LAUREL: Laurel CD
A full length album from the band formerly known as Dome……..& CC Dome, too. This new album consists of both their, now put of print, CD-EP's 'Dome' & 'Dream Furious', all tracks newly remixed and remastered to sound better than ever, along with some new music, all morphed into one full-length CD.
So, it seems only fair to repeat the two EP reviews, tell you that it all sounds fantastic, is one of the most gorgeous, heavenly melodic space music albums around,sounds absolutely impeccable, is full of atmospehere and just has to be sixty minutes of pure bliss - read on…………
The first CD-EP, 'Dome' consists of 4 tracks, of which the first features a slow-ish electro-percussive rhythm base, acres of flowing bass/string synth undercurrents giving the piece a very moody feel and a middle-eastern sounding synth lead wailing away on top. Track 2 is a beautiful slice of Roach style drifting synths over a slightly faster but echoed/clipped electro-percussive rhythm, addded to which is a gorgeous section of full-sounding synth lead flow that gives the track a feel of the imaculate and timeless 'Western Spaces' album. Track 3 is similar to track 2 and just as good, while track 4 is a heartwarming slice of flowing cosmic synth music that again is very Raoch/Braheny-esque as it winds its way through the heavens. A superb 20 minute EP with nothing outstaying its welcome or being boring.
Dream Furious' was/is a twenty-nine minute album and once again it's full of those superb heart-warming string synth layers to which we swooned so much on the previous releases. This time they've added a smooth, crisp percussive rhythm to the opening track (of five) and it gives the track such a wonderful balance of light and shade, you'll be hard pushed not to set this track on repeat play and just wallow in its beauty for the rest of the afternoon. The next track has a slower, darker percussive rhythm and the synths here are more reflective in the manner and mood of the piece and yet the element of warmth and delight is paramount, while track three could easily have come from Roach and company's "Western Spaces" album - it's one of those gorgeous cosmic tracks that's light and airy, yet a joy to hear, at just under four minutes of melodic grace. Track four reprises the feel of track one, only here with more shuffling rhythm base and a solid feel to the lead synth layers, giving a more purposeful sound, again darker and less overtly cosmic. Finally, track 5 sees the album out in a glorious soundscape of slowly flowing cosmic synths, all deep and resonant, gradually adding subtle and stronger synth layers as it progresses, building to a quite magnificent cosmic climax that gradually fades at just the right pace, leaving you just wanting to return to track one and start all over again.
All that sound inviting? Then you have to get this album.

CARL MATTHEWS: Mirage 2000 CD
Alongside Ian Boddy, Mark Shreeve & Paul Nagle, Carl Matthews was one of the original members of the emerging eighties UK Synth music movement way back at the start of that decade, creating several memorable cassette only releases, but never actually bothering with the transition to vinyl. Now, two decades on, he's finally made the transition to CD with a brand new studio album, and it's immense stuff.
Featuring eleven tracks between three and nine minutes in length, the album opens with two huge sounding tracks that segue into each other, starting with an atmospheric but strong melody, then adding rhythms where all manner of layers of synths, electro-percussives, samples and keyboards all merge into this one strident melting pot of sonic incredulity as layer upon layer propel themselves forth, as much modern ambient as synth, but simply sensational stuff, packed full with melody, power, atmosphere and so much happening yet so crystal clear and so punchy. The electronic drums and synth rhythms are the crispest and most dynamic I've heard in ages and there's many a synth musician around right now who'd kill to get production sounding like this - magnificent start to the album. 'AshChild/Hiroshima' continues the feel with electronic layers, powerful electronic drums, a choir sample, a delicately intoned female voice sample, all sorts of synth layers and space effects, deep rivers of bass at the heart of the mix, and such a huge-sounding hypnotic track that is simply the business. Just amazing stuff. About half way through, the rhythm patterns change and it becomes like 'Trans Europ Express' on acid, with the train-like fast-paced electronic and drum rhythms at the heart of the mix as the swirling wall of synths and atmospheres continue all around, eventually dropping down to a cauldron of electronic drums and synth effects that is just awesome. The whole thing then builds like one mighty machine and takes off like you would not believe - as mighty a nine minute track as you'll hear and just so powerful, it will take your breath away. The near five minute 'Deep Substance' continues to mine this magnificent and magical vein of overwhelming synths and electronic/programmed drums/rhythms and multi-layered electronic magic. With only four tracks gone and seven to go, let me tell you that this awesome journey continues uninterrupted and that there's not a less than perfect track on the whole mighty album.
Now, I've tried to avoid comparisons here, but I'll tell you what it felt like to me - it gave me the same sense of jaw-dropping amazement as when I heard Shreeve's 'Legion' or 'Crashhead' for the first time, and in many ways could be seen as a similarly styled type of album - powered to the max, layered to a wondrous degree, immediate, heavy and urgent, throwing in the kitchen sink for good measure - but an album that is atmospheric, free of overtly direct tunes although well melodic in its own unique way, firmly digital, firmly new millennium, and incredibly well played, produced and delivered, all done with passion, feel and an eye to detail. In short this could be one of the finest synth albums you'll hear all year and is certainly one of the best around in its field right now - sensational doesn't even come close!

