[ Hypnos Forum ]

Quote from: Antdude on December 27, 2017, 10:46:25 AM
Currently on repeat:

Siddhartha Barnhoorn - Pillars of Light
https://siddharthabarnhoorn.bandcamp.com/album/pillars-of-light

Altus - Winter Embrace(15th Anniversary Edition)
https://altusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/winter-embrace-15th-anniversary-edition

Jaja - One Day on Arcturus
https://jajaouterspace.bandcamp.com/album/one-day-on-arcturus

Also, thanks for the tip on April Larson's release. Beautiful stuff.

Christmas trees and parties, everyone.

A very strong line-up indeed!!! Keep on enjoying!!!

Richard :)

Warpness "The Labyrinth" CDr

Behind Warpness is hidden Norwegian soundcarver Tom Ståle Engebretsen, who is responsible for gemstones such as "Atmosphere", released in April 2017, or "Tralfamadore" recorded under the name Elrox Ambient Session. This one is out since August 2015. Warpness' newest EP "The Labyrinth" was released on Tom's Tape The Sound label during July 2017, the main idea behind this release was born after Warpness recorded a track "The Labyrinth" for a compilation on Italian label Eight Tower Records entitled "Labyrinth". The CDr comes in a plastic sleeve with 2-panel insert.

The 4-track EP reveals with the main composition, 5-minute "Part 1", which appears on above mentioned "Labyrinth" compilation. Emerging enigmatic, choir-driven drone reinforced by cyber-tech signals and bleeps along with ephemeral chopper fragments drifts, meanders and surreptitiously coalesces with persistently ascending and evanescing array of bizarre meridians. "Part 2" incorporates glimmeringly mesmerizing trotting rhythm bridged with rather minimal, ear-tickling icy sounds. Hissy quietudes clandestinely permeate across along with intangibly guarding buzzes, while reflective chords of electric strings slowly percolate as well. Intriguingly sparse, yet abundantly efficient. "Part 3", at 3:33 the shortest piece on the EP, delves into weirder and intenser terrains, merging constantly arising voice glimpses with rawer stringed tapestries and guiding steady cadences of light industrial fragrances, here and there imbued by peculiarly titillating sci-fi flares. Nearly 7-minute long "Part 4" closes this entertaining ride with nebulously squeaking timbres and relentlessly helixing oracular roars, which are tightly hanging above traversing laid-back downtempo repetitions and transient diaphanous stringed exotica occasionally thrown in.

Although "The Labyrinth" is to my taste more rhythm-charged endeavor, its sole creator has again managed to fully unfold his creatively distinctive insignias that were extraordinarily exhibited on already mentioned masterpieces such as "Tralfamadore" and "Atmosphere". Sure, a journey that lasts only for 21 minutes is a quite short for some deeper immersion, but even this brief effort clearly showcases the gift of Tom Ståle Engebretsen. And by the way, when ordering "Atmosphere" CDr, you get "The Labyrinth" CDr EP as a free bonus. Add to that "Tralfamadore" and you will get a bundle you simply can't go wrong with!!! And if you are a cassette aficionado, then you might want to include also "One Note" album released in December 2016.

Richard Gürtler (Nov 27, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Quote from: chris23 on November 25, 2017, 10:01:12 AM
Max Corbacho - Source of Present
Similar in spirit to some of his other recent releases. Excellent and majestic ambience. The first track, in particular, is one I like to put on repeat and listen to in a sustained way.
https://maxcorbacho.bandcamp.com/album/source-of-present

I am blown away with the opening epic track "The Beginning Of Remembering". Monumental grace at its most breathtaking, unfathomable, fascinating and immersing!!! This certainly must be one of the deepest compositions Max has carved since "The Ocean Inside" opus. Bravo, Maestro!!!

Richard :)

Quote from: stargazer on December 01, 2017, 12:14:57 PM
Recently:

Nunc Stans - Edge of visibility
https://dataobscura.bandcamp.com/album/edge-of-visibility
Well thought out and detailled epic storytelling with musical notes.

Nunc Stans - Elementa
https://dataobscura.bandcamp.com/album/elementa
A perfect transcendence of music and elements.

Nunc Stans - Secret passages
https://dataobscura.bandcamp.com/album/secret-passages
Very melancolic with a sacral touch.

The Circular Ruins - Nightfall
https://dataobscura.bandcamp.com/album/nightfall
Reflective and nocturnal, I absolutely recommend head phones to get the full intent.

Mr. Cloudy - Shades of the deep
https://mrcloudy.bandcamp.com/album/mr-cloudy-shades-of-the-deep
Excellent and deep dub techno for listening and quiet times.

Fiction and Poetics - Solitude
https://fictionsandpoetics.bandcamp.com/album/solitude
As if you read in a book. Tranquil and touching. Do not miss the song "Trying to forget".

Wow, lots of gems, keep on enjoying all of them, Jana!!! As always, Anthony with his DataObscura delivers exquisite artistry and infinite consistency. Definitely a label to keep a deeply focused eye and ear on!!!

Richard :)

Poemme "Soft Ice" CDr

Since I was always deeply fascinated by monumentally expansive drifscapes, my first, quite unexpected encounter of Poemme's soundworlds left me immediately breathless!!! Although my discovery came only a few weeks after its official release date on Polar Seas Recordings, I was too late to acquire a personal copy directly from the artist, but fortunately still in time to grab one of the last ones through this Canadian ambient/drone/electronic label based in Toronto. Poemme is Angela Klimek, a sound and visual artist from Cleveland, now based in Columbus, Ohio, who is the wife of Andrew J. Klimek, the driving force behind sympathetic Stereoscenic Records and Ambient Sleeping Pill radio, who is also responsible for the mastering job on "Soft Ice". The digital version of "Soft Ice" was originally released through Stereoscenic Records at the end of February 2017 together with another Poemme's drifting balm "Arboretum". Then re-issued on a physical CDr format on July 21st on above mentioned Polar Seas Recordings in a limited edition of 50 copies in a card stock 8-page booklet with gorgeously immersing artwork by Angela Klimek and photo textures by Sascha Duensing. The booklet with CD is hand-numbered and housed in a stamped envelope. A sheer beauty!!!

