Electronic
Music (melodic) | Electronic Music (avant garde)
| Electronic Music (fantasy)
Ambient
Groove | Ambient Chant
Spacemusic (atmospheric)
| Spacemusic (outer space) | Spacemusic
(world flavored)
Categories
Electronic Music: Albums
created primarily with electronic keyboards, synthesizers, MIDI instruments,
sound samples, etc. This could be of a melodic nature (keyboards
simulate orchestra or other instruments), fantasy, or avant garde
(where the "electric" sound is more prominent, may be more abstract or
even obnoxious)
Spacemusic: Music intended
to create some sort of spacial effect. Examples include music that sounds
like an outer space trip, sounds that simulate the interior of the body
or underground, and music created specificially for its trippy, mindexpanding
effects. These albums often feature extended tracks. Wear headphones and
place yourself between large speakers for best effect.
Ambient Groove, Minimal Ambient,
Ambient World: These terms are open to interpretation. Here's what
I mean by them. Ambient groove would feature rhythm patterns or grooves,
which could range from hypnotic to super-rapid dance beats to world music
patterns. Minimal Ambient would be music to create more of a background
noise texture. I leave the exact classification to the younger generation.
Electronic
Music / keyboards, melodic
(see
also Electronic / Avant Garde and Spacemusic)
Paul
Sauvanet
NOMAD
Hearts of
Space
The
artistry and realism of Paul Sauvanet's digital sampled orchestra on NOMAD
is breathtaking. Like the best cinematic scores, NOMAD presents
heady impressions of a trekker facing a lush oasis, shimmering mirages,
a bustling Indian temple, the parched plains of Spain, and the presence
of angels. "Oasis" begins the album with Middle Eastern rhythms and an
oboe conjuring up the sensuous life around the waterhole. "Nomad" sets
out for a sunbeaten journey across blistering sands, eventually chilled
by the crystalline sheer of the cold desert night. "Madurai Temple" moves
the trek to India where Tibetan bells open a huge rift in consciousness.
This temple of sound includes overtone chanting, tabla beats, bells, and
other sounds of a sacred temple. "Bolero Excelcis" is a smoky version of
the Ravel classic; Sauvanet has restrained the orchestral piece, however,
and imbued it with the sultry sounds of the saxophone, played by Sylvain
Téjérizo. The final piece moves to more heavenly dimensions.
The symphonic "Land of the Angel" is similar to the melancholy angst and
beauty of a Mahler adagio; here he revisits the "sad" form of his TRISTESSE
album. Featured soloist, begging for the touch of spirit, is operatic soprano
Claude Hermine Huguenel. Exquisite work; Sauvanet, what a master. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
Electric
Diamond
ELECTRIC DIAMOND
Electric
Artist Recordings
Several years ago, I researched an article about
the golden oldies of New Age music, but one of my favorite olde time composers,
Don Slepian ("Ocean of Peace"), had dropped from sight. Then out of the
blue, he called asking if I would review his new album. When it arrived,
the album cover, with its airbrushed ED monogram and diamond (Stuart Diamond
plays the Lyricon Wind Synthesizer on the album), offered scant clues to
its exquisite inner treasures. ELECTRIC DIAMOND opens with a suite
of five "Dances from the Middle Ages." These short tunes take advantage
of Diamond's Lyricon, an instrument that electronically transforms the
player's breath into Medieval shawms, long trumpets, and other ancient
horns. The melodies are played straight, but electronic wizardry of Don
Sleppian makes them snappy and resplendent with the pagentry and frolic
of centuries past. Violinist Karen Bently joins for the second suite, "Arcadia."
Two are modern chamber music pieces (Ravel's music might be a close comparison)
that conjure tree groves and midwinter frosts, while "The Furnace" blasts
with electric horns and whirlpools of sparks. The third suite, "The Shades
of Light," progresses from the calm (Bentley's violin flutters on warm
currents of vibraphone and string bass like a butterfly's first flight)
to a piece that races at the greyhound speed. "Sirens" and "Painted Clouds"
moved me even farther into the realms of spirit, sensuousness, and drama.
