0 0ne, Vitaly and Mythos - this music might well be appreciatd by listeners enjoying gently energetic modern sounds with electro-groove beats. If you're wondering whether this is one for you - why not sample each of the tracks at CD Baby?

JAZZ COMPUTER.ORG - LIFE UNFOLDING

2010-03-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

STYLE
Ambient synthetic instrumentals with jazzy influences. Life - Unfolding is a suite of six compositions that flow together into a unified whole. Spacey synths are central to the sound of this album - smooth, silken layers of tone that are used to establish an expanse, to suggest gentle undulating motion, to build entrancing harmonious drone beds and shifting sound clouds. Passages of beatless, floatation are set amongst sections of lazy, peaceful beats. Strongly effected lead guitar at times provides dreamy chord forms embellished by lustrous chimes such as Concealing Brightness. Air and Water Laps, on the other hand finds a far more dynamic lead style driving over a burbling synth sequence that seems to build almost imperceptibly from the atmosphere. In these more active moments Yves' appreciation of 70's prog rock can be noticed among the jazz based structures. The artist's own promotional material explains: "With intensive use of synths (and no samples or loops, except for the percussions which are sampled instruments), the jazz elements of this music are to be found in the harmonics and chords used, and the way guitar improvisations are played."!

MOOD
Life - Unfolding is a very restful album - whether drifting weightlessly on airy electronic wafts and currents or flowing with the greater urgency of the rhythmic portions of the music, the emphasis is primarily one of pleasant tranquillity. The music also has something of a sense of wonder - often a dreamy, natural optimism. There is a constant warmth that runs throughout the album imbuing the pieces with a glowing serenity that nicely enhances the relaxing nature of the harmonies.

ARTWORK
The cover art to Life - Unfolding is a rather beautiful artificial landscape. Here a craggy mound juts out into a still body of deep blue water burnished with subtle ripples. The eye is drawn among the stark forms of the rocks to an elegant purple leaved tree at the crest of the crag. This unusual life form is lit by a bright shaft of sunlight that sets the clouds into chiaroscuro and bathes the central portion of the scene with a radiant glow. Complementary text picks up the hue of the foliage completing the prime design.

OVERALL
Jazz Computer.org is the work of Yves Potin a lover of progressive rock in the 1970s and later a great fan of jazz and jazz fusion. Yves is an accomplished jazz guitar player, having played since his childhood. He has also enjoyed working with computer based music since the early days of the Atari ST. Jazz Computer.org presents albums for free download via the artist's website, where currently you can discover six releases dating back to the debut album of 2006. Life - Unfolding sees the artists exploring a more deeply ambient soundscape than previously, wherein deft guitar improvisations play in concrete juxtaposition. The six pieces here owe a debt of inspiration to ambient master Thom Brennan that can be noted in the delicate softness of the multi-layered pads and drones.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
Life - Unfolding is an album that straddles spacey ambient and jazz guitar genres, with a somewhat new-age relaxational vibe to it. This is music for listeners that enjoy the warm softness of layered synth drones with the additional interest value of electric guitar improvisation. Why not visit the official website and listen to the samples at www.jazzcomputer.org .

YUBABA - PARADISO

2010-01-08T03:07:00.000-08:00

STYLE
Downtempo songs and instrumentals with a Brazilian flavour. Yubaba take a fairly freestyle approach to their music drawing on a variety of genres from dub and reggae to house and electro. Brass flourishes and trumpet playing from guest Dan Covan, guitars and a real drum sound give the band something of a 'live' sound which is further enhanced by the frequent lyrical content. Singers both male and female contribute vocal performances in different languages: collaborators Thailan, Blacklight, and Nathalia Faria providing the human touch. Bouncing bass lines and squelching synth-work intertwine acoustic guitars, sax phrases and well placed crunchy effects.

MOOD
Yubaba's sound is a crisp 'real' sound that relies less on programmed arpeggiation and digital mechanism than much current downbeat music. The collaborating musicians and singers do much to give the album a soulful, concert feel. There is also an underlying tropical atmosphere to the whole album, a relaxed exuberance and warmth that justifies the title.

ARTWORK
Paradiso arrives in a jewelcase with a two-panel fold-out insert. The front cover features a female figure against a bright beach scene. Sharp graphic curlicues and floral twists overlay the broad brown border and main image and scroll around the titles. The rear cover contains another beach photograph in a slim upright frame allowing space for track titles to run alongside to the right. Within, along with further seashore imagery is a second tracklist with credits, a generous section of thanks and brief recording details.

OVERALL
Yubaba deliver their debut album following a number of compilation album appearances and international live performances. Paradiso is released via Cyberset Records and can be found in CD format at such standard outlets as Juno, Arabesque, Psyshop e SaikoSounds. Brazil-based duo Pedro Gomide and Frederico Drummond combine their broad minded musical talents on this smooth eleven track release. Promotional material from Cyberset explains: "They joined their skills in this project where mixing influences from their roots, they touch the listeners recreating the eclectic and open minded mood you could only find in Brasil. Yubaba evolves from dub into lounge with a trip hop feeling and an electro taste.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
If you enjoy chilled music with a concert atmosphere and plenty of real performance elements this is an album for you. You listen to the album at the band's website: http://yubaba.info/

Fredrik Ohr - Falling Through The Earth

2009-12-27T16:31:00.000-08:00

STYLE
Dreamy, glitchy ambient chillout. Fredrik Öhr has created one of the most individual sounding electronic albums that I have heard in a long time. Clearly carried somehow by the tides of current downtempo and psychill, Falling Through The Earth benefits from cutting edge digital sophistication, blissful glitchy beats and global interconnection - yet at the same time this music is delightfully different and idiosyncratic with beautifully beguiling atmospheres, brittle textures and unaffected honesty. Rich, heady flutes waft in contrast to the flicker and flutter of glitch-breaks; plaintive piano and Middle-Eastern pipes interplay over bright crackle on the beautiful, beautiful A Day For Great Deeds; jazzy sounds and forms arise alongside international song in subtle flavours such as the doped double bass and muted wails of Morning Ritualism - dappled synthetic lights playing behind. Vocal content is frequent, yet rarely dominant - poetic phrases in a wistful gated female voice, sampled chants from around the world, Fredrik's own singing, vocoder musings and the spoken word. Not an album of arpeggios and sequencer forms, not an album of overt melodic themes (although some sweetly delicate melodies are certainly present), Falling Through The Earth is the music of shifting textures, deft layering and beguiling beats.

MOOD
The dominant mood of Falling Through The Earth is one of enchanting, exotic serenity. Crisp, lustrous soundscapes of playful, abstract forms that at times are so light and airy as to almost float away. There is often the sense of relaxing somewhere hot and dry, not anywhere special, somewhere personal yet far off - contradictory mindscapes arising and morphing constantly - a testament to the evocative power of Öhr's music. The gorgeous water movements and tropical environmental elements of Return that are echoed in the subsequent bubbling electro/tabla-beat and idle vocalisations leave the listener floating far from shore on warm waters under a euphoric sun.

ARTWORK
As unusual as the music - Falling Through The Earth is fronted by a drawing of tightly crowded figures, clustered in the lower half of the panel. They could have started out as fingerprints - this little knot of faces has a primitive, tribal quality to it - full of aboriginal style patterns, short lines and dots. As the three panel insert is removed from the package these peculiar persons now hang from the upper half of the next panel as if gathered now at the opposite end of the earth. Behind the CD itself a darkened close-up of the same faces here fills the whole tray. The rear of the package presents a tracklist and a discussion of the project that introduces Fredrik Öhr himself and his music. Further sections of the insert carry instrumental credits, poetic sources and production details. Here too are website and email addresses along with a generous listing of thanks.

OVERALL
Stockholm based musician and producer Fredrik Öhr releases his debut album Falling through the Earth through the much respected Aleph-Zero label. Pursuing the label's interest in high-quality international electro-acoustic downtempo; this new album could hardly suit Aleph-Zero better. Fredrik Öhr both fits in like something eminently familiar, in keeping with the 'house sound' and simultaneously breaks mold, sounding fresh and unexpected. The fourteen tracks of the album have a pleasing, confident unity about them yet follow no obvious formula - each piece taking the drift of the album off in a new direction, a meandering journey of discovery that is constantly turning up new surprises. Collaborating artists bring soprano saxophone, acoustic guitar, quena, bamboo flute, double bass and percussion as well as vocal content to the mix. Promotional material describes the music as "a wonderful dreamy and fresh combination of North European atmospheres and textures interlaced with Asian influences, all dipped in 70s psychedelic delicate feel" - yes yes yes! I strongly suggest you explore the E-flier for this release wherein you can read information on the album and the artist whilst sampling every track.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
If you enjoy quirky downtempo with an international leaning - this could be one for you. Falling Through The Earth will especially enchant you if you aren't looking for a steady downtempo-trance beat; the rhythms here are delicate and fragile, not regular and thumping. Listen to the E-flier.

2009-11-14T00:31:00.000-08:00

STYLE
Rhythmic and ambient electronica. Chikatetsu is a subtle album of constantly shifting emphasis - opening with a pattern of high pitched delicate notes and steady drone, the album gets under way with a sense of unhurried class. Building into a restfully throbbing bass groove this initial track features the kind of tuneful, freeform harmony and artfully layered human-artificial structures that dominate the album. Barely discernable station voices and subway sounds occasionally inhabit the somewhat abstract musical forms that run in narrative flow. Some passages have a strongly mechanical rhythm suggestive of fleeting motion - rolling sequencer forms driving light melodic phrases. Other sections reveal a jazz influence, with lustrous vibes and muted chimes dancing among the synth voices. The music features Tim Gerwing on keyboards, guitars, bass, electronics, vocals and drum programming with musicians Besart Hysniu delivering keyboards, programming, remixing, electronics, David Picking ride cymbals and Terry O'Brien guitar, guitar synths. There is often a mesmerising sense of detachment about the music as if the listener were a lonely observer among busy meandering crowds - at rest among the currents of urban activity.

ARTWORK
Chikatetsu comes in a sharp card wallet (these really are so much nicer than jewelcases) of saturated colour. The front image is a motion blurred train caught momentarily passing through a station - broad black borders making the night-time hues appear to positively glow. The reverse holds a tube map layered upon a carriage interior - here are a series of evocative, descriptive terms that might help the potential listener to imagine something of the nature of the music. Within, the two panel sleeve holds track details on the left and additional information on the right. Instrumental and technical credits along with thanks and download details.