Rejuvenating the artist's memories of winters while growing up in Cleveland, the bleak magic straightly unfolds with the opening, 9-plus minutes long "Clouds Of Breath". Quietly expanding drone swiftly reaches its gracefully grandiose panoramic magnitude and effortlessly glides and tides towards the awe-inspiring, warmly tenebrous meridians. A journey to the forefront of the gargantuan depths of atmospheric bliss has just begun!!! So no wonder my first meeting with Poemme's aural and visual allure was so jaw-dropping. The next composition "Southbound Formations", having approximately the same length as its predecessor, tightly remains on the path of immense sonorousness, although slightly less intense at the beginning with its vaguely shimmering piano glimpses, but over the course monstrous serenity inconspicuously permeates across gorgeously nuanced introspective vistas. Auxiliary titillating reverberations percolate as well, while monumental halcyon drone guides this sonic ambrosia into its conclusion. Tranquil gem!!! "Lake-effect", the longest piece on the album clocks to 10 and a half minutes and it quickly returns to massively enveloping drone zones, where ethereally nebulous solitariness persistently commingle with transcendentally resonant dissonances and passing clattering glimmers. Majestically sweeping flow at its most infinite and engrossing!!! "Quilted", at 5:47 the shortest track on "Soft Ice" delves deeply into colossally thick stratums driven by tenaciously monochromatic humming monoliths, staggeringly infinite, and intriguingly juxtaposed by rising and ebbing choir-like blankets guarding above. This mighty drone splendor is profoundly transporting and masterfully evokes unforgettable sceneries of splendidly nostalgic hazy wintery emptiness and loneliness. Bravo, Angela!!! "When The Sun Is A Stranger" keeps on carving immersing images of barren snow capped solitudes with its calmly gray undulations and surrounding, majestically enigmatic drifts. "The Park At Night" closes this stunningly engulfing recording with the sinuous grace of droning contemplations, when bridging crescendoing momentous tapestries, yet poetically reflective with idyllic nocturnal quietudes.

Over 49-minutes long "Soft Ice" album serves an aural and visual medicine in large doses, to me, it's a true sensation and Poemme is undoubtedly one of the biggest revelations of 2017!!! Splendiferous work, Angela, and kudos to Polar Seas Recordings!!! Although "Soft Ice" CDr is sold out already, don't miss its digital version!!! I also really hope forenamed "Arboretum" album will make it to a CD or CDr edition one day. In any case, I stay deeply focused on this talented soundscaper, because Angela Klimek's sound paintings deserve to be fully experienced. As far I know, two new albums are in the works, the first is described as an ambient soundtrack for cloud-gazing, while the second one is a deep-sea-themed sleep album, which should be released on a physical format as well. Poemme's music is absolutely delightful and it's an ultimate must have for all cognoscenti of pure atmospheric magnificence!!!

Richard Gürtler (Nov 12, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Chronotope Project "Ovum" CD

Several years have already passed since I reviewed Chronotope Project's "Event Horizon" released on Relaxed Machinery back in October 2014. In the meantime, Jeffrey Ericson Allen, the man behind Chronotope Project, became a very vital member of Spotted Peccary Music family. After "Dawn Treader" (August 2015) and "Passages" (May 2016) album, here comes the latest sonic installment by this hugely crafted artist based in Eugene, Oregon. "Ovum" is out since August 4th 2017 and it comes in absolutely gorgeous 4-panel eco wallet packaging designed by Daniel Pipitone and exhibiting stunning original photography by Joel Silva. As usual, Howard Givens is the wizard behind the mastering knobs.

The journey opens with 10-minute "Olduvai Dreams" and is ignited by tranquilly expanding and warmly embracing washes, but towards the second minute the scenario shifts into richly flavored organic alchemy, meticulously coalescing magnetizing downtempos with mesmerizingly laid-back tribal balm, swirling flute fluorescences, enveloping breezy blankets and exotically fragranced glimpses. A truly euphoric and harmoniously striking sonic splendor showcasing Jeffrey Ericson Allen's huge compositional talent and glowing multi-instrumental virtuosity. Undoubtedly a Hall of Fame performance, bravo, Jeffrey!!! I should add, the part of the title is taken, I suppose, from Olduvai, a gorge in Tanzania, where the earliest evidence of probably the first human species was tracked. The title track "Ovum", clocking to 8 minutes, returns to more evocative sceneries, where introspective humming quietudes and intangibly liquid traceries are exquisitely juxtaposed with serenely meandering weeping poignancy and peeking silent vistas. A gorgeously engrossing elixir! The next piece "Mariposa" keeps tightly on a deeply reflective path, when bridging ethereal choir-like meridians guarding above with titillating soaring vertexes, contemplative plucked strings and auxiliary shimmering undercurrents. The closing third is inconspicuously reinforced by a gently glimmering percussive trinkets. Sheer beauty in full bloom! Remote winds announce "Emanation" and persistently commingle with hauntingly enigmatic flute calls, while some glistening Berlin-School sequences clandestinely permeate across the longing horizons. "Primordial", at 4:52 the shortest track on "Ovum", delves into soothingly colored terrains, where symphony of nocturnal biotic subtleties performed by pond's dwellers precisely amalgamates with placidly nuanced and enchantingly surrounding sublime cushions. "Epiphany" transfers into lushly animated imageries fastidiously merging perpetually galloping effervescent pulses with cello- and flute-like infused sinuous narrations masterfully carved, I believe, through Haken Continuum Fingerboard, an amazing piece of gear, which Jeffrey Ericson Allen extensively uses on this album. Lachrymosely immersing jewel! 9 minutes long "Starry Messenger" immediately transports the listener into the splendiferous garden of fascinatingly translucent glitters, delightfully counterpointed by expressively yearning patterns evoking touching flute and cello insignias of its solitary genius. A grand finale indeed!!!

