The 2010s: Progressive Electronic

These are my favorite Prog Electronic album releases from the decade of 2010-2019:

 

1. ALIO DIE & LORENZO MONTANÀ Holographic Codex (2015) Another one of Stefano Musso ("AlioDie")'s very successful collaborations, Holographic Codex explores some meditative, contemplative soundscapes that continue, for me, to evoke sacred religious sites--especially those of Christian and Muslim sacred and secular traditions.
     The opener, "Muns de Etrah" (6:58) makes me feel like I am walking around the streets and alleys of a some Arabian city in the middle of the day, always seeking the shadows with their possibility of cooler temperatures to find respite from the midday heat. (15/15)

2. "Hydra e Vers" (5:16) reminds me of a visit to the ancient mosque in Cordoba, Spain, when the facilities were virtually empty and yet the strains of voice and instruments in practice could be heard reverberating, as if from distant rooms, throughout the vaulted rooms and hallways. Islamic "call to prayer" type singing (heavily treated) with heavily treated piano and other soundscape-filling synthesized sounds make for a very neutral, very supportive ambience. (10/10)

3. "Akvil" (9:35) sounds strikingly similar to the cords struck by Larry Gordon to open the first song, "The Dance #1" but then of the pace and tempo of "5. Meditation #1" from the 1981 Eno/Laraaji collaboration, Ambient 3: Day of Radiance. In the third minute there arises some deep bass chords and several octaves of chimes taking the song into a more meditative direction. The emotions conjured up with this music are not necessarily pleasant but, instead, more evocative of shadow imagery and emotions. (18/20)

4. "Silent Rumon" (15:16) present fifteen minutes of pure disconcertment. The musical strains are unsettling, sometimes even disturbing or scary. Truly a masterpiece for bringing up the shadow side of our being. (28.5/30)

5. "Egetora" (5:24) a kind of nondescript but not unpleasant song; not plain, good but not great. (8.5/10)

6. "Cinta della Breccia Divina" (15:14) treated organ, synthesizers and plucked string instruments with some droning sounds alternating among several octave ranges. (27/30)

7. "Eternal Wisdom" (6:12) is the most uplifting song on the album--and what a relief! After such heavy, murky ambivalence, it is such a relief to experience such a spiritual uplift--almost like a resurrection; radiance, beauty and redemption. A wonderful way to end the album. (10/10)

93.60 on the Fishscales = five stars; A; a true masterpiece of progressive electronic music.

2. STEVE HAUSCHILDT Strands (2016)

Before Steve turned master synthesizer of styles (with 2018's Dissolvi and 2019's Nonlin), he was a producer of top notch John Serrie-like space soundscapes.

1. "Horizon Of Appearances" (6:33) gorgeously rich John Serrie-like textured waves with off-world percussion and strings serving as animals or twinklings. Gourmet food for an active imagination like mine. Blade Runner 2049 could've used music like this. (10/10)

2. "Same River Twice" (5:59) opens with a bank of synthesized female voices that are soon joined by sequenced electronic percussives, a variety of arpeggiated keyboard lines, and a loose, almost syncopated bass line. The weave is rich and symphonic; more than minimalist though it has some of those sensibilities, too. Toward the end of the third minute the sequencer programs begin to feel very TANGERINE DREAM-like. (8.75/10)

3. "A False Seeming" (3:19) every ten seconds or so a lush synth chord comes rushing forward like a concussive wave from distant beginnings, washing right over/through the listener. It's an amazing half-comforting, half-exfoliating experience. Brilliant! (9.25/10)

4. "Ketracel" (4:34) straight out of the TD/KLAUS SCHULZE world of early video game soundtracks, the VANGELIS-like buzzing-synth in the lead position calms and reassures--until the two-minute mark when synth/computer pops and glitches take over the sound scape and all other seem unnatural to the musical world yet possible to a computer generated Neo-Jurassic world. Awesome! (9/10)

5. "Time We Have" (5:50) a near-exact replica if a chordal sequence and sound palette of MARK ISHAM from his 1982-5 period (Vapor Drawings and soundtracks to the spacious films, Mrs. Soffel, Country, and Never Cry Wolf). Beautiful! (9.5/10)

6. "Strands" (5:17) beautiful and melodic in a happy, almost New Age way. The John Serrie School of Space Electronica. I'm in heaven! (9.5/10)

7. "Transience Of Earthly Joys" (6:43) heavily treated piano and Mellotron voices yield a very familiar HAROLD BUDD/BRIAN ENO-like soundscape. (8.5/10)

8. "Die In Fascination" (4:21) waves of particles washing through the ocean of space, this is very VANGELIS/ROACH/RICH-like. A little too boring. (8.25/10)

Total Time 42:36

90.94 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a masterpiece of modern Progressive Electronic music and perhaps even a masterpiece of progressive rock music in general. Definitely an album that I'd highly recommend for anyone open to the spacey potentialities of modern computer synthesizer music.   

3. ALIO DIE  Honeysuckle (2011) Though not a huge fan of the overdrawn opening song of this album, I can say that the other 50 minutes are absolutely stellar. This may be my favorite Alio Die album and one of my Top Five Progressive Electronic albums of all-time.

1. "Honeysuckle" (24:00) Wooden flutes, old organ sounds, old metallic and organic acoustic hand percussion instruments, and a constant though protracted fading in and out of 'focus' gives the opening 24-minute epic and title song of this album the feel as if one were walking around--both inside and outside--an old monastery, only, perhaps three to five hundred years ago. A truly magical and evocative experience. My only criticism is that the overall length may be a bit too much; even a walk around St. Peter's or Hagia Sophia needn't take 24 minutes--nor would the minstrels inside be performing the same droning song for that length of time. I think. (40/50)

2. "Innamorato" (9:19) opens with a very familiar BRIAN ENO Ambient 2 or 4 feel to it--only this one may be better than the original. It's gorgeous! Zither, harp or other finger-played stringed instrument performs the foundational sound with some kind of 'almost-trumpet'-like sound looping within the weave while the harmonics drone, echo, and reverberate without. (20/20)

3. "Honey Mushroom" (40:00) is a suite of three parts which opens with at least five instruments contributing thread lines to the construction of the overall musical weave:  chimes, zither, organ, synthesizer, and bagpipe-like horn. The ethereal sound produced as result is gorgeous, mesmerizing, and truly enchanting. I feel as if I could fall under the spell of any one of the instruments but as a whole, in this weave, they are irrefutable. Unlike the opening number, there is enough developmental flow in the first movement of this suite to make it interesting and never boring.
     The second movement is slower, thicker, heavier, thicker, despite the more active play of the muted chimes over the top. There is a much more pronounced and slow moving wave-like low end here--harmonics or strums of a treated zither, I'm not sure. And a very engaging melody of longing and imploring seems to come from these harmonic overtones. Incredible!
     The third movement opens with a drone-like note in the unusual place of the upper registers of the harmonic mix--and it is sustained--almost like a large alabaster 'singing bowl' is being played. For the first three minutes, the background of various chimes, organ bass tones and zither are supportive but truly at the call and beckoning of the singing bowl in front. Then there is a subtle but pronounced shift as the drone of the singing bowl softens and recedes slightly, giving the zither and other sounds a little more prominence.
     Overall, "Honey Mushroom" is an absolutely brilliant piece of music--entertaining, satisfying, and never overstaying its welcome despite its 40 minutes. (80/80)

93.33 on the Fishscales = five stars; A; a true masterpiece of Progressive Electronic music.

4. HAMMOCK Silencia (2019)

I totally resonate with the word "resolution" that I've seen used to describe the music of this album; the grieving process that began with 2017's Mysterium must be complete (as complete as grieving ever gets) for that is the feeling one comes away with after hearing this collection of calm, soothing songs. And we, the public, are so blessed for Marc Byrd's choice to process his grief through his amazing music. As I listen to this absolutely gorgeous music, I am bathed in feelings of peace, of relief, of completion and readiness for the journey to pick up and start again, anew, refreshed, after a much needed long and healing delay. Would that all humans were able to find such means to process their emotional challenges; it is a flaw in the human design that so few ever reach the heights of artistic perfection that Marc and Andrew do; it is a gift that some of us get to experience their artful expression.
     As other reviewers have noted, this music may be more accurately categorized as ambient or neo-classical though the Post Rock label works, too.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Marc Byrd / composer, performer & producer
- Andrew Thompson / composer, performer & producer

1. "Circular As Our Way" (7:00) strings, muted horns, voices at the end (14/15)

2. "Silencia" (5:09) slow and unevolving, it's about constancy. And backdrop. (8.5/10)

3. "When It Hurts to Remember" (6:16) very much like a BERSARIN QUARTETT song; very little development or change. (8.5/10)

4. "Afraid to Forget" (7:08) haunting female choir and organ and, later, strings, all repeating the same Inception/Harry Potter-like theme. Big shift for the final two minutes. (13.5/15)

5. "Saudade" (5:18) horns, strings, and distant choir carrying "arpeggio" of three descending "chords" for five minutes with varying volume, dynamic, and with occasional addition of other solo instrument like cello, synth "underwater bleep" and others. (9/10)