OVERALL
Born and based currently in Canada Tim Gerwing has been interested in music since early childhood. Having studied classical piano, Tim branched out to explore jazz, electronic, new age, progressive rock/pop, and Middle and Far Eastern styles. He has been releasing music as a solo artist since 2002 when his debut Being To Being was released under his own record label. This current disc contains thirteen tracks that that work around the theme of Japanese subway travel and experience. Promotional material explains Chikatetsu as 'the “underground iron”, the subway system that is the heart of public transportation in the large cities of Japan'. Further wording suggests "ambient textures -> electronic musical maps -> hyper-cultural leitmotifs -> fractal audio perspectives -> psycho-emotional sonic imagery. The beautifully designed website contains sound samples and further information if you'd like to check it out at http://www.lascaux21.com/chikatetsu/

FIELD ROTATION - LICHT UND SCHATTEN

2009-11-13T05:29:00.000-08:00

STYLE
Beautiful electronic glitchscapes with various acoustic elements. Field Rotation is a project with a rare sense of elegant beauty. The subtle classical threads that twine through these digital arrangements imbue the music with a dignity and grace that immediately lifts Licht und Schatten above the norm. The melodic content is relatively minimal, yet these sparse soundtracks are highly emotive, heavy with atmosphere and most inviting. Melancholy acoustic guitar hangs over heaving synthetic pads in melodic calm, whilst in other passages tense string swells ebb and flow in dramatic shadow. Plaintive piano and transmission fragments alternate with string snatches upon a bed of sonic breeze, the crunch of footfalls rises and falls behind days-end glow, faint arpeggios morph across rhythmic electronica. Once the understated beats roll in, the music almost sighs at times with a restrained serenity. Click-ridden scratchy rhythms and soft crackle adorn the more regular beats that drive some of the recordings, some pieces have no beat for the most part or none at all.

MOOD
Licht und Schatten has an otherworldly quality about it, a sublime soft focus warmth. Most pieces have a gentle solemnity, a wistful nature - that beautiful sadness that tugs at the heart. This sense of quietude, however, is not all pervasive - dark moments, ominous regions have their places. Tiefflug has something of a sci-fi theme - bubbling bassline cycling beneath acidic synth motifs.

ARTWORK Fluid Audio have excelled with the packaging of this special edition EP. The disc comes in a four panel tray presented in a hand stitched fabric sleeve. A full colour poster, badge and an additional surprise (I won't spoil it) are all included in the set. A paper slip enwraps the sleeve bearing the title of the album - everything tasteful and with that feel of something special. This might all be a bit suspect if it weren't for the quality of the music - Fluid are not trying to sucker listeners in by means of package overkill - rather this is a fantastic limited edition item that feels special through and through.

OVERALL Violinist, pianist, composer and producer Christoph Berg s based in Kiel, Germany and began the Field Rotation project in 2008. This limited edition EP of only 100 signed and numbered copies is the stepping stone for Field Rotation to make the leap from compilation appearances to full length album. The Fluid Audio label anticipates a complete album sometime in 2010 - meanwhile this release whets the appetite for a project that seems set to sit among the front runners of the genre. The digital version of Licht und Schatten holds only four of the seven pieces found on the CD so don't wait - get in quickly and experience the whole thing. You can hear the music on the Fluid Audio website as well as getting a chance to see the presentation of the limited edition if you need to.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
This is a quality EP that will appeal to fans of both the electro-neo-classic and minimalist chillout genres. Fans of Deaf Centre, Ultimae, Bersarin Quartett and the likes will love Licht und Schatten.

TERRA DEL SOL - THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION

2009-11-13T05:03:00.000-08:00

STYLE
Global electronic chillout instrumentals with occasional female vocals. The tracks here are a mixture of instrumental and vocal arrangements. Smooth synth strains and atmospheric pads drift across deftly constructed airy beats that feature some smooth drum and bass patterns as well as languid downtempo dance grooves. Organ patterns, sax meanderings and electric guitar phrases provide thematic content on a number of tracks whilst soft feminine phrases waft on the breeze creating a tranquil lounge feel. In other places international instrumentation creates a more distant exoticism oriental gamelan underpinning Indian violin work or Chinese erhu and hand drumming alternating with rich synthetic chimes. A somewhat higher tempo and bass throb accompany sensuous spoken words of the club oriented Je Danse, however, for the most part the beats are restful and deeply chilled sometimes even giving way to the night time ambience of crickets.

MOOD
The mood here is mostly one of Mediterranean sunshine chill although Indian and oriental elements tug the mind further eastward at times. There is a pervasive relaxed dreaminess that calls to mind warm shores and fresh air, Terra Del Sol eminently true to the title. The Terra Del Sol title tracks fuses some tribal percussion and dance beats introduced by a montage of African choruses and solo vocals.

ARTWORK
The promotional package that I have includes front cover artwork built primarily around the Terra Del Sol title itself. Below the blocked font a tangled procession of tinted aquatic forms rolls in pastel hues, curling tentacles entwined. On the reverse is a tracklist running down the right with associated timings for each piece, writing credits listed below. On the left half are three small photographs of the artists footed by details of their contributions to the project.

OVERALL
Terra Del Sol is the music of musician and label manager Alberto Hauss on keyboards and Spanish guitar and Christophe Garnerone providing percussion and harmonica. The Essential Chill Collection features the vocal talents of Maria Sanchez and Lalu. This current release is delivered via the UK's Tantajo Records, label subsidiary of German based Tantajo Studios, known for its ambient, downbeat and lounge output. This is a quality album of intense chillout music that would work well as a blissed out backdrop to that perfect evening or equally, Terra Del Sol provide sufficient detail and melody to reward headphone experience.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
This album seems most ideally suited to fans of balearic chill. If you enjoyed Alberto Hausse's La Tienda Mediterranean Ambiance then this will be right up your street. Cafe Del Mar lovers will likely enjoy the vibe here too.

SOLAR CAMEL - TRAIN IN A RAINBOW

2009-11-04T02:06:00.000-08:00

STYLE
Melodic instrumental synth music with occasional vocal sections. Train in a Rainbow is a collection of bright, electronic music with strong beats and clear themes. Multi-layered tuneful phrases, string sounds and burbling/twinkling sequencer patterns form the backbone of Solar Camel's sound on this release. The chosen sound palette is one of clean, traditional synthesis, voice loops and pianos. Drum beats are primarily composed of programmed grooves built around real drum sounds, yet digital hits and ethnic percussion elements also are employed broadening the mix. On the title track, male and female voices with distinct European accents sing/speak in a style reminiscent of Kraftwerk, in other places strongly effected vocal strains act in a more instrumental manner.

MOOD
Train in a Rainbow has an upbeat sound that brings together elements of measured Berlin synth music, new age optimism and the clarity of eighties synth-pop. In places there are dramatic passages with stirring pace and processional grandeur. Other tracks take a more relaxed approach often with the trademark restraint typical of European synth-pop.

ARTWORK
The album arrives in a jewelcase with single sheet insert. The front cover image features a colourful graphic locomotive apparently travelling along a twisting rainbow. This same image is repeated on the rear cover only here it is faded away into ghostly pallor with track titles overlaid. At the foot of this back panel can be found website details and an email contact address.

OVERALL
The Solar Camel project consists of Italian Agostino Mascarello on digital piano/synth/vocals and Brazilian born Déia on vocals/arrangements. Currently the duo is based in the south of France - the project takes its name from Agostino's surname in anagram form. There is a second project that goes by the name of Polar Camel focusing more on pop/classical sounds. If you'd like to hear what is on offer, why not check out the Solar Camel Myspace page or alternately their CD Baby page where tracks can be previewed and purchased individually or as an album on CD. Solar Camel acknowledges the influence of such major acts as Jean-Michel Jarre, Ennio Morricone and Vangelis.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
Train in a Rainbow is an album for lovers of synthesiser music with a new-age pop sensibility. Working a similar territory to Zer0 0ne, Vitaly and Mythos - this music might well be appreciatd by listeners enjoying gently energetic material.

Longing For Orpheus - OtherSong

2009-10-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

STYLE
Relaxing new age and chilled melodic instrumentals. OtherSong has a lush serenity about it that increasingly absorbs the listener as the album unfolds - laid back beats combining programmed grooves and acoustic enhancements propelling dreamy melodies. The mellow themes are primarily of well selected synthetic sound, multi-layered lines buoyed upon smooth pads with additional multi-national samples sensitively entwined. Pianos, flutes, harp, erhu and pipa along with other exotic instruments constantly grab the attention and keep the colours bright and strong. Ethnic drums such as djeme, bodhran and shakers are employed to bring emphatic levels to the beats, the occasional electronic glitch and subtle sequencer pattern adding further depth.

MOOD
For the most part the mood here is one of optimistic tranquillity - even when the tempos lift somewhat, the hypnotic nature of the music remains. The album explores a range of genres from the balearic slant of EverSoul through the more overtly worldbeat NeverTale and UmbraStory to the progressive electronic ForestWake. That said - the listener would likely not spot any obvious shift in style since the whole package has a strong unifying identity that runs throughout the whole album.

ARTWORK
OtherSong comes in a jewelcase with single sheet insert. The limited palette of liquid blue and lilac creates a tasteful front cover - smooth sky and sharp blossom with simple title font. The rear cover presents a similar sky, this time with faint puffs of white cloud, bright copper leaves in foreground. The tracklist runs down the right side. Flipping the insert over; the thematic content is maintained with more vivid flora alongside a second tracklist. Here too are brief credits and website details with a suggestion that album notes can be found at the artist's site.

OVERALL
Longing For Orpheus is the solo project of classically trained US musician Derek Smootz. With its origin back in 2003, the project experimented with music influenced by the likes of Enigma and Vangelis. A debut album was released in 2006 entitled Skye making OtherSong the second full length CD currently on offer. According to the official website Derek is also involved in various side projects such as Artificial Emotion (dance-oriented) and Ice Queen Alias (synthpop). He performs with various choirs and theatres in the Austin area, and maintains the "After Enigma" online guide to Nu Ambient music. The new album can be heard at the Longing For Orpheus website.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
This is music for forgetting your cares and enjoying the moment. OtherSong has that fairytale dreaminess found in Amethystium and will likely appeal to fans of enigmatic music. Well suited as background sound - but a joy to experience on headphones too.

ECHODUBDIRECT

2009-08-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

Echodub are launching a series of brand new releases.
Enter your email address at the Echodub site and you can have them all for free.

http://direct.echodub.co.uk/

What?
Echodub are going to be putting out a series of free EPs from our producers. This will be brand new material, and seperate to the regular releases you can pick up on iTunes, Juno or Beatport.

When each release is ready, it will be released to everyone who signs up, and you will recieve an email with a download link and a bit of information about the release.