I don't think I'll ever tire of listening to ELECTRIC DIAMOND, but
if I had to pick a favorite piece, it would be "The Way In" with its haunting
trumpet theme. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
Michael
Whalen
NIGHTSCENES:
Music for the Evening
Hearts of Space
How perfect that Michael Whalen's NIGHTSCENES
arrive just time for the last lunar eclipse of the millennium. Whalen's
musical credits include music for over 900 commercials and scores for documentaries
for A&E and the Discovery channel, all projects demanding tactile and
visual musical sensibilities. Here, Whalen allows you, sans liner notes,
to generate your own musical pictures. Mine follow. "Acquainted with the
Night" begins my journey; a nightingale's call beckons the mind from one
dream to the edges of starlight. The rhythmic underpinnings are perhaps
the machinations of Newtonian clock gears -- no, more charming -- the clever
workings of the nightingale's music box. The rhythmic sounds flesh out,
while friendly voices entice to the bleak edge of silence. "Light-Sky-Stars"
etches a plained crystalline mindscape with sharp polished edges and dark
resonances. Voices hush in layers, while breaths puff in eddies or sleek
along surfaces. (I devote my mind to the space, and by the end of the cut,
I "become" a precise 3-D x-ray of the porous skeletal structure of my skull.
(Perhaps, I reason in awe, because of silica's vibratory resonance.) Every
piece offers places to go, spaces to feel, and thoughts to release. Extended
space chords vie for power with complex rhythmic patterns, spinning galaxies,
and heartbeats with breathing; the end of "The Heart of Midnight,"
however, holds me hostage with its dramatic, singular shaft of sound. "Towards
the Sunrise" rouses the spell with robust percolations -- I can almost
the smell of coffee – then invites me to fling back the curtains to the
dewy mists of morning. Looking into the reflections of the silver coated
CD, I know Whalen's NIGHTSCENES will allow infinite interpretations.
But that skull thing...whew! Highly recommended. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
Alexander
DREAMS OF SEDONA
Future Wave/New Visions
The title fits the album perfectly. Dream, dreamer,
dreamiest. Alexander ventures into twilight sleep with the first cut, an
easy vocal dancing "to the light" buoyed by rhythms of resonant thumping
(similar to Ray Lynch's DEEP BREAKFAST). Fourteen intriguing dreamscapes
follow, beginning with the endearing "Dreaming of a Crickets Song"; here,
cricket chirps seem to be stardust among soothing space winds and a lullaby
theme. Being this is a dream, why not have everything? Indeed, the canyons
become water filled, and the dolphins sing merrily in the surf. "A Baby's
Dream" offers charming gurgles and coos of awe, but Alexander also takes
the listener to those gravely and groady and ghostly places so necessary
dramatic tension. (No pain, no gain.) Resounding basses, sparkling highs,
and embracing mid tones give "Dreams of Sedona" a juicy mystical presence
and intriguing spatial atmosphere. Melodies on guitar and sax are balanced
with synthesized space winds, galactic drones, nature sounds, crystal buzz
saws, chimes, angel choirs, And tasty rhythmic interplays. The only small
clinker is the last piece, "Child on the Road," as a pop anthem attempt
that doesn't quite make it to the finals. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
Cheryl
Gunn
THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT
EarthTone
Records
These
evocative compositions by keyboardist/percussionist Cheryl Gunn often float
on the free and airy refrains of flautist (and partner) Nicholas Gunn.
"Venus Over Skye" seems to trace the flute's windblown streamers over the
heavens. The plaintive piano melody on "Seeker's Quest" is propulsed by
a lively conga pattern and intensified by wail-guitar, yet is softened
by cosmic space winds and seductive vocalize. My favorites are "Aur Par
Au Bellum" -- with gutsy Irish drums, bagpipes, and tribal huffing -- and
"The Forever Garden," an almost-comic off-kilter waltz featuring a unique
assortment of instruments: piano, breathing, orchestral bells, Irish whistles,
drums, and ghostly vocalise. Gunn's approach is uplifting, but what didn't
quite work the use of whispers and low volume spoken lyrics; on some albums,
this device might give the impression of something forbidden or secret,
but here, it came off as unintelligible or preachy. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
Electronic
Music / fantasy
AYMAN
DOORWAYS
Real Music
Each
time I put on this album, I hear it in a new way. Obvious here is the overflowing
of magical, irrepressible joy touched with flavors of a storybook Persia.
