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About
AV |
Michael Foster
AV's editor
Read the
Editor's Blog for
February 2008
updated 2-10-08
Ambient Visions
Supports independent Musicians
AV's
Q&A With
Forest
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A
Journey into Sound and Spirit |
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David Helpling
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State of the Ambient Union 2008 "Well - I think it is fairly clear that the old lines between the genres have blurred across each other quite a bit in recent years. We all just aren't so strict on what is what...elements of dance, rock and electronic music have happily found their way into these genres without any upset from traditionalists (not that the genre in question has enough history to have solid traditions). There are virtually no rules for what is considered "Ambient" or "New Age" any more...it is the artist's intent and his or her audience's interpretation that seems to most clearly identify the music. Supportive public voices such as Hearts Of Space and Echoes are playing music that is vastly diverse within itself compared to 10 years ago. |
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Jim Cole
Innertones |
Innertones AV talks with Jim Cole Jim Cole began practicing harmonic singing
in 1991, inspired by the unique vocal sounds of Tibetan monks and David Hykes
and the Harmonic Choir (especially their album Hearing Solar Winds). He founded Spectral Voices and then,
intrigued by the reverberant cistern recording of Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening, they found home in an
empty water tower. In 1996 he received
an artist fellowship award from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts for work
in harmonic singing, which supported the
production and release of Spectral Voices' debut CD Coalescence.
Jim has collaborated with Alpha Wave Movement (their CD Bislama released
on Spectral Spiral Music), Mathias
Grassow (The Hollow and The Last Bright Light), Kevin Makarewicz
(Labyrinth Walk Live), and has contributed to works by Paranoise
(Private Power, Ishq and numerous live performances - also with the
acoustic-based version of Paranoise: "Mawwal"), vidnaObmana (The Surreal
Sanctuary, The Contemporary Nocturne, and live in concert), Amir Baghiri
(Rooms), Steve Roach & Byron Metcalf (The Serpent's Lair),
Mike Hovancsek and Pointless Orchestra (Temporal Angels, Scattered
Meditations, The Angel Scratch Radio Project and Under Moons)
and several other projects. Other AV's CD Focus Features available on Ambient Visions |
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Infinite Plastic Creation
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AV's Spotlight Review Infinite Plastic Creation by Richard Bone AV Spotlight CD Review If you will take a look back on the music reviews index page you will see that Richard Bone's CD Coxa was one of the very first CD's to be reviewed here on Ambient Visions way back in 2000 and you know I still look forward to each of Richard's releases to see what he has put his musical genius to work on creating this time around. It is not a huge stretch to say that just about any CD you pick up by this artist will be a worthwhile addition to your music collection. Of course this review is not to sit here and sing the praises of every Richard Bone release but it will point out that he does have a newer release out called Infinite Plastic Creation that came out in 2007 but is definitely worth a review here in the pages of Ambient Visions. |
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New Reviews on Ambient Visions
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John Lyell Dimensions |
Dimensions AV talks to John Lyell As a musician, John has released 3 ambient - space CD's
commercially: "Wormholes" in 1998, "Synthetic Universe" in
2002 (both in partnership with Brent A. Reiland) and "Dimensions" in
2006.....his first solo release......all of which have received critical
acclaim and radio airplay in the U.S., Europe, and Australia on syndicated
ambient and new age radio shows. Other Artist Interviews on Ambient Visions |
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Chuck van Zyl
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Star's End 30th Anniversary AV talks with Chuck van Zyl STAR'S END is (with the exception of "Music from the
Hearts of Space") the longest running radio program of ambient music in
the world. Since 1976, STAR'S END has been providing the "STAR'S END is a unique listening experience, not just
an exchange of information like most radio shows", says van Zyl. "Due
to the unique presentation and the subtlety of the music, the program really
affects people, often in a profound way". Other AV's Q&A Features available on Ambient Visions |
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Mark Dwane
2012 |
Artist Spotlight on Mark Dwane For almost twenty years, Mark Dwane has been an internationally acclaimed composer and musician. Born July 30, 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio, Mark began formal lessons on the guitar at the age of 10. Influenced early on by the music of the era, Mark continued his musical education and gained experience playing with many bands. Able to fluently read and write music, Mark continued to study music theory and composition with a wide variety of instructors. In the 70’s Mark began experimenting with guitar synthesizers, pioneering a unique fusion of electronic artistry and innovative composition . During this time, his band “ORB” performed throughout the northeast Ohio area and recorded an album entitled “Such Power Exists?”. In 1981 Mark decided to pursue a solo career and build his own studio. Teaching guitar for his livelihood with over 50 students a week, Mark now had the creative freedom to produce his music without constraints. Although involved in numerous projects, “The Myth” was his first un-official release from that period. A collection of essentially demo tracks loosely based around an archeological theme. The advent of affordable digital recording technology and a polyphonic MIDI guitar system brought about a paradigm shift for Mark in 1987. Inspired by Richard Hoagland’s book “The Monuments Of Mars”, he created a soundtrack to the enigmatic anomalies of the Cydonia region.
