PROGRESSIVE ELECTRONIC

Claudio Milano does it yet again, crafting something truly incredible that is able to feel so cohesive despite how eclectic and utterly out there it will often get. Despite being a collection of live recordings from different projects and collaborations over the course of 12 years, it all fits together pretty cleanly while also being extremely bold in the directions things go. This is most clear when comparing the opening track Per Causa - Nostra with stuff like Madre pagana. The former of these is this dense avant-prog masterpiece featuring members from the band Area, with the song going in all kinds of directions and keeping this constant sense of intensity that only ever seems to escalate, packed with this theatrical flair to further elevate the density of everything going on.

On the other hand, you have a fair few tracks that are entirely acapella, feeling rather sparse, but no less impressive, really letting Milano's voice shine through in all its powerful, operatic glory. My favourite of this style of track has to be the closing track SenseNonSex however, being a borderline harrowing duet with Giulia Zaniboni that reaches some utterly ridiculous heights with how the two of them play off one another. It's hard to pinpoint too many specific moments in this that grab me beyond this, but that's not really a complaint in this case either, instead contributing to a rather unique listening experience where moments will begin blending together, but in those moments where much closer attention is paid, you'll almost always be hearing something a bit different, all tied together by the common thread of it being so constantly intense, whether it's influenced by fusion, classical or even a bit of canterbury from time to time, making for a truly special listening experience from start to finish.

Even the occasional lulls in my personal interest that occur from time to time don't detract from the album as a whole, as these still will often strive to feel very fresh and continue contributing to the kaleidoscopic flurry of ideas on display. Heavily recommended, as while this might not be as tightly constructed as Nichelodeon's Incidenti - Lo Schianto, it's arguably even more full of ambitious ideas, being this maximalist 2 hour journey that rarely lets up.

Vocalist/voice artist Claudio Milano is a stand-alone figure on Italian music scene. Singer with wide-range operatic vocals, Claudio works on a fragile soil mixing classical music, free improvisation, Italian tradition and progressive rock aesthetics. Knowing Claudio almost for two decades, I still can't stop wondering his ability to disappear for years and return on scenes as Phenix back again.

Newest Claudio release - double-CD album "ManifestAzioni live 2011​-​2023" contains previously unreleased live music from last twelve years, recorded by Claudio's different projects and collaborations.

Double set opens with very eloquent music - true rock song, recorded by legendary Rock Progressivo Italiano band Area descendants Area Open Project, with Claudio responsible for vocals. In early 70s Area was very popular band led by Greek-Egyptian vocalist Demetrio Stratos, renown by theatrical vocals and unusual voice improvisations. Claudio obviously pays respect to Stratos, one of his big influence. An excellent piece for fans of progressive rock with original Area's bassist Ares Tavolazzi on board.

Six set's tracks come from I Sincopatici - Milanese keys/bass/drums trio, accompanying to Claudio singing the songs based on Dante Alighieri poetry. Six more tracks are recorded with "border music" band Strepitz, with feel-able folklore influences and rock arrangements (Area's original guitarist Paolo Tofani's three-necks guitar soloing on "Aghe Aghe benedete" is impressive).

There are pieces on this set, coming from some Milano's own projects from previous decade (multimedia NichelOdeon and duo with sounds artist Marco Tuppo InSonar) as well.

Second set's disc opens with vocal-only composition, based on controversial Bulgarian author Nikolay Rainov (who studies Theology in Russia) work "Il Diavolo Creatore". "Pan's pot" is a duet with voice artist Arrington De Dionyso and "SenseNonSex" is a vocal duet with Giulia Zaniboni.

Being of very eclectic origin, album's material fits together quite well, especially on CD 1. With great recording quality as for collection of different periods archival recordings, and feel-able Italian progressive rock tradition, this release is probably a bit more framed than many of Claudio previous works. It with no doubt will enjoy those already familiar with Claudio Milano art, and probably will attract some new listeners as well.

— First review of this album —

Randomly diving into the NYC based experimental electronic music of PAS MUSIQUE lands me on their second album under that moniker INSIDE THE SPECTRUM. This collaborative effort of Robert L. Pepper, Amber Brien, Jon Worthley and Michael Durek has also gone under P.H.A.S.T.I. as a collaborative effort with the Polish artist Hati. These guys continue their journey into unique multi-faceted sound collages that meld exotic beats with progressive electronic swirlies and sound samples from the past after the debut "Abandoned Bird Egg."