6. "In the Shattering of Things" (5:51) a song that affirms how amazingly evocative music can be. Stunningly gorgeous. A song that pierces me to the core. (10/10)

7. "We Try to Make Sense of It All" (3:56) Piano! and then, Cello! Multiple strings! A modern day chamber quintet masterpiece. With choir of angels! Wow! (10/10)

8. "Slowly You Dissolve" (5:18) slowly shifting low chords with heavily treated electric guitar harmonics and single notes played, one slowly decaying note at a time, over the top almost ROBIN GUTHRIE-like. Strings join in toward the end of the third minute and begin to take the fore. Brilliant. (8.75/10)

9. "Fascinans" (4:16) slow, murky horn arpeggio joined by synth/strings to expand each "note" into a chord and then add embellishments from individual stringed instruments. Beautiful like a lullaby for mermaids. Effected choir is added to the mix in the fourth minute to back the viola and cello as they sing the lead melody. (9/10)

10. "Life is Life" (3:48) low end horns muted and synth washed open this one while whispery things play about at the other end. Then the treble register intensifies as the Icarus-flighty things soar and dissolve. Another piece of emotive genius. (9.5/10)

11. "Without Form and Void" (8:05) quite heavenly--not unlike some of the gentler, more slowly scored work of BATTLESTATIONS, DAVID DARLING or New Age masters like STEVE ROACH. (13.5/15)

Total Time: 62:05

Songs that sound like they could have come from soundtracks by HANS ZIMMER or CLINT MANSELL or albums by Post Rock bands like ULVER, THE BERSARIN QUARTETT, JAKOB, or GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR. 
Having explored many of the earlier Hammock releases, I am quite convinced that this is the finest and most mature musical release of this band thus far. Well done!

91.4 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and a masterpiece of neoclassical/ambient Post Rock music.

5. RYUICHI SAKAMOTO async (2017)

Minimalist music expression of multi-dimensional aspects of the human experience--usually all at once, Ryuichi is here offering us glimpses into the beauty and pain of his everyday life: his physical and mental challenges with aging, the calamaties in his homeland (Fukushima, etc.) as well as his own battles with cancer and an ever-isolated and limited world. In reaching back to his past--to the great masters that have moved and inspired him so--like Andrei Tarkovsky, Johann Sebastian Bach, Frederic Chopin--and fusing them with his present: with his walks, his addled, medicated brain, the impositions of chemotherapy and COVID-19--we are privileged to be given an inside ticket into the real-life world of one of the artistic masters of our era.

1. "andata" (4:39) what sounds like a 21st Century take on a Bach funerary piece is apparently inspired by a piece by a band Ryuichi helped to work on a few years ago, Solo Andata. (9.5/10) 

2. "disintegration" (5:46) haunting sounds created from a pattern of plucked piano strings inside the body of the piano. The addition of the metronomic timekeeper in the second half gives one the feeling of the urgent, unrelenting push of time while the introduction of ghost-like synth wash chords feels like the lingering, insistent presence of Death making himself known. Genius. (9/10)

3. "solari" (3:52) inspired by Tarkovsky's use of Bach music in the soundtrack of his 1972 film, "Solaris." Beautiful and pacifying. (9/10)

4. "ZURE" (5:12) familiar for being similar to the soundtrack music of The Revenant (which, of course, Ryuichi helped score). More evidence of Ryuichi's amazing plasticity: his ability, willingness, even eagerness, to continue growing, to continue experimenting with sound and with how to deliver his interpretations of sound and music's place and effect in human life (or Nature). Amazing. (9/10)

 

5. "walker" (4:20) one of Ryuichi's sources of solace (and strength) has been his desire to commune with Nature. Here we get a recording of his footsteps as he walks in Nature, coupled with the musical musings of his mind. One can almost feel the Maestro's thoughts. (8.75/10) 

6. "stakra" (3:41) heavily treated/edited synth play. Beautiful progression of arpeggiated chords with strings and white noise static accompaniment. Must be what it's like in a brain fogged by chemo. Thank you for sharing this, Mr. Sakamoto! (9.5/10)

 

7. "ubi" (4:03) submarine blips and other industrial noises as if the Chopin-inspired piano player had tinnitis or was playing from within a high-class prison or a post-apocalyptic world. (9.5/10)

8. "fullmooon" (5:13) one hit of a piano chord immersed within the world's background of industrial white noise is, amazingly, enough to provide the foundation for the recitation of a literary quote by many people, each in his or her own native tongue. World Citizen, Babel, part 2. (9.25/10)

9. "async" (2:45) more picking, hitting, and plucking of the piano's strings, carriage, and body--this time quite aggressively. Like the annoyance of overwhelm. How frustrating! (8.75/10)

10. "tri" (3:29) triangle play. My least favorite. (6/10)

11. "Life, Life" (4:24) David Sylvian reading a poem of by Russian/Soviet poet laureate, Arseny Tarkovsky (Andrei's father) over Ryuichi's glammed out piano and synth play. Brilliant! So powerful! Art doesn't get much better than this, folks! (10/10)

12. "honj" (3:42) using some traditional Japanese stringed instrument--like a lap dulcimer (koto?) with rain, electronic squeals, and other incidental percussion instruments. It's nice, peaceful, yet unsettling for the feeling of being trapped by the rain. (8.75/10)

13. "ff" (5:13) Eno-esque sound manipulations. Beautiful and reassuring. Makes me love and appreciate this Game of Life! Must have been a good day for Ryuichi. (9.5/10)

14.  "garden" (4:16) kind of an experimental play on an organ--fed through many sound processors.  (8.75/10)

89.46 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive electronica from one of the true masters of music in the last 100 years. Ryuichi is an international treasure like very few others. 

An album spoiled by only one poor song, otherwise this would (should) be considered one of the great achievements in 21st Century musical artistry. 

6. YVES POTIN aka JAZZCOMPUTER.ORG Forest Stairways (2017) Jazz multi-instrumentalist Yves Potin puts lush soundscapes together in a way that might be familiar to lovers of the music of Andreas Vollenveider and Robin Guthrie or even Ozric Tentacles, Steve and David Gordon, and Paul Hardcastle but where Yves' music is different from the cited artists is in his exciting and use of percussion, layers and layers of synthetically-rendered musical nature sounds over which he employs heavily treated guitars, koto, and other synths to move the music forward on their melody lines. It's truly gorgeous music, soul-engaging music.

1. "Flying Owl" (10:12) has the rhythmic drive of a Berlin School sequence-driven song but is guitar, koto, and percussion dominated! The opening 90 seconds is more ambient and relaxing, but by the two minute mark we are off to the races! (19/20)

2. "Fern Chimes" (9:47) sounds like the music I would have made had I stuck with it! Love the deep bass tone, the percussive and computer-generated nature sounds, and the guitar strums, and the gentle keyboard play. At 4:50 there is a shift as a bulfrog-like bass line takes over as the main driving force. Many layers of keyboard-generated sounds are interspersed over the top of the bass creating quite a busy image of a nature scene. Vibes in the seventh and eighth minutes are cool. (19/20)

3. "Forest Mist" (9:20) wonderfully beautiful and relaxing "Tropical" background over which heavily reverbed electric guitar strums are spaced out so that they can float away with the mist. This is so like a Robin Guthrie soundscape! Then the koto comes in as the lead instrument. Gorgeous! (18/20)

4. "Mirror Lake" (9:17) despite the draw of the lush synths and deep bass lines, it is the busy hand percussion that is my favorite stuff to pay attention to on this one. Great chord and melody lines from the keys here. The added keyboard percussion in the final third of the song is really cool. (18/20)

5. "Future Tribes" (11:32) opens with very slow attacking synth washes and lots of waves of tuned and electronic percussion sounds over which large hand drums are played in hypnotic patterns. Echoing guitar strums enter in the fifth minute while some slow-decaying lead notes also present themselves, one at a time. At the very end of the sixth minute these lead guitar notes start to feel as if it's Allan Holdsworth playing them. Then Pat Metheny-like synth-horn guitar lead joins the party! (Think "Are You Going With Me?") This is awesome! The bass has transformed into something more upbeat and insistent and the percussion falls right in line. I'm dancing! I'm in Heaven! (My version of heaven will have lots of dancing and lots of music like this.) (19/20)

I will repeat the statement I made in song #2: Yves has created music that I feel would very well have come out of my own heart/mind/brain had I continued trying to pursue a course as a musician/composer--music that comes from the soul and feeds and affects other souls. Well done! Bravo and Encore! LOTS more!

93.0 on the Fishscales = a masterpiece of progressive rock music and definitely a shining masterpiece of prog electronic music. This is my first exposure to Yves' music! I can't wait to get to know his previous (and future) work!