Mark was continually upgrading his studio to state of the art specification and developing his production skills in the process. It was at this time that Mark began to employ his talents at production music. Working with companies in New York and Los Angeles, Mark's music has been used on National and International network / cable TV and film including: CBS, TBS, The E Channel (E!), ABC, The Playboy Channel, The Weather Channel, Lifetime, MTV, Univision, Fidelity Investments, Singapore Airlines, Sony, The NBA, The Canadian Winter Games, FOX Sunday, FOX Sports, Comcast Sports and the list continues to grow… A native of “The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame“ city, Mark enjoyed the notoriety of being selected as one of Cleveland Magazines most interesting people for 1996! In 1998 Mark released “The Nefilim” a mysteriously luxurious sounding limited edition CD. 2000 and 2001 saw the release of “Archives” and “Planetary Mysteries” respectively. The former was a collection of previously unreleased tracks, while the latter was his first collaboration with vocalist Michelle Nader. As all of Mark’s previous work had been strictly MIDI guitar, “Planetary Mysteries” also featured the introduction of electro-acoustic guitars, widening the aperture of his considerable guitar playing abilities. This trend continued and intensified on “The Sirius Link”, which was chosen as one of top 10 Essential ECHOES CD's for 2004! Spring of 2007 saw the release of Mark’s latest endeavor entitled “2012”, which went straight to #1 on ECHOES and was awarded CD of the month for April. As of this writing, “Variants” has just been released! A newly re-mastered, audiophile collection of alternate versions and alternate mixes from Mark’s existing catalog. Intellectually stimulating and emotionally powerful, Mark’s music has always been a direct conduit to his soul. Visionary, futuristic, highly melodic, romantic, otherworldly, mysteriously optimistic, are all descriptive adjectives of the music that Mark Dwane has created. He presently resides in Westlake, Ohio with his wife Deborah and their four Siamese cats. An avid aviation enthusiast, he also enjoys cycling, hiking, science fiction and a good sauvignon blanc. Click here to visit Mark Dwane's website Because of some problems with the way this link functions in Firefox here is the address to Mark's site that you can copy and paste into your browser's address bar: http://www.markdwane.com |
Sounds
to
Listen For
The Persistence of Ambience
by Sourcecodex
1989
by Disparition
Active Agent of Sound
by Various Artists
Inframundis
by Antonio Testa
Ambiethernum
by Psicodreamics
Secret Entries into Darkness
by Evan Bartholomew
Connection Failed
(unfinished works)
by Richard Bone
Mantle
by Brian Parnham
Asunder
by Nathan Youngblood
Sound Sutras
by Govinda
Caverns of Time
by Evan Bartholomew
Arc of Passion
by Steve Roach
Endless Rhythms of the Beatless Heart
by Schulman
Songs from the Forest
by Thom Brennan
Secret Journey
by Omar Akram
Radio Silence
by Betwen Interval
Dark Edges
by Diatonis
Devil in the Detail
by Various Artists
(read press release)
Deep Time Dreaming
by
Byron Metcalf &
Mark Seelig
w-Steve Roach
(read press release)
Glaciation
by Patrick O'Hearn
Sentant
by Lemonchill
Transitions Vol. 3
by John Digweed
Dual Systems
by Harold Nies
A Warning from the Elders
by Byron Metcalf
Infinite Plastic Creation
by Richard Bone
Relax: A Liquid Mind Experience
by Liquid Mind
Love and Peace
by Lisa Lynne and George Tortorelli