dwell 1

inscape & landscape

sea of breath

the mystic circle

first glimpse

the hidden observer

isua

the golden needle

choir of industry

empty pause

dwell 2

"Music that makes great impact on the senses and has visionary content: the new A Produce could not be better! The exploration of altered state of consciousness (the inscapes) is profound and complete, contrasting with the excursions into the real world (the landscapes), which has always been the artistic philosophy of this California musician and which here reaches an extremely high level of expressiveness. Musically, the contrasted realities - interior and exterior landscapes - are fused into a material that is under constant evolution, a magical osmosis that puts different states of mind into music. The cavernous "Dwell," with its synthetic bell tones, certainly is a dark and suspended inscape. "Inscape & Landscape" frees the mind with glassy sounds and the dynamics of metallic pulsations. "Sea of Breath," a tiny jewel of sound, carries us "inside" with the power of electronic sound, continuous waves of light and darkness generated by the keyboard. Another inscape - this time melancholy gets the upper hand - arrives with the slow and unforgettable melody of "The Mystic Circle," which seems the distillation of a long-ago encounter intensely relived in memory. Then the drum-skins return to vibrate in "First Glimpse" and "The Hidden Observer," and it is time to return to the voyage, in mind and body, toward new states, towards renewal. Without any special sound research and without recourse to more exotic instrumentation, up to this point A Produce has managed to give voice to the heart and food of the mind, to give images to whomever is listening. The mood once again turns dark and static with the timeless drones of "Isua," one of the most beautiful tracks, into which are inserted the piercing sounds of an extremely acidic guitar and disquieting percussion effects. And the electric guitar once again takes the lead in "The Golden Needle," an atypical and very beautiful piece that brings A Produce into virgin territory. The finale is a crescendo, with the beautiful "Choir of Industry," a mixture of every kind of sound from new music, from synthetic voices to electronic soarings, from industrial beats to reverberating surroundings, with a sense of space that is truly immense (thanks to Robert Rich's mixing?). "Empty Pause" is still more abstract, with artfully confused sounds in the stereo panorama coming from the magic strings of Chas Smith. The definitive version of "Dwell," at sixteen minutes in its bell study, takes up the oppressive discourse of Rich/Lustmord's "Stalker" and concludes the voyage of what is the most complete sound experiences that can be achieved at this time. Use your repeat button, disconnect the telephone and your contact with the world, and let the biology of these sounds become your biology: you will find yourself in trance. Magnificent." Gianluigi Gasparetti, Deep Listenings Magazine (Italy) . "One of this reviewer's favorite moments is when a new A Produce CD arrives. Never failing to capture a fresh sonic atmosphere to bask in, the California-based composer has hit the mark again with Inscape & Landscape. A Produce quotes Jack Gariss in the liner notes, 'Every note is heard in silence.... for that silence is the birth of every note.' That sums up what A Produce's music is all about. Each sound appears from the silence of outer space, then swings into earth's orbit, falling to earth like a pulsating comet, dissolving into the dark sky, leaving a lasting perception." Dwight Loop, Santa Fe Sun, 9/96 . "Perhaps the best album yet.... A Produce moves slowly throbbing percussive rhythms to dreamy, floating synthesizer ambiences. More than many ambient artists, A Produce's music evokes a visual scenery that moves from the inside out." John Diliberto, Echoes, 12/96 . "This is what ambient music is supposed to be: atmospheric, ephemeral, otherworldly, and ravishingly beautiful. A Produce continues to adhere to an ambient standard set by the likes of Harold Budd and Briano Eno in the mid-70's in this genre; other points of reference, or departure, might be the work of Steve Roach, Jeff Greinke, Jon Hassell and Robert Rich. A Produce creates evocative and heavenly soundscapes with a richness of sonority, breadth of timbre, a mix of influences both contemporary and non-Western, and sumptuousness that is simply breathtaking.... A Produce has done it again." Dean Suzuki, Option, 1/97 . "Inscape and Landscape is a wonderful release, and will please those already familiar with his music, as well as attract new fans that are hearing him for the first time. The aridity, silence, and solitude of the desert brings intrspection, purification and peace. Despite the strong theme, the tracks are really quite diverse, and require a careful listen. "Inscape & Landscape," "First Glimpse" and "Dwell" are my favorite edits, with the tolling bell of the latter being especially effective in creating psycho-active space. Given this release and his very strong White Sands of last year, I feel confident that A Produce will distinguish himself as one of the more important voices in ambient music in this decade." New Age Voice, 12/96

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