Why?
Echodub value the people who enjoy our releases, and we like to give something back with a bit of exclusivity, so this is our way of saying "Thanks for digging our music".

You can find out more information by getting in touch with echo@echodub.co.uk
http://direct.echodub.co.uk/

ZAUM vol.1 compilation with Netherworld and other Italian artists

2009-07-13T02:39:00.001-07:00

A selection of Italian ambient works, specifically composed for the release, compiled by Enrico Coniglio and Emanuele Errante. The album features music from internationally much-admired artists such as Netherworld (Glacial Movements label owner), Oophoi, Arlo Bigazzi (Materiali Sonori label), Alturo Stalteri, Luca Formentini, Illàchime quartet, Con_cetta, as well as other brilliant unreleased artists.

A stunning mix of beat and non-beat pure Ambient tunes, that shift between isolationist and glacial atmospheres. For fans of Pole, Biosphere...

Tracklisting:

01 Netherworld - 'Jostedaal'
02 Aquadorsa (E. Coniglio & Oophoi) - 'Daylight Fading Into Evening Silence'
03 Dario Antonelli - 'ZX-21 Part I'
04 con_cetta Vs Antartica - 'Thank You'
05 Arlo Bigazzi & Arturo Stalteri - 'Stregatto'
06 -ON- - 'Last Love Inside Love'
07 Massimo Liverani - 'Primavera'
08 Emanuelle Errante - 'Egostasy'
09 Illàchime Quartet - 'Terminali (Source 1.0)'
10 Luca Formentini - 'Avaaz'
11 Zoo Div Vetro - 'Amaliadiesis'

i have few copies available for selling only.If you are interested please ask me before to order.Otherwise you can contact directly:

www.psychonavigation.com/zaumvol1.html

Open Canvas - Travel By Sound

2009-07-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

A pan eastern musical journey influenced by the rhythms and instrumentation of the Asian subcontinent, Middle East and Jamaican dub. Electronic music that moves both mind and body within a cinema of sound.

Travel by Sound is an electronic excursion into the the melodies and rhythms of far eastern lands. Where the intertwining electronic pulses of synthesizers and melodic wind blown and hand plucked instruments of India and the middle east meet in a peaceful dance. A sonic tapestry where the percolating rhythm's of the tabla and dumbek meet dub infected basslines and the distant chants of the muezzin. Sit back close your eyes, open your mind and ears its time to travel east. Travel by Sound is the continuing musical saga/exploration that began with the debut release Nomadic Impressions and followed by Indumani.

Robert Scott Thompson - Gold Flowers Bloom Mercury Petals

2009-07-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

Robert Scott Thompson - Gold Flowers Bloom Mercury Petals

STYLE
Graceful beatless ambient instrumentals. Gold Flowers Bloom Mercury Petals is a suite of interconnected compositions that flow smoothly from one to another with slight shifting transitions. The variation from track to track is subtle and at times almost imperceptible - yet each piece progresses the journey further from its origin passing into passages of fluctuating harmony and atonality, moments of gathering darkness and emergent beauty, transient lightness or deep wells of intensity. The collected compositions all benefit from an oriental sensitivity, sparsity and classically delicate touch. Many of the tracks feature flowing drone beds and swells of smooth synthetic tone either underpinning minimalist melodies or themselves embodying the focal forms. A restful oceanic heave is the most pervasive rhythmic device, rising and falling allowing the more buoyant elements to drift idly with the tides.

MOOD
Gold Flowers Bloom Mercury Petals is an immersive collection of a dozen pieces that form a fluid whole with faint hints of the Far East frequently adding to the placid refinement of the album. The balance of light and darkness here has resulted in music that has an appealing meditative nature yet that avoids all of the clichés of most 'relaxation music'.

ARTWORK
Gold Flowers Bloom Mercury Petals arrives as a jewel case package with single sheet insert. The artwork throughout features clusters of white blossom on twig tips with golden anthers emerging from golden centres. These delicate flowers are presented on bottle green backdrops wherein the breakers and foam of rolling seascapes can be faintly discerned. The elegant strokes and angles of oriental characters along with small framed flower graphics complete the design elements. On the rear cover the blooms are closest footing a timed tracklist, with website details in small type to the right. Within the only details are credits for artwork.

OVERALL
Gold Flowers Bloom Mercury Petals comes as the latest release from classical ambient composer Robert Scott Thompson. The album is delivered via his own Aucourant Records label and follows in the paths delineated by previous albums The Silent Shore, Frontier and Blue Day. The album holds twelve tracks that flow as a single entity via morphing transitions. The Aucourant Records website holds samples of all tracks.

TRACK BY TRACK
CLOUD PALE AND DREAM DIMMED
The album opener unfurls with sweeping pads and sibilant percussive clacking sounds. The pervasive drifting feel that recurs throughout much of the suite is here right from the start, shifts of intensity at times seeing the music almost disperse into nothingness. Graceful string phrases waft like summer breezes, drawn out strains of scant melody silky smooth against the echoing effects that periodically shudder into earshot.
EVENING LIGHT
A gradual morph opens the second piece, the mood similar to its forerunner yet somewhat darker; a brooding drone humming below further string phrases that swell into being and fade away with unhurried regularity, like the sunshine passing behind clouds. At just over seven minutes, this is almost the longest of the twelve tracks. The ending sees the introduction of wispy air movements that flit across the transition into ...
WATERS AND THE WILD
Voicelike pads and slightly brassy sounds interweave forming rather abstract patterns wherein the previous ebbing and flowing of wavelike melody persists. The serene, attractive nature of the foreground forms are in contrast to periodic builds of dissonance and occasional openings of dark space that form behind.
BLOOM MERCURY PETALS
A wavering tremolo effect leads into this brief two minute fifty four arrangement, an uneasy ambient bed gradually amassing beneath. In time this gathering drone mass becomes prominent, diverse threads lifting out from the current - only the flow remaining.
QUIET LANDS
An air of mystery hangs as the backdrop to Quiet Lands, brief melodic phrases of piano-like notes deep within the aural fog of the piece. The ponderous regular swaying of some of the initial passages is less obvious now - drones more constant, increasingly hypnotic.
UPON RETURN FROM DREAM
The same steady gloom from the last track continues. Emergent fluttering synthetics coming to the fore midway, echoing and spacey approaching percussion almost. Metallic and bright against the ambient shadow behind, for a while approaching cacophony, then consonant, flowing together in an intensity of movement adorned with sounds that resemble effected, muted bell-trees.
FLOWER CLEANING RAIN
Now a stronger theme forms. Expansive and broad, suggestive of open spaces and fresh air. Oriental embellishments echo and reverberate - like distant variations on traditional instrumentation - and the piece is gone, just one minute forty three ...
HYPERSIGIL
The mood runs onward into Hypersigil - the panoramic breadth of the synth sweeps shifting lazily into a section of elegant depth and low frequency classic beauty. Perhaps the most beautiful track thus far - deep string-like phrases moving like large shapes under water whilst sharper drones adorn the surface with meandering currents.
ARC LAMP
Arc Lamp opens with a brightness of higher tones like beams of aural light shining in graceful motion. These shiny strains gather in wavering, almost atonal structures over a faint continuance of the thematic forms from Hypersigil, here slightly lighter and with a growing weightlessness that leave the piece floating in the ether.
CHAOS MAGIC
The fleeting two minutes, twenty six seconds of this track remains without weight - echoing effects and sussurant noise enwrapped about a more sparse thematic thread. Something of the night inhabits this piece - the fizz and sizzle of the treble strains like distant insect communities announcing the darkness, the emptiness of the music like the emptiness of the night sky.
ROUND IN CIRCLES
Here a new melodic structure arises, chimes in ascending scales, gently stepping upward over hazy, drawn out string-drones. Refined and stately, this longest composition lasts for over eight minutes, the constantly rising chimes now and then emphasised with piano touches. As the conclusion approaches a gathering cloud mass of less harmonious texture replaces the scales. A steady amorphous zone of sound that passes across the transition into ...
AMONG THE UNLABORING STARS
The rhythmic regularity of Round In Circles is gone - now a sonic expanse opens out. This composition is strongly textural, multiple layers moving among one another, hiss and noise inseparable from undulating tonal strands. Punctuating splashes of sound reverberate periodically, keeping the piece in motion. The finale drawing near, the layers thin out and soften allowing the air itself to breathe into dominance and it's over.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
This is an album of dignified melodic ambience that will appeal to listeners with an appreciation of minimalist music with classical beauty and oriental restraint. Give the music a listen at the Aucourant Records website and decide for yourself.

Audiobulb Sampler

2009-06-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

The latest release from UK's Sheffield based Audiobulb label ABS01 is a free sampler showcasing tracks from the label's catalogue.
Mixed by David Newman of Autistici fame, the album is free to download and contains eight tracks of exploratory electronic music.

The complete tracklist is as follows :

01. Jimmy Behan- Through The Trees

02. Biosphere- Tranoy Lighthouse

03. Ultre- Peace Corpse

04. Craque- Navfrakure

05. NQ- And On Some Other Night

06. Mark Harris - Last Days

07. Hans van Eck- Rivers

08. He Can Jog- Suite Part 1 & 2

The release page is here: http://www.audiobulb.com/albums/ABS01/ABS01.htm

An accompanying Press Release is here: http://www.audiobulb.com/albums/ABS01/ABS01-PressRelease.pdf

Audiobulb Records
http://www.audiobulb.com
exploratory music

Rena Jones Introduces Indra's Web

2009-06-27T00:37:00.000-07:00

Ambient Intelligent Application - Physical Moments

2009-06-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

Ambient Intelligent Application - Physical Moments

STYLE
Lush electronica and ambient downtempo. Ambient Intelligent Application (A.i.A.) create deep freeform soundworlds of strongly saturated colour; there is something of a sense that almost anything might emerge from within the mix on these tracks - sweeping strings, moody piano, disturbed voices, cycling ethnic vocals and plenty of less easily distinguishable sounds. The music is mostly built around richly layered atmospheres of synthetic pads and reverberating effects wherein smooth chord progressions gradually emerge rising and falling like gentle waves. Programmed beats stir these musical pools into motion - downtempo grooves that give a feeling of purposeful direction to the less tightly structured meanderings of the music.

MOOD
These colourful, psychedelic sound constructs spiral and flow with mesmerising intensity - the effect is bewilderingly hypnotic. Like sonic kaleidoscopes, disparate patterns and luminous pieces come together, form into regularity, shift and reform - Physical Moments is constantly on the move. At times the rhythms take on a dreamy tribal quality, hand drums softening the digital elements, spacey drones and sweeps of tone dancing lazily in time.

