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The Physics of Heaven reviewed at Sonic Immersion

Bert Strolenberg wrote a wonderful review of the album The Physics of Heaven by Oöphoi and Ran Kirlian at his website dedicated to Electronic Music Sonic Immersion:

As Oöphoi, aka Italian deep-ambient composer Gianluigi Gasparetti, flies with the angels since a couple of months, Spanish soul-spirit and musician Ran Kirlian decided to release his wonderful collaboration with him, based on unfinished recordings by Oöphoi between 2009-2011 and additional stuff created by Mr Kirlian between 2012-2013.

As the release was meant to materialize before Gianluigi’s passing, and the latter wasn’t able to make that happen anymore, Ran Kirlian started out a sonic quest wherein he tried to stay close to the initial goal of his music. During that process he remixed two large soundworlds in order to a create a solid flow that also worked as a kind of argument for both of them. After Mr Gasparetti’s approval, Ran then started adding his own layers of sounds and polish and sculpt the final result towards an album that merged and expressed both their ideas about life and death.

«The Physics of Heaven» ended up as a continuous space of unleashed serenity and gently flowing non-rhythmic tapestries lasting for over 70-minutes. It’s an overall soothing, peaceful and profoundly ethereal ambient landscape radiating many colours as it explores the transition between life and death through different spiritual traditions and mythologies as the contemplative washes break on an imaginary eternal shore.

If you’re looking for something to caress the mind and soul smoothly, «The Physics of Heaven» will be most satisfying. Recommended!

Via sonicimmersion.org

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New music by Landru & Joxan Ruiz

This month we’re proud to present two new awesome works from our exclusive artists: Facets the newest album from electronic alchemist Landru, and Blue Radiance, a new Woomh EP by atmospheric composer Joxan Ruiz:

FacetsLandru – Facets

Facets is the new Chillout | Lounge double CD album released by Landru. With Facets, Landru shows his most intimate and serene side. It is definitely a delicate work, characterized by the coexistence of instruments, percussions and melodies from different cultures all around the world.

Facets consists of one CD including 15 new unreleased tracks and a second CD with remixed versions of the original tracks made by the most representative ambient and chillout artists from Spain.

Available at Bandcamp

BLUE_RADIANCEJoxan Ruiz  – Blue Radiance

Blue Radiance is the second Woomh by Joxan Ruiz, a deep and meditative flow combining organic sounds with with electronic soundscapes. A 22 minutes long-form piece created specifically as a tone meditation, enhancing the living space as sonic incense.

 

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Ran Kirlian releases with Oöphoi & Jaja

Two new collaborative releases from Ran Kirlian are now available: The Physics of Heaven, with italian ambient master Oöphoi and Cosmos Vol. I with german based electronic alchemist Jaja:

Oöphoi & Ran Kirlian – The Physics of Heaven

The Physics of Heaven is a collaborative work with italian ambient master Oöphoi (Gianluigi Gasparetti). It is a bright and ethereal jouney that explores the transition between life and death thru different spiritual traditions and mythologies.

«Oöphoi and Ran Kirlian have left us with more than just the soundscapes to contemplate but the eternal.»

Dave Ebacher, 2013

Sadly Oöphoi passed away last week, so this albums also acts a personal tribute from Ran to the awesome work of the artist that was both a friend and a mentor to a lot of us, ambient lovers.

The Physics of Heaven is available at Ran Kirlian’s Bandcamp

Listen to some previews of The Physics of Heaven:

Ran Kirlian & Jaja – Cosmos I

Cosmos Ran Kirlian & JajaCosmos is the first collaborative work between Ran Kirlian and the german based electronic ambient composer Jaja (Jana Rockstroh).

When Ran Kirlian and Jaja meet first time in 2012 they recognized the same deep bond about space and music. They immediately thought of doing a collaborative work to share their visions and to bring out the best of their both worlds. What followed was a fulminant adventure and a truly colorful journey into deep space territories, a powerful flow of pure space-ambient music based on improvisations on synthesizers.