7. STEVE HAUSCHILDT Nonlin (2019)

New to me as of this album, I am blown away by Steve's innovative and refreshing approach to a melodic multi-instrumental (and multi-dimensional) Berlin School-type of electronic music. Steve merges recognizable instruments with computer generated "noise music," arpeggiated sequences, and even ambient techno synth washes and rhythms.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Steve Hauschildt ‎/ performer, composer, co-production
With:

- Lisa Kohl / cello (7)

1. "Cloudloss" (3:45) a strangely satisfying excursion into controlled chaos as layered beauty of ambient synth washes are paired up with a cacophony discordant and, at times, disturbing computer noise "music." Somehow it works. (9/10)

2. "Subtractive Skies" (6:46) hypnotic ambient techno weave of layers of synths and computer percussives, all with a steady and driving presence of a pulsing bass line--at least until the final two minutes when bass cuts out as synth flock seems to fly slowly and beautifully fly away like a thick flock of birds all flying in perfectly synchrony. (14/15)

3. "A Planet Left Behind" (3:36) pitch-warped and warbled keyboard play is soon joined and suppressed by deep bass and slow rise of muted synth washes, thus creating space for a delicate dance of synth strings. Beautifully "orchestrated." (9.5/10)

4. "Attractor B" (5:29) opens with slow pensive electric piano chords, by the third minute has become dominated by computer techno noise music. (9/10)

5. "The Nature Remaining" (2:34) echoing electric piano play over distant etheric synth washes. (4.25/5)

6. "Nonlin" (5:15) techno track and RADIOHEAD-like synth chord with busy and heavily treated bass synth performing the lead work. Interesting for the pops and glitches. (8.5/10)

7. "Reverse Culture Music" (6:09) opens sounding like a slow Gamelan song performed by Western orchestral strings under the guidance of Phillip Glass. By the second minute it has morphed into a more Western hypno-trance piece with Steve Reich and Pat Metheny's guidance. By the third minute it's feeling more like a SEQUENTIA LEGENDA song. Cool and sly flow of transformative shape-shifting. The cello use is genius! (9.5/10)

8. "The Spring In Chartreuse" (3:26) this is no spring from my experience! Maybe the opening of discordant backward notes is supposed to represent the chaos of late Winter weather, or perhaps the title is merely an afterthought, but the weave of reverse and forward arpeggi is weird and a bit unsettling. Still, nobody else that I know of is doing taking music in this direction. (8.5/10)

9. "American Spiral" (5:35) slow arpeggio of VANGELIS-like space synth notes opens this one--notes covering the entire breadth of the keyboard. At the one minute mark a blob of computer noise music in a kind of raw Kanye West "Faster, stronger" pattern enters while the space notes continue to arpeggiate slowly behind. The noise music gets quite gnarly, like the movement and noise of a creature from Ghostbusters. Weird, ending with a slow exit/escape of the alien usurper. (8.5/10)

Total time 42:35

89.72 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars. I vouch for this album as a masterpiece of progressive electronic music though it only qualifies as a near-masterpiece of progressive rock.

8. STELLARDRONE Light Years (2013) Stellardrone is the name that Lithuanian artist Edgaras Žakevičius has been using to release self-published music over the past ten years. While Edgaras' output has been at a fairly pleasing level from the start, it feels to me that until this album, Light Years, each of the Stellardrone albums has provided me with a bit of a rollercoaster ride--a lot of great songs pitted with the valleys of some weaker ones--songs that feel underdeveloped or 'cheesy' in their simplicity or in the choice of computer synthesized sounds chosen therein. Light Years is the first Stellardrone album that I absolutely love start to finish. There is no song-skipping here, no weak songs, only shifts in dynamics and speed, provocations of dreaminess or movement and adventure.

Five star songs: 1. "Red Giant" (3:15) (9/10); 2. "Airglow" (5:16) (10/10); 3. "Eternity" (6:21) (10/10); 4. "Light Years" (6:04) (10/10); "Comet Halley" (3:42) (9/10); 8. "Ultra Deep Field" (5:44) (10/10), and; 9. "Eternity (Reprise)" (3:33) (10/10).

Four star songs: 5. "In Time" (3:47) (8/10);  6. "Cepheid" (4:32) (8/10), and; 10. "Messier 45" (2:26) (8/10).

92.0 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of modern electronica.

9. ALIO DIE & LINGUA FUNGI Lento (2017) Stefano Musso and Jaakko Padatsu, collaborating for the second time (that I know of), have produced a gem of an album with no less than 78 minutes of fine ambient electronic music. The title song and "Stato di Grazia" are my favorites, but each of the other three songs are equally mesmerizing, equally engaging, and equally meditative. 

Line up:

Alio Die : Zither, Kantele, Drones and Loops. Bells, Water Drum, Field recordings.

Lingua Fungi : Kantele, Zither, Guitar, Udu, Field recordings, Programming. 

 1. "Lento" (18:34) Water. Waves lapping at the side of a boat. Zither/kantele and heavily treated sustained arpeggi from a synth? a zither? Whatever it is, the way it floats and soars in and out, down and up, in the sonicscape is wonderfully hypnotic; I find myself trapped in its waves feeling as if I am among the flock of birds--or the soul ensouling the flock. The other instruments and sound samples ebb and flow making it seem as if the landscapes beneath the flock are changing with the movement of the flock in the sky over the Earth. (36/40)   

2. "Karhunpäivä" (17:27) sounds like it's a couple of guys playing with random percussives and simple horns while floating in an open boat in the middle of a harbor. In the fourth minute a low drone makes it sound like a squadron of Allied bombers are flying overhead. By the middle of the fifth minute they've passed and some zithers and other droning musical instruments can be heard--as if the doors to a warfside dance hall just opened up and let their internal music be heard. Great for the accompaniment of a Scandinavian folk story. Finger pianos and small clay drums sneak into the mix in the ninth minute. (28/35)

3. "Giardinaggio interiore" (31:50) Stefano and Jaakko Padatsu with their zithers with some kind of bendable saw-like single note playing "synthesizer" and occasional tuned percussives playing over babeling brook noises in the background. Steady and highly engaging and, of course, hypnotic. (61.75/65) 

4. "Stato di Grazia" (11:00) music befitting its title, to be sure! Again water seems to be the "nature sound" provided in the background. The zither play in the foreground is much busier, much more active and interactive, giving the sonic palette a very much monastic feel--as if I were walking through the great halls and rooms of the Great Mosque in Córdoba, Spain. Very etheric and spiritually inspiring. (20/20)

91.09 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; another masterpiece of progressive electronic music from the prolific maestro, Stefano Musso, and his collaborators.

10. ALIO DIE They Grow Layers of Life Between (2017)

1. The Atom of Existence" (26:20) droning synth wash with chimes/bells over the first five minutes. The bells disappear leaving only the multi-layered drone--a kind of chord within which certain notes strengthen and cresecendo and decay in turn with the others. Quite beautiful and mathematical. At 7:25 another "nighttime bug" sound enters and remains while the lowest notes of the "chord" enter and play a slow moving melody. At 8:20 horn-like riffs join in and a new broad-spectrum chord is constructed over, with, and supplanting the original.  What started as intriguing and exciting became a little over drawn-out (despite the bird sounds in the last minutes.) (45/50)

2. "They Grow Layers of Life Within" (32:02) opens with Middle Eastern (Peter Gabriel's Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack) sounding ambient street sounds. Quite beautiful, dreamy, and reminiscent of walking the serpentine streets of a pre-industrial revolution North African or Middle Eastern town. New sounds and layers in the fourth minute make it sound as if the town (or organism) is coming to life, awakening. The marketplace setup and opening. At the ten minute mark one gets the sense that the ambulator is leaving the busy thrum of the market area and regressing into the spidery quiet alleys and occasional busy streets. He's in a daze, in a fog, walking as if searching for something without knowing what, only knowing that he needs to keep walking. At 14:30 begins another shift. The man is approaching a mosque. He enters the mosque. It is nearly empty as it is between prayer times. The bells at the 18 minute mark might designate an active pocket of prayer or group activity. The dreamer stops to observe, watching the men in discussion or the women sewing together. The dreamer's eyes are drawn upwards, into the shafts of light streaming in from the clerestory windows or gable supports. Beautiful. In the 23rd minute, the somnambulant is drawn back outside by the noise of sales carts selling handmade jewelry and scarves, cutlery and silverware, fabric and rugs. The beautiful small courtyard outside the mosque is teeming with light, heat, and tired vendors. The ambulator is suddenly fatigued, the heaviness of the summer heat bearing down. Time to sit down, lie down, die? And the market square business continues, business, life, as usual, as consciousness fades. Beautiful. (61.75/65)

3. "Real-Life Mystery" (6:09) gorgeous and frolicky with the nymph-like water play of bells and fairies, crickets and heavenly choir. (9/10)

It's almost unfair to be rating this beautiful music against the complicated, demanding efforts of rock band formatted sweathogs but when all is said and done, what you choose to listen at the end of the day, whether it be Änglagård, Gentle Giant, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" or Brian Eno's  ambient music, it shouldn't matter, should it? Stefano Musso and his zithers, computers, and collaborators have made another beautiful, engaging album. So let's celebrate!

92.60 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a masterpiece of progressive electronic, ambient folk, or whatever kind of music this is. Wonderful stuff!

