2009. The second release by Steve Brand on our Hypnos Secret Sounds imprint, Children of Alcyone
demonstrates the characteristic otherworldly quality of the artist's best work. Generally quite simple, at times
singlemindedly minimal, this work is nonetheless possessed of a depth and complexity that are revealed upon
repeated listening. Stretched-out drone structures combine with subtle tribal/ethnic elements to create very
effective atmospheres for almost hypnotic relaxation.
Though we're tempted to call Brand one of our favorite "new" artists, in fact he has been
active as a recording artist for quite some time, having released many recordings under the name Augur, along
with a handful of solo and collaborative works under his own name this past year.
Steve Brand says:
"The inspiring energy for Children of Alcyone was/is the books of Barbara Marciniak. Marciniak's books are said to be channeled information from the
Pleiadians, our distant multi-dimensional ancestors from the Pleiades constellation. (Alcyone is the name of the "central sun" of this constellation.) Upon being
introduced to these books, I was immediately taken by their wit and irreverence, the nearly unfathomable timeline of events, and their uncanny relevance to
things that are currently taking place here on Earth (the first of these books were channeled in the early 90's).
The initial sound sketches for "Children" were begun in September of 2007 in the tidal wave of energy that was Steve Roach's "Into the SoundCurrent" masters'
class, and elaborated upon, refined, and re-energized over the intervening 3 years in my own studio. The result is a sometimes murky, sometimes soothing,
sometimes phantasmagorical series of excursions through multiple timelines, and myriad possible half lit universes that other versions of ourselves inhabit.
My friend, and frequent collaborator, Jonathan Benham, not only created the art for this disk, but contributed energy and sounds to a couple of tracks with
his array of homemade instruments during a series of improvisations between he and myself captured at my studio."
Track listing, with mp3 sample clips:
1. Golden Cloud - (08:17) - mp3 clip
2. Light Age - (22:51) - mp3 clip
3. Outside the Grid of Time - (17:15) - mp3 clip
4. Into the Central Sun - (12:30) - mp3 clip
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