This act got its break when the title track from this release was featured on "The Wire Trapper" compilation (volume 34) in Wire Magazine and features nine additional tracks that never let up in the spaciness and intensity. Although this is primarily if not entirely electronically based, INSIDE THE SPECTRUM exudes a tribal feel with its diverse roster of drumming techniques that sound more suited for a drum gathering in a remote rainforest rather than in a geeky studio setting. The mix of the varied percussion and the psychedelic swirling of the synth sounds is a true recipe for intoxication.

The album is quite diverse and features sounds that range from bagpipes to distant vocal calls and female angelic touches. There are moments that could be processed guitars but the beauty of this set of stellar comps is that it all sounds very mysterious with little or no secrets being revealed. The themes are inspired by space and philosophy with short philosophical quotes and an overall feel of drifting through space and encountering alien rhythmic occurrences in a seemingly random fashion. Despite all the alienation on board the album comes off as somewhat organic as it connects to Earthly familiarities as well as going for the experimental jugular.

Electronic music is so varied and easy to make that it's really hard to find outsider music that is so creative and talented that not only takes you on a space cadet journey but also connects to your emotional sensibilities as well. PAS MUSIQUE has mastered this dueling nature of the human condition and exhibits all of it in fine form on INSIDE THE SPECTRUM. This is a fascinating musical journey that keeps me enthralled from the beginning title track to the freakier than most ending track "Transference." Definitely a musical entity that i have every intention of checking out further.

I haven't listened to electronics for a while so this was a treat. COSMIC GROUND is the one man project of Dirk Jan Muller from Germany and he is also the leader and keyboardist for spacerockers ELECTRIC ORANGE. COSMIC GROUND has been his vehicle for delivering electronics to the world since 2014 and includes eight studio albums so far. This is his fifth from 2019 and besides sequencers and synths we get some bass, mellotron, string ensemble and farfisa organ. I always say give me some organic sounds when it comes to electronics and this record delivers that. The cover front and back and picture inside are all dark with a green hue, they have a sense of mystery about them.

This is a long one at over 75 minutes over eight tracks and this recording has a uniform sound to it and I like it. The short opener "Sludge" is awesome and a top three as we get atmosphere galore as my speakers vibrate along with some banging sounds. "Misery" is another top three and one I liked right from the first spin. A ton of atmosphere that hovers and after 3 minutes the mellotron is pretty great. "Delusion" is the other top three and I just noticed these three are the three shortest on the album and it's unusual for me to pick the short ones as favourites.

"Delusion" is an incredible soundscape of synths as Jan amps it up then settles it back over the 7 1/2 minutes. I did find that there's a lot of repetitive music on here especially with those longer pieces like the longest of all "Operation:Echo" at over 18 minutes. Three tracks are fairly heavy on the sequencers but this is truly soundscape music for the most part that is on the darker side.

A solid 4 stars for this stormy nighttime release.

Right from the first spin I knew this was a special recording. Claudio Milano is one of the greatest singers on the planet and while his inspiration at first seemed to come from AREA's Demetrio Stratos this man has his own style and there is no one like him. This is a double live recording of over 2 hours of music going back to 2011 and right up to 2023. I know this man's music. I am in double digits when it comes to albums that feature Claudio and to be honest I have had great difficulty with some of it, several 3 star ratings in fact but many 4 star ratings. This is my first 5 star rating for him and it's well deserved. Not perfect by any means but on each disc I have 8 songs(16 total) that are incredible and a total of 5 that leave me bewildered(haha).

The liner notes are amazing, very detailed at who is playing and singing and where each performance happened and when. Lots of pictures too. Claudio has a cool relationship with AREA's Paolo Tofani who he leaves to last in the "thankyou" section saying "And... finally, thank you Paolo Tofani for everything you have given me, this record is also yours." Paolo adds electronics, vocals and more and hey we also get the AREA drummer and bass player and all three AREA guys on that opening track. And Franco Battiato is on here! But man this is really all about Claudio and his vocal gymnastics. I do have a top three but would like to touch briefly on all of the 16 tracks that thrill me.

"Per Causa-Nostra" the opening track with the AREA boys is a top three for me. The opening bass and drums sound great as Claudio joins in. Check out the guitar after 2 minutes and later. This track is as much about the instrumental work as it is with the vocals. "Dite" is short but with depth as Claudio, bass, electronics and piano lead the way. "Che Il Piacere E' Peccato?" is another short 2 minute piece that opens in a haunting way before piano and fragile vocals take over.