MIRRORS: Neutron Star CD From Russia, a simply fabulous CD of 'real' space synths music, featuring two lengthy tracks and three shorter tracks, and all of it absolutely superb. Played and produced in a top quality manner, the album sets the scene before moving onto the two epic tracks, of which the first starts with a very full-sounding slice of lead synth flow below which assorted synth layers drone and glide, while on top the tones change from high register to more bottom-end as all the various layers intertwine, the composition constantly moving, with the subtlest of bass sequence style lines running underneath, as the lead synth line flies and soars in cosmic splendour. Throughout the rest of the track, the main, lone synth lead lines are kept simple and uncluttered with a sparse soundscape that conveys the feel of vast, deep space, but more the unknown rather than the familiar, after the half-way point becoming quite eerie and continuing the ever-darkening mood, as more sounds gather to convey the feel of the stark and the surreal. The other long track, at 19 minutes, follows and is another fantastic journey into the realms of the celestial and space synth music, with a variety of cascading and tinkling synth rhythms underneath as the main body of the piece slowly flies, drifts and glides, seemingly hanging motionless in the gloom at several points, but a classic slice of, again, more stripped-down sounding cosmic music, but, in this particular case, a track that will have you absolutely wrapt up in it for the duration of the piece, as before the mood being one of combining dark with ethereal, the human touch always present.
After this, the shorter tracks appear, the first with a stuttering sequencer line underpinning a most gorgeous and, again, simple, lead synth melody line, a neat idea that works a treat, while the next is a three minute track that starts with waves of full-sounding, dark synth soundscapes, beginning a travelogue that sees a variety of electronic sounds coming out over a deep bass synth undercurrent. Finally, you hear a more full-sounding space synths track that emulates the third epic track in many ways to close things with four minutes of shimmering stark synth space. In all, a fine debut album.

MOKSHA: Moksha DBLCD
The synth music project from Ozric Tentacles' synths man, Seaweed, and a guy named Quiller. The result is a CD that is nothing short of sensational. Owing much to the likes of Zorch & Tim Blake, there is not one track on here that is less than engaging, most of it absolutely riveting. Take the track 'Trans Synpase Express' as an example - in this superb composition you will hear 'Crystal Machine'-style Tim Blake, 'On The Run' style Pink Floyd, and first album-era Jean-Philippe Rykiel, as heady and full-sounding a combination of psychedelic synths music as you'll hear as eleven minutes of magical music fills the air on what is a simply fantastic track. Elsewhere the album is full of flowing melodies, loads and loads of synth swoops and space effects in a space-rock/psych style, and the whole thing wreaks of seventies from start to finish, and that's a point in its favour that means it's sure to find a place in your heart. Like the aforementioned artists, it's not overly complex or layered, but the heady combination of rhythms, melodies and space synths just SOUNDS wonderful as the album unfolds, taking you right back to the "glory days" once more. Across the two CD's, you'll hear a consistent musical stew that cooks and simmers to perfection, full-sounding with plenty of emotion, feel and atmosphere, space synth swoops to die for, the "spirit and sound" of Basil Brooks & Tim Blake always watching over you, and a sea of superbly flowing music that you'll treasure for a long time to come.