When I look back, in 2012 Chronotope Project was one of the biggest revelations and then, after releasing above mentioned "Event Horizon", its sole protagonist was heading into the Ambient Pantheon. Now, 5 years later, Jeffrey Ericson Allen is still marching forward and with phenomenal "Ovum" album he can easily share his creative earmarks with the giants of the genre. We all must be very grateful for such soundsculpting talent!!! Put your headphones on or activate your speakers, superb sound quality awaits here, 51-minute "Ovum" is one of the most ingenious highlights of 2017, an aural and visual magnum opus by Chronotope Project!!!

Richard Gürtler (Nov 05, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Ordered!!! ;)

Richard

Frore "Last Place Of Wonder" CDr

Paul Casper, the sole creator behind Frore has been responsible in the last several years for some absolutely phenomenal tribal ambient gemstones such as "Cyclic Movement" CDr (out on Relaxed Machinery, January 2015) or collaborative "Blood Moon" CD with Shane Morris (on Spotted Peccary, April 2015). On the top of that he is also hidden behind Threadbare project, who launched with soothingly organic elixir "Home Is A Memory" in April 2017 aatma label (run by rM veterans Geoff Stewart and Steve Brand). This one is available as a digital download only, however I really wish it would be available on physical format too. Anyway, back to "Last Place Of Wonder", the album was self-released by Frore at the beginning of June 2017 and it's graced by stunningly gorgeous "The Dream Ambassadors" paintings by Swedish artist Hawk Alfredson, who lives in New York. The packaging is quite simple, CDr is housed inside of 4-page insert with resealable outer sleeve.

8-plus minutes long "It Begins Where It Ends" reveals this truly galvanizing journey in the most exquisite manner, immediately exhibiting the array of genuine tribal ambient insignias owned by no one else but Frore. Yeah, and that's something I was always fascinated regarding to Paul Casper's artistry. Although equipped with variety of primeval artifacts, including Slovak fujara (awesome overtone fipple flute), his utterly immersing ceremonies always sounded somehow more peculiarly artificial than primordial due to his groovy and pounding fragrances masterfully thrown in. I know Paul Casper used to be also the mastermind behind EBM/industrial project Scar Limit, so maybe some flavors are originated from this outcome as well. Frore is extraordinary soundcarver and the opening track is the best example of his mastery!!! On one side nebulously transporting sceneries, on the other clandestinely invading and radiantly engrossing tribal spirit. Wow, according to my ears, this must be one the best pieces Frore has ever sculpted and an ultimate Hall of Fame composition!!! Bravo, Paul!!! "Earth Carver", which clocks over 9-minute mark, exquisitely juxtaposes gracefully engulfing celestial expansions with gently permeating cyber-shamanic cadences. Auxiliary weeping glimpses arise here and there. Wow, this is certainly another masterpiece meticulously displayed by its title!!! "Reptile Memory" is driven by an exuberant spectrum of tribal piquancy and mesmerizingly galloping groove patterns, while some singularly helixing groans and voice-like acousmas are guarding above. Splendidly intricate piece! "Climbing Deeper" straightly returns into awe-inspiring panoptic vistas, where magnificently enveloping drifts persistently amalgamate with smoothly culminating rhythm tapestries, glimpsing warm evocations, hypnotic dreamtime glimmers, titillating primordial swirls and balmy organic traceries. What a journey, hallmarking Frore scenario strikes once again!!! 10-minte "Inner Labyrinth", as indicated by its title, delves deeply into breathtaking subterranean realms, when painstakingly coalescing enigmatically spiraling layers with ebullient fractal meridians and rushing ponderous throbs. The longest track on the album, nearly 18 minutes long "Remembering How To Forget" floats safely through immense quietudes, reinforced by intangibly percussive traces and spellbindingly glimmering perpetual cyber-tech pulses. The closing "Painted In Ash" reveals with buzzing undercurrents, while majestically panoramic stratums are riding atop. Ear-tickling biotic rattles continuously percolate across the landscape along with ascending, yet blurred fujara roams. A tranquilly encircling conclusion!

Nearly 70-minute "Last Place Of Wonder" is another exceptional recording by Frore, a wizard at electro tribal ambience, who is always distinguishing, consistent and triumphant. I am still wondering, why Frore as a solo project is not signed by any established ambient label, because Paul Casper is enormously talented, he would fully deserve this opportunity!!! Yeah, a glass mastered format with digipak or eco wallet for such sonic and visual monument would be much more appropriate, because the simple packaging doesn't evaluate its caliber. Once again, bravo to Paul Casper and hats off to Hawk Alfredson!!! And last but not least, keep in your mind the date November 17th, it's the street date of another collaborative chapter between Frore and Shane Morris on Spotted Peccary. "Eclipse" returns!!!

Richard Gürtler (Oct 31, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Quote from: Bert/SonicImmersion.org on October 31, 2017, 06:44:50 AM
excellent deep ambient & recommended for the cold, darkening season coming up;
for those interested, you can find my review here: www.sonicimmersion.org/review.php?letter=S&review=73593

I can't agree more, Bert, and a great review as well!!! An epic drone ambient splendor by Seetyca, "Winterlicht" is undoubtedly one of the pinnacles of 2017!!! This is my first Seetyca CD and I am blown away, bravo to Seetyca and kudos to Winter-Light!!!

Richard ;)

Mario Grönnert and CommonSen5e "Before Time" CDr

"Before Time" is a collaborative project involving German drone ambient artist Mario Grönnert, based in Quedlinburg, and US sound sculptor Mason Metcalf from Portland, recording under his moniker CommonSen5e. Both of them have previously released several solo digital albums, then their first joint effort entitled "Nightmares and Dreamscapes: Silhouettes of Urbia" came out in February 2016 on Austrian Audiokult label as a pro CDr limited edition of 150 copies packaged in a quite impressive black & white designed 6-panel digipak. The newest sonic endeavor "Before Time" EP by Mario Grönnert and CommonSen5e was self-released in the middle of June 2017 as a 4-panel digipak, this time limited to 50 copies. Just the same as with their preceding cowork, the black & white layout is masterfully executed by Claudia Holzweissig of Zwiegestalten Art & Design studio from Magdeburg in Germany featuring stunningly mysterious pictures by talented US iPhone photographer Buckner Sutter.