The result of this work is a bast and poweful flow of pure space-ambient music based on improvisations. It is also the first album on a series of electronic space-ambient dedicated to the magnificence of the Universe and the figure of one of its biggest explorers: Carl Sagan.

Cosmos I is available at Ran Kirlian’s Bandcamp and Jaja’s Bandcamp

Listen to some samples of Cosmos I:

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Frore, Chris Russell & Steve Brand releases

This month we release 3 excellent albums from our fellows Relaxed Machinery in FLAC format:

SHADOWLANDS – FRORE

We’re very excited that Paul Casper/Frore is releasing with Relaxed Machinery. Sophisticated, moody, haunting and tribal, “Shadowlands,” 5 long tracks are brimming with loping, pulsing rhythms, distant voices, muted flutes, and dense, smoky textures…it’s a wonderful album…and falls right in line with “The Raven” and “Axis Mundi,” his two previous.

BRIDGE TO NOWHERE – STEVE BRAND

Steve Brand has just recently started releasing music under his own name, after more than 20 releases in the experimental realm under the name “Augur.” Now Brand has a number of recordings scheduled for release on Hypnos, and also on the AtmoWorks label, and the first of these is Bridge to Nowhere.

PORTAL – CHRIS RUSSELL

Other worlds, other dimensions and glimpses behind the veil. A strange beautiful music brewed up on this release, this album born out of dark and experimental sessions led to a bold new direction for me. Deep space pics along with some of my light photography were the visual backdrop while this project was created.

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Three awesome releases from Relaxed Machinery

This month we promote three excellent releases from our fellows Relaxed Machinery:

OUR TRUE NATURE – STEVE BRAND

“Our True Nature” consists of two 35 minute drifting, atmospheric ambient soundscapes titled, “True Nature” and “Genuine Nature.” Inspired by my mentor, Nadja, and by events in my life that continue to demonstrate to me that our lives are always about the process of unfolding, gradually revealing our true nature.

CHRYSALIS – CHRONOTOPE PROJECT

“Chronotope” refers to the unity of space and time, the intimate connection of the relative and the absolute. My intention is to create music that invites the listener to commune with this unified field of being, to paint soundscapes evoking introspection and connection, to awaken the subtle mind and open the heart.

THE GEOMETRY OF SHADOWS – BROKEN HARBOUR

Just over a year since the landmark “Gramophone Transmissions”, Broken Harbour returns with a new hour-long ambient journey. “The Geometry of Shadows” marks another stylistic-shift from previous releases and is almost entirely synth-based. Initially inspired by the concept of faster-than-light communications over galactic distances, the original material for the album was recorded under the title of “Ansible” in late 2009. After a 14 month break from recording, the material was reworked, re-recorded, and recycled over 9 months in 2012 until no trace of the original material was actually used.

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Landru’s Fimbria review

Landru is Patxi Hernández, one of driving forces behind Altera Orbe label, and «Fimbria» is his second solo ambient installment, released during September 2012. «Fimbria» comes as CDr edition packaged in elegant digipak.

«Corrosion» unfolds the album and dives straightly into shadowy cavernous realms. Eerie, but richly organic-flavored ambience is melted with diverse distinguishing industrial and cybernetic fragments, some of them more harmonious while some others more discordant, with 12 minutes the longest composition on «Fimbria». «Substantia Nigra» keeps its synergetic path melting darkly spiraling pads, sparse future-tech elements with the sounds of flowing water. «Echoes» remain in subterranean domains, but comprise a quite hymnic drone. «The Passage», as its title suggests, is a shorter transitional number, where frightening zones are merged with otherworldly voice-like sounds and swirling effects, quite unique piece. «Cosmic Strings» bridge deep drones with various sharp dissonances and low primal rumbles.

Again remaining rather sparse and weird, but strongly effective. «Miñaco» attracts with its semi-rhythmed cyberscape, sculpted with razor sharp whip sound effects and distant rumbles and winds. It gets closer to cybernetic-flavored first album «Neurotransmitters». And this future-tech sound can be explored also through «Amalgam», a composition of hazed, but vibrant technoscape crossed with cyber noises. However, «Katabatic Wind» quickly soars to wondrous primordial worlds with graciously floating and pleasantly soothing dreamscapes. A truly immersing composition, which grows on me with every repeated listen.