O-HEAD:Silent Universe CD
The best synth album of the '90's, eclipsing even the mighty Synesthasia double, this album puts the likes of Air Sculpture, Red Shift, Keller, Dyson and other similar musicians way back on the starting block. Why? Because it is the first CD to come along that breathes a whole new life into that genre, coming up with music that is familiar yet fresh, vital, immaculately played and produced but with bite, not overly drawn out, with loads of invention, so much going on di=uring the individual tracks yet an album that flows like no other, long but not too long compositions, and is juat such a pleasurable music experience, you won't come down for a month.
You only have to listen to the opening track for proof of this as it starts quietly, adds brief samples, big choral synth backdrops and then it's into a set of sequencer rhythms that Tangereine Dream would die for as the choral synths, in true '70's fashion, soar away in the background. But then, in come a huge set of forground melody lines that not only flow over the top but phase in and out, with a now multi-layered set of choir-like synths ebbing and flowing as lead texture, a whole panorama of synths and sequencers all over the horizon that is nothing short of sensational. To make it even better, the music changes as it goes so that you are never stuck in one set of musical scenery for too long, as drums aare added for extra effect and solidity, the synth layers continue to soar all over the mix and, by this point, you are just breathless at the enormity of it all and realising that here you have an all-time classic on your hands, and still track one is not even finished, as the sequencers accelerate and a whole new mood of synth ba kdrops enters to take the trak into another realm. Quite, quite magnificent.
After this, track 2 mellosw out with a slower rhythm over which an assortment of angelic choral synths of various ranges provide brief burst of foreground activity as a kind of synth thunder echoes around the mix, all the time phased and richly textured synths fly all around the mix. A distant almost guitar-like lead emerges at one point, suddenly an organ line here, a synth line straight out of 'War Of The Worlds' there, a dubby bass-line appears, the whole thing dies away to leave the bass line and then the building process begins again with a whole nee set of textures from drum machine, gorgeous string synths, bass line and more as the track turns and heads off in a new direction that is just so good to follow, especiallyas the guitar-like synth comes to the foreground as layes are creted and discarded. It continues.......
Track 3 opens in melodic space mode with the accent firmly on atmospherics as the beautiful string-like synths and synth swooshes slowly bloom and flower, until a synth rhythm emerges above a deep bass drone, but then dies awya to leave the epic swathes of warm-sounding space synths gradually travelling through the mix, again layers, rhythms, textures and melodies constantly being added and talken away over its short but exquisite musical journey. Track 4 starts with one of those booming deep bass drones as cascades of synths rain down, a vibrant synth rhythm begins, tabla-like percussion rattles away in the background and a main, mid-tempo synth rhythm cascade begins, over which a haunting set of scenic, thickly textured synth flow travels a lava-like course throught the mix, conjuring a mood that is both spacey and melodic at the same time, as all sorts of layers begin to unfold and influences felt. Then a melodic lead synth straight out of the classic T. Dream/early Dyson songbook appears and the exotically flavoured track pushes further towards its eventual goal, still evolving and shaping the soundscapes as it goes, tons going on in the mix but a flow of music that is hard to beat. Superb.
Track 6 opens with phased synths, a huge layer of string-like synths, flowing synth textures and a steaming cauldron of space synth music heralds the arrival of space synth cacscading rhythms, a hint of a melody line, and then a sequencer rhythm from heaven that swirls all around the mix to wondrous extent, joined by one of those deep resonant sequencer lines that is even better, an electronic drum rhythm and then a flute-like synth lead that is right out of the mid-'70's T.Dream textbook, only here the whole thing sounds alive and fresh, as though the Germans had never existed. More lead lines and rich snyth backdrops are added and the immense rhythmic/melodic soundscape reaches horizons you never kneew existed, as the whole track pursues its immaculate and unmsitakable path through your mind, like the rest of the album, full of ideas, invention, depth, emotion and just a synth sensation that defies belief.

QUARKSPACE: Spacefolds 6 CD
The incredible value-for money series continues……this time with a studio album as opposed to the last live album, and with a proper colour cover to boot. Musically, it eclipses the splendid height of Spacefolds 5' with a seventy-three minutes of instrumental tracks that take the space-rock/psych genre to new dimensions. The eight minute opener launches things in suitably strong fashion, with swirling synths, searing slide guitar, vast washes of string synths, a chugging rhythm section that drives the whole thing forward and a massive slice of melodic, powerful space-rock unfolds with guitar work and synths climbing higher and higher, the sound quality being absolutely perfect and the delivery spot on, so much so that you wish it could have gone on for even longer. But when you hit track two, you breathe a sigh of relief to find that it is actually doing just that, as the feel, sound and drive of the opener is continued on another full-sounding slice of atmospheric space-rock, this time with the bass a little more prominent, some neat space synth touches as the mood chills out at the half way point, gorgeous early '70's Hawkwind style synth touches as they swoop and soar round the central framework, while chiming guitar leads, echoed guitar, resonant bass combine to create a section of genuine rhythm-free space-rock that would not have sounded out of place on any of the early Hawkwind albums. Superb. With 6 more tracks, three of which are over eleven minutes long, and the whole feel, sound and delivery of the music remaining at these consistently excellent levels throughout, this is one of the best ever instrumental cosmic-rock albums around, and at this price, a totally essential purchase as well as a great long-term listening experience of maximum enjoyment.