The EP unfolds with nearly 13-minute composition "Point Black", which immediately sets the atmosphere of nebulously colored and intriguingly immersing sceneries meticulously coalescing with incredibly transporting surreal visuals. Intangibly solitary blankets with synthesized flute-infused cascades persistently juxtapose with slightly rawer hissy billows. On one side nearly poetic lighter, but richly nuanced lyrical subtleties, on the opposite steadily undulating and dissonantly gurgling and hushing, yet always rather calmer than ear-piercing layers of encircling oracular reflections. Sonorously evocative scenario exquisitely hanging in the fissure between ambient and dark ambient realms. Well-done, guys!!! 12-plus minutes long "The Dreamweaver" is propelled by helixing drone trembles constantly permeated by remote rumbles, glimpsing bullroarer traces, ambiguous clickety-claks, gossamery titillating high-tech glitches, ephemeral rainy vistas, glancing voice fragments and unforeseen emerging epic magnitudes clandestinely transmogrifying into transcendentally reverberating subterranean terra incognitas. Auxiliary primordial artifacts percolate as well, while genius loci is guarding above. A quite perplexingly colored and rather peculiarly sculpted dark ambience is profoundly exhibited here by two gifted protagonists, so don't expect to be confronted with treadbarely ominous modus operandi.

The talents of Mario Grönnert and Mason Metcalf as CommonSen5e have been converged and then amalgamated into a strikingly challenging and substantially focused style, which I am quite sure will please many devoted aficionados of obscurer soundscaping. And that's what both these artists did already on their previous full length recording "Nightmares and Dreamscapes: Silhouettes of Urbia". Sure, "Before Time" with its 25-minute EP running time is rather shorter to my taste, especially when the deep immersion blossoms into its well-hidden potential, however, I can easily imagine Mario Grönnert and CommonSen5e joining in the future the multicultural roster of Cryo Chamber. Kudos to Mario and Mason as well as to Zwiegestalten and Buckner Sutter for displaying their artistry too. And on the top of all this, you also might want to explore some of the solo digital releases of its both creators, for example Mario Grönnert's debut "From Land to Light", available through his Bandcamp site, is a truly splendid work, which certainly deserves to be unveiled and released one day on a physical format. CommonSen5e's tracks can be experienced through his SoundCloud site.

Richard Gürtler (Oct 15, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Jim Ottaway "Deep Space Blue" CD

Australian soundscaper Jim Ottaway, based in Gold Coast, Queensland, owns a quite extensive discography counting over 25 albums, all self-released on a CD or CDr formats since 2004, when he debuted with "First Light" album. During 2017 Jim Ottaway has released two albums, "Timeless e-Motion", which is out since January 1st and "Deep Space Blue" with the street date August 1st. Jim Ottaway's most recent album, carved between May 2014 and June 2017, comes in a catchy glossy 4-panel digipak designed by the artist himself, precisely exposing the focus on the fascinatingly ambiguous vastness of the cosmos. It immediately triggers the deep immersion, nice job, Jim!!!

6-minute opening piece, "Astral Voices", magnifies the listener transportation with euphoniously expansive and sonorously embracing female choir-like drones coupled with warmly nuanced blankets, scrupulously permeated by outlying gossamery cyber-biotic clatters. Gracefully immense intro!!! Artificial fanfares announce "In Search Of The Lost Star", before delving into unfathomably enigmatic echoed glimmers crossed with soothingly infinite, yet titillatingly high-pitched meridians and gently cascading drone murmurs. Rousing brass calls resurrect once more, while translucently intangible chinks are guarding above. Another masterfully engulfing composition! The next track, nearly 11 minutes long "39.5 Light-Years (Trappist-1)", spotlights on the ultra-cool red dwarf star, which is located, as entitled, 39.5 light-years from the Sun. Thrillingly oracular immenseness unlocks its gates with monochromatic choir stratums amalgamated with remote cybernetic signals and auxiliary chiming traceries. Distant sequences inconspicuously arise along with further glimpses of male chant traverses and tenebrously obfuscated bells. As much intoxicatingly audacious as its title, bravo, Jim!!! On "Stars of Ice" an array of diaphanously ear-tickling tinkles persistently sinuate, amplify and commingle with billows of vigorous vertexes, clandestinely observed and juxtaposed by mesmerizingly oscillating mirages infused by frog-like undercurrents. For pure aural bliss reinforced by several ear-bending eruptions it's highly recommended to wear your headphones! The title piece, "Deep Space Blue" clocking over 11-minute mark, shifts into more rhythmic terrains, coalescing vaguely galloping bass patterns with relentlessly invading high-tech helixes and additionally ascending epic vistas. Gauzy clinks percolate here and there. "Interplanetary Panspermia", at 16:21 the longest track on the album, deals with the hypothesis that life on Earth may have originated through the "seeds" of life, which exist all over the Universe. A quite weird domains are entered, where static, hallucinogenic drone layer is constantly contrasted with pervading vibrations, nebulous rumbles, oddly twisted fragments and piercingly buzzing pinnacles. Although piece like this might drive me nuts at times, surprisingly it fits quite well the extraterrestrial theme even if more dissonantly experimental.

I think "Deep Space Blue" CD is an exquisitely triumphant album and a high quality accomplished product by Jim Ottaway, where the aural and visual parts coexist in absolute equilibrium and everything is augmented by top-notch presentation. The album meticulously reveals some of the most intriguing enigmas of spellbindingly adventurous cosmic realms and since this is my first encounter with Jim Ottaway's space odysseys, I really look forward to explore more by this crafted Aussie. Nearly 60 minutes long "Deep Space Blue" is a real treat offering a fully rewarding listening experience to each avid deep space connoisseur!!!