ARTWORK
I have the CD wallet presentation of Physical Moments. The front cover well captures something of the music - loose globular forms in abstract relation and of vivid hue apparently rolling in grand unity. The rear cover provides a tracklist wound into a tight spiral, with brief credits. Here too at the foot of the panel are website details and contact information.

OVERALL
A.i.A is new Greek ambient-downtempo group from brothers Konstantinos and Nassos Kousouris. The duo present their debut album here via Dutch independent label Ajana Records, eleven tracks running from around three and a half minutes up to almost ten. Claiming influences within chill out, dub, ambient, downtempo, IDM, electronic, triphop, trance, techno, ebm, industrial, goth, psychedelic rock, the duo take a fairly open approach to their compositions resulting in a unique signature sound. Promotional material explains that A.i.A. began producing their own music subsequent to travelling around the world and enjoying many open-air festivals and collecting music. The Physical Moments album is described as a product of half live composition and half studio recorded content.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
Physical Moments is something a bit different within the chillout, ambient genres. If you're looking for something deeply saturated and psychedelic with less rigid structure than most downtempo trance, then this might be the album for you. Ajana provide sound samples on the label website.

Various Artists - Hope (Fluid Audio) Morpheus Review

2009-06-24T03:45:00.000-07:00

STYLE
Electro-acoustic downtempo instrumentals. This is an album of inspiring digital delight - the collaborating artists have worked under harmonious vision to produce music of Hope. Here smooth drones and light washes interact with environmental recordings; melodies ebb and flow in understated restraint, moved by glitchy structures entwining 'found' percussive sounds and delicate beats. The melodic content often has a classical beauty about it - overtly through the use of wistful strings and elegant pianos - also through a recurring tone reminiscent of the grace and pensive nature of the nocturne. Introspective voices hang in the mix in places, musing in the misty headspace of the music. Static flecks and sleeting noise enliven the textural content. Acoustic and electric guitar meanderings thicken the synthetic elements and bring additional colour to a number of tracks.

MOOD
The title well describes the mood here - ‘Hope’. The artists involved were asked to create compositions that reflected their interpretation of the term - the results, uplifting and optimistic. The attractive fragility of the music, imbued with frequent warm currents capturing something of the positivity and aspirational nature of our imperfect species. There is also a thread of pensive melancholy running through much of the music - a reminder that this album has a serious back story and deals with disturbing issues that should rightly not go unnoticed.

ARTWORK
The delivery of the CD is strictly in keeping with the visionary theme of Hope, all the artwork and packaging having been crafted with exceptional care. The disc manufacturing is eco-conscious: ISO 14000 & 14001 compliant CD manufacturing with 100% re-use of scrap polycarbonate salvaged from CD & DVD replication. Printing too is responsible: sourcing of papernic Compound (VOC) emissions from inks or coatings, and use of quick dry glues with ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) being eliminated. Collection and recycling of paperboard, inks, coatings and other waste from printing processes. 60,000 tons of pa stock from FSC Compliant (Forestry Stewardship Council) mills and printers. Wood fibre procured within the Sustainable Forest Initiative guidelines: every acre harvested is reforested – 400 Million tree seedlings planted each year. Paper products are typically recyclable, compost-able, and under the right conditions biodegradable. No wood from old-growth or endangered forests. Vegetable based inks. 100% alcohol-free printing. The premise used to create the CD/Packaging is also 100% carbon neutral and powered with green electricity, and business travel emissions are also offset.
The cover imagery itself is handcrafted - a green boat afloat on the curling waves of an indigo sea, each breaker tipped in sparkling gold. The bright sky holds a sun of glitter and runs from the front cover across to the rear where a cooler glitter moon disc sits centrally. Here is a tracklist and a web address for each artist. Inside the boat and waves are seen in close up - turbulent, dark and unnerving - yet brightened by the twinkle of golden edges and semi-submerged stars. Slipped discreetly into the sleeve is an eight page booklet that contains a series of slightly sepia toned chiaroscuro photographs of children. Accompanying information draws attention to the plight of some of this world's unfortunate young ones. Information is also here regarding the charitable nature of the project along with relevant thanks and credits.

OVERALL
Hope is the debut album from the new Fluid Audio label - an impressive introduction with an admirable mission and honestly awe-inspiring content. The thirteen tracks here present established artists such as Ishq, Digitonal, James Murray, Hol Baumann and Bersarin Quartet alongside rising stars Field Rotation, Iambic, Snakestyle, Playb, Halogen and Ben Beiny. But this is not just a collection of music from genre sharing musicians; Hope is a tightly themed concept album of exquisitely complementary compositions. Promotional material gives some insight into the artists' motivations: Iambic explained "My two tracks were intended to give the listener a blank canvass to paint their emotions of Hope on". Playb commented "Children who are born in disadvantaged situations stir up so much admiration within me. I see sadness in their eyes but at the same time a passion to live." Snakestyle put it this way, "With the music I make, I try to create something that gently catches your attention, hypnotises you, helps you think, and takes you to a place where you feel reassured". The resultant music has an evocative depth and maturity about it that you don't often hear. Mastering by Vincent Villuis at Ultimae provides the stamp of guaranteed sound quality. In addition fifty percent of all sales from this release will be donated to Toybox Charity committed to providing hope for the most disadvantaged children, young people and their families, principally in Latin America.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
If you enjoy classical beauty and ambient downtempo you will be hard pressed to find a stronger collaborative album than Hope this year. This is an album for anyone that loves intelligent, transportational, dreamy electronica. This is an album for anyone into deeply chilled soundscapes looking to support a good cause. If you still aren't convinced that you need to buy this album now - have a listen to the samples at the Fluid Audio website

2009-06-24T03:15:00.000-07:00

Julio Di Benedetto - Living At A Higher Frequency

STYLE
Synthetic ambient and meditative chill. Living At A Higher Frequency is a delicate collection of instrumental tracks that range from subtle ambient groove, through drifting downtempo into light dance inspired electronica. Most tracks are built around intriguingly airy programmed beats that edge somewhat toward glitch at times with percussive structures that combine sequential tones and inventive electro-hits. The rhythms are generally restful and serene and woven densely into the music. The melodic forms on the album are understated affairs, yet often these are quite, quite beautiful and inspiring. There is a sparse oriental elegance to much of the music, a poetic restraint and sense of wonder with effective use of sonic texturing, and fragile pads and washes. Far Eastern sounds sometimes arise among the electronic cleanliness with a slightly haunting effect (I'm reminded a little of some of the sounds used on Japan's Tin Drum album). Very contemporary and cinematic yet with just enough of that appealing timelessness that helps a recording to endure.

MOOD
The mood of this double disc album varies across a range of gentle and quiet downbeat emotions. Some pieces have a warm soporific effect, lulling and inviting with hypnotic, morphing repetitions rolling in in tranquil waves. There are some introspective and cerebral passages where the rhythmic forms drive a little harder, and the patterns take on a more crystalline shape.

ARTWORK
Living At A Higher Frequency arrives in a tight digipack with the twin discs neatly folded against one another on two of three panels. The outside of the package panoramas out into a triple spread where the dominant colour is that of the broad white borders - letter-boxed in the centre of each panel is a set of four small images that juxtapose blooms and foliage against the cables, dials and sockets of recording equipment. The back panel presents the tracklist and website details. The inner section has one panel to the left of the CDs themselves where credits and a gear list are laid out as well as a thankyou, a dedication and contact info.

OVERALL
US artist Julio Di Benedetto releases his debut Living At A Higher Frequency as a double album of works recorded over the five year period 2001 to 2006. The twenty two tracks of the album are laid out in chronological order as recorded beginning with the earliest. Disc one and disc two both open with a series of ambient recordings that are followed by more dynamic material on the latter halves of the discs, The music deals with some very personal matters and draws on a range of inspirational sources such as Zen poetry and Tibetan literature. Julio's blog provides a wealth of background and supporting information for anyone wanting to learn more about the music and the official website contains samples and purchasing links.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
This is a surprisingly high quality release of tastefully melodic ambient beauty. You might well enjoy this album if you are a fan of French label Ultimae - the clear synth work being sufficiently engaging to listen to on headphones whilst also making for a rather blissful sonic backdrop.

MORPHEUS MUSIC INTERVIEW - JULIO DE BENEDETTO

2009-06-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

08.06.09 - on release of Living At A Higher Frequency

Q: Can you tell us how you initially came to be a musician.
I think I have to go way back to school to the age of 8 or so when music was a mandatory part of the curriculum and I remember playing violin and clarinet. I would not say that it was then that I became a musician, it was some of the foundation. For me it was when I started playing the drums at age of 15. I was in a school concert with the lead clarinet part and I was not doing it well so I was relegated to keeping time on a ride cymbal. A simple and not as glamourous part but it was the beginning of my musical journey.As far as being an electronic musician, well that goes back to when I was about 12 yrs old and I permanently borrowed Jean Michel Jarre's "Oxygen" and Wendy Carlos's "Switched on Bach" from my mother's record collection.....those sounds! I recall being fascinated by the black boxes and all those knobs on a thing called a Moog on the Switched on Bach record cover. Years later the name Moog would have much more significance for me than it did then. Even as a younger drummer I was always checking out what synthesizers were being played, wether it was a live concert, a television music show or record sleeve. In a music shop I would always head straight to the keyboard department, still do to this day. Anyway all of this was the foundations of what would come some 20 yrs later, when I sat down with a computer, recording software and a keyboard.
Q: What is it that interests you about making music?
It's the musical journey which in itself is many things......firstly its the sounds. A simple chord played on a piano can be quiet beautiful, that same chord played on a synthesizer.....well its hard to put into words, let's say it can take you as far as you can dream, and beyond. Secondly the structure of the music, the actual composition, how say that simple chord or single note can be the foundation of the entire piece of music. It's really a process of discovery where each section of music suggests a way to move forward without really showing you the way and its these moment(s) that the magic happens.

Q: Your album Living At A Higher Frequency is a five year project – how did the idea to release this album come about?
I started composing electronic music around 1998 and never stopped until the end of 2006. Thats a lot of music. I took a bit of a break from playing, but I would go back and audition the music from time to time. There was a lot of good music and some not so. The time away from composing gave me a much better perspective. Then my friend and co-producer Remy Gravel and I were talking about living a better and healthier life and he said those words "Living at a higher frequency." That put the idea into my head which would eventually become the compilation of tracks taken from this large source of music I had created. The actual music was taken from 2001-2006 period, the early music did not make it. Q: How do you feel about the album now that it is complete – what satisfies you most, what responses are you getting?
I am very happy with it.....there is a good representation of my music on the album and the production and design came together really well. What satisfied me the most is that the CD actual came into existence and how it did. Response wise......people are saying that as a debut CD the quality of music is very impressive. Generally people like the combined atmospheres, melody and rhythms. I'm getting feedback that the music is relaxing and calming to listen to too

Read the rest of this interview at Morpheus Music
www.morpheusmusic.co.uk

Resonant Drift - Interview

2009-06-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Morpheus Music has just enjoyed an interview with Resonant Drift posted here: http://www.electronicmusicmall.com/Html/interviewresonantdrift.htm
Musicians Bill Olien and Gary Johnson discuss their new album The Call.