11. SEQUENTIA LEGENDA Renaissance (2018) More Berlin School magic from Klaus Schulze devoté Laurent Schieber, the Mulhouse Maestro seems to be pulling together an LP per year (or, more accurately, every nine months) all the while increasing in confidence, quality, and allure. While last year's Ethereal was a veritable prog masterpiece--and remains on my frequent rotation playlist--I've been so busy this year (since May) that I've had little time to listen to much new music much less 20+ minute long epics like these. But, I can now say, these are every bit as much up to the standards set by Laurent's previous work--and by the master himself, M. Schulze. 

1. "Out of the Silence" (21:55) starts surprisingly familiar and takes a little time growing and developing (a little too much time, in my humble opinion). A drummer's cymbol play enters and joins the sequence over the course of the fifth minute. It sounds live (not looped)! Full drums enter in the seventh minute, total key shift at 7:35 and then back to original formation at 8:25. Two more different key shifts in the tenth and eleventh minutes with a few more percussion noises added to the mix, but the song doesn't really go anywhere new, different, or exciting--not even the shift to a more minor key spectrum at the 11:00 mark--though it is nice that there are four key shifts to choose from instead of the usual two. 
     At 14:00 all rhythm tracks are dropped and multiple layers of synth chords and synth noises hold their own in a new universe of spacey-ness. I like this section. Especially the hypnotic four-note electric piano arpeggio repeated as the central foundation. The brilliance of Rainer Brüninghaus's work with Eberhard Weber comes to mind. A solid song with a wonderful final third--again, a song that is displaying the growth and development of Laurent's confidence and mastery. (38.25/45)     

2. "Ici et Maintenant" (25:40) opening with a much darker, foreboding soundscape than is usual for Sequentia Legenda, the slow fade in of the rhythm and percussion tracks and multiple loops of synth washes brings with it a softening of the tension, a slight brightening of hope. By the fifth minute all levels seem set. By the ninth minute the repetition is starting to wear and then--boom!--at the 9:00 mark, just in perfect timing, there is a big shift--a key change which settles the nerves. Awesome! Laurent is getting so good at reading his listeners (or, at least, me). Something about this key makes the music so much more settling, more relaxing, then, at 11:00, the key shifts again--back to its original, but thanks to that two minute reprieve, it is much more tolerable, enjoyable. Another shift at 13:00--and with it some new synth and keyboard "harp" chords and flourishes. Nice! At 15:00 we enter yet another key. The sequenced items are feeling so friendly and close now. New percussives are being added--prominent kick drum in the lower range and hi-hat cymbol in the high. After 17:00 a few more synth noises: insect buzzes, full synth wash chords, and an orchestra-like snare track. Nice. The soundscape is so perfectly balanced--and not overly full. The subtle introduction of so many elements helps me, the listener, to stay entranced and entrenched . . . in the Here and Now. Tom-tom runs are added to the mix in the twentieth minute and then, quite suddenly, at the 20:00 mark, everything collapses; all tracks but the synth washes and a few two-note rhythm tracks disappear. This is awesome! I am so stupefied by the slowly panned and flanged single note "guitar pluck"--I'm reliving my deep connection to Propaganda's "Dream Within a Dream"--one of my all-time favorite songs. Love the prolonged exit with the percussives and upper octave electric piano arpeggi. Awesome song! Definitely a showcase piece of a Berlin School master! (50/50)    

3. "Valentins Traum" (17:24) a long opening with minor or discordant chord choices over which odd and eerie, even disturbing, sounds flit in and out of the soundscape. The sequenced rhythm track stays far in the background, fading in and out of the aural spectrum. Only in the fifth minute does it begin to emerge and stay, even rise to a place within the thick of the sonic palette. By the end of the sixth minute an electronic harpsichord riff, insect zip!-buzz, electronic tambourine, and rotation of synth strings washes have established themselves as the mainstays. The chord selection is not quite as dark and scary now, though eerie, unnatural sounds continue to fly in and out of the soundscape. That "harp/harpsichord" riff is so hypnotizing! In the eleventh minute multiple components of a drum kit are introduced and interwoven. The eerie sounds become more frequent, constant, and layered in multiplicity as the drums and rhythm tracks fade out by the end of the fourteenth minute. The dénouement is slow, gradual, and steady, so I'm guessing that Valentin's dream was a bit of a disturbing event, though not one that caused sudden fright or night terrors, but the persistence of the scary sounds continues in the fore despite the slow fade of the music into the background, so perhaps I a wrong. Nice work. Definitely engaging, mesmerizing, and convincing as a representation of its subject matter. (31.5/35)

92.11 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; another masterpiece of Berlin School-inspired progressive electronic music from this evolving master--and another superb masterpiece to contribute to the lexicon of Prog Electronic Epics and Prog Valhalla.

12. COSMIC GROUND 2 (2016) ELECTRIC ORANGE keyboard player Dirk Jan Müller is the one-man genius behind the Cosmic Ground albums (of which there are now three). With eighty minutes of music broken into four songs here, Dirk openly proclaims his reverence for the Berlin School of Electronic Music. All of the songs are excellent sound recordings of what would have been very typical creations of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze or Manuel Göttsching.
     The four songs here are quite distinct from one another despite the obvious Berlin School influence being in common. Song 1, "sol" (19:23) (36/40) is quite fast paced, driving, and dynamically on more on the high end with some nice uses of organ within the song's weave, while song 2, "ngc 224" (18:41) has quite a long (four minute) introduction section spent without drum-like rhythm while synth sounds play around in the higher octaves before it establishes its steady sequenced rhythm. From there it is quite insistent with some brilliant rises and falls as well as introductions of other synthesized sounds. At the two thirds mark there is a gentling of the song's drive, a softening of the weave, before other instruments threaten and eventually do take over the lead spots in the song before the sequencers and percussives do fade out leaving a couple of minutes at the end for kind of "clean up" ambience. (38/40)
      Song 3, "organia" (19:43) opens with, again, a rather long, Blade Runner-ish intro section which, by the fifth minute, eventually begins morph and to tease the listener into believing that something more than waves of synth washes --and yet it's not until 5:25 that any sequencer or mammalian rhythm is established. Even when such a sequenced rhythm is introduced and firmly established, the song still feels slow and sleepy. In the eight minute the pace and rhythm finally feel insistent enough to sweep up and carry the listener, and yet the ebbs and flow of sleepiness continue to rise and fall until in the fourteenth minute I am shocked to feel the decline and disappearance of the sequenced rhythm drive as we descend back into the murky depths of spacey chaos and confusion--where we spend the final five minutes of the song! (32/40)
      The fourth and final song, "altair" (20:09)--my favorite song on the album--opens with an organ-and-synth driven intro sounding as if we are walking through a cemetery in a foggy night with Vincent Price. It is actually quite brilliant! The walk goes on for fully the first five minutes of the song before a creepy little marimba-like arpeggio is establishes a sequential rhythm around which the rest of the song develops and refreshes (organ and synth gradually fade out). The sequence is actually quite creepy--in a kind of Psycho/Jaws way. Very effective! Other creepy incidentals flit in and out while the "marimba arpeggio" crescendos and seems to begin to fade (in the tenth minute). Creepy Captain Nemo-like organ rises to the fore and eventually becomes the sole source of sound for over four minutes. Then synth sounds begin to infiltrate and try to drive back the organ (unsuccessfully) until in the sixteenth minute a Steve Reichian mallet-like sequence begins to take over. By the time the 18:00 mark arrives, this sequence has arisen to become a kind of "Popcorn" sequence--very light and happy. Genius! We've made it! We're out of the cemetery! What an incredible ending to a great album! (40/40)
     I've read other reviewers' claims that "nothing new" is presented here but I have to disagree. I think that Dirk Jan Müller has put in some interesting twists in how he created this music--especially in the brilliant use of organ in the first and last songs.

91.25 on the Fishscales = five stars, A-; a masterpiece of progressive electronic music.

13. ROBERT RICH Filaments (2015) Californian Robert Rich has been producing electronically generated music for well over 30 years (being part of over 46 album releases) yet this recent release, Filaments, has garnered a lot of attention from both within and without the prog and ambient/electronica communities. Like fellow Californian Thom Brennan, Filaments shows a little bit of an edgier side to Robert's music, challenging the long-time assertion/assumption that his place was as a leader in the sleep/dream/relaxation realm of the New Age musical movement. This music also shows a bit more individual instrumental flare and isolation than most other albums of his, making it feel much more fit to be included among the Progressive Rock music scene.

Five star songs:  2. "Majorana" (10:45) (18/20); 3. "Scintilla" (3:48) (10/10); 5. "Entangled" (10:54) (20/20); 6. "Eulalia" (5:44) (10/10); 7. "Laniakea" (3:54) (9/10), and; 8. "Ætherforlds" (3:54) (9/10).

Four star songs:  1. "Filaments" (4:58) (8/10); 4. "Ætherfields" (5:22) (8/10), and; "Telomere" (9:58) (17/20).

90.83 on the Fishscales = five stars; A-; a masterpiece of progressive electronic music.