The title composition «Fimbria» unfolds with the interplay of denser, high-tech soundscapes and water sound effects, but later cascades into hypnotically coiling and mid-paced, pulsing grooves. Electrifying cyber-tech escapade!!! «The Last Quelonid» integrates again various future-tech effects, rumbles and relaxing nature sounds, surrounded by immense sacral washes with ethereal choir-like essence. «Melted Stone» opens with deeply absorbing atmozones enriched sparkling noises, but the journey is soon stolen by spiraling, crystalline electro pulses, which transform this composition into steadily living and breathing trajectory, masterfully backed by mesmerizingly flowing water soundscapes. Absolutely brilliant finale!!!

«Fimbria» is another freshly vital, adventurously sculpted and richly distinctive work by this potential Spaniard, who is not afraid of searching his own pathway. And by the time I am completing these lines, a brand new album «Scotoma» has been released on Altera Orbe, so I really look forward to more exciting endeavors from Landru!!!

Richard Gürtler (Jan 20, 2013, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Fimbria is the latest exploration of Landru into ambient realms, a step forward into complex textures and vibrating grooves from a very personal perspective. Fimbria is available at Landru’s Bandcamp

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Landru – Scotoma

Scotoma is without any doubt, the darkest ambient album released by Landru so far. Scotoma is full of intriguing noises and background drones capable of creating an enigmatic and invisible atmosphere that surrounds the listener from the very beginning as an intense and dense fog that remains present throughout the whole album. During this journey to the dark side of the vision, you may also find some groovy percussions and rhythmical patterns which add some light into this otherwise impassable landscapes. <`p>Among the sonic sources used during the composition, you may find all kind of digital and software synthesizers and also some experimental and organic sounds coming from innovative instruments and field recordings such as the Kurzweil K2000 VX, Access Virus Redback, Quasimidi The Raven & Polymorph, Korg Legacy Analog & Digital Edition, Absynth and Sonic Forest.

All music were composed, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered by Landru at Atavachron Studios, Barcelona, during 2012.

Scotoma is available at Landru’s Bandcamp

Listen to some samples of Scotoma:

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Some excellent releases from Relaxed Machinery

This month we promote thre excellent albums from our fellows Relaxed Machinery:

Disturbed Earth & Shane Morris – SUBURBAN CATACOMB

What goes on under suburbia, the day to day, literally, the pipes, storm water drainage, electric cable, communication, internet.

Shane Morris – Synths, Electronic and Acoustic Percussion, Field Recordings and effects.

Disturbed Earth – Production, Construction, Reel to Reel tape delay, Electric and Nylon String Guitars, Pedal Harmonium, Percussion, Field Recordings.

Andrew LahifF – INNER WORLDS RETURNING

Synthetic and mechanical notions overlaid on an organic yet detailed landscape.

Synthetic and mechanical notions overlaid on an organic yet detailed landscape. A journey intimately sharing small wondrous details of the natural world and how, when they are observed by a discerning eye, they can lead to inner discoveries and timeless steps forward. The soundscapes shape the atmosphere to convey both the natural imagery and the eternal wonderment of the universe.

Steve Brand – SUNPRINTS

Five quiet and sometimes intimate atmospheres focused around nature.

Originally released in 2010 and now released here on Bandcamp on my own Pioneer Light Music label, “Sunprints”, is comprised of 5 quiet, and sometimes intimate, atmospheres focused around nature. Sunprints is dedicated to my mentor, Nadja, and accomplished with kora, zither, kalimba, shakers, bells, cymbals, gongs, conch, bone, cane and cedar flutes, didgeridoo, whistles voice, accordion, gutterphone, field recordings and keyboards. The final track, “Sunprints”, was created just for this 2012 re-release.

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Synergy 1 – An AlteraOrbe Compilation

Synergy 1 is an AlteraOrbe ambient compilation released in 2012 featuring music by Max Corbacho, Landru, Joxan Ruiz, Ran Kirlian, Mindglide, Isidro Castro and Vauxia Errante.

