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Michael Foster
AV's editor

Read the 
Editor's Blog for
February 2008
updated 2-10-08

Click here


Ambient Visions
Supports independent Musicians


AV's Q&A With
Forest


Forest


 


Visitors Since Nov-2000
296,329

A Journey into Sound and Spirit
Online since 1999   |     Site Last Updated 02-15-2008

Pageviews Since Nov-2000
645,592


David Helpling

 

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.

Click here for the rest of David's thoughts


Jim Cole

 

Innertones

AV's CD Focus Interview

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. 

Click here to read  Jim Cole's interview about Innertones

Other AV's CD Focus Features available on Ambient Visions


Infinite Plastic Creation
by Richard Bone

 

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.  

Click here for the rest of the review


New Reviews on Ambient Visions

Ambiethurnum

by Psicodreamics


Click here to read

Ice

by Fiona Joy Hawkins


Click here to read 

Par Avion

by Rudy Adrian


Click here to read

A Boy's World

by Gert Emmens


Click here to read

Carpe Lumen

by Elijah Bossenbroek


Click here to read

Angels

by David Hicken


Click here to read 

Borderlands

by Evan Bartholomew


Click here to read

Fire Within

by Dan Pound


Click here to read


Lost  Canyons
by Scott August

 

Still
by Soundician

 

Dreamswept
by Disturbed Earth

 

Henry Hud
by Vir Unis

Ambient Visions News

  • Posted February 12, 2008

Richard Bone's Newsletter February 11,2008
Robert Rich Newsletter for February 2008

  • Posted February 7, 2008

React by Robert Rich and Ian Boddy Scheduled for March 25, 2008 release
Psicodreamics latest release called Ambiethernum is available

  • Posted February 1, 2008

Klangwirkstoff Records releases Ambient Doppel CD Comp.  Active Agent of Sound
Aleph-Zero Newsletter
AD Music releases new CD by David Wright
Hypnos announces the release of Jonathan Block's new CD

  • Posted January 30, 2008

New Spacemusic Track & Video by Craig Padilla
Jean Michel Jarre Tours Europe

  • Posted January 27, 2008

Hypnos Release outlook for 2008 part 1
Hypnos Release outlook for 2008 part 2
Hypnos Release outlook for 2008 part 3

  • Posted January 26, 2008

Star's End Update 01-27-2008
Evan Bartholomew releases Secret Entries into Darkness on Somnia Records

  • Posted December 2, 2007

Databloem/DataObscura Newsletter for November 2007

  • Posted November 22, 2007

Steve Roach November 2007 Update

  • Posted October 8, 2007

William Edge announces his latest release Soundchamber, due out Nov. 1, 2007

  • Posted October 6, 2007

Creative Commons Launches Third Annual Fundraising Campaign
Leading Broadcast Groups Implement ITunes Tagging
Amsterdam Dance Event Heads For Worldwide Recognition As Conference And Club Festival
Hypnos Announces Lena-Extended Gestures for Cello CD release


John Lyell



Dimensions

AV's Artist Interview Page

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. John continues to create "cosmic" and "surreal" digital art and write various styles of music at his studio inMinneapolis,MN.

Click here to read the entire interview.


Other Artist Interviews on Ambient Visions


Chuck van Zyl
host of
Star's End

 

AV's Q&A

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 thePhiladelphia broadcast area with music to sleep and dream to. There are many suggested uses for the program, but most people tune their radio to STAR'S END as they get into bed on Saturday night and allow the gentle aural soundscapes to influence their sleep and dreams. 

"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". 

Click here to read  Chuck's interview.

Other AV's Q&A Features available on Ambient Visions


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.
’The Monuments Of Mars - The Music”(1988), was heralded as a definitive statement of his sound and style. Each successive release, “Angels, Aliens & Archetypes” (1991), ‘The Atlantis Factor” (1993), and “Paradigm Shift” (1995), were critically acclaimed and garnered the highest reviews. A brief sampling of the following accolades are testimonials to his accomplishments…

"Mark Dwane has established himself as one of the hottest and most prolific artists currently in the electronic-space music genre.” Houston West 

“Dwane represents one of the best MIDI guitar composers and performers I have had the treat to discover. “ John Patterson / All Music Guide  

“Cinematic music that paints the sky in electronic colors. Dwane is creating truly modern music, born of technology and draped around imagery of possible futures and past mythologies. After listening to Mark Dwane's compositions, you feel like you've really been somewhere."  John Diliberto / ECHOES 

“Complex, propulsive, energizing and imaginative music recorded with sterling production values and textbook engineering.” Bill Binkelman / New Age Reporter

 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


Sacred Road Revisited
by David Lanz

Sacred River
by Gandalf

Ambient Visions CD Reviews

02-12-2008  New Review Featuring Infinite Plastic Creation by Richard Bone
02-10-2008
 New Reviews featuring Ambienthurnum by Psicodreamics
01-26-2008
 New Reviews featuring Carpe Lumen by Elijah Bossenbroek
10-07-2007
 New Reviews featuring The Open Door by Michael Straugh
09-23-2007
 New Reviews featuring The Useless Lesson by Kerry Leimer
07-08-2007
 New Reviews featuring The Range by Fulton and Reaves
07-01-2007
 New Reviews featuring The Regions Between by AWM
06-23-2007
 New Reviews featuring Dimensions by John Lyell
06-16-2007
 New Reviews featuring Reflection by Frederic Delarue
06-01-2007
 New Reviews posted featuring Buzzle by Tim Story
04-04-2007  New Reviews posted featuring Hope for Harmony by Kathryn Toyama

03-04-2007
 New Reviews posted featuring Conscience by M. Grassow & Thomas Weiss
02-13-2007
 New Reviews posted on AV TDE  featuring Dream Wide Awake by Omnimotion
02-08-2007
 New Reviews posted featuring Deeperworlds by Mystical Sun
02-03-2007
 New Reviews posted featuring Sankhara by cyberCHUMP
01-28-2007
 New Reviews posted featuring Inside Out by Stephen Philips
12-24-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring Sacred Road Revisted by David Lanz
10-28-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring Awakening by Jeffrey Michael
10-24-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring Gnosis by Paul Avgerinos
08-05-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring From a Distant Horizon by J. Arif Verner
07-01-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring A Piano Saga by Kenny Jaworski
05-12-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring Bete Noir by Requiem
04-09-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring Cave of the Jaguar by David Crews
02-26-2006  New Reviews posted featuring Symphony of Light by Frederic Delaure
02-11-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring Seasons of Dark and Light by Darkened Soul
01-29-2006
 New Reviews posted featuring After the Rain by Christian Housel


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


 

 

 

 

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