Richard Gürtler (Oct 12, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Tony Gerber "Secret Garden" CD

Tony Gerber, in Nashville based multi-instrumentalist and space ambient veteran is highly praised not only for his solo work under his name or as Cypress Rosewood, but also as a core member of Spacecraft project or as a one half of Auroric Dreams. On the top of that, he is still the driving force behind the legendary Space For Music label, which has released during the last two decades, especially mostly during 2000s many unforgettable albums, except his own and Spacecraft CDs/CDrs, also by numerous renowned artists such as Zero Ohms, Giles Reaves, Brannan Lane, Craig Padilla, Robert Rich, Thom Brennan, Max Corbacho, Terra Ambient, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Vir Unis, Robert Scott Thompson, Ian Boddy, Robert Carty... Indeed a truly impressive line-up! Back to "Secret Garden" CD, this is the latest release by Space For Music label in a cooperation with Kimmo Heikkilä, a Finnish visual artist and Parikkalan Patsaspuisto, a Parikkala Sculpture Park in Parikkala, in South Karelia region of Finland. Tony Gerber made his first connection to Finland in 2014 through his live performance at Karelian Skies festival and since then this relationship keeps on blossoming. "Secret Garden" album is inspired and dedicated to this uniquely treasured park, which include over 560 folk art statues by Finnish sculptor Veijo Rönkkönen (1944-2010). The CD is out since June 2017 in a two glossy cardboard sleeves featuring photographs by Veijo Rönkkönen with design by Kimmo Heikkilä and additional assistance by Atte Paju. The mastering wizardry was provided by no one else but Bob Olhsson, the iconic audio engineer behind stellar Hearts Of Space catalogue.

6-plus minutes long title track "Secret Garden" immerses the listener with soothing monochromatic drone masterfully juxtaposed and strongly illuminated by soaring stringed lyricism and auxiliary cascading undercurrents. "Glass Eye Visions" bridges sinuously traversing high-pitched poignancy with intangibly glimmering quietudes. Secluded winds announce "Beneath The Moss", which is soon joined by utterly embracing warm expansions and engrossing native flute insignias. Pure aural elixir!!! "Treasures From The Tooth Fairy" reveals with ephemeral noisy train sounds, but soothing rainy location recordings permeate along with transient chants, intensely evocative flute magic and subduedly twinkling patterns. The next track, "Incubation", amalgamates nebulously transporting ethereal blankets with sneaking, euphoniously ear-tickling panoptic introspections of electric strings and supported by vaporously pulsing sequences. "Joogatarha" meticulously bridges an array of both primordial and artificial percussive piquancy with singularly engulfing wordless chants by its sole protagonist, all guarded by quiescent dronescapes. A truly galvanizing listening experience awaits here!!! Nearly 13-minute "Parikkala Sky (Space Gong)", the longest piece on "Secret Garden", is guided by a train whistles (train field recordings supplied by Tony's wife Heather) into a profoundly contemplative realms, driven by spellbindingly tenebrous, gong-infused drones and commingled by occasional gossamer fragments and remote metallic rumbles. Further abysmally humming meridians inconspicuously pervade and steal this fascinatingly transcendental spectacle with its ear-bending reverberating magnifications. The Drone Eden unlocks its gates, enter now!!! "Katatarina" unfolds by oscillating dissonances, which smoothly shift into sky high domains and the scenario is painstakingly propelled by narrative artistry, when utilizing post-rock fragranced electric strings. Another beauty!!! "Ring Around The Rosie" is again leaded by stringed texture, this time with some kind of Wild West flavors thrown in (is that electric dulcitar?) and surrounded by gently persistent synthetic clickety-clacks and continuously emerging remote groans and transitory layers of rawer buzzings. Credited on this piece as a guest musician is Tony Gerber's brother Todd.

58-minute "Secret Garden" is a very strong sonic installment by Tony Gerber and a splendidly flavored tribute to the beauty, spirit and the mystery of the unique sculpture park in Parikkala. And the sales of this album, which is also available as a vinyl version, black or colored, help to fund the maintaining the sculpture park. Nicely performed, Tony!!! And kudos go to all involved in sculpting this amazing project!!! If you can, please support the legacy of Veijo Rönkkönen, the man behind fine examples of Finnish contemporary folk art. Thank you!!!

Richard Gürtler (Oct 01, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

riverrun "Romer Shoal" CDr

UK's Daniel Land might be better known for his shoegaze/dream-pop recordings released as solo or under the name Daniel Land & The Modern Painters or as a member of Engineers band, but he is also the sole creator behind riverrun side-project focusing on exquisitely immersing introspective soundscaping. "Romer Shoal" album was released at the end of November 2016 through Hinney Beast Records as 4th album by riverrun. The CDr, packaged in a standard jewel case with transparent tray with stunningly vague cover images (4-panel front insert), comes in a limited edition of 50 copies and it's inspired by the memorable times Daniel Land with his partner spent in New York City between September 2014 and May 2015, with resurrected longing memories while hanging mainly around New York harbor and along the Atlantic Coast. The album's title is taken from Romer Shoal Light, it's a sparkplug lighthouse in Lower New York Bay, in the entrance to New York Harbor.

The opening piece "Conover Beacon", entitled after a lighthouse in Leonardo, New Jersey, immediately transports the listener into utterly evocative landscapes, where soothingly sweeping drifts persistently juxtapose with poignantly expressive subtleties of electric strings and some auxiliary ephemeral tiny buzzing field recordings. Pure beauty!!! The following piece "Twin Lights", with 2:24 the shortest cut on "Romer Shoal", incorporates intangibly rattling on site sounds reinforced by remote coastal symphonies and driven by weeping nuanced texture. Seamless transition into another brief composition "Weehawken" (a township in Hudson County, New Jersey) is carried by intangible tinkles, distant winds, guarding curtains of drone hums and exquisitely touching piano quietudes. What a beauty meticulously painted by hauntingly blurred sceneries!!! The title track "Romer Shoal" is propelled by continually emerging eerie wavers and meridians, transcendentally titillating, while solitarily murmuring blankets are riding atop along with gauzily rumbling shimmers. Again shorter, yet efficiently distinguishing soundscape!!! The next track "Jersey Narrows" keeps tightly on the misty path, where bulkier drone persistently commingle with windy bleak vastness and evanescent coastal glimpses. "Island Channel" immediately engross the listener with its thick, bittersweetly cascading stringed tapestries, strikingly bewitching. Choir-like drone reverberations relentlessly glide above as well with diminutive faunal calls. A devastatingly epic composition!!! While all previous compositions were rather fleeting, clocking between 4:39 and 2:24, and I could easily imagine them in longer versions as they pass quite quickly, the closing "Dubos Point" covers almost 26 minutes. Named after Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary, a short distance from New York city, it's a saltwater marsh protecting Jamaica Bay and a home of large number of different wildlife species. Monochromatic drone is delicately wrapped by hazy images, forlorn breaths, wetland's echoed consonances and transitory rustling traceries. Warmly nuanced motifs with ear-bending resonations join the stage and delightfully amalgamate with mesmerizingly quiescent, yet voluminously graceful celestial expansions and glancing piano reveries. A magnum opus!!!