"Conta Chi Tenta!" opens with pounding piano and drums as theatrical vocals join in. "Gallia #4" sounds incredible with those instrumental sounds and atmosphere. Intense before 2 minutes when Claudio steps aside briefly. "Aghe Aghe" is the longest track on disc one at almost 12 1/2 minutes and is an amazing ride. The closer of disc one is a tribute to STORMY SIX member Claudio Rocchi who had just recently passed. Spacey and beautiful, a nice change of pace although vocally this is pretty cool with those vocal arrangements.

Disc two and that second track ""Per Causa-Nostra II" has Battaito on it and is avant all the way instrumentally. Some abrasive guitar. Lots of depth 4 minutes in and deep vocals end it. "Incontro-Medley" is such a unique piece with bag pipes and dark vocal expressions. My second top three is "Cramars Marochins Pt II" as it just hits the spot with the intensity, the vocals and guitar all standing out. "Il Serpente E Il Bastone" is all about the sound, the atmosphere, just gorgeous as the vocals soar.

"Nella Torre Delle Aquile" is piano and atmosphere early with Claudio arriving around 1 1/2 minutes in. So much atmosphere early on. The eighth track is the longest on the double release at almost 20 minutes and it's almost catchy(haha). "Pan's Pot" is all about the vocals while the closer my final top three is also all about the vocals. It's called "SenseNonSex-Vocal Workshow" and it is a show of Claudio's incredible talents along with this soprano female singer Giulia Zaniboni who sings in Claudio's style and the results are outstanding.

This will sit with my all time favourite Avant albums, it's that good.

Read a lot of the reviews here and frankly I cannot believe what I am reading. Folks do not seem to understand that Tangerine Dream is in effect three different bands (with give or take the same personnel) three different periods during which they played completely different music[s]

The first period goes until 1972/73 probably including Atem The second period is definitely the golden period the albums there are Phaedra Rubycon Ricochet Stratosphere and Cyclone Possibly Force Majeure

Then they slip into the third period and the third period is basically the very beginning of the longest period which is film music and electronic New-age film-like music. A serious fan of the band like myself 🙂🙃😉 adores all three periods equally. The genius that was Edgar Froese did not sit still he moves on ... the first period was the acid period insane to my ears in 2023 pretty difficult to listen to especially the very first album Electronic Meditation it has a chalk on the blackboard or steel scratching on steel which is very difficult to listen to for any length of time; Alpha Centauri and Zeit and Atem are very spacey you are going through the stars here you are travelling to far-flung nebulae

You cannot keep doing this for years as it is too extreme so they came down to Earth again for the most successful-musically period probably the Phaedra to Force Majeure period

There we have arguably the two most famous albums Phaedra and Rubycon there is no arguing with those they are masterpieces absolute masterpieces ... but then again you could not stay there for any length of time so Edgar and his men moved onto the very lucrative film score lodestone and stayed there forever afterwards they never returned to the Acid-fuelled 1970 Music as indeed there would be no point they did not return to the melodic early sequencer phase of Phaedra and Rubycon they went somewhere else

They went deep into the 80s and 90s the Noughties and to my knowledge although I don't listen to Tangerine Dream after 1990 ie I do not listen to the new works that is I listen to the old works which are still gobsmackingly good this album here White Eagle yes it does sound like Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark or China Crisis or any English Liverpudlian outfit from that period and it is amazingly brilliant in the way that it does have what these bands had but it does not have a voice on top of the music NO vocals but the music carries you places as did the music from the first two periods so I think in many ways some of the reviews I read here earlier on are comparing chalk and cheese. They are comparing a Datsun car with a horse And obviously do not appreciate this album here White Eagle as it is for what it is. Is is not Electronic Meditation and not Phaedra and never intended to be. It is of an entirely different register.

White Eagle is any North Amerindian Chief you can imagine it is also a channeled entity which is followed by many around the world. I have no idea whether Edgar Froese was aware of that and I do not intend to research that; it is irrelevant. The music speaks for itself which is powerful. I repeat once again all three iterations of Tangerine Dream are unbelievably brilliant they are the Pink Floyd of Germany. That level. Maybe by the 1990s they got a little formulaic and some of the albums were almost cut-and-paste productions but by 1982 nothing like that; it was pure liquid gold for which I am eternally grateful to Edgar and his men

Highly recommended and yes very much of its time : 1982

PS: Not always sure folks know that Tangerine here is a reference to the city of Tangiers and not the fruit .... took me years 🙂 🤣😎 to glimpse that ... Tangiers synonymous with kif of course ...

One of the better and most inventive keyboard players Germany ever had in progressive rock realm past and present is for sure the talented Lutz Rahn - known from legendary symphonic prog act Novalis.

