terra ambient (aka jeff kowal)

[jim brenholts]

his new cd - wanderlust is an engaging and deep set of ambient bliss. while it is similar to his earlier discs it also shows tremendous growth and progression. excellent stuff, jeff! absolutely excellent!

[judd stephens]

The kid's got talent, glad to see him with some new music.  Just the other day I was in the car with the Darker Space playing- that album reminds me of Temps Perdu? or Tuu but with slightly edgier electronics.   

[jim brenholts]

this one will give you more of those tribal/desert ambient textures with some heavier rhythms - very cool.

[nuun]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Thank you Sir this is great announcement !
5 loooooong years of waiting and it finally comes out !!!
I found an interview of Jeff Kowal describing this new album.
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2009/05/21/the-making-of-wanderlust-part-1/

Concerning Temps Perdu ?, I still expect the follow up to Earth story...
Definitely of my prefered ethno-ambient band ever.

[terraamb]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Thank you Sir this is great announcement !
5 loooooong years of waiting and it finally comes out !!!
I found an interview of Jeff Kowal describing this new album.
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2009/05/21/the-making-of-wanderlust-part-1/

Hey, Nuun-
Wanderlust is actually out. You can get it everywhere. Lotuspike, Amazon, iTunes, Rhapsody... pick your poison.

NOTE!! I recommend getting the CD for the moment ro get the digital download from Amazon. The digital distribution is a little screwed up right now. If you download it from itunes you will only get 6 of the 7 tracks. Amazon has all 7 downloadable, so do several other 3rd party venues, but iTunes is wrong. Were working to fix the problem.

Jeff

[judd stephens]

Wanderlust is a satisfying album, good for the summer road trip!  I was taken aback at first by the more dynamic nature of the first 3 or so pieces, but it's kind of refreshing compared to so much slower ambient I've been listening to lately.  In those first tracks, the wanderlust isn't just nomadic wandering in a sleepy open field, it's more like wandering on the Tibetan plateau, on horseback, with a cavalry of Mongul warriors by your side    It's definitely more upbeat and worldly, reminds me of the good old days when I first got into Echoes and related music- not to be confused, the music still has the "edge" of Jeff's previous music.  My favorite probably is the title track Wanderlust, I like the bells at the beginning- you think you're in for a more ascetic track, then an electric guitar gently slices in... nice stuff.

[terraamb]

wanderlust isn't just nomadic wandering in a sleepy open field, it's more like wandering on the Tibetan plateau, on horseback, with a cavalry of Mongul warriors by your side 

Can i use that??? 

Thanks for the props, Judd. Yes it is a little more active. I think my current MO is to go more to upbeat. As for the Mongols, they just knocked stuff over and got in the way so i sent them out for pizza and they never came back. They still owe me 10 bucks!

[jim brenholts]

Thanks for the props, Judd. Yes it is a little more active. I think my current MO is to go more to upbeat. As for the Mongols, they just knocked stuff over and got in the way so i sent them out for pizza and they never came back. They still owe me 10 bucks!

jeff, it's worth 10 bucks to get rid of them! have you checked prices on mongol extermination these days! with the rate of inflation it's outrageous! i paid more than 10 bucks just to get ONE to stop hanging around.

[GerryR]

NOTE!! I recommend getting the CD for the moment ro get the digital download from Amazon. The digital distribution is a little screwed up right now. If you download it from itunes you will only get 6 of the 7 tracks. Amazon has all 7 downloadable, so do several other 3rd party venues, but iTunes is wrong. Were working to fix the problem.

Jeff

Note: a track is unavailable on eMusic as well. They tell me it's "licensing issues"...

[terraamb]

Yeah, i know. Thanks, Gerry. Were working on it. It's a complicated thing, but in short, some of the vendors made the digital booklet track number 7 and omitted track 6. Amazon has it correctly though, if your interested.

[dwight]

First I agree with Mr. Brenholtz and Mr.Stephens observation about Wanderlust.
Jeff's material on this release is quite intelligent. There are no meandering chord structures or other things insipid. For example, like verb tails that get chopped off as if no one is listening. 

Jeff's attention to detail is wonderful here (color and space) I will spare y'll the tour guide style review and simply say I like it and I will be back for repeated listens. Thank you Jeff for spending the time on Wanderlust, it is appreciated. I especially appreciate how hard it is to find time to work on solo projects. So, when is your next one coming out again?

[terraamb]

aheh... um... wellllllll....

thanks for the feedback, Dwight. Glad i was minimal on the stupid.

[jim brenholts]

aheh... um... wellllllll....

thanks for the feedback, Dwight. Glad i was minimal on the stupid.

and that is better than stupid on the minimal.

[drone on]

I like Wanderlust a lot.  Great summer driving music to crank up to eleven. 

[jim brenholts]

every time i listen there is something new and exciting on this disc!
i was in a conversation about ben cox's new chapman stick. someone suggested elephant talk by king crimson (a truly underrated classic). well, i was listening to wanderlust at the time and stopped it to view the youtube video that ben linked. AWESOME AND A HALF! i returned to jeff's cd and - wow - "mudfoot" (track 2) has some striking references to that kc classic! not a ripoff or anything like that but it seems that jeff has listened to that tune at least once! (he did attend fripp's guitar school in philly, too.)
anyway, i reviewed the cd for the sep/oct issue of awareness. great disc, jeff. absolutely great!