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review by Bill Binkelman For this, the second in his outer space-inspired Deep Skies series, keyboard artist Kevin Kendle once again employs the services of guitarist Brian Abbott on the recognizable glissando guitar which has a decidedly spacy sound to it. In addition, Nigel Shaw also contributes here and there, on space whistle, synthesizer, guitar treatments, and sequencer. Yes, you read right, a sequencer in the credits of a Kevin Kendle CD! That's not all, either. Kevin himself plays moog and takes a stab at the sequencer himself! Ye gods, what is the world coming to? I'm being silly on purpose, of course. However, it is certainly a change for Kendle who is better known for his lovely earth-bound electronic new age music more than EM or floating spacemusic. Yet, Lagoon Of Eternity is a huge step forward from his first foray into this genre (Light From Orion). The addition of sequencers, moogs, and some very tasty guitar (notably, Shaw's treatments of Abbott's work on "Star Clusters") add cool new dimensions to the music. Long-time fans can be assured though that this is not an overly dramatic departure, so it's not like Kevin has recorded a Steve Roach album! His patient lush washes and melodic synth chords are still present throughout the recording. There are eight tracks, averaging between seven and ten minutes long, and they flow nicely into one another, yet certainly offer distinct and separate musical "excursions" into various astronomical soundscapes. Once again, Kevin has drawn inspiration from actual objects in the distant night sky, this time centered around the Lagoon Nebula in the constellation of Sagittarius. Also once again he has adorned the liner notes with beautiful pictures of assorted cosmic objet d'art "Trifid Nebula," "Herschel 36," Omega Nebula," and the album title subject itself. He also contributes info on each object. Of course, no one (or almost no one) buys an album strictly for the liner notes, no matter how pretty or informative. Thankfully, Lagoon Of Eternity is full of beautiful synthesizer and guitar spacemusic, perfect for either literal stargazing or just taking a mental tour of the distant galaxies from one's own bedroom or favorite listening chamber. As I mentioned earlier, Kevin's expanded palette of keyboards brings a new level of excitement to his compositions, although don't be expecting any heavy Berlin school thumpers or pulsing, percolating beats. This is still relatively quiet contemplative music, just with more variety than on Light From Orion. Sometimes, Kevin's keyboards are isolated, such as on the opening of track 2, "Trifid Nebula," which begins with a swelling warm drone that merges into whistling and twinkling effects before Abbott's glissando guitar peppers the background with stardust. "Star Clusters" is a selection where Kendle truly branches out, although he opens with characteristic warm keys and synths, but Abbott's guitar soon comes gradually into the picture, tentative at first but eventually in a wonderful staccato-style of playing (I'm guessing this is Shaw's treatments I'm hearing) which is matched by gentle pulsing sequenced bass beats. I wouldn't call it Berlin-esque, but surely this is the closest Kevin's ever come to crossing the channel to Germany, musically speaking. Things actually get kicking into high gear quite nicely, beating along at a mellow but powerful clip. Another neat track is "Ascela" on which it's just Kevin Kendle and his synths and moog. The song certainly has classic spacemusic elements in it, sparkling with twinkling starlight tones and aglow with warm and long washes of analog-sounding synthesizers. Unlike Light From Orion, Kevin keeps the high drama to a minimum here (not a lot of powerful swells or crescendos) until the last track, "Star Cloud," which has (near its conclusion) a powerful burst of Demby-esque chorale majesty, or as described in the liner notes "In this piece, more and more stars become visible as the sky grows darker, culminating in an awe-inspiring ocean of stars." If Kevin Kendle continues to fine-tune and improve this side of his musical persona (and Light From Orion wasn't bad, it's just that Lagoon Of Eternity is even more accomplished), he's going to be one of the more versatile electronic keyboard artists in new age and ambient music. Having followed his career since 1997, his talent no longer surprises me (long ago I realized how gifted he was), but his versatility certainly does. For lovers of warm flowing spacemusic (provided they enjoy the recognizable "voice" of the glissando guitar), Lagoon Of Eternity comes highly recommended. |
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