Once again, I feel the first six songs could be longer, however "Romer Shoal" is undoubtedly a truly brilliant recording by riverrun, offering to each devoted aficionado of intensely engulfing textural drone ambient introspections 46 minutes of drifting poignancy at its most ambrosial!!! A true masterwork by incredibly crafted artist, bravo, Daniel Land!!! Regarding the available physical editions by riverrun, definitely don't miss also a 71-minute "La Mer" CDr reissue of the original double album released in 2011. But of course it's highly recommended to explore also additional two albums, "Pentimento" (2010) and "New Cartographies" (2013), which are available now in digital formats only as the CDr versions are sold out.

Richard Gürtler (Sep 23, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Zalys "Fragments Of Life" CDr

Zalys, a French one-woman project driven by mysterious M., is releasing drone ambient outcomes since March 2013, when the album "Wandering Through Space" debuted. Since then, if I am right, another eight albums were released (including three split collaborations, two with Ukrainian Saturn Form Essence, one with Hulduefni from Portugal). What really counts for me, almost all of them were available in physical CDr formats, so kudos for that, although most of them are now sold out items, but of course you can always grab a digital format. I believe the only exception is a glass mastered CD edition of "Sublime" album published by Swedish Reverse Alignment label in November 2015. But I will focus on the last Zalys' self-released CDr album entitled "Fragments Of Life", which is out since December 2016. The album comes in a rather simple, but intensely immersing 4-panel eco wallet with foam CD hub, designed by the artist herself through Icelander Studios. At some point this one was available as a bundle with already mentioned "Sublime" CD (Sander, thanks a lot for your hint!!!), but "Fragments Of Life" limited edition sold quite quickly, so now "Sublime" remains as the only available album on physical format. I don't know how big are the limited runs, so I would strongly recommend to keep a focused eye on each future album by Zalys.

Nearly 16-minute title track "Fragments Of Life" unfolds the engulfing journey with nebulously carved extraterrestrial layers, while auxiliary hallucinogenic choir glimpses, dizzy glitchy subtleties, consonantly rumbling titillations, transient hissy traverses and oracularly echoed groans join this fascinatingly labyrinthine, dark ambient scented scenario. Magnifique!!! "The Helix" shifts into gracefully monumental realms, painted by spellbindingly mesmerizing towering helixes, warmer cinematic vistas and ascending incandescent whooshing sci-fi meridians. "The Lament Of NovA" keeps on the path of expansive euphoniousness, although persistently coalesced with amplifying eternal spirals and ear-tickling glistening tapestries. "Out Of Time" glides tightly into tenebrously immense zones, amalgamating sweeping choir-like drones with repeating cascading motifs, before clandestinely delving into unfathomably sonorous and tenaciously solitary magnitudes. The next piece, "The Whisperers", with 3 minutes the shortest cut on the album, juxtaposes desolate winds with epic, nearly symphonic panoptic crescendos and billowing undercurrents. "Escape From Reality" clocks over 12-minute mark and it's fueled my more massive drone, calmly drifting and undulating, yet later reinforced by unforeseen eruptions of rawer buzzing signals, which slightly dissolve into abyssal magmatic stratums of the void. These massive walls gradually amplify, metamorphose and reach few truly jaw-dropping, voluminously ominous vertexes. Then waning, waxing and waning again, while relentlessly guarded by thrilling reverberations with occasionally outbursting fragments. A drone phenomenon at its most transporting!!! The last two tracks, "Flares" and "Solar Wind Downfall", are listed as bonus and are remixed by jonnie13black. As additionally informed by M., "Flares" and "Solar Wind" originally appeared on "Towards The Sun" EP (January 2014), while "Downfall" was featured on "Reminiscences" album (March 2015 on Arecibo Records). "Flares" again masterfully merges helically celestial choirs with continually permeating piercing apexes, staggeringly engrossing, and phantasmally resounded mirages. The closing "Solar Wind Downfall" invades with barren monochromatic layers, yet quiveringly surging and unlocking the gates to the awe-inspiring transcendental sceneries. A pure drone elixir, well-done, M. & jonnie13black!!!

These 70 minutes long "Fragments Of Life" are utterly powerful and offer to each drone connoisseur a genuinely mind-blowing odyssey, intriguingly confronting deep space enigmas with dissonant dark ambient ventures. A very solid recording by M. aka Zalys, exhibiting her talent, insignias and potential in forging dronescaping cosmic spectacles. Sure, there is still some place for extra polishing that would bring even more multi-dimensional spectacularity to your headphones, but otherwise "Fragments Of Life" album gets my highest recommendation!!! Bravo M./Zalys and keep on droning, I will definitely keep an attentive ear to the ground!!! And last but not least, according to the latest updates, M. is also considering to reissue "The Icarus System" album (September 2014) along with the EP "Infinity" (March 2014) on a physical CDr format as both were available previously only as digital downloads. Good news indeed!

Richard Gürtler (Sep 16, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Strom Noir "Maľované Kvety & Xeroxové Motýle" CD

As I have mentioned before few times, since I am a Slovak, it's always a very special and highly treasured moment, when I can focus on a drone ambience Made in Slovakia. We have only a few acts delving deeply into these fascinating soundworlds and Strom Noir is undoubtedly the leading protagonist. Applauded discography of Emil Maťko, the sole creator behind this project, is certainly the best proof. His fourth album for Polish label Zoharum, "Maľované Kvety & Xeroxové Motýle" CD is out since the end of April 2017 in a limited edition of 300 copies. The black & white cover images just look absolutely gorgeous on a matte 6-panel eco wallet, so well-deserved kudos go to Praetorian for the photographs, to Michał Porwet for the cover concept as well as to Maciej Mehring for the cover design. All you guys have done such amazing work that precisely displays Strom Noir's soundscapes!