This album was created as a presentation to our record label and to our main artists and offered as a free download in FLAC and mp3 format.

Mixed by Ran Kirlian at The Blue_Room, Dec 2012
Cover artwork and fractal images by Landru, 2012

All music composed, recorded and performed by their authors & published by AlteraOrbe

Synergy track list:

1.-
 Max Corbacho – Deep Time (except)
2.-
 Landru – Fimbria
3.-
 Mindglide – The Edge Of Infinity
4.-
 Ran Kirlian – Messier 83
5.-
 Joxan Ruiz – Ocean Vibration
6.-
 Landru – Binary Rain
7.-
 Isidro Castro – Arrival
8.-
 Vauxia Errante – Xandarella Spectaculum
9.-
 Ran Kirlian & Landru – Alluvium
10.-
 Joxan Ruiz – Space Between

Listen to a preview here:

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Gaze, by Joxan Ruiz, reviewed

The new album of Joxan Ruiz, Gaze, has received a nice review by Richard Gürtler on discogs.org. You can also read it here:

Joxan Ruiz GazeSpanish label Altera Orbe, run by Ran Kirlian and Landru, keeps on growing, with “Gaze” they introduce a brand new name on their roster, Joxan Ruiz from Madrid. “Gaze” is Joxan’s debut work, although he has already appeared in 2011 on Jamendo’s download release by Skaven entitled “Divine Intervention”, where Joxan appears as guest on didgeridoo and singing bowls.

The album launches with “Blue Light”, sublimely drifting and sorrowfully cascading primordial soundscape. “Gaze”, the title track, meanders towards the sky high realms, with gradual expansions into more massive and intense dronewalls, and backed here and there by hazed cybernetic infusions. “Afterglow” moves in its orbit quite monotonously, along with few more dramatic, but vague intrusions. Beautifully tranquil waves of “Ocean Vibration” are masterfully bridged with gentle cyber grooves and soothing coastal recordings. In the second half distant gauzy tribal beats join this deeply mesmerizing sonic experience, magnífico!!! “Zero Point” enters into more meditative terrains with quietly minimal texture. “Virtual Darkness” unfolds straightly with mysterious drones, enriched by distinctive electro pulses. Both, the darker and the cyber-tech substances are perfectly synapsed into a whole new listening sensibility.

Certainly one of the highlights introducing Joxan Ruiz at the top of his artistry!!! The next piece, “Finding The Way”, effectively merges the ancient and the modern in slightly discordant way. “Painting Bubbles”, one of the shortest tracks on “Gaze”, clocking to nearly 3 minutes, is sculpted with minimal warm washes and serenely tinkling sounds evoking upcoming Christmas season. “Hypnos” dives deeply into shadowy subterranean domains, where slow mind-bending drones are spiced by assorted spooky low resonating rumbles and swirls and high-pitched spiraling soars, accomplishing a genuinely trance-inducing atmosphere. Cavernous rumbles lead “Sirenis”, the longest composition getting over 10 and half minutes, which flows on minimal, meditative waves coupled also with various crystalline tinkles. Another deeply primordial focused soundscape. “Alpha” immediately returns into monotonous and monstrous drone scenario, again blended with assorted distant noises and sharper cyber-electro-organics. The drones graciously glide throughout and expand into hugely immense panoramas, ranging from more intense and cinematic to more sublime and relieving. Another standout piece, a pure, 10-minute sonic bliss!!! 2 minute long outro “Gone From Here” is sculpted with expressive solo piano.

A fairly colorful and distinctive debut by this Spaniard and a perfect addition to Altera Orbe’s portfolio. Fellow countrymen Ran Kirlian and Max Corbacho are responsible for the mixing and mastering duties. If you like a wealthy mixture of mysterious dronescaping and few hypnotic cyber-tech escapades, you will enjoy “Gaze”!!! Joxan Ruiz has a quite big collection of flutes and as a member The International Native American and World Flute Association, I am sure he has a lot to offer within the fusion of ancient flutes and electronic sound design.

Richard Gürtler (Dec 09, 2012, Bratislava, Slovakia)