SKIN MECHANIX: The Secret Life Of Angels CD Sixty minute album with tracks short and long that really takes the Berlin School approach by the scruff of the neck and practically reinvents it. Take the ten minute opener, 'First Flight' - it starts with swirling synths that come menacingly from the depths, and rise up as this cascading synth rhythm enters from underneath, phased and percussive sounding, until suddenly the sound of a big, beefy sequencer line allied to a thunderous and resonant bass-synth rhythm erupt from nowhere, add assorted synth and rhythm layers on top of this, as the whole thing drives forward, layer upon layer added to incredible extent. Synth effects fire off at all angles while a lead melody flows out as the rhythms propel it all along, a sort of hybrid of ambient-Berlin hybrid. The piece veers from rhythmic drive to full-sounding, multi-textured cosmic bliss with ease and assurance, giving you a glimpse into the whole dynamic range on offer. But most of all it's delivered with confidence, passion and you really feel that there's a human heart beating away behind all this power and space. The five minute title track is a slice of pure, drifting, richly textured space-synths music, with a slow lead melody appearing from its depths as a piano line is barely perceptible but the effect is very Harold Budd-meets-Steve Roach and you only wish you could have had a complete album of this style.
The near nine minute 'Ultravista' starts with boinging sequencers and adds electronic drums/percussive effects, as this gorgeous string synth appears out the back, a faster, trademark "Berlin School" beefy sequencer line is added and the piece starts its driving journey onwards, again the sounds of melody, space, rhythm and atmosphere all melting in to the entire glorious mix, as the sequencers take hold, a string synth lead glides to the top of the mix and the whole thing takes off with a melody and rhythm line to die for, Tonto-like (the band not the indian) percussive splashes adding to the effect. At times you shut your eyes and it could be Tangerine Dream in a parallel universe. A stunning track.
The near eight minute 'Zeitgeist' uses a sample as its lead focus initially, before the many layers of synth rhythms, sequencers, bass synths, lead melodies and swirling layers all appear and rolling and out of the mix, the whole shape, feel and texture, not to mention pace and sound, of the track changing shape before your very eyes as it charts a supreme course through your head and heart, again power and space mixed to perfection. The longest track on the album, A Chronium Dark', features a slow synth intro and gradually a solid rhythm from slow bass-depth sequencer is heard and on top of a further sequencer line - this synth choir starts up and you're transported right back to '75-'76-era Tangerine Dream, so full-sounding and natural you'd swear that was what you were hearing, were it not for all the extra touches from swirling space synths, but all with a huge, expansive, superbly produced sound, but with all the feel of that era of the band firmly intact - a track that many synth fans will look towards as a classic of its day, and just one of the many high spots of this album.
A short burst of sequencer led magic with nothing else but bubbling synths flying above and below the sequencer is up next followed by an equally short track that is free of rhythm and full of pure, multi-textured space synths, a neat and excellent sounding back-to-back arrangement, before the final ten minutes of 'Dimension Jump' take hold, starting with swirling synths as almost immediately this giant sequencer and thunderous electric drum rhythm section catch fire, the whole thing building layer upon layer as melody lines, atmospheric synth surrounds and more are added to create this expansive piece of driving sequencer-led music that is just fantastic, with all its extra touches and nuances of flowing space synths out the back, lead tunes gliding on top and all the while the rhythmic backbone holding it all together, the now trademark act of building, adding creating and layering, going on a-pace as the mighty track make its way forward. Overall, then a massive and strong album, perfect for most sequencer and Tangerine Dream fans who want their familiarity mixed with originality, and will accept something that doesn't recycle old ideas but takes them in hand, reworks and remoulds them to produce something genuinely new and exciting, without losing sight of the (seventies feel) roots of it all. Not a bad moment on an amazing album.