The album is divided in two parts, which were originally intended to be published on separate cassette releases. The first one entitled "Against A Dwarf" features five tracks, mostly recorded during August 2015 and March 2016, but the title composition was created between December 2012 and November 2014. 7-minute "Widely Opened Window" reveals the first half with mesmerizingly shimmering drone introspections, particularly displaying its title. A truly gorgeous soundscape!!! "Rozkyv Duše" (in English "Weaving Of Soul") shifts into slightly rawer terrains, where persistently helixing drones are intriguingly juxtaposed by starker hissy reflections. Hauntingly disturbing collage! "Saturday Is Gone" keeps on the path of poignant sonorousness, when propelled by mindscaping consonant spirals. Above mentioned title piece "Against A Dwarf", with 16 minutes the longest one on the whole album, unveils harmoniously glimmering sceneries, exquisitely reviving long forgotten memories. An emotional aural delight gratifying the listener's soul!!! "Echo V Tebe" (translated as "Echo In You") bridges intangibly evocative blankets with engrossing dissonant meridians. Then 10 seconds of [silence] closes "Against A Dwarf" part. The second half, "Painted Flowers & Xeroxed Butterflies", which is also an English interpretation of the Slovak album's title, consists of 5 tracks, mostly older ones recorded between January and August of 2011. The only exception is the opening cut "Tlkot Dreva & Bzukot Kovu" ("Throb Of The Wood & Buzz Of The Metal"), which was carved between December 2012 and February 2014. The piece is sculpted of rather monochromatic drone motif masterfully amalgamated with remote, yet pensive acoustic stringed poignancy and euphorically swirling hazy undercurrents. Intensely enveloping listening bliss awaits here, bravo, Strom Noir!!! The title composition "Painted Flowers & Xeroxed Butterflies", reaching nearly 11-minute mark, dives into slightly subterranean colored domains, merging vivacious organic rumbles and enigmatic tapestries with an array of tremulously hanging strings. Another big one and this uniquely stirring soundscape fully blossoms with your headphones on! "Shattered Like A Glass Goblin" returns to more soothing, although perplexingly engulfing drone zones, navigated by flatlined desolations and guarded by phantasmal choirs. "Ttoollosk" remains in calmer territories, where peacefully droning stratums commingle with lush stringed imageries. The closing shorter "Pure II" follows the static trace, yet this time illuminated by glitchy quietudes and it makes a very suitable conclusion of this wonderfully immersing dronescaping ride.

Although the recollection on "Maľované Kvety & Xeroxové Motýle" album covers about a five year time period, all compositions coexist quite well and homogenous even if more colorful throughout the second section and showcase during 73 minutes a gamut of Strom Noir's greatly praised insignias. Certainly a top-notch highly recommended album, both audibly and visually!!! Kudos to Emil Maťko/Strom Noir as well as to Zoharum's guys and Praetorian from DeviantArt network!!!

Richard Gürtler (Sep 12, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Robert Rich "Vestiges" CD

With "Vestiges" Robert Rich continues his tremendously enrapturing aural venture into tenebrously reflective terrains distinctively mirrored on magnificent "What We Left Behind" album. Precisely displayed by stunningly immersing cover images by photographer Brad Cole with additional design by John Bergin, both truly amazing kindred visual artists, who are tightly connected to Robert Rich's soundworlds for few decades already. Packaged in a really elegant 6-panel digipak, the album was released during November 2016 and as usual for each of Robert Rich's releases, the listener gets a true piece of art! So obviously I have to send kudos to all involved!

6-plus minutes long "The Fading Shore Of Memory" reveals the journey with nebulously meandering texture commingling nuanced expansive driftscape, signature lap steel guitar weeps, balmy organic quietudes, vague cyber-tech deflections, glimpsing introspective patterns and intangibly peculiar slams. The track precisely follows its title. "Night Seas Luminesce", clocking to 7-minute mark, seamlessly invades and shifts into slightly intenser drone cascades, yet exquisitely counterpointed by filigree stringed magic and poignantly engrossing piano minimalism. "Spectre Of Lost Light", running over 15 minutes, is I believe the track Robert Rich has composed as his own musical interpretation of the old Slavonic ritual of the Forefathers' Eve for a special live performance on November 15th 2016 in Krakow, Poland. Intense desolate drones masterfully amalgamate with lower end abyssal magnitudes and hissy cyber-biotic scatters. The gates to the transcendental realms are fully unlocked, but then the ethereal voice clouds by Chari Chuang (also known from "Medicine Box" and "What We Left Behind") soften a bit the whole spectacle, before again diving into unfathomably engulfing sceneries reinforced by persistently towering and titillating tapestries. Towards the end deep drone hums resurrect and culminate with utterly mind-blowing voluminousness. A truly jaw-dropping epic listening experience awaits here, meticulously filled with intriguingly sinuous enigmas and staggeringly crescendoing meridians!!! Additional credit goes to Dimitris Menexopoulos, for using his Cretan lyra clouds. "Obscured By Leaf Shadows" is propelled by rather monochromatic layer, gliding through sublimely spacious zones, guarded by Chari Chuang's celestial voice-like washes with glancing ear-tickling reverberations, thrillingly coalesced with rattling natural symphonies and solitary deep bass undulations, and all marvelously bridged with gorgeously poetic piano glimmers. Another aural bliss and an ultimate Hall of Fame composition!!! Nearly 9 minutes long "Equipoise And Dissolution" unfolds with more ambiguous tiding motifs, permeated by remote voice samples with shattering fragments, while primordial flute curtains, contemplatively engulfing bells, diaphanously gentle chinks and outlying low-pitched sonorousness clandestinely sneak in and join this soothingly sweeping and majestically enrapturing scenario. Pure magic! Ambrosial natural sounds juxtapose with sequestered labyrinthine drones on "Reborn In Brackish Pools", with 3:40 the shortest track on "Vestiges". Auxiliary lap steel wails emerge as well and delve deeply into venturesomely perplexing subterranean domains. 16-minute closing "Anchorless On Quiet Tide" is fastidiously exhibited by its name, when ingeniously blending sparse piano musings and pristine littoral serenities with vaporously caliginous and euphoniously pondering images. A delightful sonic postcard painted by calm reminiscences and blurred horizons.