14. SEQUENTIA LEGENDA Blue Dream (2014) Frenchman Laurent Schreiber has been a life-long fan of electonic music--especially the legendary synthesizer sequencing of the fictitious "Berlin School of Electronic Music" (there is not nor was there ever an actual school of electronic music in Berlin churning out the great artists or albums of the 1970s) and especially of the recently deceased Klaus Schulze. It seems that Laurent had been experimenting with his own imitations and compositions for years but is only now, in the last few years, publishing recordings of his compositions for public consumption--and I, for one, am so glad that he is.
     Blue Dream consists of three long songs:  the 33-minute 10-part suite, "Fly Over Me" (63/65), the 22-minute "The Approach" (34/40) with its driving drum and synthesizer rhythm tracks and shifting synth washes beneath and within, and the 15-minute "bonus" song, "Vibrations" (25.5/30). All songs are very well mixed and produced (would that the Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze albums of the 1970s had this kind of sound quality) with my favorite being the mega epic--which is clearly the centerpiece of the album--with the bonus song, "Vibrations," next. While none of the compositions here reveal anything new or innovative in the world of electronic sound technology, perfect imitation of the masters of the 1970s is a true homage and, I believe, fully Laurent's top intention.
     What makes "Fly Over Me" so perfect is Laurent's detailed use of several layers of dynamic activity at one and the same time while changing, evolving, each layer fairly rapidly, not letting any one track get too stale or drawn out. Also, Laurent has chosen the perfect pacing for a long-playing piece--not hard on the listener at all--and his command of engaging/pleasing melodies is perfect throughout. It's only flaw is in its rather sudden and abrupt ending. Still, writing this in 2019, I may have to revise some of my previous statements with regard to the best Sequentia Legenda tracks: this one certainly ranks at or near the top!

90.74 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive electronic music.

15. SEQUENTIA LEGENDA Ethereal (2017) Laurent Schieber has done it again! Just when you think the Berlin School sound has been played out, Laurent releases something new that just keeps upping the ante! The second of these three epics of progressive electronic music may be my favorite Berlin School song ever made! 

1. "Stratums of Seraphic Voices" (26:28) a variety of Moog Modular-sourced chords weave together for the first three minutes of this one. The plasticized percussive sounds MIDI-ed within the "drum" and rhythm sequence track (reminding me very much of the sounds produced from Blue Man Group music) that develop and establish themselves throughout the bulk of the song. (Love the tabla sound integrated in there, as well!) As a matter of fact, one might conclude that the percussives are the real lead track here with the synths playing second fiddle--though the song would be far from as effective without them and their steadfast swirling and spiraling. The addition of 80s sounding Western drum machine percussion sounds is well-integrated by this point.

     A key change at 17:38! What an unexpected surprise! And then back at 19:15. Back up again at 20:55. And another higher shift at 22:30. Bursts of Star Warsian space-spitting noises join in the soundscape during this last four minutes. A final downward key shift at 24:50 finds the music joined by Mellotron choir voices. Nice. (45/50)

2. "Around the Second Moon" (22:45) opens with some very interesting slowly sliding note "arpeggi" beneath which some sequential percussion/bass lines try to establish themselves. As the treble sounds thin and disappear, the "bubbling," "squirting" sequencer lines become more interesting, hypnotic, captivating, and then foundational, even melody holders. In the fourth minute, they are the only music placeholders before some synth washes sneak in from behind. The chord choices of the synths add so much to enhance the sequencing. It's not until the middle of the seventh minute that the first percussive sound arrives and begins to elbow its way into the mix. By now the bass and synth lines have wormed their way into your subconscious in a kind of Edgar Alan Poe way while syncopated, intermittent percussives make it sound like Madeline Usher trying to break out of her casket in the basement. This is SO COOOL!!! New upper octave sequence sneaks in during the twelfth minute before a wave of a cymbol crash signals the achievement of full sound. Simply brilliant! So cool that the free, or improvisational instrument is a kind of large, kodo-like drum--until the seventeenth minute when percussives fade out. By the beginning of the eighteenth minute, all of the original instrumental sounds and sequences have pretty much faded into the distant background save for the synth washes--which now seem augmented by Mellotron choir voices. Staticky-rainstick-fly noises pan quickly across the soundscape while all three of the dominant sequential tracks slowly reassert themselves, if still in the background. A little PETER GABRIEL Passion: Music for the Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack can be felt at the end. (45/45)

3. "Elevation" (20:36) very steady, even, and subtly uneventful over the first half, the second half sparks to life but then drags on without enough development, resolution, or dénouement. (32/40)

Were I more familiar with Klaus Schulze's work of the second half of the 1970s I might find more to compare and critique, but, as is, I can only find praise. The clarity and fullness of modern sound is so pleasant and fulfilling to the ear and soul than the often thin and scratchy stuff of recordings from the 70s that, as with the Master's 2007 release, Kontinuum, I am filled with only praise and joy. 

90.37 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and one of the 21st Century's shining examples of stellar Berlin School revitalization.

16. TANGERINE DREAM Quantum Gate (2017)

Fifty years after Edgar Froese & Co. founded this legendary, ground-breaking group, their fearless leader has passed, but the new "quantum era" of TD has its full blessing from Edgar. In fact, several of the compositions here were begun by Edgar before his death and then fulfilled and finished by the torch bearers. 

1. "Sensing Elements" (13:33) containing a lot to remind listeners of the TD of old, this is one great epic; not the same as the old but definitely capturing the spirit. Very nice layering of multiple themes coming from multiple instruments with, of course, the trademark sequences. Ulrich Schnauss is a melody god. (28/30)

2. "Roll The Seven Twice" (6:25) opens with a sequence that sounds almost disco-danceable over which several other repetitive sounds are added over the course of the first 90 seconds. It's hypnotic and yet danceable. At the two minute mark an Arp-like synth enters to take the lead before another electronic rhythm track is added to give it a definitive Euro-electronic dance groove. Various synths interject intermittent lead melodic motifs in the song's final 90 seconds. Nice. Makes me nostalgic for European dance clubs. (8.75/10)

3. "Granular Blankets" (5:03) downtempo multi-layer rhythm track with multiple synth leads alternating over the top before marimba-like sound takes the lead. At the end of the third minute a trip-hoppy synth-drum track familiar to all who know Ulrich Schnauss' previous solo work kicks in while violin takes the lead soaring with a long sustain above the rest. Pretty cool. (8.5/10)

4. "It Is Time To Leave When Everyone Is Dancing" (6:36) The song we were all forewarned that we'd hate (because of the blatant dance-oriented tracks). Once we've moved past the long, bouncy synth intro, the Euro-disco beats kick in and a repetitive synth wash chord begins to repeat every four seconds for a very long time as very little else is really developing elsewhere. I have to admit, the repetition of that synth hit is alone quite distracting and disenchanting. Luckily it fades in the fourth minute and we subtly shift into a slightly different soundscape (with the same tempo and beat). This is, at least, much more interesting and tolerable as the weave between synths and fuzzy guitars is nice. (8.25/10)

5. "Identity Proven Matrix" (5:18) presents a very cinematic heavier-edged sound--much like the Thief soundtrack work and after (Hyperborea). There is an actual structure with melodic theme pattern here--like ABACAB. (8.25/10)

6. "Non-Locality Destination" (9:59) the only song on the album containing Edgar Froese tracks (he died just before the material for this album was created), it's spacey and slow with prominent electric guitar, but then in the third minute a sequencer rises and takes control. After a section of sequencer only, other synths and guitar tracks work their way into the weave, working up to a mini crescendo just before a searing electric guitar takes the lead and foreground at the five minute mark. I can understand the PINK FLOYD comparisons with this one. Synth washes and other synthesizer activity take over for the final VANGELIS-like three minutes. (17.25/20)

7. "Proton Bonfire" (8:25) opens with sustained, subtly shifting synth was which is soon joined by multiple- instrument space wave sequence. This is really cool! Weird muted guitar strums and mini-Moog lines (and others) enter the weave at the end of the second minute but then all fade away in the first part of the fourth minute. Composition of the rhythm track completely changes as does that of the lead instruments (no more sequencer, no more weave over the top). I am reminded of the simple, spacious songs on Vangelis' Voices album. In the sixth minute current rhythm track slowly fades leaving synth wash and electronic keys to fill the space with lushness. Very old school TD (77-79) to these ears. (17.75/20)

8. "Tear Down The Grey Skies" (6:17) opens with a very cool hypnotic trance beat and sound before heavily treated sequencer joins in. Old synth leads with a slowly ascending arpeggio before developing into more variable lead melody. Cool key shift at the end of the second minute. Sound and feel shift at the 2:30 mark though the sequencer rhythm remains the same--for a while. More frequent key shifts in the lower end until a drop out at 4:20. All returns a half a minute later, with same old synth picking up where it left off. Music decays into more space-ocean wash for the final half minute. (8.75/10)

9. "Genesis Of Precious Thoughts" (9:10) a cinematic song that has a very compelling construction of spacious sections intermixed within the more hard-driving sequenced parts. Hoshiko Yamane's violin is the most consistent and driving thread throughout the first half--an element that makes it so much more engaging and emotional, but when it goes absent for the middle section, there is a noticeable let down in the level of engagement. Luckily it returns for the final minute. Nicely done! (18/20)

Total time 70:46

This is definitely the closest thing I've heard to pre-1985 Tangerine Dream since 1984. Lovely to hear! And a whole album of fairly consistently high quality TD stuff at that!

