Selected Works I

Suria flows well, from an ancient wellspring. Nice sense of movement, subtle and effective. Sanctus, suitably prayerful. Again, still very minimalistic, with nice gentle control of the soundscaping. The rhythmic element, almost pagan in its simplicity. Has a pre-Zoroastrian feel to it for sure. Pandemonium does actually get quite lively, and is the mildest interpretation I have ever heard of havoc. Gentle anarchy, interesting concept. Densho Barshi Huo 2 sounds like it is the soundtrack of some Japanese animation series. Nicely constructed, but then most Japanese things are. Like a moth fluttering around a flame, Indocalia, cuts out the strong rhythm of the previous track and relies on a subtle movement. Like being deep in a thick forest, without the sound of humans. Nice space.

Beyond the Void. Again another interesting conceptual perspective. A track about the unknowable, opens a host of opportunities to interpretation. As would be expected, it is very minimalistic, how else could it be? There is some elemental structuring, though it is like a review that is too large to fit on the page, again, as would be expected. With Samadhi, if only listening to this would be as cleansing as the state of consciousness that it refers to, the world could be such a better, well-balanced place. Sadly, it isn't, for the most part. Maybe they should play this to soldiers instead of Wagner? The track, Summoning Spell, seems to hold fast on the theme, and is the kind of melodiousness I would expect to hear in the mountains of Tibet.

Cave of Forgotten Fires again retains that magic mountain element, of purification be it by fire or the clean, fresh air of alpine Austria. Either way it works as effectively. It just costs less money if you are a Buddhist monk. Other Place, like Beyond the Void, opens a vista of wondrous, possible illuminations. Similarly, how can one know the other place if you are in the one you are in. Even looking at the top of a distant mountain, you still know the other place from the place you are in. Perspectival propaganda plays poignantly with the mind, but only if you want. Otherwise, you can put your hooves up and just relax, chewing your cud. Happy with that view.

For an album that spans seven years of development, nothing much seems to have changed. That's fine if you are happy to stick with your style, consistency is often a good pointer to accomplishment. Sometimes it can work against you though, but only if you get it wrong in the first place. I personally find the only drawback is that I don't play with states of consciousness any longer, simply because I don't really have the time and space. You might say that you are master of your destiny enough to make that happen, that's fine, but as I get older I find I want to get on with other things rather than spend three hours trying to attain Godhead. My head is enough for the most part!-)

Fade Out (Live) I have to admit, pretty much did that. I didn't notice any change in pitch or tone or effect, it just continued and faded. And, likewise, the sound is generally becoming a bit jaded. Having said that, it's ambient drone for sure and that can be interesting and inspiring, or it can be someone nodding off at the controls. Virical Storm disproves my theory, and as I had hoped picks up the gauntlet and throws it at me as I wonder what 'virical' refers to. Is it a type of wind? Like a scirocco or something like that. Maybe something conjured up with the summoning spell in a cave of forgotten fires? Curious and quite a reasonable track. Then we end up with the famous Monkey Cups, quite popular with this style of musician. Overall, not bad.

This is a really good ambient electronica album. The artist managed to achieve the rare result. While it is a very orthodox recording (by which I mean it is almost devoid of a rhythm), it never gets dull. The artist knows perfectly how to keep a listener's attention focused. One just sits in excitement waiting for the sounds that are going to be revealed before him around the "corner".

The only drawback is that one can notice the tracks come from a wide period of time. E.g., volume levels are different, which can be easily noticed between tracks 07 & 08. In such calm and meditative music this is especially unpleasant. Of course, it does not spoil the fun and I can highly recommend this album to any fan of intelligent electronic music.