KÖSMONAUT

— First review of this album —

'Green' is the work of electro engineer Patrick R. P'rk. The only Progressive Electronic music I have heard in the past includes the works of Kraftwerk that always have a strong melodic techno pop sound and spacey computer effects; always appealing with the quirky electro rhythms and hypnotic computerised chirps. Klaus Schulze is another in the genre who is really a pioneer of electro with some stunning albums such as 'Mirage'. Aube is another in the genre but on the extreme end of the scale with noise and effects as well as extended soundwaves without any semblance of structure at times, and tests my patience. Tangerine Dream is more like the style of Kosmonaut as the music develops slowly with variations of electro sounds and synths such as on 'Rubycon', 'Stratosfear' and 'Phaedra'. I certainly do not consider this music to be something I would turn to often and usually I only listen for the purpose of opening my ears to something different.

'Five Wisdoms' is over 15 minutes of spacey sounds made with electronics and drones on interminably. The problem I have as a reviewer is allowing myself to become immersed in music I do not particularly like, and a case in point is right here with Kosmonaut. I noticed the minimal ratings and reviews here showing me that I am not the only one who does not listen to this style often. It is an elite target audience as the music is so stark, and indeed not even music at times, more like processed sonic vibrations, though this is way better that the noise of Aube. While the sonics on 'Eagle Wizard' were interesting, after a while I found myself frustrated at the lack of structure and by the time 'Star Mother' arrived I was longing for the album to end. It simply is not my taste and I would assume this extreme style only appeals to a certain listener. It is challenging as it is so devoid of rhythm, melody or even variation. At times there is a lengthy drone with ear piercing sonics and it is headache inducing.

Perhaps these psychedelic amplifications are designed for trance or meditation, but even then it is too abrasive to have appeal. The best track is 'Smoking Mirror' as it has a motorik processed techno beat and even sounds like Kraftwerk in their early experimental phase. In short bursts the electro sounds may be quite effective, especially as the background to a movie or documentary on space. I hope this review sparks some interst for those whom this style appeals to as it will no doubt deliver what they expect. As a one off listen this is stark and uncomfortable enough to jar the ear into taking notice, if only to see how it develops, however I certainly felt that it was not compelling enough to sit through on repeated listens without skipping tracks, therefore this is definitely one for the extreme electro collector/ connoisseur.

Free phone call to the sun

This is some real trippy stuff! Not that I would recommend it to anyone out there, because the fact of the matter is, that inside the world of prog electronic, the only crowds available around here have a somewhat boring inclination for Tangerine Dream's more melodic output. I actually love that too, but try getting folks to sample something outside of the perimeter, and I'll show you a butch unshaven Peter Pan in a pair of leather trousers.

Kösmonaut is anything but your melodic Berlin School electronics. It weaves around frantically somewhere between the noisiness of Maurichio Bianchi and the introvert nature of French pioneer Heldon, - although here we aren't facing noise, avant-garde or industrial screeches, but great big ponds of still musical membranes suddenly touched and forever vibrating and shimmering like a regular mirage of sound.

Through a series of synth modulations and organ frenzied horror cabinet backdrafts, Kösmonaut delivers an esoteric and abstract musical voyage, that takes you out under the starry skies on these structure- less scoops of electronic sound. The very moment you get hit by something tangible on this release, is when you hear the compact bundled and somewhat breakdancing nature of the second track, which all of a suddenly transforms into something I would never ever have guessed. For about 30 seconds, it becomes a hardcore 90s dance track, only to propel itself into oblivion on melting psychedelic remnants of the synthesizer that by now is singing an entirely different tune.

To people outside of the prog electronic sphere, this could be the thing that opened up a world of altogether alternative musical pleasures, and you would do yourself good in trying out this album on for size. It's free, so why don't you?