Over 62 minutes long "Vestiges" album is another virtuosically polished monument by this Californian mastermind! Yeah, and the sound quality is, as always, top-notch! We all must be enormously grateful for such artistic gift, brilliance and consistency, thank you so much, Robert!!! Since I am quite slow with my review schedule, Robert Rich has released in the meantime another two recordings, the first one is a collaborative effort with German touch guitar wizard Markus Reuter and it's entitled "Lift A Feather To The Flood". It was released during April 2017 on Robert's Soundscape Productions, 10 years after their first chapter "Eleven Questions". And the most recent is a double CD document "Live At The Gatherings 2015", this one is out since June 2017 on Industry8 label.

Richard Gürtler (Aug 31, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Hi Stephen, my e-mail order is on the way to you. I really look forward to fully explore your soundworlds during the coming weeks!!! All the best!!!

Richard  ;)

ASC "Trans-Neptunian Objects" CDr

UK's soundscaper James Clements, now based in Del Mar, near San Diego, California, is the sole protagonist behind ASC project and also the man behind Auxiliary label. I believe ASC got quite famous mostly through his CD releases on sympathetic Canadian label Silent Season, where he released since 2011 five highly applauded albums. His last one for this label, "No Stars Without Darkness" (out since October 2016), is considered as one of the ultimate pinnacles of Silent Season's entire release list. Now with "Trans-Neptunian Objects" ASC marks his ambient return to his own label and follows the deep space traces masterfully explored through above mentioned opus "No Stars Without Darkness". Released at the end of June 2017 in catchy 4-panel digipak precisely displaying extraterrestrial enigmas.

ASC ignites this spectacularly immersing odyssey with nearly 13-minute "Sedna", the longest piece on the album. Additional Googling tells me that all 8 tracks are entitled after largest known trans-Neptunian objects, thus the opening "Sedna", discovered in 2003, is the most distant object known to orbit around the sun and also one of the most reddest among Solar System objects. Cosmic rumblings unfold the journey, but it's the mysteriously desolate drone persistently percolated by solitarily massive winds, which propels the imagination of each devoted voyager. Nuanced stratums glide through euphoniously reverberant domains, exquisitely softened by warmly undulating expansive vistas, intangibly high-pitched signals, shimmering cinematic glimpses and accidental eruptions. A truly jaw-dropping Hall of Fame aural spectacle, bravo, James!!! "Dysnomia" got its name after the only known moon of the dwarf planet Eris, the most massive in the Solar System. The drone gets slightly harsher, less intense, percolated by heavier, impalpably languid beats, assorted tenebrously engrossing traceries and transiently magnifying surges. "Eris" returns to deeper, sonorously engrossing traces, where ambiguously helixing meridians continuously commingle with brumous cyber-biotic glimmers and subsidiary embracing horizons. "Haumea", which means a plutoid, a dwarf planet beyond Neptune's orbit, is reaching almost 10-minute mark and it keeps tightly on exploring thrillingly oracular immenseness, driven my massive monochromatic drone layers superiorly juxtaposed by evanescent percussive subtleties, clattering echoed remnants and amorphously, yet poignantly enrapturing yearning piano-infused blankets. We are still in the middle of the whole adventure, but the listener is relentlessly confronted with tremendously fascinating and multifariously tenacious aural phenomenons! A plutino, a trans-Neptunian object "Orcus", just a few seconds shorter than "Haumea", dives into abysmally mysterious depths, where monumentally tiding panoptic choir-like drone is amalgamated with elusively ringing illuminations. Along the way inconspicuously emerging billows lead to magnifying sonic vertexes. "Ixion", another plutino, firmly drifts through unfathomably voluminous zones, when magnificently coalescing warmly cascading panoramic magnitudes with transient tinkles, organic ambrosias, rattling fractals, transcendental reflexions and ephemeral voice transmission beams. Obviously a 9-plus minutes long eargasmic listening experience awaits here!!! 10-minute "Vanth", the only known moon of Orcus, is slightly noisier with its array of intensely sharper hissy swirls blended with mesmerizing pulses, auxiliary beacons and flatlined, yet sinuously infused drone solitudes. Around the 5th minute clandestinely transmogrifying into quieter, yet slowly arising and culminating graceful expansions guarded by choir-driven celestial sublimities and permeated by remotely raucous subtleties. "Quaoar", as a Kuiper belt object and probably a dwarf planet, closes this breathtakingly adventurous odyssey with rather calmer, hauntingly waving and balmily enveloping driftscape bridged with fizzy introspective tapestries. Wow!!!

Although ASC's discography features around 13 solo CDs, the only exception is one collaboration with Sam KDC, James Clements has released tons of singles and EP's, both solo and collaborative, maybe even counting over 100, I believe many of them focus on his earlier atmospheric drum and bass career or techno, IDM, downtempo and other related styles. However, my definite focus goes towards his enigmatic drone ambient soundcarving and "Trans-Neptunian Objects" must be his magnum opus together with already aforestated "No Stars Without Darkness" and also with "Fervent Dream", released on Silent Season in 2015, at least according to my own taste. True sonic monuments indeed!!! Nearly 74 minutes long "Trans-Neptunian Objects" album, virtuosically revealing the origin and evolution of the Solar System, belongs to the most sophisticated milestones in astronomical journeying I have ever encountered and ASC has entered the pantheon with the titans of deep space soundscaping!!! Once again, bravo, James Clements!!!

Richard Gürtler (Aug 25, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Huge shame on me for not having any ['ramp] CD in my own collection!!! It's time to fix this unforgivable mistake and even if the shipping won't start before September 11th, I can't wait to dive deeply into your intriguing soundworlds, Stephen!!! So my order will follow soon... Thank you so much for sharing the info about "Synchronize or die" CD, it's greatly appreciated!!!

All the best!!!

Richard :)