PETE TEDSTONE: Zwolf CD
Pete Tedstone!!!! Now there's a name I thought I wasn't going to hear from again, but, about 15 years later than when we first promoted his music and had him play live at one of the UK Electronica festivals, here he is, back again with what I presume will be his first CD. Way back, the proud musician/composer of an excellent cassette called "Prismatic", he followed it up with several releases that never quite seemed to fulfill the promise of that first tape. The fact that, before this, a CD that attempted techno had been given to me and been proved to be quite hideous, was not the best return to the scene you could have had. So, you can imagine my surprise when I played this, not only to find that it is by far and away the best thing I've ever heard him do, but actually a lot better than much other synth stuff around right now. More than that, I've enjoyed it so much I've actually already played it several times just for pleasure. So, what's he done that works? Well, for a start, there are five tracks in fifty-three minutes ranging from nine to fifteen minutes, and each is a corking example of mixing melody, feel, era and structure into one sublime whole. Take the first track for example.
The track starts quietly and gradually adds all sorts of layers including sequenced rhythms, gorgeous string synths, layers of melodies that are strong and deep with a warm feel to them, almost choral synth backdrops, a cascading synth rhythm, distant electronic percussive and a high-flying lead synth line, all combining to create a magical mix of emotion, accessibility, strength and full-sounding synths-laden enjoyment, but without sounding busy. With more of an eighties than a seventies influence, this is one remarkably good opener, at twelve minutes not a note to long, and one you will want to play again and again. The second track is a more haunting affair, with eastern sounding flute-like synths blowing in the breeze as the synth rhythms rise, a gorgeous piano melody is added, the rhythm layers increase, a solid drum rhythm emerges and the whole thing bounds along on a multi-layered journey that's just exquisite, again the production so crisp that all the textures from the haunting synths to the cascading rhythms are easily perceptible.
The third track mixes all these elements in an altogether different melting pot, but stays within a similar structure and soundscape. The fourth track, meanwhile, is the main one that hearkens back to his earlier work with a lead melody line way upfront as crunchy synths and percussive rhythms carry the piece, the whole thing sounding decidedly from an eighties-era UK synth musician's creative mind, and a thoroughly rewarding track, the sort of thing you just don't hear done like this that much. The final, longest, track, is simply divine, starting with rich layers of string synths, that, by now, familiar cascading sequencer-style rhythm, an assortment of late seventies/early eighties Tangerine Dream-style layers and textures, as the track adds more leads and melodies to produce a piece that does for all the world sound like a UK synth musician's take on early eighties Tangerine Dream, yet far from copyist, the track pans out to become a beautiful, wide-open epic that gathers strength, beauty, delicacy and heart-felt soundscapes as it winds its merry way through the centre of the universe and back. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable album of melodic, rhythmic multi-textured, multi-layered synths music that has an undoubted eighties influence and yet sounds fresh and vital.

VIETGROVE: The Little Apocrypha CD£11.99
First new studio album in ages and it's a seventy minute affair from the synths/guitar duo with predominantly lengthy tracks. But anyone expecting something that conforms to "retro" or "Berlin" or "cosmic" or anything remotely like that, had better get their listening heads on, for this is a quite original and unique album. The opening track begins with chiming guitars, delicate bass, rippling synth and keys, over which a lone lead guitar figure flies before fading away to leave this slowly cascading synth rhythm and a now similarly styled synth lead flying overhead, fading to leave this beautiful synth choral soundscape and distant lead line that stirs the heart, eventually fading to herald in this slow, languid lead synth over gently ringing, echoed guitar lines and distant spacey electronic backdrops, this too slowly dying away to leave the flowing lead layers to see the piece out - all very richly textured and almost symphonic. 'Cydonia' has more of a traditional mix of synth and prog to it with gently searing electric guitar leads, mellotron backdrops, drum rhythms in the distance and a sea of synths surrounding all of this as the tracks twists and turns, mutating into a passage that is just mellotron and synths before a chunky guitar figure coarses in only for the original guitar refrain to come sailing back on top of the mix, the track weaving and flowing through all manner of melodic soundscapes, one minute guitar and mellotron, the next organ, acoustic guitar, bass and synths as a lead synth flies on top. Now, with such a wealth of sounds, layers and textures running through this album, you'd be asleep by the time I finished a twelve page review of it, so, suffice to say, this is a unique, melodic, rhythmic and original blend of synths and guitars in the main that covers a multitude of influences from prog-rock and "trad" synth styles, while remaining both strong and biting yet seriously languid at the same time, having a strength and cohesion that's quality through and through. If you like your synth music to have lots going on but be easy on the ear, have an almost symphonic approach yet to be both strong and richly textured, have a wide melodic range but not lose sight of the bass depths or the mellotron splendours at either end of the spectrum, plus compositions that are consistently easy to enjoy, then this is both a new and original album that you really should hear, so refreshing in this day and age of so many "retreads".

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