Procession of the Sun as it is aptly named - does make you think upwards. Like most electronic ventures, we are reminded of that most camp of genres, whenever we encounter the sounds of the synthesizer: science fiction with all what that entails of spaceships, green men and laser beams. This one is no different, and just to be perfectly foreseeable, I'd like to cement this album's status as a journey to space: First of all, look at the great cover art. Then listen to the bird picking synthesizer tweeks, the criss crossing beams of sound that run amok over the stillness of the stagnant yet highly swirling musical tapestries lurking stoically in the back like a resting Buddha of stone bubbles.

This could actually be the very definition of an album worthy of the Collectors/fans only rating - that is 2 stars, but this reviewer is hoping for some adventurous souls out there in the jungles of internet, who will sacrifice an hour of their cracker-jack lives merely to throw themselves into this electrified musical pond. Beware of the splashes people!

My knowledge of the progressive electronic genre is pretty much limited to Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze, and a little bit of Tangerine Dream, so I really wasn't sure what to expect from this. I'm sure there are those out there with a far greater knowledge and appreciation of the genre who could review this far more effectively than myself; however, even for the uninitiated this is an interesting listen and so I'll give it a go.

On the whole I would say that Kösmonaut is rather hard to classify. I will confess that when I saw the rather space-oriented titles of many of the songs I was expecting something resembling ambient music; that's not what this is. Nor does it fall into the wildly experimental, avant-garde category of early Tangerine Dream. And finally, it certainly is not the techno-pop of latter day Kraftwerk. It does, however, combine some elements from all of these (that I hear at least) and so it ends up being a very compelling, if at times a bit disjointed, listen.

"Psychic Mystic Vistas" begins with a sort of distorted synth drone that eventually develops into a slow, spacey progression that fits very well with the sort of cosmic theme that the album sets up. After about two minutes a more rhythmic electronic beat comes in, with the same sort of static-laden, distorted synth playing over it. Eventually, however, this fades out, to be replaced by an uptempo, energetic piano part over which a variety of synths play, sweeping and swirling like cosmic bodies flying past the window of a spacecraft. This last section is definitely my favorite part of the track, with an energy that I feel was a bit lacking in the first bit.

"Swallowing Sun Disk From The Kosmos" follows this up on a somewhat mysterious note, with synth drones that seem to me to recall endless expanses of emptiness. The sound eventually transitions, however, from one of mystery and unknown to one of almost danger, with the piece taking on a rather ominous air before switching suddenly (almost jarringly) into a more rhythmic type of electronic music that's closer to modern techno then to the pseudo-ambient soundscapes of Klaus Schulze. This in turn gives way to another motif, a low-pitched, moaning drone juxtaposed with a high pitched, shimmering texture. This continues for quite a while before another more rhythmic section closes out the track, with the actual ending of the piece coming quite suddenly.

"The Nectar of Thousand-Year Dwarf Stars" starts on a more Klaus Schulze-y note, with some very pleasant ambient textures and some interesting pitch-bending sounds as well. After about 3 and a half minutes the ambient feel begins to disappear as some Kraftwerk- esque sequencing begins to take over the track. This disappears very suddenly and the cosmic, swirling, spacey synths return, going on for a bit before another loop kicks in that's a bit reminiscent of old 8-bit tones. A wobbling synth tone eventually joins in on top of this, creating an interesting juxtaposition of sounds before the track begins to strip down, concluding with a minute long outtro of rumbling and shimmering synth textures.

The next track takes a bit more of an experimental route, with "Amplification of Luminous Being" beginning with some very high pitched ringing juxtaposed with more of those rhythmic, Kraftwerk-esque electronic beats. This is interspersed, however, with other loops that don't really mesh harmonically, and as such the track comes off feeling much more avant-garde than ambient. Midway through the track, however, the conflicted and noisy arrangement falls away, leaving only some low sweeping sounds and a single, pulsating monotone. Eventually this is replaced by more rhythmic sequencing and that same high, shimmering tone that's appeared all over this album. The track concludes with a final rhythmic section that I think could almost be danceable, though the dancers would have to have a decidedly avant-garde mindset.