2009-06-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

Fluid Audio kick starts it’s catalogue with ‘Hope’, a compilation sprawling across 13 tracks from established artists, Digitonal, Hol Baumann, Ishq, Bersarin Quartet and James Murray, as well as up and coming producers, Field Rotation, Iambic, Snakestyle, Playb, Halogen and Ben Beiny.

As suggested by its title, ‘Hope’, embodies a concept of positivity and the alleviation of strife “through the creative translation of emotion into sounds sent to soothe [and] images formed to inspire”. Artists were asked to create compositions that reflected their interpretation of the term Hope, producing varied yet cohesive results with a profound resonance. 50% of the profits are donated to Toybox, a charity providing aid, shelter and support for homeless children in Latin America, the majority of which are estimated a life expectancy of around four years on the street.

Coupling all of this with the CD’s bespoke artwork and carbon neutral manufacture provides a consumable and tangible product that serves to aid a constructive cause through the medium of music.

Although we are living in a world of injustice - where the rich get richer, while those in need get left behind - there is often an inherent hope in those who suffer the most. Where people have the least they value more, the simple things that others take for granted. While some are disconnected from the true meaning of life, there are others who appreciate the beauty and awe of the world and what is has to offer. In these souls is a spark of light that no corrupt power can extinguish. Despite the negativity that we are all faced with in life, the human spirit can always overcome. Whether this is in the innocent laughter of a child, the compassion shown from one suffering human being to another, or through the creative translation of emotion into sound, the joy of life is communicated all around us - we need only be willing to open our hearts to it.

Track List:
1.Forever - Ishq
2.Hopeful - Snakestyle
3.Regenzeit - Field Rotation
4.Fingersand - James Murray
5.Turn The Seasons - Iambic
6.Was uns Bleibt - Bersarin Quartett
7.Acoustics Of The Piano - Playb
8.Sunriser - Halogen
9.Start Again - Ben Beiny
10.Flags - Iambic
11.We Three - Digitonal
12.Time To Change - Hol Baumann
13.A Part Of You - Ben Beiny (Digipak bonus track)

Ethically Produced
The CD is ISO14001 certified, all paper & card used is FSC certified, all produced by a Carbon Zero CD manufacturing company, via the award-winning CO2 Balance. The scientific data to calculate the embedded carbon emissions of the CD/Packaging, and offset an equivalent amount of CO2 by investing in 100% additional carbon-offsetting schemes with immediate & many secondary benefits to communities that simply would not happen unless we paid for them. The premises used to create the CD/Packaging is also 100% carbon neutral and powered with green electricity, and business travel emissions are also offset.

Eco-conscious disc manufacturing:
ISO 14000 & 14001 compliant CD manufacturing
100% Re-use of scrap polycarbonate salvaged from CD & DVD replication

Eco-conscious printing:
Sourcing of paper stock from FSC Compliant (Forestry Stewardship Council) mills and printers.
Wood fibre procured within the Sustainable Forest Initiative guidelines: every acre harvested is reforested - 400 Million tree seedlings planted each year.
Paper products are typically recyclable, compost-able, and under the right conditions biodegradable.
No wood from old-growth or endangered forests.
Vegetable based inks
100% alcohol-free printing.
No Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from inks or coatings, and use of quick dry glues with Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) being eliminated.
Collection and recycling of paperboard, inks, coatings and other waste from printing processes.
60,000 tons of paper and board shipped from one supplier alone to recycler in one year.

Treat This CD With Care :)

What The Artists Say:

Iambic:
My two tracks, Flags and Turn the Seasons, were intended to give the listener a blank canvass to paint their emotions of Hope on. It occurred to me before writing the tunes that each individual lives in hope for some thing or other, hope is what prevents many peoples lives from becoming mundane, or keeps them hanging on when times are tough. So my two tunes - both being quite different - represent each aspect of Hope.

Playb:
When I was asked to contribute to this compilation it quickly came to my mind to remix 'Acoustics Of The Piano' because of the special circumstances with which it was created. I was experiencing hard times, the kind when you feel that there is no way out though you cling to some kind of hope regardless of how difficult things get. Children who are born in disadvantaged situations stir up so much admiration within me. I see sadness in their eyes but at the same time a passion to live. I am proud to be associated with this project, and proves that music is a tool to make people aware of social injustice.

Field Rotation:
Regenzeit (German for rainy season) describes the meaning of rain from different points of view. In the temperate zone of the earth rain is part of the daily weather, nothing special. For millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions rain gives hope – the hope for a better life after the aridity, an efficient harvest and the end of starvation, the hope for enough rain to refill the fountains and riverbeds to survive the following dry season. Regenzeit is about all the people who pray and hope for rain.

Ishq:
Hope for me rests in a belief and remembrance that we are all eternal beings and live forever. When we die we do not - we awake into a new world and all we take with us is the love and essence of ourselves whether positive or negative. The false prophecy we call death is simply that - one of the root causes of mankind's drive toward destructive selfish materialism and consumption. To 'take', 'have', 'be', 'want' NOW.....at the expense of others with no consideration for the whole or the future or the planet is the result of a hopeless belief in death which motivates many to build castles made of sand and seek unnecessary levels of wealth and power so in turn they may feel 'protected' from death. Fear fundamentally of death make humans greedy. Greed - the opposite from sharing is a result of a hopeless belief in death deep within us and breed into us and taught to us. We are told and taught a lie from birth....Fear creates greed which results in many living lives of hopelessness as others live like kings
My hope is people will remember more 'before' this life and remember the eternal self which lives forever as this will help free us from the slavery of materialism and the selfishness which misleads us. We can build a world of equality where we all share and we all profit and all rise as one.
Its very simple - Share and we create HOPE and love. HOPE and faith in eternity leads to us to want for nothing more than to help others and so we may all evolve.
I hope we eventually realise this on earth and share and remember who we really are when the body is left behind.

Snakestyle:
With the music I make, I try to create something that gently catches your attention, hypnotises you, helps you think, and takes you to a place where you feel reassured. It's great that there are people out there who genuinely believe in music and its ability to give people hope and make a difference. It inspires me to keep going, to keep doing what i do, and I hope that people find a sense of hope while listening to this project. Best wishes. Snakestyle

Some Facts:
An estimated 40 million children live on the streets of Latin America's densely populated cities (unicef).

Observers from our partner in Guatemala say that street children there have a life expectancy of around four years on the street.

Unicef reported in 2004 that in Guatemala in the first 10 months of 2002, gangs or security forces killed 408 children and youths, but most street children were killed by drive by shootings.

THINK ABOUT IT!

Kirsty Hawkshaw Vs Elucidate - Face to Face

2009-06-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Kirsty Hawkshaw Vs Elucidate - Face to Face

Kirsty Hawkshaw returns with a bang with an all new collaboration with Elucidate, entited Face to Face.

Also combined in this 320kbps mega bundle are remixes by Matt Lange, Timothy Allan, Ken Loi (Elucidate original mix) and Swedish Drum & Bass label owner of Secret Operations, Seba.

Solar Fields - Cruise

2009-06-16T06:54:00.001-07:00

Zero Cult - Dreams In Stereo

2009-06-15T00:42:00.000-07:00

A voyage through stereo images and space frequencies!

Emil Ilyayev aka Zero Cult has connects his name well with a special space ambient electronica style and its one from the top Israel producers on this kind. Finally after long waiting, he delivered us his new third studio album freshest than ever.
If you liked his two previous “Art of Harmony “and “Ikebana”, surely u will love that too. It’s a blend of previous two, spiced with new grooves and atmospheres plus a remix of Side Liner’s “once upon a time” track.
This new album would be official presented live to listeners, 12 July 2009, from Zero Cult at chill out stage of PNF Festival in Israel. Along with other top local names as Shulman and Capsula.

Don’t miss this new ambient chill gem!

D Batistatos - Weeper On The Shore

2009-06-13T01:43:00.000-07:00

Sounds and impressions of underwater colours.

Dimitris Batistatos returns with a freshly updated and contemporary second studio album.His debut album "Architect' was an introduction in what follows from this talented Greek artist who has done his downtempo debut through Nova Natura compilations.
"Weeper On The Shore" is another great chill out experience flirting with world fusion, lounge and dub electronica,pleasing us once more with his unique style, perfect for sunsets and listening in nature.
"Weeper On The Shore" includes remixes from the cosmicleaf roster, Cydelix and Zero Cult and firstly presented at Gathering of the Tribes 2008 in Germany.

Music with attitude from Cosmicleaf Records.

Resonant Drift - The Call

2009-06-10T01:08:00.000-07:00

Resonant Drift - The Call
STYLE
Smooth beatless ambience (mostly). The Call is a silky soft album of delicate pads and airy textures where subtle synthetic melodies and understated phrases unfold in graceful, ponderous restraint. Ambient but not quite minimal, there is plenty going on among the shifting undulations, tonal flushes and the rise and fall of the drones - ethnic rhythm elements: shakers, rattles and padding drums - sequencer patterns that burble effortlessly or distantly, afar off in the atmospheric distance of the music - environmental sounds: the twitter of birds, insect-like chirrs and susurration. A number of tracks drift with a tranquil fragility as if immersed in radiant cobwebs of sound, gossamer sheets wafting in the undertow of unseen celestial currents - luminous, tranquil, calm. Plaintive strains well up here and there vaguely suggestive of the cries of sea creatures, breath-like movements heave as if heard from within, chime lattices clank in cycles, barely discernable low booms and static motes punctuate and pierce.

MOOD
The mood of this album shifts gently from track to track - there are heavenly passages of ethereal light and weightlessness, earthy sections where the faint, ephemeral clatters and granular disturbances of field recordings spot the sound surface, some shadowy expanses of woofy texture or spacey gloom. The dominant character of the album for me is one of an uplifting sense of warm floatation - this pleasant recurrent feel often has the listener blissfully entranced, bathed in the glow of a quiet sunshine.

