PROGRESSIVE ELECTRONIC

3.5 stars. CREMATOR is the one man project of Matt Thompson. Matt will be known to some for being a founding member of GUAPO, and creating one of the most incredible recordings I have heard called "Five Suns". He also has a project called RASHOMON as well as ZOLTAN. He was also an original member of LITMUS along with his brother Andy who is the owner operator of Planet Mellotron. Andy by the way gave this album a 3.5 star rating as well.

CREMATOR is an electronic project and there's actually not much in the way of mellotron on the two side long pieces of this 2013 album. Very little in the way of sequencers as well. As Andy relates on his site, this album is more about textures and melodies than rhythm. There's just not a lot to latch onto into my opinion. I like this record but I wish there was more mellotron and rhythm. Matt says his influences for this project were HARMONIA, KRAFTWERK, HELDON and more. I probably thought of HELDON here the most, but without the guitar in play of course.

Two side long pieces beginning with the over 20 minute title track. This one has some sequencers early and mellotron around 8 minutes in or so, and is quite spacey throughout. Soundscape music. The second track is called "Catmaster" which is actually my unofficial title. Almost 18 minutes in length it really is a toss up which side I like better. This is more mood music to me. Not a lot happening although there are times on both tracks where there is so much going on with all the different electronic sounds and vintage equipment in play.

I do recommend this record, I just haven't warmed up to it much. For Matt's best check out "Five Suns" by GUAPO and "First Stage Zoltan" by ZOLTAN. Both are incredible mellotron albums.

Considering I associate mirages with blistering hot climates (deserts etc.), it was a surprise to me that the second album I tried from Klaus Schulze ended up being one of the coldest albums I've ever heard. Composed of just two tracks - both nearly thirty minutes long - "Mirage" feels like the soundtrack to a journey through some sort of digitalized winter landscape, and not one of those happy 'Winter Wonderland' types either. These soundscapes are the polar (ha) opposite of inviting. Instead, they're chilling and ruthless, and despite being texturally dense, still evoke a sense of desolation in all of their mechanical glory.

While I do want to summarize the overall atmosphere of "Mirage" as I've just done, I should also point out that it is not just an hour long trudge through unpleasant synthesizer passages. The first six minutes of the second track consist of little more than several layers of cascading synthesizers, but are they gorgeous. The track evolves further from there, but this first movement, entitled 'Xylotones', truly captivated me and is easily the album's best moment.

It feels like a bit of a boneheaded move to listen to this as the winter fades and spring approaches, but I still felt enveloped by the wintry mood that "Mirage" creates despite listening in the midst a shift away from the season it's meant to portray. I probably would have gotten more out of the experience had I given it a try at a more fitting time of year. Still, if it can make me feel like there's 3 feet snow on the ground when in reality there isn't even a puddle, then it's certainly accomplished something.

4.5 Klause Shulze was definitely one of the fathers of electronic prog.

A reputed figure in the Berlin Schule of electronic/kosmische Musik, Peter Baumann was also a member of the classic trio line-up of Tangerine Dream from 1971 to 1977, the same golden period in which they released their seminal albums Zeit (1972), Phaedra (1974), Ricochet (1975) and Stratosfear (1976).

He's now back to recording studios, making his first solo instalment since Machines Of Desire, nine years ago. Baumann never followed the path of progressive rock based in virtuosity and energy, but rather that particular "tangerine" blend of cerebral design with cinematic soundscapes. And this is even more misteriously atmospheric an album than their previous efforts. Nevertheless, and in spite of all the astoundingly rational structure sustaining this music, its flow never stops, always impulsed by human emotion, the more conspicuous by contrast against the ever shifting sonic background. The cover of Nightfall with a sand dune, symbolizes the fleeting nature of our lives and experiences, our existence, according to Baumann himself, but also brings the last Klaus Schulze's album to memory, a non trivial association, since both seem to breathe and float in the same extatic universe.