"Unitive Knowledge of the Divine Ground" begins much more minimally, with some low sweeps the only sound in the track before some rather disjointed percussion and rhythmic sequencing enters. Most of the track continues in this vein, coming off like a strange combination of Kraftwerk's latter day pop efforts and their Krautrock beginnings. "Unitive Knowledge?" finishes with a single, high-pitched tone that fades away to silence.

"Daughters of the Sun" is the final track on the album, as well as the shortest. Some faintly melodic, distorted synth begins the piece before the track moves into an ambient, cinematic mode. While it's much simpler than some of the electronic chaos that made up many of the earlier tracks, "Daughters of the Sun" provides a very satisfying air of finality to the album and is a nice final chance to catch your breath as the album ends.

This music isn't for everyone. To be honest, I'm not even sure if it's for me. This is drastically different than the kind of stuff I usually listen to, and even after multiple listens I'm still not totally sure of how I feel about it. There is no doubt, though, that this music is well arranged and composed, and it's certainly grown on me since the first listen. I would suspect that those with a greater affinity than myself for pure electronic music will find this very enjoyable, and even those without much knowledge of the genre (myself included!) should find it very interesting.

3/5

This album has been a partial disappointment for me, but only because I was expecting something different. In the progressive electronic world you can find drones made of electronic noises without any trace of rhythm like with the Dutch Phrozenlight. This Kosmonaut (sorry for the regular "o", I won't spend time on the ASCII table) is on the opposite side of that world. His drones are based on electronic drumming and rhythm with the keyboards in the background. Something halfview, like the Tangerine Dream, would have been better for me.

The album itself is not too bad. It's surely better than some of the Dutch drones, also because in proportions, finding a weak album in a 100 albums discography is not too difficult. The problem that I have with it is that I enjoy more a thing like an ambient drone made of keyboard only than things like this one.

For most of the album I haven't had any good sensation. Again, this depends on me. While the first tracks have some of Kraftwerk, and some squared waves in Edgar Froese's style, I had to arrive to the last track before getting some pleasure. This is not too dissimilar from the rest but has something more: first of all, the drumming is less present and the result is a bit more "acid".

What I personally don't like is that sort of chill'out-just-after-a-big-rave sound, that's very far from what I was expecting, that's something that on "Primordial gnosis" appears sometimes.

So in the end, the fact that I haven't liked it doesn't mean that anybody else can't. Hard fans of electronics who don't dislike house and rave parties will surely find it interesting. It has some goods specially in these parts where is closer to Edgar Froese, with sequences of bass squared waves.

So, being unable to split my personal appreciation from the real value of the album I stick on three stars. It's not for "any" prog music collection (not for mine), but I can't say that it's bad and it's also possible that time after time I will start enjoying it.

Give it a chance.

— First review of this album —

A space journey!

Patrick R. P'rk is a musician from the United States who fortunately entered to the progressive rock realm. Last year (2011) he composed a lot of songs which were released under four (or five?) different albums, one of them is entitled 'Voyage of Time', which by the name one could judge what the music may be about. I would like to thank him for sharing with us this spacey and trippy music that has made me have a good time. Though so far 'Emanations' is my favorite out of the three I've listened, I can mention that Voyage of Time has also very cool moments.

This album features nine compositions that make a total time of 66 minutes in which K'smonaut alone delight us with a wonderful use of synthesizers, music that may remind us to Klaus Schulze or Conrad Schnitzer, but with a personal P'rk touch. I like how the first minutes of 'Creation of Time' seem to be on the limbo, and then all of a sudden the electronic elements start creating a faster, emotive rhythm that will continue in the whole track. The addition of electronic drums put the rock element, so it is a nice electronic rock (prog, better said) song.