ARTWORK
The Call comes as a jewel case presentation with a three panel insert. Artwork throughout consists of controlled depth of field photographs where the soft focus forms of the artists are frequently present in middle distance. The front cover is divided into three broad bars - rock textures, hazy vistas, the comfortable presence of the Resonant Drift duo partially blurred into their environment. The rear cover holds a tracklist with time for each; website details and a credit to Steve Roach. The insert when unfolded has an outdoor side given mostly over to more location based imagery and an indoor side: here a large studio shot enlivened with motion blur forms a spreading panorama with a smaller monochrome studio still to the top right. Each artist has a paragraph of thanks at the extreme left whilst brief recording details are placed at the right.

OVERALL
Resonant Drift here release their fourth album and follow-up to the 2006 release Flow Mingled Down. The Resonant Drift project was formed in 2004 by Bill Olien - the debut album was self titled with Version 2.0 coming soon after in 2005. It wasn't until 2008 that the second member arrived in the form of multi-instrumentalist Gary Johnson. The current CD features twelve tracks of shorter ambient recordings - from two minutes fifty to seven minutes fifty two seconds. Citing as their influences such ambient masters as Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Jonn Serrie, Paul Ellis, Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno - you get an idea of what to expect from this album. Indeed Steve Roach is credited with 'mastering and sonic enhancement' - the touch of the Timeroom evident in the impressive depth and quality of The Call.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM
If you enjoy ambient music that uplifts and warms the soul this is an album for you. That said - The Call is not all soft clouds and warm light, there is abundant variety and contrasting shade too. This album is certainly worth sampling via the band's Myspace page.

AQUADORSA - Cloudlands -

2009-06-08T12:00:00.001-07:00

Glacial Movements Records proudly presents:

AQUADORSA
- Cloudlands -

TRACKLIST + INFO NOTES:

1. A Pillow of Clouds (5.22)
2. Daylight Fading Into Evening Silence (5.05) 3. The Pond Reflected Her Smile (9.13) 4. Zero Gravity (10.59) 5. Syhan (12.11) 6. Alone in the Rising Fog (18.31) 7. Night of Trembling Stars (06.05)

All sound material has been recorded and mixed by Enrico Coniglio at Tripi h. Studio (Venice-Italy) and Oophoi in The Kiva, winter 2008.

A Glacial Movements Records release, May 2009.All right reserved.

Label: GLACIAL MOVEMENTS
Artist: AQUADORSA
Title: Cloudlands
Cat. number GM006
Barcode: 08033959880029
Format: CD digipack
Photo by Bjarne Riesto

Graphic solution and artwork by Alessandra Clini

PRESS RELEASE:

Aquadorsa is a new musical Italian ambient project formed by Enrico Coniglio and Oophoi.Theyr first work “Cloudlands” is a perfect mix of glithc,classical and orchestral glacial ambient soundscape.Enrico Coniglio is a guitar player and composer and his research has increasingly focused on the relationship between 'music' and 'landscape ', in an attempt to represent the contemporary crisis of the territory, the loss of nature and identity of places, and the unknown on the evolution of post-urban and post-industrial territory. He has collaborated with various artists, including: Nicola Alesini, Joachim Roedelius and Elisa Marzorati.He has produced some releases such as "AREAVIRUS - topofonie vol.1" (2007 Psychonavigation), "dyanMU" (2008 Psychonavigation) and digital releases Sapientumsuperacquis on Touch Radio (Touch records) and Crònicaster (Crònica Electronica).Gianluigi Gasparetti better know as Oophoi started his own music experiments in 1995, trying to explore the shores of deep space-ambient.
His live album "The spirals of time", released in 1997 by Amplexus, has been voted as one of the best ambient albums of all times.Oophoi uses traditional instruments as synths and sampling machines and his music is recorded using analog-only devices in The Kiva.He has released CDs for many International labels such as Amplexus, Hypnos, Nextera, Prikosnovénie and Glacial Movements and he has collaborated with Louisa John Krol,Alio die,Mathias Grassow and Klaus Wiese.

More infos please contact:

www.glacialmovements.com
info@glacialmovements.com

Resonant Drift - The Call

2009-06-08T02:46:00.000-07:00

The Call is the new release from the duo of Bill Olien and Gary Johnson, known collectively as Resonant Drift. Combining synthesizers, guitars, percussion, ethnic instruments and field recordings, this deep and organic release explores ambient and atmospheric territory.

The Call boasts expert mastering and sonic enhancements by Steve Roach at his world famous Timeroom studio.

“The Call is a worthy and well executed ambient/space recording for all who love the smooth dwellings of Steve Roach and alike.”
- Bert Strolenberg, Sonic Immersion

Expect a review at Morpheus soon.

Julio De Benedetto

2009-06-08T00:16:00.000-07:00

Expect a new interview with ambient/electronic musician Julio De Benedetto at Morpheus very soon.
We reviewed his debut album here: http://www.electronicmusicmall.com/Html/reviews73.htm#benedetto

Maps and Diagrams

2009-06-06T10:41:00.001-07:00

Maps and Diagrams *Foel EP rereleased in ditial format.
Reviewed at Morpheus here:
http://www.electronicmusicmall.com/Html/reviews74.htm#foel

Ambient haze and soft focus soundscaping. These four tracks are all beatless zones of rich ambient depth. Very immersive music - these compositions have a great deal of detail. Faint fuzz and light crackle spot the air acting something like aural grunge, a sonic fog - the kind where you are conscious of the individual drops within the cloud mass. Synthetic drones ebb and flow, at times almost forming a melodic heave; tonal motes flicker almost at the edge of perception and distant, muted, subtle phrases slowly drift as if weighed down by time and dust. Percussive disturbances and shiftings periodically arise among other noises; broken static, sonorous clicks, flecks and ringing sounds. estersunnd sees some acoustic guitar sounds sprinkle into the mix - delicate and clear in comparison to the relative blur of the backdrop. The texturing is quite beautiful in places, enhancing the ponderous harmonic forms and building a strongly three dimensional impression.

Aes Dana - new album Leylines

2009-06-04T00:13:00.000-07:00

AES DANA - [ Leylines ] - inre034 - Out Now
_____________________________________________________________

French composer Vincent Villuis, aka AES Dana, known for his participation to the H.U.V.A. Network
band and co-manager of Ultimae Records, signs here his 4th ambient downtempo album and presents
10 immersive tracks of luminous darkness.

“For those who believe in them, Leylines are invisible lines of forces that connect centers of geomagnetic
power to one another.”
Throughout the album, the artist builds upon the concept of connections that exist between various musical
genres and influences, interlinks between the elements surrounding us, the feelings of life. Sound becomes
organic matter, clay. Tapped, scraped, plucked, stretched, it transforms into rich rhythms, spatial acoustics,
sustained harmonics, hypnotic morphing pads and profound basslines. The outcome is a granular journey
of complex delicacy, fragmented and yet fluid.

Mastered by Magnus Birgersson at Studio Jupiter, Göteborg, Sweden.
Artwork by Vincent Villuis with photograms by Rodolpe Bessey

Genre : Downtempo - Electronica
Format : CD Digipack deluxe + 16 sheets booklet
Reference number : inre034

Tracklisting
_______________________________________________________________________________

01. Alignments
02. Bam (Album Edit)
03. Oxyd
04. Heights
05. Adonaï
06. Leylines
07. Lysistrata (Album Edit)
08. Signs
09. Inter
10. Blossom

Read interview at Morpheus
http://www.electronicmusicmall.com/Html/interviewaesdana.htm

microphonics

2009-05-25T03:08:00.001-07:00

microphonics update May 2009

1. microphonics - concert
2. microphonics releases
3. microphonics 2010 tour

1. microphonics - concert

dirk serries' microphonics (VII) will participate to the first European Live Looping Festival in Belgium, organised by Sjaak Overgauw. This festival will showcase a diversity in looping styles and artists worldwide.

May 30th 2009 - European Live Looping Festival, Arenbergschouwburg (small venue), Antwerpen (Belgium) w/Sjaak Overgauw, Kevin Spears, Luis Angelo, Fabio Anile, Darkroom, Craig Green, Akim Triebsch, Michael Peters and Rick Walker.

European Live Looping Festival

It's fantastic and very idealistic Sjaak Overgauw is organising and promoting this unique mixture of looping artirts in the format of the first Belgian Live Looping festival so be there to support his bravery and efforts. Don't claim nothing is happening...

2. microphonics releases

microphonics VI (180grm coloured vinyl, tonefloat 2009)

A last minute invitation to perform at the whatbar #4 blog event in the hague resulted in an impromptu drone piece extending dirk serries' microphonics concept into more epic and harmonic territory. Significantly less straightforward than the music on his debut album, the twenty-two minutes of microphonics vi are built upon subtle shifts and intricate thematic ideas. Listening back to the recording, captured straight to tape by olivier nijs during the event, tonefloat and dirk serries decided to release the performance in its pure state and as a snapshot of this singular moment in time offering a promising glimpse of future volumes in this ongoing series of guitar resonances.
microphonics VI is now available, as a one-sided album. pressed in a limited edition of one hundred copies each on gold, silver and white vinyl.

microphonics I-V(180grm clear and black vinyl, tonefloat 2008)

"while fear falls burning, with its direct and physical approach to performing and composing, already represented a seminally important step in breaking down unnecessary borders between the listener and the artist, microphonics has finally arrived at a state where there is no emotional shield or mask between the artist and his music anymore. with its clear and volatile sound, the album constitutes the acoustic equivalent of open heart surgery. there are no concepts, scenes, layers of distortion or irony to hide behind here, everything is meant just the way it is said. it's not so much that serries has operated so very differently in the past. but the fact that he is openly admitting that this dark, yet tender side of his character is very much who he really is, turns this album into a musical message and, indeed, into his most personal work to date." tokafi.com
microphonics I-V is available in 180grm clear and black vinyl.

Go here to order these microphonics releases : http://www.crazy-diamond.nl/tonefloat/html/store.htm

3. microphonics 2010 tour

dirk serries' microphonics and tonefloat will embark on a 2010 European tour in April and May 2010. We're currently negotiating several dates but don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you want to set up a microphonics concert in your neighboorhood. We're looking forward for small jazz clubs, performance and art centers, living room concerts, chapels and so on. We'll announce the first leg of our tour as soon as possible.

Interview with DJ Ambientnun ( Matt Coldrick) of Pan Electric and absolute ambient records.

2008-11-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

What was your original vision in creating your current musical act?

Pan Electric - was a created in name as a reflection of my eclectic tastes. The God Pan has associations with music. the "electric" for me is a reference to Uranian electric energy - the "spark" of ideas.

What led you to make your first album and how did your ‘sound’ take hold?