At times, multi-instrumentalist Ayman treats me to a windswept flying carpet
ride, while other tracks--energized by hot polyrhythms and the brisk licks
on the doumbek--seem composed to the rhythms of camel races. These two
cadences--the smooth/farsighted/visionary and the propulsive, jubilant
beats--interplay throughout the album, giving one's body a chance to boogy
while the mind takes off on flights of fancy. Jeff Linsky on guitar
and Helmut Wolf on sax caress cooly with romantic touches of blues. The
album ends with vocalist Strah Vettese encouraging..."open your heart and
let the sultan's dream take you away." By this time, I was already gone!
Ayman's irresistible. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
GARY STADLER
FAIRY OF THE WOODS
Sequoia Records
Strong
and compelling melodies and lovely synth orchestral settings make Gary
Stadler's FAIRY OF THE WOODS a magical charmer. Much of the album
enchants with variations on three-quarter time: the romantic "Sometimes,"
which carries the heart like an anniversary waltz, the crystalline music
box of "Dreamspell," "Ring of Magic," which pirouettes over cloudtops,
the almost comic lumbering of "Awakening," and the stately progression
of "Moonlight." Stadler's melodies and arrangements are classically structured,
but his orchestrations offer a colorful imagination the opportunity to
inhabit the auld Celtic realms of fairies and wizards, glens and caves,
fireflies and stardust. "Wings of Rest" ends the album with a kingly nobility,
a courtly procession of fellowship and good will. Instruments: Solo
instruments with synthesizer orchestrations, and nature sounds. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
PHIL THORNTON
SHAMAN
New World Music
The
ominous rumble of thunder accompanies the shaman, who begins his evening
of magic with the cyclical pounding of a drum. Recorders and flutes play
an infectious refrain--and it is impossible not to dance. The Tibetan thigh
bone (Mike Rogers) blasts apart the heavens while the didgeridoo growls
a trance inducing drone. The vigorous "The Healing Circle" ends, moving
into a freeform tapestry of nightnoises. "Cloak of Darkness" layers Tibetan
overtone chanting, the didgeridoo, rattles, wolves (howling, panting, snarling,
yapping -- close!), and crickets, with the more cheery promise of a song
bird and welcoming gongs. A gentle rain and extended organ chords segue
into the final track, "Animal Guides." Here, Phil Thornton's mournful bamboo
flute floats among the wolves' lonely howling, the huffing vibrations of
the didgeridoo, the combative buzzing of thigh bones, and prickling of
spirit rattles. We hear the return of the drums, and return from our reveries
to pant, frenzied, around the fire. The tones move upscale as organ notes
and a breaking storm herald the dawn, driving the beasties back to the
netherworld. The ceremony is sealed with crashing thunder, refreshing rain,
and rattle-borne winds. The rhythms are hypnotic, the melodies are engaging,
and the sound effects convincingly mystical. If you start growing hair
in strange places, don't say I didn't warn you. (PS: SHAMAN is loads
of fun!) Percussion credits go to David Roberts; Darren Green played
the didg. Instruments: Keyboards, recorders and flutes, Tibetan
thigh bone, didgeridoo, percussion, and nature sounds.
-
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
PHIL THORNTON
ALIEN ENCOUNTER
New World Music
This spacemusic is a bit of a expansion for electronic composer Phil
Thornton, who usually writes more melody-based (but colorful) music. As
the title suggests, this album will give you plenty of unsolved mysteries.