'Voyage of Time' has a similar style, it has a repetitive rhythm with the electronic drums included, what makes this music great is that in spite of that repetition, new elements are added every once in a while, so the song is not plain, on the other hand, it is dynamic and addictive. Then it makes a stop and it is rebuilt, creating a different sound, but sill good without a doubt. 'Celestial Communication' has a calmer, thoughtful mood. I imagine being in a spaceship and floating slowly in space; everything is easy until it passes the two minutes where new sounds are implemented, so in my story the relaxation disappears and there are signs of trouble, so we have to hide in a new planet.

'Sky Ritual' and 'Sky Burial' are a couple of tracks that will make you either enter deeper to K'smonaut's galaxy, or try to find another destiny because there are some particular moments when one may lose track of what's happening, but each mind and ear are different. I like the last couple of minutes of the Ritual which are slower than the first, and I like how it vanishes and opens the gates to the Burial. This track flows constantly, it begins calm but later the intensity and volume increase, creating a kind of atmospheric tension.

'Prism of the Present' continues with that tense mood, I imagine someone lying almost unconscious while some aliens or robots are experimenting with his mind, until he suddenly wakes up, it was a dream. 'Into the Blood of the Sun' is a noisy and hot track that really transports me to a spacey sunny place, the first two minutes mainly, because later it slows down for some seconds, indicating that something has changed. And then, little by little electronic drums gain position in the music, while synths create endless atmospheres.

'Eagle-bone Vision' is the longest track of the album, with 11 trippy, spacey and not boring at all minutes that will take you to different passages, different worlds and will put a nice diversity of images in your mind. There are moments where the new elements are entering evidently, however, there are others when those new elements are not that easy to perceive, so it is better to listen with good headphones if you want to appreciate them better. The last track is 'Ingestion of the Universe Flesh' which is one of my favorite of the whole album.

I really like K'smonaut's music, he offers modern prog electronic with an inherent space reminiscence that can be appreciated by any fan of the electronic side of prog rock, however, this album is not superb, it has some lower moments that do not make it as strong as 'Emanation', of course in my opinion. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

Beware: Once you enter to Kösmonaut's realm, you will not escape!

This is the second album I listened and review of Kösmonaut, the brainchild of US composer Patrick. R Park, who creates great electronic-oriented stuff in the vein of dinosaurs such as Tangerine Dream. This album entitled "Emanations" shows his compositional skills with five complex and challenging compositions which range from six to eleven minutes, making a total time of 46 minutes.

It opens with "The One", a nine-minute piece which starts with a strong and loud electronic sound. The repetitiveness is inherent here but also necessary, what makes this kind of music so enjoyable are the diversity of elements that are being included little by little, throughout the whole track. A mandatory suggestion that I have to do, is that you better listen to it with headphones, in order to truly appreciate what the artist is offering. I really love the inclusion of drums (I am not sure if they are electronic or not, though, but it does not really matter), and how they perfectly complete the pile of synthesizers that are surrounding us. Not a boring track at all, on the other hand, this is a fantastic trip to electronic prog.

"Monad" is the shortest track of the album. It starts slower and softer than the previous one, but after some seconds when drums appear it becomes more intense and provocative. The beauty of this musician is how he manages to create a main structure and put a lot of passages and sounds inside it, also, it is wonderful to hear the progression and evolution of the track, and how you little by little are being hypnotized. Though I previously mentioned Tangerine Dream, do not expect a clone, not at all, here you will have an artist with his own style, and with a clear XXI century reference.

"The Indefinite Dyad" is one of the two 11-minute track of the album. The space and sci-fi references are obvious, here, the sound is much softer and slower than the previous tracks, and the atmosphere makes me totally feel like floating in the Milky Way; but after two minutes the song changes and puts synths with a faster rhythm, while the first one works now as simple background. After four minutes and a half there is a stop, the wind can be heard and a kind of uncertainty reigns now; and later little by little the song progresses and adds diverse elements that bring several sensations. What a good trip!