"The track titles, as with much of my work, reflect the ephemeral, ungraspable nature of our existence", also says the artist. Of course, a strong sense of predictability also emerges from such an existentialist premise. But, in my case, that is not a complaint. In minimalistic affairs like this one, every minor shift in nuance or mood counts. The opener, No One Knows, convoys through the most hieratic desert, guided by sparse woodblocks under a laconic guitar dome. After that, there comes an impressively omnipresent, yet impenetrable choir in Track 2, Lost In A Pale Blue Sky. Perhaps the more dynamic (to say a lot) moments come to fruition in Tracks 3, 4 and 5, On The Long Road, A World Apart and From A Far Land, which, even being sustained by a still very circumspect percussive and harmonic scheme, assume a sort of narrative tension, in a fashion similar to a movie score when the trip procedes through an uncharted land of unmeasurable desolation.

"I love instrumental music because it bypasses any concepts, it is an expression that words can never capture," the artist reflects. "We can't hear music exactly the same way twice, it's always experienced differently, sometimes slightly sometimes substantially. Like a river, never exactly the same". So, it seems like this album extends an invitation to immerse and collaborate in the construction of that unfinished world of agonizing beauty.

3.5 stars. MAJEURE is the solo project of drummer and electronics musician Anthony Pattera. He is one half of the duo known as ZOMBI and I believe he took the name MAJEURE from that TANGERINE DREAM album "Force Majeure". And that would make sense considering that drums and electronics dominate that record and this project. "Solar Maximum" is his second release from 2012 and Anthony does it all, the the instruments, the production and the composing.

I have his debut "Timespan" from 2009 and feel it's the better record. It's all subjective of course but that one really impressed me with how inventive he was with his use of the electronics, and the way he combined these electronic/synth sounds. It was fun and catchy and a breath of fresh air. This one feels more mature, more level headed. It seems like each track is arranged in a similar way. But I really like his sound. This one is more melancholic and there's less drums compared to his debut.

We get six tracks worth 44 minutes. Plenty of sequencers here along with spacey synths. The latter are just gorgeous on the closer "Solar Maximum 2" as well as on "Extreme Northern Lights". Just beautiful. The song with the most energy is the title track which is also the longest one at 11 1/2 minutes. I quite enjoyed my time with this one but it will be "Timespan" that will be my "go to" MAJEURE album in the future.

I can't exactly remember how I discovered this highly obscure and unknown artist by the name of Serge Ramses, but I do know that I became interested in it from the very captivating and interesting art on the album cover. For starters, I just want to quickly say that (for me at least), I never really understood progressive electronics. Unless something truly stands out or is revolutionary, most albums in this genre rely on the atmosphere and experience. So it came as no surprise to me that when I did get around to listening to this album, I was generally unimpressed by it. Sure, it had its interesting moments and had some fascinating passages woven into the music, but most of it lacks originality, and it generally brings little to no remarkably different material to the table. Most of it can be described as a less polished and in-depth work by Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze. I did enjoy the cold and hypnotic feel of the opening minutes of When The Birds Die Away, but Ramses doesn't seem to change this and continues the basic structure of the song throughout most of the album. 

In conclusion, the album could've used something to spice it up, but it's an alright album in the end. I would like it more if the songs were longer and more textures were added in, but I'm assuming Ramses' life after this has been lost to time and there will most likely never be a remastered version to add these factors. This is a high 3/5 to a low 3.25/5 for me. If you like the more popular progressive electronic music out there, or if you want progressive electronic music that is a bit more concrete in the overall audio itself, you'll probably enjoy this, but it's far from being an essential. 

MAJEURE is the solo project of Anthony Pattera, who is in fact a drummer and an electronics musician. If that name is familiar you might be a fan of ZOMBI, as Pattera and Steve Moore are the duo who make up that band. "Timespan" is his debut from 2009, the same year ZOMBI released "Spirit Animal". His choice of the name MAJEURE has to come from TANGERINE DREAM's "Force Majeure" record. An album where electronics and drums figured prominently, like here.

There are three long tracks over 43 minutes. The music is quite catchy and melodic, not that far from the parent band. There's a host of electronic sounds here, plus the real drums are a bonus in my opinion. This is catchy and fun, but also really well done with that adventerous spirit. "The Dresden Codex" is the 14 1/2 minute opener. We get sequencers right out of the gate followed by synths and drums. This is great! Check out the bass synths before 3 minutes. I much prefer the first half of this track. It's a little mellow on the second half.