"Arrival of the Mothership" is set in an electronic swamp. All manner of
crickets, "auming" frogs, and assorted swamp sounds begin to meld with
the electronic chirps and swirls of the mothership; a heartbeat holds steady
in the background. By "Another Blue Light," sounds are more rhythmic. The
piece builds in the style of Tangerine Dream; the rhythms seem to
unfold according to some design of destiny. Plains of organ tones, whisking
solar winds, chimes, and extended voices characterize the unsettling, yet
strangely peaceful, "Traveling without Moving" -- it makes you hold your
breath in anticipation. ALIEN ENCOUNTER ends with "Visions from the Homeworld,"
a celebratory romp that gives new meaning to the phrase, "clang, clang,
clang, goes the trolley." Hop aboard. The excellent sound effects and mesmerizing
melodies are as spellbinding as the alien's black eyes (though not nearly
as ominous). Instruments: Vocoder, E-bow guitar, keyboard, percussion,
didgeridoo, fretless bass, alien sfx.
-
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
DAVID COHEN
CIRCADIAN SYMPHONY
Circadian Records
Parts
of CIRCADIAN SYMPHONY would be stunning played on a pipe organ.
Composer David Cohen writes to reveal thematic and rhythmic development
and does not overclutter his pieces with lush orchestrations. The soprano
voice is perhaps a clarion or harpsichord or vibraphone / glockenspeil
while the continuo is usually plucked or electric bass. Thus the
structures are obvious, and I found myself playing on them like a musical
jungle gym. The joyful "Solar Wind" features incessant rhythm strokes from
a mandolin, which twangs sympathetically with the harpsichord lead. More
a balancing act is "Emanations," a piano tiptoe over a structure of strings.
"Sidereal Time" is a vibratory experience featuring a thick bass line spritzing
electric ornaments; I pulsed like a high voltage wire. The "Rings of Saturn"
is a dreamy waltz with harp and melody carried by crystal handbell choir.
"Precession" ends the album with a cheery counterpoint encounter; its clarion
and vibraphone sonic textures will make your cells smile all over. It's
like God's cosmic music box of happiness. Instruments: Synthesizer.
-
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
Ambient Groove
Mox
MOX
RGB Records
Mox
is Micheal Boyd on guitars and machines, Charles Judge on keyboards and
machines, and Hector Perez on percussion and machines. Many pieces on this
multi-layered album contain “parodies” of recorded sounds (record scratches,
radio static) or dated recordings (ie, the fifties outer space sounds and
electric guitar). “Wig” features unamped guitar music, chords ala Hootie
and the Blowfish, while “Blind” floats in a crystalline world of echoing
zithers. With its sampled drones and female vocals, the Middle East is
conjured on “Fez,” but I’m not sure that all in that part of the world
would be happy with the interpretation. The hip rhythm loops on “Sprocket”
are rather catchy, while “Dome” careens around with guitars and bagpipes.
This is an interesting sonic experience and a unique creation, but I’m
not sure — OF WHAT or WHY? The liner notes, other than looking trendy,
are of little help. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
Ambient
World / Ambient Chant
Graeme Revell
VISION II: SPIRIT OF RUMI
Angel Records
Just how indestructible is sacred religious music? Gregorian chant,
the music of Hildegard von Bingen, pygmy songs, and now the sacred poetry
of the Sufi mystic Rumi have been thrown to the groove and given a sensual
twist. VISION II is an ambitious effort by Australian composer and
keyboard player Graeme Revell to present the ecstatic poetry of Rumi with
a ravehall beat. The familiar dance grooves can be trance-inducing by themselves,
and these are often morphed with gutsy Middle Eastern rhythms; seldom does
Revell chose the more heady, yet stately, Sufi dance cadence. Graeme traveled
the world to collect vocals from some of the world's best. Nusrat Fatch
Ali Khan, the world's prime exponent of Qawwali, sings passionately on
three tracks. Noa, an Israeli vocalist, sings a liquidy lullaby on "The
Ocean," which she translated into Hebrew. Lori Garson speaks the poems
in the now-obligatory sexy voice. Is the blatant orgasmic breathing necessary
on "The Breath (The Color of Dying)"? Must we have yet another imitation
of the Deep Forest Pigmies sound? I am split between a thumbs-up/thumbs