My first album was "Music for a busy head" and it was self therapy!
I needed to slow down after 5 years of being in the Green Nuns and I also wanted to explore how music affects our moods and state of consciousness
beyond the feelgood energy rush of a party tune . It’s deeply inward and designed to create inner calm.

What’s the story behind your current album?

“About time” is a collaboration with Matt Hillier aka ISHQ . Matt is an amazing synthesist and provides the most amazing and interesting sound "modules" or bricks for me to play with. I once said that we choose the big, universal themes that we do in the same way that a child uses stabilisers on a bike!
And this is no different. Time is such a great subject to work with as an artist and as a musician - nobody really understands it so it’s license to play!

Who would you say are your musical influences?

I've been through the a-z and can appreciate a Beatles song alongside Bach or Brian Eno. Its all about the uniqueness of each piece, not the artist and not even the whole album - each track. I’ve bought many albums for one track.
I remember hearing this song at Reading Rock Festival once when I was young - it had this amazing west coast , Byrds style 12 string electric guitar. The album it came from had some crazy name like “The adventures of Kid copter in Potato land"
- the track was called "turn to the right" I scoured the land to find it and when I eventually found it, every other track on the album was just totally mediocre, in fact total crap. But that one track.......

What process do you use to make music?

I have a machine that runs on dreams and wind. It makes the tunes for me :)
I find starting hard , that's why I like working with Ishq- he gives me the elements to start with.
My strength is arranging and working with a simple idea.
The trick/key to finishing a piece is to leave it for a few days or even weeks before doing mixes. You need to become un-attached from a track to know when it’s time to step off the process.

What music do you listen to for pleasure?

I love silence. I'm lucky enough to have lived on a farm for the last 3 years and it’s really helped attune my ears. Owls at night, sheep in spring, the sound of nature is the best track to listen to.
Most of my listening goes on in the car when I'm driving. I spin through radio stations to try and find stuff I’ve not heard.

Why sound and not another creative medium?

I’ve often asked myself that, I love to write and used to write a lot of lyrics. I think that anyone who is creative will have an appreciation and language for all art forms but an instinct that focuses on one.
I'm also into "Communication” and that doesn't have to be art but it can include all forms of art. I'd say I'm as much a communicator as an artist.

What do you anticipate might be the most exciting thing for the future of electronic music?

I think new instruments. I saw Neon Neon the other week and they were using those midi triggered drumsticks that you just move in the air without hitting anything. Great fun!
I think electronica is only just starting to find its relevance in art and will evolve hugely as the world at large accepts it more. Good times ahead.
I also think that as with all art - multimedia is the way forward.

How do you feel about performing Live?

I love to perform but its a paradox with electronica. My background is a session guitarist, so I know what its like to perform in a 11 piece soul band with no sequences or click tracks. Electro is hard to represent live ...but not impossible and I think the key is to allow room for hybrid performance between electro and acoustic. And to allow room for improvisation.

In what ways do other musicians work with you on your creations?

I work with other musicians as much as a can. I wrote and produced the music for "Crush” a PSP game for Sega and was able to use about 10 other musicians in total. They bring character and depth as well as talent and colour to a production. But most of all its about making it an enjoyable process and a team effort. Humans love to co-operate and muck in on any project. It makes us feel good.

CURRENT NEWS

2008-09-05T08:49:00.001-07:00

CURRENT NEWS ITEMS INCLUDE

ROBERT RICH / FARYUS - NEW ALBUM

PLANET BOELEX - FREE DOWNLOAD

DATAOBSCURA

Got any news - leave a comment here.

August news can be found HERE

INTRODUCING - RODRIGO RODRIGUEZ

2008-09-05T05:05:00.000-07:00

||[ RODRIGO RODRIGUEZ ]||

Born in Argentina (1978). Rodriguez arrived to Spain (the island of
Majorca) in 1988, where he spent most of his childhood. At an early
age, he began to study modern and classical music.

Rodrigo's professional music career began in Spain. It was there
that he discovered his first Asian instrument the Shakuhachi flute, a
Japanese bamboo flute used by Buddhist monks in meditation practices. Fascinated by Japanese music, he travelled to Japan
several times to enhance his knowledge.

He studied with the Grand Master, Kaoru Kakizakai in the International Shakuhachi Kenshu-kan School and travelled around
the world learning about traditional instruments from Japan, China,
India, Iran and Thailand. His interest in traditional and ethnic
musical instruments began before he reached his teenage years.

As a young child, Rodrigo had a vision for imitating the music and
sounds he heard in his mind. His many and diverse travels enabled
him to acquire a rare collection of experiences from which to create
his unique compositional language.

Since 2004, Rodrigo has been the first musician in Japan to
introduce innovative and developed instruments from European countries. For example, the Hang Drum, which significantly influenced his music and its composition, altering Japanese audiences perception of 21st century sounds and their textures.

His concept is not to use these instruments in a native way, but to continue respecting each instrument's individual spirit. Rodrigo's roots as a Spanish musician have not been forgotten.

In 2006 several compositions from his album "Inner Thoughts" were licensed, arousing the interest of a well known record label, Gemini Sun Record based in Los Angeles, CA.

Rodrigo's compositions can be divided into three basic categories:
New Age, World Music and Contemporary Music.

In recent years he has performed numerous concerts in both the
West and the East, at legendary stages like Imperial Hotel Tokyo
and NHK Culture Center of Japan.

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One album from Rodrigo reviewed at Morpheus is Inner Thoughts - released: April 24, 2006
This album consists of a mix of the East and the West in one music using traditional Asian and Western instruments.
Healing melodies of Spanish singer, Cristina Brunet, shakuhachi flute, acoustic guitar...result in an album which makes your atmosphere relaxing and comfortable.
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Rodrigo's personal views on Inner Thoughts

During about a year of composition, we were inspired with the idea of mixed spiritual instruments originally from Japan. (Shakuhachi, zen flute used in the Edo Era- 500 years ago.)

Also, I do not forget my origin and roots in the West - using modern and classical acoustic instruments.

I am honored to be involved in this project with a Spanish singer, Cristina Brunet - bringing healing melodies and voice, new age harmonies mixing West and East in one beautiful music.

All inspiration was born in the deepest feelings of and the desire to express parts and experience of my life, visiting several countries especially Japan and thousands of Buddhist monasteries.....

The album Across The East is reviewed at Morpheus HERE

INTRODUCING - DEAN DE BENEDICTIS

2008-09-05T04:49:00.000-07:00

|[ DEAN DE BENEDICTIS ]||

Dean's music, among other of his mediums, is the result of his will to tie an essential common thread together between opposing genres and mentalities, as well as draw from them a natural sense of emotion, expanse, and mystery. This Southern California-based producer / performer / musician / visual and conceptual artist (otherwise known as SURFACE 10) has
always utilized his interest in a variety of styles and cultures to enrich the quality of his musical expression. Beginning his deep exploration of music in the 80's, De Benedictis covered a wide gamut of musical training and experience; moving through many jazz fusion and progressive rock bands, music theory classes, and producing/performing source music for network television over 12 years of his career.

Like many other artists, much of De Benedictis's non-commercial (personal) music was composed as a dedication and utility for his own life experiences: one example is how many of his pieces were actually created to take with him and listen to at specific outdoor locations (deserts, canyons, mountain summits, coastal regions, and unpopular-unpopulated areas),
thus perminently marking the place with the music in his memory. He dedicates his work to people, places, memories, etc., and aspires to communicate and suggest a similar functionality for the experiences of his audience.

Apart from releases under the name SURFACE 10 Dean has released some powerful albums under his own name. Here's some information on a couple ...

- SALVAGING THE PAST -
A freak of nature, a freak of technology, a freak of industry, a freak of ecology, regret and opportunity, continuing in conflict, they remain separate, and the children remain orphaned... Salvage the past, thus the present, thus the future

To the listener:
Our physical realm is comprised of drastically separate entities mix-matching and ambiguously aligning into one harmonious collage, such was the underlying principal behind my CD Salvaging The Past (a philosophy I've based more then one project on). A large multitude of my unreleased music had accumulated through the years, inspired by a variety of
"traditional" ambient music sub-genres. Eventually I was drawn to compile-and-release the best of this work, especially focusing on the music created around the period of my innitial Surface 10 CD in 96. From this huge reservoir of material came both Borrowed Time 2000 (the Surface 10 CD on Space For Music Records) and Salvaging The Past (a slightly more
crafted CD under my real name). It was obvious to me that the music had hints of icons like Mark Isham, Tangerine Dream, Ian Boddy, Manuel Gottsching, Robert Rich, R. Carlos Nakai, Klaus Schulze, Michael Stearns, and Patrick O'Hearn, so I gave them all credit for
having had that influence on me. With some songs containing an intense electronic base and others a pure acoustic base, creating the mood for Salvaging The Past was tricky, but I do feel that we brought the music together as best as it could be done. And, as usual, it is all from the same soul.

- A LONE REPLY -
If it is difficult to believe in worlds that exist beyond the physical realm, consider at first your own mind and all it holds. One of the countless vessels for that which lies unseen, yet one that remains alone, in this vast sea of material being.

For Dean De Benedictis, known to the electronic music world as Surface 10, A lone reply is a new turn, yet not unfamiliar territory. After accumulating an expansive sense of place from his travels, connecting with the land and native people of the West, Dean was moved to pay a solitary homage to these earth-based
values by creating a full-length CD of tribal ambient music. Such instruments as American Indian flutes (Mayan style), ocarina, Balinese flutes, piano, synth, hand drums, slit drums, and Dean's voice can be heard throughout "A lone reply", ninety percent of which was
played by hand. Some of these instruments were accumulated during Dean's travels through the American West and abroad. Field recordings and various samples were also utilized to create slowly evolving layers of sound, merging into a blissful, yet deep and chasmic
sound-setting. Dean states, "In a time of overwhelming technological advancement, this is simply a lone reply to it all. One with deep serenity, and attonment."

The album Salvaging The Past is reviewed at Morpheus HERE

INTRODUCING

2008-09-05T04:34:00.000-07:00

Morpheus is starting a new series of blog entries under the heading
INTRODUCING

Introducing Shelly Harland
Introducing Janet Robbins
Introducing Michael Briel
Introducing Robert Douglas
Introducing Indidginus

INTRODUCING - MAX CORBACHO

2008-09-05T04:04:00.000-07:00

|[ MAX CORBACHO ]||

Max Corbacho is an independent artist born in the southwest of Spain, in the province of Badajoz. This enormous land sprinkled with oaks where he was born and spent the first years of his life, is perhaps the deeper track that marks his music. Starred nights of summer, the caress of the nocturnal breeze and the sedative song of the crickets, immense horizons, deep blue skies and silence.