88.21 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music and a true return to form of the great TANGERINE DREAM! Long live the immortal spirits of Edgar Froese, Peter Baumann, Klaus Schulze, and Christopher Franke!

17. STEVE HAUSCHILDT Dissolvi (2018)

I'm backtracking: I was blown away by Steve's fresh approach to electronic music with his 2019 album Nonlin. I had to give Dissolvi some space before I could respectfully dive into it for its own effects--without the aura of Nonlin tainting my judgments.

My first reaction is that I'm listening to a modernized version of 1980s Windham Hill artist Mark Isham's solo work (before he started touring with David Sylvian and David Torn)--or what Isham might have attempted had he first appeared in the 21st Century. I'm also hearing the influences of Jean-Michel Jarre, Kitaro, and Tangerine Dream as well as the computer pop and glitch experimentalists of the late 1990s and early 2000s. But, in the end, this is really fresh music--really great, engrossing, satisfying listening music.

Favorite songs: the modern computer jazz overdub to a Vangelis tune in 5. "Arold" (5:32) (9.25/10); the clicky, upbeat, 1. "M Path" (4:49) (9/10); the Isham-eque, 4. "Alienself" (7:00) (13.75/15); the dreamy 3. "Saccade" (4:09) (9/10); the beautiful spacey soundscapes over muted trip hop of 7. "Lyngr" (4:32) (8.75/10), and; the title song, which kind of synthesizes all of the above (6:26) (8.5/10).

87.35 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a very nice, refreshing synthesis of new and old electronica--one that, I hope, points the way to future possibilities for Prog Electronic artists.

Special Warning to all Prog Lovers: There is dance music here! This is quite a departure from the beautiful, mostly floating, space music of his previous effort, Strands.

18. YVES POTIN aka JAZZCOMPUTER.ORG Waters (2016) If Pat Metheny ever worked with Paul Hardcastle or Ed Wynne or Lars and Martin Horntveth this is the music you might get. Yves is, like Ed Wynne, a genius at getting synthetic 'nature' sounds out of his equipment'which I LOVE. And this is no poor imitator or second rate musician! We're talking virtuosity! His textures and solos are all so well thought out, so perfectly layered or alternated'all with this amazing percussive foundation (some manual, a lot electronic).

'Jazz multi-instrumentalist Yves Potin puts lush soundscapes together in a way that might be familiar to lovers of the music of Andreas Vollenveider and Robin Guthrie or even Ozric Tentacles and Paul Hardcastle but where Yves' music is different from the cited artists is in his exciting and use of percussion, layers and layers of synthetically-rendered musical nature sounds over which he employs heavily treated guitars and other synths to move the music forward on their melody lines. It's truly gorgeous music, soul-engaging music.' -- from my review of Forest Stairways.

1. 'Lake of NightRuins' (6:47) slowly picked and echo-strummed guitar over thick, jazzy bass, steady, heavy drums, and water synth sounds sets up a nice foundation over which a Pat Metheny-like synth-horn guitar joins in at the 2:00 mark and slowly, steadily introduces its sound and then starts to really solo in the third minute. Yves definitely has the Metheny sound and style down! This is awesome! In the fourth minute Yves even lets us know that he has the speed and technical chops to further earn the Metheny comparisons! Cool song--definitely more jazzy than electronica--more Ozrics than Alio Die. (13.5/15)

2. 'Droplets' (6:40) very catchy melodies in a groovin' jazz song constructed very much like a soundscape of Ozrics Tentacles. Great lead work over the awesome driving rhythm sections by the electric guitar and synthesizers. (9/10)

3. 'Oceaniques Part 1' (3:01) computer/synthesizer-generated water sounds open this song before electrified acoustic guitar joins in with chords and arpeggi. Fretless bass and distant 'French horn' guitar are added to the mix in the second minute. The song pretty much floats along without much development or meat, as one would almost expect based on the title. (7.5/10)

4. 'Swirls' (10:26) opens with more wave-like computer-generated synthesizer sounds behind which slow-attacking electric guitar chords appear about every six seconds. In the third minute a pulsating sound joins in (moving at a time and pace different from the waves on top). Gradually the wave-sounds begin to shift to sound a little more like keyboard chords. Then, at 3:50, a funky bass sequence enters and begins to take over as the pace-setter. By the end of the fifth minute a Allan Holdsworth-like guitar enters and begins to solo in quite an impressive way. He is soon joined by a second guitar lead, this one more synthesized (or is it a keyboard?) The Holdsworth influence (and imitation?) is remarkable. The two go on exchanging the lead in 'duel' fashion keeping us interested by each remaining founded in their own melody lines. So cool! Around 7:40 this begins to decay and a spacious, more cave-like airy section of synthesizer washes and percussives enters. At 8:42 an alarm-like keyboard sequence makes itself briefly known before just as quickly disappearing'and alternating (as if in a conversation) with a slower-attack synth playing chords. Then it ends! too soon! I want more of this conversation! Great song! Really interesting! (20/20)

5. 'Crustacean' (6:07) saw synth washes with heavily reverbed guitar arpeggi are soon joined by very cool funky/fretless/computer-popping bass and keys (so psybient like). David Torn-like guitar enters to take the lead at the end of the second minute. This is so Sylvian-esque! (Brilliant Trees Side Two or Disc Two of Gone to Earth!) Awesome! (9/10)

6. 'Oceaniques Part 2' (7:37) Straightforward jazz with heavily treated instrumental sounds and water/wave samples. The scaled down, more spacious third minute is cool--though it makes you anticipate something dramatic to follow. The muted synth washes and fretless bass in this section are awesome! Electrified acoustic guitar play becomes a soloing instrument. Nice! Again, Yves can't help but show us: he can play! Great musicianship and songwriting skills on display here! (14.25/15)

7. 'Underground River' (7:11) More 'real' water sounds used at the opening with large brass metal bells, gongs, and/or cymbals being played over the top. Early in the second minute an electric guitar screams out a single note that slowly decays. Soon, these 'outbursts' recur while beneath a bass and drum rhythm line is slowly, almost imperceptibly being established. Two chords of magical synth wash support while a very emotional lead guitar solo takes over in the fourth minute. I'm out of comparisons for this sound and soloing style (maybe Narada New Age guitarist Paul Speers), but it's beautiful. (13.5/15)

8. 'Oceaniques Part 3' (3:31) water flowing, washing, over which bass, drums, and guitar weave into a little spacious jazz motif. The soloing, like Part 1, and the music here just kind of meander without ever really gelling into a concrete direction--flowing aimlessly despite the currents of the ocean. (7.5/10)

For lovers of the more synthesizer dominant release of 2017, Forest Stairways, be prepared: this not the same; there is much more of a guitar and jazz dominance to this album (which is just as amazing as the synth work of Forest Stairways).

I haven't said this enough in my reviews of Yves music, but this man can set up some amazing bass lines! I don't honestly know which are programmed and which are played manually but IT DOESN'T MATTER! They're amazing!

89.76 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music and definitely a progressive jazz fusion artist to check out!

19. ALIO DIE & AGLAIA Opera Magnetica (2017) The most prolific studio artist in Prog Electronica and perhaps in all of Prog World (well, okay, maybe not THE most prolific [Buckethead, Tangerine Dream, John Zorn, Acid Mother Temple]), Stefano Musso released (to my knowledge) six albums in 2017, including this one, with long-time collaborator Gino Fioravanti who goes by the working name of AGLAIA. It's very difficult to find fault with any of Stefano's projects as they all succeed in transporting the listener to dream-like places, all have mood-altering effects. What's truly surprising to me is the way Stefano can vary the methods he uses to achieve such results, the instruments and effects he uses on his instruments in order to offer variety to his sound palette.