"Triad" is another addictive track with a repetitive rhythm but with a wonderful salad of sounds. It is impossible not to move your head while you are listening to it, which does not mean it is music to dance, don't misunderstand me, but the rhythm invites you to explore its world, its planet and taste its elements. I really love how the intensity increases, there is a moment when you may be about to explode due to the higher and chaotic sound, however the song slows down and keepds developing new and new elements.

The final track is "Primordial Gnosis", the second 11-minute composition. Here the beginning is a bit jammed, I don't know if that is the best adjective, but there are several sounds that I cannot separate one by one, they are like piled up. After two minutes the track is taking a face, creating its body and becoming into something, maybe a being, not sure if human. You want to get hypnotized once again? So then put your headphones, close your eyes and lie on your bed, because you will enter into a transitory process in which you will morph into another form, you decide which.

I loved this album, I am not sure if I can call it a progressive rock masterpiece, but out of the three Kösmonaut's works I've listened to so far, this one has really put me in its world, and made me enjoy every single second of it. That is why I will grade it with four strong stars, and recommend it to any progressive rock fan.

Enjoy it!

Great electronic stuff!

I was absolutely attracted (I laughed, I admit) by the description that Patrick R. Park (aka Kösmonaut) gave about his musical project in the "Official review our music" forum, that I immediately wanted to listen to it. So I downloaded his three albums, and now I will share my thoughts about "The Dilation of Mother Cosmos" which is his first one (if I am not wrong), and the shortest one, with a total length of 36 minutes, divided in ten compositions. Eight of them are short track (three or less minutes) and two longer ones (seven, and ten minutes respectively).

I have to say that since the first time I listened to Kösmonaut, I felt captivated, excited by his music, because it is a realm that really catches your attention and don't let you escape until it completely finishes. One of my friends told me I had discovered "Edgar Froese's lost son", haha. The album opens with "Introduction", which is a short piece that works as the title suggests. "The Cavernous Meridian of Existence" is exactly what you can imagine about an electronic prog artist, repetitive but addictive sound, lots of synthesizers, a constant drumming and an hypnotizing sound overall.

"Distant Hills" may work for a dramatic film scene, because it has a tense ambient that suggests care and attention. "Eclipses of Infinite Space" has a cool drum structure, though it is constant, it is not plain. But well, the important are the synthesizers, and how every second new elements are being added, so the song invites you to fall deeper into the space.

"The Dilation of Mother Cosmos Part 1" is one of the long tracks. With seven minutes, it starts slowly and progresses little by little, here you can once again play with your imagination, create images in your mind and invent scenarios of your own story, but well, evidently, you will find your place at outer space, in the cosmos, its cosmos. There is a moment where you can feel totally relaxed, so take advantage of it and clear your mind.

"Propelled Into Light" has a faster and more dynamic sound, it suggests movement and hurry. It suddenly vanishes, and immediately later, "Your Brain is God" starts. These two tracks are really short, but as I mentioned before, they are very visual, and may be used for any film score or any other story.

"Binary Star" has again drums, which put a nice rhythm, and this time they are more dynamic. Then, the atmospheres are being built and little by little they catch your attention. It is much better if you listen to it with headphones, so it is an advice. "Battle of the Cosmic Womb" is the shortest piece, with only one minute of spacey noises that sound as the music of a Nintendo game.

Finally, the longest track comes with "The Dilation of Mother Cosmos Part 2", whose ten minutes are a clear example of the hypnotizing sound of electronic prog, and more specific, of Kösmonaut. I like the variation of sounds, the structure and the images it produces. Worth mentioning the inner changes, and the increase of the sound in some moments, creating a tense and somber atmosphere.

Though out of the 3 Kösmonaut albums this is my least favorite, I believe this is a nice album nonetheless, but honestly I think it is far from his two other releases, which I will review soon. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!