CREATE: Space Time Continuum (CD on Groove Unlimited)
This release from 2007 offers 61 minutes of astral electronic music.
Create is Stephen Humphries.
Grinding machinery is swamped by astral tonalities, establishing a backdrop of celestial demeanor laced with heavenly chords. Meanwhile, more keyboards trigger an assortment of glistening electronics that provide the central melodies. These frontal threads slowly evolve a modicum of pep while remaining studious and pensive. A slow-build process propels the progression, riffs and cycles regularly entering the flow and enhancing the music’s density.
Utilizing a variety of sounds, Create fleshes out each song with a diversity of crisp timbres and atmospheric textures. Bass tones lurk deep in the streaming structure, supporting the bevy of twinkling effects and dreamy sequencing.
A bit of e-perc is present in the music, usually somewhat immersed so as to soften the beats, relegating the rhythms to a deep immersion where their role becomes subliminal.
These compositions embody a tasty melange of cosmic airs rooted with earthy sentiments. This mingling of outward expansion and organic sources offers a balanced temperament, the spacey passages are grounded by a human perspective.
A science fiction theme runs through this music, with the first and last tracks dealing with astronomy, a cyberspace piece, and an instrumental ode to cryogenics. Diverging from this genre, one track (“Footprints in the Sand”) concentrates on humanity’s historical survival.
NATTEFROST: Underneath the Nightsky (CD on Groove Unlimited)
This release from 2007 offers 58 minutes of cosmic electronic music.
Nattefrost is Bjorn Jeppesen. Phil Molto contributes guitar, and one track is co-written with Robert Schroeder-Trebor.
This music spends more time integrating with the cosmos than just luxuriating underneath a night sky. The tunes elevate and expand, infusing the audience with an affinity with the galactic panorama. At the same time, peppy melodies flavor those expansive moods with vivacious character, transforming spacey harmonics into exhilarating melodies possessed of inspirational puissance.
Moody atmospheric textures provide a backdrop for energetic electronics that surge into play with ponderous determination. Urgent cycles are established, then allowed to roll in the midground while auxiliary riffs surface to guide the tunes to airless altitudes.
Threads of gurgling pulsations generate a constant sense of expectation, building tension with a blooping frivolity. The melodies evoke a vibrant ascension, constantly striving for additional height, resulting in a dizzying euphoria that is quite pleasant. Complex keyboard notes flavor the tunes with novel diversions that serve to lend agitation to the dreamy milieu.
While percussion is present, the majority of rhythms are cocooned in burring electronic fuzz that attributes each beat with extra vibration. Some of the time, tempos are just approximated by the rapid application of strident notes.
The compositions tastefully blend aspects of portentous drama with airy efforts to achieve escape velocity. Jeppesen’s tendency to inject peppy riffs on top of soothing layers produces a lively sound that revitalizes as it lifts.
SYNTH.NL: AeroDynamics (CD on Groove Unlimited)
This release from 2007 offers 68 minutes of fleet electronic music.
Synth.nl is Michael von Osenbruggen.
Energetic electronics flourish here, creating engaging tunes peppered with sliding punctuations and chugging rhythms.
A versatility is present in the electronics. Airy textures roil at the edges, evoking the impression that each song is zooming along. Crystalline chords swirl with jubilant resolve, generating a mood of amiable comfort. Sharper riffs are triggered by nimble-fingered keyboards, establishing an invigorating effervescence. Deeper tones are utilized to provide a grounding element for the rest of the sounds, enhancing the overall sense of determined movement.
The snappy percussion helps to maintain the melodies’ constant motion, allowing no pause in the breathless flow. The rhythms are tastefully integrated into the mix in a manner that renders the beats into a contributory role rather than a driving force.
This generation of this music was inspired by von Osenbruggen’s interest in racing cars and swift aircraft. A sense of velocity is dominant in the compositions. Bouncy melodies are established and then seasoned with sprightly embellishments that expertly communicate an aerodynamic quality to the listener. While speed plays a factor, the music is not hyperactive, transmitting rapidity through emotional impact instead of a frantic pace.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: ANALOGY, Volume 3 (CD on Groove Unlimited)
This CD from 2007 features 79 minutes of diverse electronic music.
The theme of this anthology is that all the equipment used to create the music be of an analog nature.
You get:
Gert Emmens and James Clent: a tasty blend of deep gurgling and stratospheric airs serving as a foundation for a fanciful melody.
Create: a pensive piece that seasons cybernetic brooding with delicate filigrees.
Stephen Parsick (from ‘Ramp): dark ambience that delves into celestial depths with moody results.
Gert Blokzul: loops ascend with lighthearted vigor to expand their circumference into realms of bubbling zest.
Russell Storey: a brief excursion into cosmic territory.
Synth.nl: a windswept journey into contemplation that slides into a peppier selection of bouncy chords and languid bass sweeps.
Francois-pol Cornec: electronic bubbles punctuate a bouncy melody drenched in rich tones that erupts with shrill dynamics.
Erwin Hofstede: atmospheric textures sway across a sparse panorama.
James J. Clent: a peppy piece with resounding clatter and serpentine riffs sliding through a vivacious mix.
Another track by Russell Storey: that expands on the previous cosmic journey with subtle determination.
Terje Winther: an energetic track that increases the heartbeat with lively chords racing to expose further surprises.
Studio35d: a chugging melody struggles to escape the clutches of a pensive mood.
Schonwalder’s Filterkaffe (being Mario Schonwalder and Frank Rothe): locomotive chords flow through a series of dramatic augmentations en route to an emphatic crescendo.
Eric G: urgency drives this frenetic tune.
Rene van der Wouden: a celebratory track with a bouncy central theme seasoned by gurgling embellishments.
Mono-Poly: a brooding atonal piece of grinding gears and muttering radio signals.
Ron Boots: a slowburn escalation heading faithfully for emphatic altitudes with a poignant finale.
On one hand, you get a worthwhile selection of exclusive tracks by notable musicians. On the other hand, you get glimpses at the works of a variety of promising newcomers. A well-rounded and rewarding collection.
VOLT: Nucleosynthesis (CD on Groove Unlimited)
This release from 2007 offers 63 minutes of smoldering electronic music.
Volt is: Michael Shipway and Steve Smith.
Stalwart electronics express themselves as cyclic patterns churning in a pool of astral textures. Repetition is utilized to instill anticipatory tension. Sparkling effects and grand embellishments provide engaging development that gradually accumulates enough potency to overwhelm the foundation and command the flow on their own.
The introduction of piercing, almost-heavenly chords infuses the music with a masterful presence of cosmic proportion. Each passing moment amplifies the impression of something wonderful going on.
Rapid-fire keyboard notes and harnessed pulsations provide a rhythmic undercurrent, but much of the tuneage’s streaming nature doesn’t require any percussive propulsion.
Nucleosynthesis refers to the celestial events that brought our universe into existence. This gestation is excellent captured by the music’s explosive disposition, with strong riffs emerging from roiling ambience. Additional definition accrues from those vibrant instances, unfurling passages of mounting majesty.
Broken into three sections of long duration, the melodies are granted ample time to establish themselves and evolve into stunning structures of sincere appeal. Each of the tracks feature slow-building stretches of smoldering accretion which attain pinnacles of pulse-pounding and delightful intensity.
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