The music of Max is a constant reference to these elements, and continuously returns to uninhabited and mysterious places to catch those atmospheres, that are translated in sound by a fusion of techniques that go from the recording of natural sounds, programming of sounds in synthesizers and samplers, to the manipulation of all these elements in the computers. The result are extremely dense and hypnotic sonic landscapes.

His musical trajectory began by studying guitar, playing in local rock bands and, after some years as an electric guitar player, slowly becoming interested in electronic music. First with legendary bands like Tangerine Dream or music such as Richard Burmer and Vangelis. Later, his influences came to include such artists as Brian Eno, Robert Rich, Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana, Alio Die and Michael Stearns.

In 1999 his first work,"Vestiges" was produced. Soon the prestigious online store Backroads Music chose this album as one of the best of 2000, and "Vestiges" became one of the more highly praised Space-ambient CD´s around that time. "Vestiges" was considered a sincere, touching, powerful work, full of mystery.

In the year 2000 Max published his second CD, "Far Beyond The Immobile Point", followed by "The Resonant Memory of Earth", published by the North American label "Space For Music". Further releases include "Nocturnal Emanations", "Indalo" and "Moontribe" - each one larger and more accomplished than the last. Max has also worked in close collaboration with Argentine musician (settled now in Barcelona) Bruno Sanfilippo, releasing a CD together and setting up the record label "ad21music".

The latest album The Talisman is yet another step forward. Here the artist explains "I have tried to create all the songs of this work "inside" my synthesizers exclusively, inside this deeply isolated world, an amniotic-like innerspace that develops in the synth and multi-effects circuits, without insert any "external" element except for the voices in the first song. Also, I have experimented more and more with long, spacious reverbs and looping treatments ". Thus, the "oceanic" nature is strengthened, creating an atemporal quality, suspended in time and space, without rare elements disrupting the internal balance and natural flow of harmonic streams. No tempo, no synchronization, maybe only the breathing and the pulse of the artist.

The album Talisman is reviewed at Morpheus HERE

CURRENT NEWS

2008-08-24T17:31:00.001-07:00

CURRENT NEWS ITEMS INCLUDE:

LUMINA SOUNDS NEWS
SUTEMOS NEWS

Got any news - leave a comment here.

MUSICZEIT

2008-08-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

|[ MUSICZEIT ]||

MusicZeit is a new music download solution that aims to deliver both a better value on-line music purchasing experience as well as a bespoke self managed virtual store for artists & labels.

The former is achieved by concentrating on the quality of the audio with lossless FLAC files & high quality MP3’s in combination with high resolution downloadable artwork. Your purchased, downloaded music can thus be turned into a pro-quality physical product.

The latter allows artists & labels to run their own music download store. Free from any corporate branding you can upload your music / text / photos whenever you want. With our easy to use product / artist management systems you can feel connected to your on-line content knowing you can provide your customers with an unrivalled level of service & quality.

Listed below are some of the main benefits of the MusicZeit Download Platform.

For customers
Download / Burn / Print - have the album on your shelf, not just your hard drive
CD quality lossless downloads (FLAC), or
High quality MP3 (256K)
DRM free
High quality, printable artwork
Simple to navigate / search site
No adverts or other irrelevant clutter
Better than industry standard price / quality ratio
Easy to use "My Purchases" management
Lots of exclusive music
All legal with artists / labels getting paid

For labels / artists
The Download Platform with Extra Bandwidth
Create & manage your own download store with real time sales stats
High quality, DRM free, MP3 (256K) & CD quality lossless downloads (FLAC)
Edit your own 60 second preview samples, text & logos
Give your customers high quality, printable artwork
Link customers directly to your own store which you can choose to be branded or
unbranded with the Music Zeit logo
Upload your files via FTP so you can control when you release your music
Choose your own prices (subject to recommended minimums)
Price your music in UK Pounds, Euros or US Dollars
You are paid 50% of selling price after deduction of relevant fees/taxes
All legal site reporting sales to MCPS

Visit the MUSICZEIT website:

Web: www.musiczeit.com
Email: info@musiczeit.com

Sleepy Town Manufacture Downloads.

2008-08-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

We found this post at the Sleepy Town Manufacture Myspace page:

9 years

stown.org says...
It's 9 years to stm and we would like to let you listen all of our music for free. We just thought - why not, and uploaded every stm released and unreleased album, lives and mixes to ftp. but we have no time to make it look good, so it's just ftp, without passwords, though with zip archives and some notes. enjoy. I will try to keep it updated

http://radio.crimusic.info/sleepy/

Also, there will be new stm ep soon enough, on monotonik netlabel.
It's a four track ep, two from 2007 summer, they were recorded when I was in montenegro, very inspiring; and the other two are really new, though they sound like stm old ones :) some nice reminders.

VATAFF PROJECT - KALITZ

2008-08-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

Listen to tracks from the new Vataff Project album - Kalitz

Master Marherita - Podcast Stoner Mix

2008-08-08T14:12:00.001-07:00

Catch the latest podcast from Master Margherita - Stoner Mix.

Track List:
- Samuel Hall Band - live at the Ejma, intro concert june 07
- Gülün Kokusu Vardı - Pencereden Kar Geliyor
- Samuel Hall Band - Opus 5 test1 (Master Margherita rmx)
- Robert Rich - Never alone
- Krill Minima - Nautica
- A Small Good Thing - Someplace South of Here
- Biosphere - People are friends
- Trentemøller - The very last resort
- Master Margherita & Samuel Hall Band - Sam Hall is back
- Bohren und Der Club of Gore - MIttelfinger
- Samuel Hall Band - Hell's Bells
- Bohren und Der Club of Gore - Grave Wisdom
- Miniloge - Even The Wind Seemed In Deep Sleep
- Magic Square of the Sun - Utopian Moan Garden
- Brian Eno - Lanzarote

Chad Hoefler's take on the future of ambient music.

2008-08-08T10:38:00.001-07:00

We asked musician Chad Hoefler:

What do you think the future holds for ambient music?

Forecasting the future is always difficult, but I assume (and hope) that ambient music will still be flourishing. The advent and popularity of digital distribution and music production software has resulted in an explosion of ambient artists and labels: there has probably been more ambient music made this decade than previous decades combined. Technology has rapidly facilitated the exchange from musician to listener, which has pros and cons. I suspect, however, that ambient music will always appeal only to a small faction of music listeners. It lacks many of the characteristics we commonly find in commercially successful music, it often requires patience, and it simply sounds too bizarre or too boring to most people. Perhaps with larger exposure though, ambient music will blossom into the future. Who knows?

Matt (ISHQ) Hillier's take on the future of ambient music.

2008-08-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

We asked Ishq musician Matt Hillier:

What do you think the future holds for ambient music?

Ambient is a blurred term, always was ...

Music of the invisible and indivisible.

Simple

Pure math

Geometric shape meets sound

Self same self similiar

The fractal like nature of human perception means repetition is ultimately not the nature of life but a cyclic point in space so rigid patterns of 4 will be replaced over time by complex multiples of this, 5 being the next progression maybe.
Universal is Fractal and Life spiral like - music will begin to be more and more fractal and dna like, evolving progressions and non cyclic and more linear in structure, worlds within worlds.
Miraculous music will appear over time, able to move the human being beyond their own sense of time and space and replace drugs and also able to initate humans into a higher level of being in large groups and act as a conduit for Evolutionary Forces and the guiding force of Love. Sound will manifest the future as sound was 'in the beginning '.

The future ambient music will be more and more about works of beauty and love and more and more about people co-creating with Genesis in mind and motivated by this Force.

Hope that makes sense, for me its an act of service and I believe music is the force which evolves matter or one and the missing link in some sense.
Fractal and non rigid formless music is where I feel the future lies, the future lies in creating truly Magic music which has a magical effect on the listener and this required Invocation and the ability to connect with and also act as a conduit for forces outside ourself to a degree and also believe in the power of sound. This is where the future lies.Anything else is history .Style is frozen in time and tradition and for me tedious when there is so much left to be invented. Timeless styless music is the future.

Love is universal, music which reflects this Eternal Love will transcend time and is the future music .

Matt

Carbon Based Lifeforms on The Future of Electronic Music

2008-08-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

We asked Carbon Based Lifeforms:

What do you think the future holds for electronic music?

One thing that already happened and will grow is collaborations via the internet. Take H.U.V.A. Network for example, Vince in France and Magnus in Sweden using the internet to write an album together. Also the distribution of music is changing. One could be his own label and use internet shops for selling and forums for promotion.

What developments are you looking forward to?

More synths like Access Virus TI. Hardware seamless integrated in the software. A hardware synth with only one connector, like firewire.
Laptops are getting so powerful that its now quite possible to write music on the fly wherever you are, and with all the new powerful softsynths and possible more portable synths there's some quite interesting possibilities.

Why do you think electronic ambient music has become so popular?

I recently introduced a female Drum n Bass-DJ to ambient and her response was nothing but positive. She said something like: "In every track there's a whole new world of dreams to explore". And I think that is the key, being able to listen and drift away for a while without having to dance or nothing. Good trips without drugs if you will.

Robert Rich - Prehistory of Ambient Music

2008-08-08T10:09:00.001-07:00

What lead up to modern ambient music - how did it get started - who were it's forerunners - what was your early vision?

I think the stream for this music has flowed parallel to other musical streams all along. Of the many roles that music plays - entertainment, mating ritual, storytelling, news transmission, protest, etc. - there are also the roles of shamanic ritual, medicine chant, devotional music and such which I feel predated our modern forms of "ambient." We can't ignore 20th century mavericks like Eric Satie, John Cage, Harry Partch, Lou Harrison, and other pre-1960 composers who widened the definitions of music and challenged the intellectual traditions of Western art-music. In the 1960's we had the immense influence of minimalism and psychedelia. Terry Riley, LaMonte Young, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich and others loom very large as pioneers in new tonality and deep listening. After that, of course, came the inrush of psychedelic-inspired spacemusic from Germany and elsewhere. That music was a big early influence on me, along with Brian Eno, who did a good job of synthesizing the ideas of John Cage and Cornelius Cardew into his "ambient" vocabulary.

However I think the composers that influenced me most from the point of view of compositional ideology were the sound environment artists like Annea Lockwood, Pauline Oliveros, Marianne Amocher and Bill Fontana. Their ideas of using rarefied and relocated environmental recording to heighten the listener's attention gave me the inspiration for my Sleep Concerts, as did Terry Riley's all night organ improvisations, and the Wayang puppet plays of Indonesia, fluxus events and other such intense long-form music. I feel that no single person or people innovated this music from a vacuum. We all come from the point of view of "slow art" and Deep Listening.

- Robert Rich