down. Good things: many incredible performances, many trippy tracks, will
introduce a new audience to spiritual music, great lyrics. But let's get
original. Instrumentation: Middle Eastern sacred singing, duduk,
flute, uilleann pipes, ney flute and zurna, keyboards and rhythms grooves,
percussion. - Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
VICTOR FRIEDBERG
CONTINUO: Meditations
on Pachelbel's Canon
Six Degrees/Climate
I
read somewhere that Pachelbel's sublime Canon in D is the most recorded
tune of all time. Topping out countless recordings with strings and harpsichord
(and of course the steady ballast of the bass continuo) are updated versions
with ocean sounds and other variations. When Friedberg's version left the
orchestral original and lavished on the all-too-familiar dance groove,
I was disappointed, but only for a bit. I read that Friedberg was classically
trained, studied electronic music, and was mentored by John Cage. He had
other tricks up his sleeve…and not all from samples either. Friedberg has
embellished the tracks with electronic wizardry and abstracted the parts
and inner continuo pulse to the Indian tabla, Balinese gamelan, piano,
African percussion, ethnic flutes, vocal aums and chanted prayers, orchestra
bells, and the extraordinary voice (not sampled) of British diva Jennifer
Rhys Davies, who can really make a line fly. The chamber orchestra surfaces
occasionally like a sonic oasis, but it will take the savvy listener many
playings before the innovative layers of Friedberg's composition are fully
appreciated. The seven pieces have different flavors, building to a trippy
trance that aims for a victorious finish with a rousing, handclapping African/gospel
chorus. A delicate piano solo ends the album to recapture the peaceful
essence of Pachelbel's original. The Canon can hardly be destroyed
and I appreciated Pachelbel's classic even more. Meanwhile, this album
was a lot of fun (joyous, actually), and I enjoyed the mental game of keeping
the canon afloat amid the exotica. Instruments: Sampled and live
chamber orchestra, electronic effects, ethnic percussion, flutes, bells,
chorus and chanters, operatic soprano, gamelan, fun stuff. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
Spacemusic
/ world flavored
AL GROMER KHAN
SPACE HOTEL: Seven Modern Dervish Dances
New Earth Records
Get
your incense and beanbag chair ready before you slip into SPACE HOTEL.
I got high just reading the liner notes from "the unknown dervish": "I
am Al-Kahira, the comparer of nonsense and flowers. I am grateful for my
stupidity, admittedly easily, yet I am concerned with specific details
of style as I sit here in rags.... I am ardent without deed and I am information
without zero, unimportant iridescent: Grand Palace of Mercy." The first
dance, heady and intoxicating, almost slurs through the consciousness.
"Dance the Hadra" offers a circular dance beat -- stately, sensuous, and
uplifting -- against throaty-horn drones, vocal "aums," and accents of
sour "speaking" strings. A charming little ditty visits occasionally to
remind the dancer to smile. A remarkable, breathtaking, and awe-inspiring
way to spend thirteen minutes of your life. "The Wayfarer" dance languidly
embraces the cosmic "gong" while clapping banishes cobwebs. "Vilayat's
Song" features the worldly voice of Vilayat Hussain amidst a crystalline-harmonium
drone and sparkling bells. Our Unknown Dervish is "honored" with an unsettling
yet redemptive anthem; angellic voices echo, then a growling throaty drone
adds ominous undercurrents to sensuous drumbeats. The mysteries and complexities
of this album are endless, engaging, and as enigmatic as the dervish's
words. SPACE HOTEL is one of those "untouchable" albums that almost
defies description. Is one even allowed to hear this much "holy"? Which
way is East? Al Gromer Khan has lived in Bavaria, England, Morocco, and
India. He plays keyboards, sitar, and surbahar; he is joined here by Saam
Schlamminger on percussion and Gilles Zimmerman on viola da gamba. Al Gromer
Khan says he composes "God Perfume." I believe it. Instruments:
keyboards, sitar, surbahar, Middle Eastern percussion, viola da gamba,
and voices. -
Carol
Wright, New Age Voice
For
more reviews of this type of music, see the
AmbienTrance
website and UJAMAA'S
Ambient Experience website
Synth pioneer Larry Fast
is rereleasing his Synergy
albums.