He joining Novalis since the begginig of their career in 1971 and stay with them in thier most glorious period 1973-1979, offering his contribution with some magnific keyboards arrangements over the years.

After Novalis released Brandung in late 1977, Lutz Rahn decided to go solo, but remaining with the band, and in 1978 he released the evocative title Solo trip issued in 1978.

Well, his aproach here is diffrent then on Novalis albums, the pieces, first of all are less symphonic and lenghty then on his mother band and second, the music is more towards electronic prog with some lets say pop elements thrown in, but overall the album is quite pleasent prog symphonic electronic album with nice synthesizers and mellotron flights on all pieces .

His manner of composing and interpretation is similar in places with Peter Bardens from Camel fame, Jurgen Fritz from Triumvirat, and Jean Michel Jarre amomg others.

Solo trip desearves attention for sure, from my side 3.5 stars, nothing is groundbreaking, but in same time all is pleasent and enjoyble from start to finish. There is some funny intresting story behind the cover art of the album mentioned by Lutz himself, writings can be found in the re issue of the album on CD by MIG label in 2012.

I wasn't very interested in this album at the time. I had loved Mensch Maschine and Computerwelt; not only were these pioneer works, they were also full of fun and pleasant melodies. Electric Cafe was far more rhythm oriented and had much less on offer when it comes to the latter two qualities. It was at the time also criticised for coming too late in the sense that a new generation of Kraftwerk influenced bands had developed the approach and here it was rather Kraftwerk trying to sound like them than the other way round.

Relistening, I'd say that the last objection is to some extent not justified as Electric Cafe is pretty much its own thing. I mean, I don't know everyone who did Technopop in the eighties, and I do see the similarities to some material that had been recorded in the previous years, so it's not entirely unfounded, but I do believe that nothing else sounds quite like this. The album is more self-referential, it comments on the development of technopop as much as creating it, and the specific use of repetition, revisit, redevelopment and sometimes also the glaring lack of it is really very Kraftwerk. There is also some emptiness and reliance on rhythmic patterns only here that goes further, or rather let's say is based more obviously on leaving things out than other work of this kind. Needless to say that also in the Kraftwerk discograpy this is very unique as it extends their typical minimalism even further to melodic elements and refraining from "filling the space" (except Telephon Anruf and Sex Objekt, which really take a lot from New Order and others). Also I can now more appreciate the fun factor that is still there (Boing Boom Tschak and Telephon Anruf in particular).

At the end of the day you may enjoy Kraftwerk's 1986 version of techno or not, and I can well see why many prog listeners would not like it. Personally I'm not the biggest fan of it either, however I'd say it ultimately works for what it is, and I disagree with those who say it isn't original (it isn't groundbreaking by any means, but it has its uniqueness for sure). I don't disagree quite that much with those who say there aren't many ideas on this album. It's minimalist and to some extent that's the point, but I wouldn't have complained about some more substance. 3 stars.

14 years since release. Only one rating given and no reviews, so here goes:

I would go one better than a mid-table 3 for good, but not essential. I award this album 4/5, a live recording of a concert in Prague covering 7 tracks from 7 different Alio Die albums. This artist has been very busy and is still going, with his latest release this year of 2023 being his 67th studio album!

Track 1 is from Tripudium Naturae, studio album number 33, released the year after this concert

Track 2 is from Il Tempo Magico Di Saturnia, album 17

Track 3 is from Sine Tempore, album 29

Track 4 is from Honeysuckle, album 38, released in 2011, 2 years after this concert

Track 5 is from Password for Entheogenic Experience, album 4

Track 6 is from Corteggiando Le Messi, album 20

Track 7 is from Raag Drone Theory, album 26

With those formalities out of the way, I admit that from Alio Die's vast collection, I have not heard many of them. This is my favourite I have listened to, pipping The Hidden Spring for sheer enjoyment. The general feel of the music is long, drawn out, droning melodies that repeat for a while yet change in a subtle manner, so the nuances of the changes keep my attention and do plenty to delight me. The music drew me into a natural world that track by track told a story, possibly of a trip I might make into the wilderness:

Track 1 begins with a whistling I might make as I leave the hostel at twilight. Traffic noise fades away slowly, replaced by wildlife at play all around me. Bird calls delight as I head for the riverside. Track 2 bring a deepening of dusk through red and purple to grey. I walk by the river with branches and logs floating by, bumping into and scraping by the bridge. The river rolls on by en route to the sea. Track 3 moves me away from the river and I am aware of the canopy of stars above, like a huge cathedral ceiling, ethereal and holy. Crazy owls are calling and a 15mph breeze is rippling through leaves around me. Track 4 slows the breeze, gradually right down to stillness; the night becomes hauntingly melodic in its callings, beckoning me to the woods. Track 5 and I enter the woods, where darkness prevails, a twinkling of a star every now and then through the leaves above. Wildlife is rustling around, but is it friendly or predatory? Fear ebbs and flows. I follow the path through the wood, a jittery yet beautiful journey. Track 6 brings a thinning of the trees, larger gaps above, more stars, then constellations. I have made it out to the other side. Open space greets me and a magical lake reflects the rising moon, waxing gibbous. Talls hills to the west cut out the wind. I walk around the lake, listening to the pond life, splashings of ducks and then croakings of frogs. The frogs get noisy. An alarm call?

Track 7 and I run for the hills. Campfires are visible higher up. People are singing. I find a rocky pathway heading up. The melody in the wind has gone. Is that a deer or a wolf I hear calling out? Then there are voices, human; civilization is near. I make it up to an encampment and am warmly greeted. A cuppa soon in hand, I sit with others around a campfire and swap stories. Warmth. Camaraderie. Under stars and moon, it is a simple marvel as hospitality delights. I am given a tent and sleeping bag for the night and I sleep well as the music on the album departs... Then the music resumes and I am waking to glorious sunshine. A new day is dawning, hope eternal shining through canvas. I hatch out into an area of outstanding natural beauty, now visible in all its colours. Wonder fills my heart as buzzards soar overhead. Effortless movement with grace and serenity.

Yes, it is a tall tale and you may well think I have it all completely wrong; you probably get something completely different. Such is the beauty of evocative music and it does not come much more evocative than this! You would not know this is a live performance. There is no audience participation and the quality is top notch.

If you like the more ethereal Vangelis albums like El Greco, you might like this.

Artwork: Nice digipak with the CD, no lyrics of course, but a few photographs of the concert

Length: 74 mins of value for money

Rating: 4/5

SEQUENTIA LEGENDA, Laurent SCHIEBER, musician near the German border from where the notes of the Berliner School of Klaus SCHULZE still resonate; atmospheric electronic music, stratospheric pads, cosmic wanderings, overloops and other computer sequences, sequences like Sequentia; space legends, electronics for a journey even further than the stars; we have the name of his 14th album since 2014 which also revisits ASHRA, TANGERINE DREAM and which diversifies the sound modulations by sequences!

"AROUND THE GREAT CENTRAL SUN" takes the listener directly into a dark space filled with monolithic notes of hope; chiseled notes with a few overloops and entourloupes just to escape without possible return; 20 minutes that cannot be heard passing, a time limit. "THE RING OF GOLDEN LIGHT" takes us on an air of TANGERINE DREAM, titles of departure, lugubrious, introspective; it takes 4 minutes to warm up, 11 to find the musical space rail worthy of Schulze; at 20 minutes the station wagon brings you back to earth in a multi-dimensional decompression chamber, guaranteeing a new wandering with angelic choirs. "BON VOYAGE" refers to the spiral atmospheres of the master, it is different and there are a lot of analogies there; it turns, overloop, it feels like coming back in the past, the sounds seem to stop and it starts again, a natural hallucinogenic drug. "LOVE FEEDS LOVE" for the bonus on harmony and light, the essence of life; a radio edit who knows... to plunge your head into the vacuum of space with just a breath of oxygen to see where Love is.

SEQUENTIA LEGENDA tries to bathe us in a world without fear, without war, without stress (without reproach I don't know); a world where you are alone with your ideas for a certain contemplative outcome. A bit of his soul and his heart is hidden inside, it's up to you to find them before leaving in this hypnotic space. "Alcyone" largest star of the Pleiades, nodal point of reference, a sort of vortex synthesizing our energy or how music can further reduce the temporal sensation. Laurent would have fallen in love with SCHULZE with ''Mirage'' recent album in SCHULZE's discography; personally it's ''Moondawn'' for the 70s and ''Dreams'' for the 80s; 35 albums on my counter to find vibrations that Laurent was able to revive from near or far, on purpose or not; it's my 4th from him which allows me to cheerfully revise old sounds. A SEQUENTIA LEGENDA album can't be explained, can't be dissected, can't be chronicled, we talk about it, we dream, we reminisce, we stay quiet, absent in front of the moving world, we spin with our mouths closed through the stars without a particular vessel, just by spitting out a little oxygen to move forward, turn right, jump into the cosmic void.