1. "Shape of the Wind" (16:00)  a calm, serene, somewhat moody weave of ethereal keyboards, treated strings and percussion, the floating feeling evoked throughout is certainly in line with the song title. (27/30)

2. "One Second Before Dark" (18:12) opens with a loop of four ascending notes, slow attacking and long decaying in the mid-octave range, playing over the sounds of water lapping at a sandy beach. In the second minute the water sounds get louder--too loud for my tastes. I love the somnambulistic ENO-like loop. Other higher notes and incidentals join in during the fifth minute followed by others of lower pitch in the sixth as the water sounds fade into the distant background. With the spectrum of sound broadened, and each layer kind of meandering in their own way (even polyrhythmically [if you can call this "rhythmical"]), the song begins to unleash tension, keeping the listener alert and on the edge. In the fourteenth minute the wave sounds return, this time of the slow, beach-reaching type, providing a wonderfully calming effect--in opposition to the effect of the weave of multiple layers of independent instrumental streams. Brilliant! Sounds of zither strings being scraped or tuned become involved in the sixteenth minute and remain to disconcert through to the end as the music slowly fades out, down beneath the calm waves. (35.5/40) 

3. "Wake of a Silver Water" (22:08) low key, low impact "water music" uses slow-floating drone sounds over the trinkling sounds of lapping water (and other "outdoor" percussives). I sometimes find nature sounds almost distracting rather than soothing when Stefano incorporates them. The melodic and harmonic weave created by the musical instruments is very peaceful, reminding me of sitting in the quiet courtyard outside of the Great Mosque at Cordoba (despite the water sounds). In the second half of the tenth minute another more metallic multiplicity of sound enters, thickening the sonic field.
     I might have liked to see/hear/feel a little more change and development over the course of its 22 minutes, but as a calming piece of background music, it doesn't get much better than this! (36/40)

89.54 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of prog electronic music and a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music. If you want to meditate, do yoga, dream, astral travel, or just have something nice in the background, this is an album to try.

20. REDSHIFT Life to Come (2015) Redshift is a Berlin School-influenced electronica band from the United Kingdom that was founded by Mark Shreeve and originally was made up of five collaborating artists but has been pared down to a solo act. Life to Come is Mark's first Redshift album since 2008. His often unsettling music ranges from almost techno-rave to horror soundtrack music. Along with driving computer-sequenced rhythm tracks the music is often quite busy with sound effect incidentals--like Halloween scare music. It is also often quite evocative--even imitative--of old TANGERINE DREAM music.

Five star songs:  2. "Vampyre" (11:39) (22.5/25); 3. "Mission Creep" (8:48) (18/20); 4. "Bloom" (5:31) (10/10), and; 5. "Slam" (12:59) (25/25).

Four star songs:  1."Soft Summer Rain" (10:17) (16/20); 6. "Circling Above" (8:25) (16/20), and; "Life to Come" (6:13) (8/10).

88.85 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 star album; a near-masterpiece of Progressive Electronica.

2l. ALIO DIE Deconsecrated and Pure (2012) Stefano Musso, the genius behind the "Alio Die" albums, is perhaps the only Progressive Electronic artist who is sounding new, different from those that have gone before. Most everyone else sounds like they came out of the 1970s, imitating or carrying forward certain sounds and styles, only using the advantages of advances in technology for sound engineering to their advantage. Though Stefano's frequent foundational employment of zither does produce reminders of Brian Eno's third "Ambient" album--his production of the recording of New York City street musician Larry Gordon or "Laraaji" and his electrified zither playing--his use of layers of synthesizers with re-engineered sounds of other instruments makes for a 'new' or expanded version of the Laraaji/Eno sound. Plus, Stefano's music seems often to be strongly steeped in overtones of the musics of various religious traditions--especially Christian and Arabic. There are many times while listening to Alio Die music that I've thought I was listening to the music inside some vast Christian cathedral (as in the first two songs here) or an Arabian mosque. Also, Stefano's openness to collaboration with other musicians has fostered an ongoing shift and variation in the sounds and styles of his musical outputs; Stefano is not afraid to grow, to take risks, to learn from others, to collaborate, to try new things, and yet Stefano's music is clearly his own--of a style that I can almost recognize immediately upon hearing it.

Five star songs:  the ethereal music of the reverence of religious traditions, 1. "Layers of Faith" (15:47) (28/30); 2. "Obliterated Alcove" (12:10) sounding like a modern day Gregorian chant (25/25); the Celtic-sounding parade of joy and celebration, 3. "Peel Away This Mortal Coil" (9:22) (18/20); the wind-chime infused, Eno-esque ("Lantern Marsh"), 4. "Cerulean Façade" (10:21) (17.5/20), and; like "Peel Away...," a mélange of world sounds of celebration in #5. "De-Altered" (18:09) (27/35).

The first two songs of this album alone are worth the price of admission as they are two of my all-time favorite electronica songs.

88.08 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive electronic music.

TIM HECKER Ravedeath 1972 (2011) Canadian Tim Hecker is another long-time techno and electronica composer and performer who has been rather prolific with eight album releases and nine EPs over the past 16 years. Ravedeath 1972 is interesting for the the way Tim and engineer-and-sometimes-pianist Ben Frost have processed the sounds taken from an Icelandic church organ. No song stands out as amazing or incredible (and quite a few are emotionally stagnant and forgettable) but the sound engineering is memorable.

Five star songs:  10. "In the Air (parts I, II, & III)" (12:21) (25/25); 5. "No Drums" (3:24) (9/10); 6. "Hatred of Music I" (6:13) (9/10); 7. "Hatred of Music II" (4:22) (9/10); 8. "Analog Paralysis, 1978" (3:52) (9/10), and; 9. "Studio Suicide, 1980" (3:25) (9/10).

Four star songs:  1. "The Piano Drop" (2:58) (8/10); 2. "In the Fog I" (4:52) (8/10); 3. "In the Fog II" (6:01) (8/10), and; 4. "In the Fog III" (5:01) (8/10).

87.0 on the Fishscales - solid four stars, solid B; a very good album well worth recommending to others.

ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT Earthen (2015) Another collection of beautiful space/New Age songs from Gregory Kyryluk--this time with a Terran focus. Gregory is here employing some new techniques with sequences changing pitches and notes being bent and warped, however, his old habit of using exceedingly long periods of time to let sounds, themes, and sections develop is once again present here. The sounds are beautifully engineered and crystal clear (when he wants them to be), and the journeys are pleasant and satisfying. My one complaint is that I don't feel a lot of emotion conveyed in both the melodies and the development of the songs--there is very little feeling of tension buildup to a 'conflict resolution.' "Pusleforms" is a very pleasant song as it does transition and build after the first third of the way into the song, but even still there is not enough internal tension and build to feel that the artist brings us to peak of the conflict and then a satisfying resolution. 

Five star songs:  the beautiful, lazy, sleepy-dreamy, 5. "Helios" (12:53) (my favorite on the album) (22.5/25); 3. "Pulseforms" (10:25) (18/20); the early ENO-esque play with slow attack and decays, 4. "Source" (13:09) (21.25/25)

Four star songs:  1. "Immerse" (13:03) (21.25/25); 2. "Earthen" (11:45) (21.25/25), and; the neo-Berlin School slow sequenced nature sound-enhanced, 6. "Forest" (7:43) (12.75/15).

Again, all of this music sounds as if it could have come off of an early DAVID & STEVE GORDON album except for the incredible sound production here (which is why I rated slightly upward on most of the songs:  though I felt as if I was hearing nothing particularly new or exciting, it was all extraordinarily well recorded and engineered).

85.93 on the Fishscales = a solid four star album; B; well recommended to others--especially those looking for particularly well-produced sound.

GHOSTING SEASON The Very Last of the Saints (2012) This is one of the most interesting new pieces to come across my desk. Though this music might be officially classified as "Deep House" or "Techno" or "Progressive Ambient" or something from the world of all-night dance parties, these Brits have not only created some nicely refreshing music but have a gift for creating interesting song titles, as well--which can make a huge difference when trying to draw a new audience into a song. Plus they have come up with a stunning album cover--not to mention some great songs.

Five star songs:  the hypnotic 1. "Ghost Drift" (8:29) (9/10); 3. "A Muffled Sound of Voices" (featuring Knox) (5:32) (9/10); 7. "Lost at Sea" (2:32) (9/10); 10. "13" featuring Birds of Passage (8:37) (9/10).

Four star songs:  2. "Far End of the Graveyard" (8:42) (8.5/10); 4. "Follow Your Eyes" (featuring Gregory Hoepffner) (4:52) (8/10); 5. "Lie" (4:34) (8/10); 6. "Through Your Teeth" (5:46) (8.5/10); 8. "Time Without Question" (8:33) (8.5/10); 9. "Pio" (5:47) (8.5/10);

86.0 on the Fishscales = solid four stars; B; an album worth recommending to others with an ear for electronic music with a little dance beat.

MARCONI UNION Beautifully Falling Apart (2011) Here is a band that really knows how to create relaxing and beautiful soundscapes--the kind you want to go to sleep, make love, or even meditate to. The meat of the album is like a modern extension of the sometimes unsettling and ambiguous Brian Eno soundscapes of the On Land/Apollo era.

Five star songs:  1. "Breathing" (8:02) (13.5/15); 3. "Blue Collar Parade" (8:13) (13.5/15); 4. "Losing the Light" (7:18) (12.75/15), and; 6. "A Shower of Sparks" (7:44) (13.5/15).

Four star songs:  2. "Slow Collapse" (4:52) (8/10); 5. "Beautifully Falling Apart" (8:01) (12/15)

86.18 on the Fishscales = solid four stars; B; a very good album of Ambient/Progressive Electronic music that is highly recommended for all to try.

CARBON BASED LIFEFORMS Twentythree (2012) Most listeners and reviewers of this album extoll the music's ability to take the listener far away, into other states of consciousness. I agree that this music has that feel and capability--though not every song. The music here is much more in the realm of Ambient than most of the music I review, the songs very slow to develop, but develop they do, and, unlike other bands, these guys know how to establish soundscapes that draw you in, make you comfortable, even distract or take you away from the goings-on in one's immediate environment. I would call these guys masters of their craft.