"Teleforce" is my favourite and the shortest at 9 1/2 minutes. Again sequencers hit us first followed by drums and this is rocking pretty good. Woo hoo! Synths sweep in after 3 1/2 minutes. So good. There's even more going on over those final 3 minutes.

"Timespan" the title track clocks in at 18 1/2 minutes. Love the start with the windy atmosphere as sounds pulse. The atmosphere turns more dense, then synths drop like rain as the atmosphere subsides and another wave of sounds arrives and takes over. No rain. Sequencers after 4 1/2 minutes along with drums before the synths come in like a cold front after 6 minutes. The tempo picks up before 11 minutes before it all settles around 15 1/2 minutes but sequencers, drums and spacey synths continue.

I have "Solar Maximum" from 2012 lined up next, his sophomore record. "Timespan" is entertaining yet adventerous. It's a cd I looked forward to popping in the stereo every time. A solid 4 stars for this one.

4.5 stars. I haven't been surprised like this for quite a long time. "Blacker" released in 2007 shows the band playing some of their more experimental music. This is dark and minimalistic for long stretches. Plenty of guitar from Houghton, but less of those sequencers, even though they are present here and used well. Lots of mellotron though. I just didn't at this point think I'd come across an album of theirs that suddenly is a top three from their huge discography. We are missing a boat load of their albums on this site.

"Knutsford In May" is still my favourite from 1996, but "Blacker" came out of nowhere. I own a lot of their music. They have mainly been on three record labels. Centaur Discs, Cuneiform Records and Northern Echo Records. This is on the latter and is shown as being their 17th on that label. The disc itself has NE017 under the name "Blackler", yes there's an extra "L" in there, clearly a typo. The only info related in this package is "Recorded at the Greenhouse in Stockport, where cups of tea cost 20p but check if there's some milk before paying." An incident that won't be forgotten.

So we get four tracks over 58 minutes. From the short 4 minute "No Bones" where we get these repeated guitar lines over and over in atmosphere. To the 28 minute "This Is Scenery?" where the band stretches out so far that the tea needs to be warmed up. All three guys are on electronics and caffeine, while Dinsdale adds drums and Goddard bass. I love these guys, I really do. And it's interesting to me that this was released the same year as "Rain Falls In Grey" two of their best right there. That opener is amazing. "Dubly" is a 9 minute trip of dark atmosphere with the guitar crying out. The bass gets us started as those sounds pulse in the darkness. Headphone music.

The closer "Enormodome" opens with haunting mellotron as spacey sounds twitter. A voice desperately cries out over and over in the atmosphere until a change around 5 minutes in. This is where the soundscape starts to move. This sounds incredible with the guitar expressions and deep sounds. So much going on. More guitar after 9 minutes, then sequencers after 11 minutes before the guitar returns to end it.

I like how each track blends into the next. I was going to describe that 28 minute beast but lets just say the time flies by. It's just such an interesting piece of music where we get it all from them. Sequencers, synth melodies, guitar expressions, percussion, dark atmosphere etc. Experimental, and how about those growly sounds? Just an epic track that will go down as one of my favourites from this band. I'm bumping this one up. And for sure this will be on of my "best of" electronic list.

This is the second and final album by this Canadian trio based in Toronto. And what an unusual setup of electric sax, keyboards and hand percussion. The self-titled debut was released in 1970 and was dominated by synths. The electric sax and hand percussion certainly weren't given equal billing by a long shot. They were more like guests on that one. No dynamics either, and as we know the result is no nose bone. A 2 star record in my world.

This followup from 1971 sounds more like I thought that trio would sound like. Everyone is getting their moment in the sun, very much an equal billing thing happening. We have nose bone as well. Now I must admit that I really don't like the tone of the electric sax. So it becomes be careful what you wish for at this point. We get eight tracks over almost 38 minutes. They brought in an orchestral string section which is heard briefly on "Syren" but in a much greater way on "December Angel". Strings later on "Ibistix" as well, and it's the second longest song at 8 minutes.