Five star songs:  1. "Arecibo" (9:21) (18/20); 2. "System" (7:32) (13.5/15); 3. "Somewhere in Russia" (8:37) (18/20); 8. "Held Together by Gravity" (8:05) (13.5/15).

Four star songs:  the surprisingly eerie, 7. "Kensington Gardens" (6:24) (8.5/10); 4. "Terpene" (5:57) (8/10); 5. "Inertia Implant" (10:34) (16/20); 6. "VLA" (10:01) (16/20);

By the way, nice titles and nice album cover.

85.0 on the Fishscales = a very solid four star album; B; highly recommended to those who like very good Ambient music.

STELLARDRONE Invent the Universe (2010) This album is one of Lithuanian Edgaras Žakevičius' earlier releases. It has some real magical melodies to hook the listener in, but one can also see in the relative simplicity of the compositions that Edgaras was still developing confidence and experience. This simplicity sometimes works for him, sometimes against. At this point in his recording/production career I think too much time was being considered for very slow, very deliberate development and decline (or retrogression) while too little time was spent on layering, multiplying themes, and incidentals. Very smooth production, though.

Five star songs: 9. "The Edge of Forever" (4:05) (9.5/10); 1. "The Belt of Orion" (6:26) (9/10); 7. "An Ocean of Galaxies" (8:22) (18/20), and; the slow developing 3. "Maia Nebula" (12:38) (21.25/25).

Four star songs:  2. "Crystal Spheres" (4:10) (8.5/10); 4. "Approaching the Heliopause" (5:32) (8.5/10); 5. "Millions of Stars" (5:14) (8.5/10); 6. "Pale Blue Dot" (6:13) (8/10), and; 8. "Infinite Void" (6:33) (7.5/10)

85.87 on the Fishscales = solid four stars, B; a very good album of progressive electronic music that is recommended for patient, open-minded music lovers.

BERSARIN QUARTETT II (2012)

1. "Niemals zurück" (5:17)

2. "Zum Greifen nah" (5:54)

3. "Im Lichete des Anderen" (6:14)

4. "Der Mond, der Schnee und Du" (4:55)

5. "Perlen, Honig oder Untergang" (4:36)

6. "Ensame wandeln still im Sternensaal" (5:09)

7. "Im Glanze des Kometen" (6:09)

8. "Alles ist ein Wunder" (2:46)

9. "Rot und Schwarz" (7:10)

10. "Keine Angst" (3:11)

11. "Hier und jetzt" (6:21)

12. "Jedem Zauber wohnt eind Ende inne" (5:32)

13. "Nichts ist wie vorher" (6:27)

Total time: 69:41

HAMMOCK Oblivion Hymns (2017)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Marc Byrd / composer, performer & producer

- Andrew Thompson / composer, performer & producer

With:

- Timothy Showalter / vocals (10)

- Phil Madeira / accordion

- Love Sponge Orchestra / strings

1. My Mind Was a Fog... My Heart Became a Bomb (5:23)

2. Then the Quiet Explosion (6:43)

3. Turning Into Tiny Particles... Floating Through Empty Space (4:02)

4. Like a Valley With No Echo (8:10)

5. Holding Your Absence (5:42)

6. Shored Against the Ruins... Drowning In Ten Directions (3:43)

7. I Could Hear the Water at the Edge of All Things (5:40)

8. In the Middle of This Nowhere (5:33)

9. Hope Becomes a Loss (8:45)

10. Tres Dominé (3:07)

Total Time 56:48

Bonus tracks as download from bandcamp :

11. Sleep (6:32)

12. Cathedral (6:18)

13. Hiraeth (6:53)

BERSARIN QUARTETT III (2015)

1. "Verflossen ist das Gold der Tage" (3:33)

2. "Staub und Sterne" (4:31)

3. "Hinter uns die Wirklichkeit" (4:13)

4. "Bedingungslos" (4:17)

5. "Die Nächte sind erfüllt von Maskenfesten" (5:11)

6. "Umshlungen von Milliarden" (4:47)

7. "Sanft verblassen die Geschichten" (3:08)

8. "Es ist alles schon gesagt" (4:54)

9. "Schwarzer Regen fällt" (4:39) 

10. "Jeder Gedanke umsonst gedacht" (5:11)

11. Weiche Weit" (5:36)

12. "Ist es das, was Du willst" (3:16)

Total time: 53:16 

ALIO DIE & SYLVI ALLI Amidst the Circling Spires (2014) Stefano Musso's collaboration with vocalist Sylvi Alli results in a successful melding of trained voice with Stefano's ethereal often meditative soundscapes. The collaborators were mostly able to avoid the more jarring or abrasive impact on the ears and mind that the human voice has--especially when it is used with words from language--by having Sylvi do a lot of wordless vocalizations. 

MINILOGUE Blomma (2013)

Five star songs:  1. "Everything is all you've got" (21:00) (10/10);

2. "Atoms with curiosity that looks at" (18:06) (/10); 3. "Forgotten Memories" (12:22) (/10); 4. "Existensberattigande" (13:58) (/10); 5. "Nor Coming nor going" (8:52) (/10); 6. "E de nan hemma'" (45:25) (/10); 7. "Mellan Landet" (16:49) (/10); 8. "Evaporerar ut fran sitt gomstalle" (9:18) (/10)

Four star songs: 

ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER Replica (2011)

HOLY OTHER Held (2012)

I have to express my special thanks to YouTube's "SpaceAmbient" for helping to make me aware of so many ambient, space, atmospheric, electronica, downstep bands like Stellardrone (Edgaras Žakevičius), Solar Fields (Magnus Birgersson), Aythar, Sonus Lab, Aural Planet, Mikteck (M), Mellow Sonic, Richard Bone, Dreamstate Logic, AllenHand, Sakke, Lauge, Aleks Michalski ("Axen"), Jón Hallur, Captain Panic!, InternalEye, Avatus, Systek, The Intangible, Gateway 721, MogueHeart, Jack Sell, Andrew Odd, George Sundancer, Nynja, and Max Million as well as myriad 'old-timers' who continue to practice their craft (on newer technology).

SOUNDS OF NEW SOMA Moebius Tunnel (2016)

Lineup / Musicians:

Alex Djelassi / guitar, bass, synthesizer, effects

Dirk Raupach / synthesizer, effects

1. Lysergdelfin (5:58)
2. Kosmonautenglück (9:36)
3. Subraumverzerrung (8:30)
4. Stech/Apfel (10:34)
5. Morgengebet (11:40)
6. Neuland* (8:50)

Total time: 55:08
 

GERT EMMONS Outland (2014)

Lineup / Musicians:

Gert Emmons / vocals, all instruments

1. A First Encounter (13:00)
2. Discovery Of The Lost Civilization (13:38)
3. The Temple On The Sacred Mountain (13:20)
4. Return Of The Warrior (11:18)
5. Exploration Flights Over Forbidden Area's (18:47)
6. Departure 6 AM (7:48)

Total Time 77:51

6LA8 The Last Strands of Fortitude (2013)

Line-up / Musicians:
- Taimur Mazhar Sheikh and Omer Asim / All Instruments

1. We Need More Iodex, Mother Harlot (4:08)
2. Do the Trepidation Shake! (4:33)
3. They Wouldn't Let Me (6:25)
4. So, How is the Violence Today? (8:48)
5. The Air of Drunkenness is Floating in the Dusk (8:34)
6. I Am Listening, But Not Listening (9:49)
7. Not Yet Lost The Sense of Time (4:00)
8. Black Market Ascension (9:47)
9. Just 5(365) + 90 More Loops... (5:45)
10. Well OK Then (6:09)
11. A Strange Sense in Randomness (4:44)
12. Atropos & Loathing (5:28)

INVOLVED Revolved Maze (2014)

Line-up / Musicians:
- Joe Dorsey / keyboards, electronics, vocals
- Reivilo Enoignor / keyboards, electronics, production
Guests:
- Kyle Standifer (Ocean Architecture) / supporting vocals on 'Machiavella' and 'Clinic'

1. Ingress (3:45)
2. Machiavella (5:22)
3. Tumult (5:08)
4. Radiation Leak (4:40)
5. Inner Spaces (4:30)
6. Angular (3:59)
7. Minos (1:16)
8. Revolving Maze (9:22)
9. Patient (5:44)
10. Clinic (4:31)
11. Egress (4:35)

Total time 52:52

RENE DE BAKKER (2016)

JACASZEK Glimmer (2011)

Artists to check out: 
Zombi, Krautwerk, Zoltan, Node, John Battema, Girón, Gert Emmons, Andreas Wolter, Ian Boddy, even the trip-hoppy New Age of Davol and techno-dance-pop of SpiralDreams; Briedablik, Kosmischer Läufer, 6LA8, Fovea Hex, Xiu, Involved, Samuel Cadima, Sounds of New Soma, Yeti Rain