The opener and closer feature a memorable melody, but that's it. We do get some experimental sections that I like. And I like that eerie start to the longest tune "December Angel" which is 9 minutes long. The 3 1/2 minute closer called "Aurora Spinray" might be my favourite. It's just nice to have some warmth in the form of those organ sounds. And there's some vocals very late. I should mention the short "Tillicum" which was recorded for CTV and the TV show "Here Come The Seventies". It does sound slightly familiar as I no doubt as a kid heard this opening theme for that show. We were only able to get two TV channels back then, so the odds are pretty good I heard it and saw that show.

So a much better album than their debut, but this just fails to do much for me at all. This just isn't a band that I was able to get into unfortunately. Maybe I still have a bad taste in my mouth from my recent time sent with their debut. I like that other trio from Toronto though that would arrive a few years after this release.

3.5 stars. Teddy Lasry came from France, and from a musical family. His parents were in an experimental band that released many albums, with the first being in 1960. In fact Teddy would play on some of those beginning in the late sixties. Lasry also was a horn/flute player for MAGMA. Playing on their first three records before quitting and going solo. This 1976 release is one of Teddy's solo records, and many are tagged with Library music by RYM, including this one.

While Lasry does it all pretty much, he did get a drummer and a bass player to help out. The drummer is on two tracks, and that bass player happens to be Janick Top and he also plays on two tracks. Neither guest really stands out, rather they are part of the sound. It's a 38 minute record with 8 tracks. The opener and closer are really the same song with minimal keyboard sounds over 1 1/2 minutes. The intro and outro you could say. So yes, Lasry is all over this record playing clavinet, marimba, soprano sax, clarinet and adding electronics and effects.

While this album did grow on me, I really am on the fence with it. I didn't even like it at first, but after 4 spins I was feeling like it was actually pretty good. Still, it's too inconsistent for me to go 4 stars. The one song that stands out is "Quasar". A dizzying array of sounds on this one, but it's the last 2 minutes where the we get the best section of the whole album. They just step it up a notch, and it's great. "Earth" is another good one with a fair amount of piano.

It's odd that on the song "Nebular", before the 5 minute mark, we get sax coming out both speakers but playing different melodies. This happened with the piano on "Earth" as well. I'm not big on a lot of the high pitched electronic sounds on this record, like to start "Birth Of Galaxy" for example. And then "Birds Of Space" features chirping birds for over 3 1/2 minutes. Way too long! And even when we do get soprano sax like to start "Nonsense" it just sounds so old school. It's brief, but the drum and percussion section that follows goes on for far too long.

There is this attention to detail here that I admire, but this is a recording that I have trouble enjoying.

SYRINX were a Canadian band who released two studio albums, one in '70 and the other in '71 before calling it a day. A unique trio of keyboards, hand percussion and electric sax. The leader was keyboarder John Mills-Cockell who had been in a number of bands prior to this. He was also one of the first Canadian musicians to purchase a moog. And this appears to be the album where he tries it out. Moog dominates this album, in fact, take away the hand percussion and electric sax and no one will notice.

It's beyond surprising how mundane and unexciting this 39 minute album is. Moog all the time, but John also adds organ a fair amount, and piano sparingly. It's almost as if John knows this album will be held up down the road as being one of the very first Canadian albums with moog on it, so lets not blow it. Lets not embarrass ourselves by doing anything out of the norm on this historical recording. Okay, maybe I'm wrong, but I just can't get over the discipline in play to make such a monotonous record. The hand percussion is heard a few times. The electric sax leads twice as a solo instrument. Otherwise the sax is buried amongst the moog and organ sounds, it's another layer.

For me the most interesting track is the opener "Melina's Torch" where we get three different sounds eventually being apart of this track. It's melancholic and repetitive and not that great, but not bad. Same with that 11 1/2 minute closer where we get some moments like that but not many. The hand percussion might be at it's most upfront on that closer. "Father Of Light" is slow moving to a fault. Some piano on "Hollywood Dream". The one song that kind of clicked with me was "Field Hymn". A melody that is moving.

Their second and final release "Long Lost Relatives" is so much better. It's kind of what you would expect with that unique trio. This one is a rare 2 star album for me.