July 2003

Volume 1, Number 5

If you don't already know about this, Stephen Philips, founder of Dark Duck Records, has a side project that has grown considerably in recent months to include many well-known and newer artists in the drone ambient arena. The project is called the Drone Download Project and it's a place on the 'net to hear a lot of new music in this ever-growing subgenre of ambient music. Go here to look, see and hear what all the buzz is about (no pun intended).

(note: CD info comes from mailing lists and press releases; descriptive comments below are not from a Wind and Wire reviewer, unless specifically annotated as such)

• Just released in the U.K., the new album from Kevin Kendle, Butterflies on New World Music. See the review in this issue. No U.S. release date yet, but it should be available from the label's U.K.'s site.
• Here'sa nother brand new release from an English artist. Spiritual Oasis brings together two of New Age's spiritual musicians, Stephen Page (keyboards) and Richard Churchyard guitars). This album is 60 minutes of blissfully relaxing music making it perfect for relaxation, meditation. Go to the Aquavision website for more info, or go to a special offers page (not accessible through the website) for more incentives on buying the albumfrom now until Augist 14th.
• Ambient minimalist artist Stephen Philips has released Live in Pittsburgh. The CD "captures the essence that is a Stephen Philips concert. Always deep, always daring, this brilliant minimalist and space cadet never shies away from the cutting edge." (Jim Brenholts)
• Old-timers and clued-in newbies will be excited to know that synth-music pioneers Kraftwerk at still at it. The new Kraftwerk album is titled Tour de France 03 and is due to be released on July 28, 2003 by EMI Music Germany. The Tour de France 03 album will be released in the USA by Astralwerks, subsidiary label of EMI Records and at Europe by EMI Music Germany.
• Gandalf has a new album ready called Between Earth and Sky which will be released soon. The album is a compilation of some of the most beautiful tracks selected from five different albums released by the artist on the on Sattva label.
• Torchlight Creek has just completed their first CD, Two Moons. The MP3s of some of the songs garnered high praise at the Gods of Music website, winning assorted from among the hundres of submitted albums in many genres in one month.
• Dark Seeds is proud to release I have yet to go deeper...., a CD of dark ambient tracks spun by the sorcery of sonic shaman, Haslam. The selections on I have yet to go deeper.... find the sonic shaman delving into the primal composition of sound, exploring vast soundscapes and otherworldly vistas. Stylistically, this album is firmly rooted in Haslam's trademark "storytelling" with drones, otherworldly atmosphere, and ritual elements. This CD has been manufactured in limited quantites, so don't wait too long if this sounds like it's up your alley.
• Carbon Based Lifeforms new CD, Hydroponic Garden, should now be available at their website.
• Dreamland is proud to announce the release of DR003 fm3's: ambience sinica. fm3 is a Beijing-based collective of computer and classical musicians headed by long-term China resident Christiaan Virant. Active in the Chinese punk underground for nearly a decade, Virant founded fm3 in early 2000 as China's first-ever experiment in live, abstract electronica. working closely with Sichuan [sic]-born laptop artist Zhang Jian and an ensemble of classical instrumentalists, fm3 focuses on digitally distilling ancient Chinese folk tradition into an organic, meditative, minimalist soundscape.
• Rumor is that ambient/new age music artist Gaylene is close to finishing her second album.
• Art of Sacrifice is the debut album by dbkaos. Based in the South-West of England, Dave Hickman, the man behind dbkaos, has had several years experience programming synths and effects for the thirteen sample CD's he's had released by Zero-G (the UK's leading sample CD producer). This pedigree has enabled him to compose Art of Sacrifice, a well crafted vision into the future of synthesis. Using a MAC computer as the main sound source with external audio contributions from a VCS3, Supernova II and of course access to his vast library of samples, the six tracks display a real sonic depth. Visit the DiN label site for details.
• Anael, one the better women vocalists in new age music today (Bill Binkelman) has finished her latest album, Spiritual Beings on a Human Journey. It should be available in the US very early in September. Visit the APSIS label site for more info.
• The Elf Machine and Föy bring you 10,000 Headless Buddhas. A fantastic journey into the eclectic sound worlds that these artists accupy. Hypnotic and alluring, this merging of two distinct electronic styles come together in kaleidoscopic beats & clicks, deep minimalist atmospheres and psychedelic landscapes. More info at the Atmoworks site
• Matthew Florianz/Liquid Morphine's latest album is out. Three is available through Darkseeds (United States) and at this site in the U.K. and the rest of the world. Both stores have a few limited edition copies left which contain a full 50+ minutes album (CD-R) called Self, a previously released dark ambient album (Florianz considers Three to be " lighter in overall tone, but you may judge for yourself."
• Sylken, the Canadian ambient gruop headed by Eric Hopper has relased PiNG, their live CD (from an appearance at Toronto's PiNG concert series) and work has already begun on the groups third album titled Dreamlife, which "returns to the more etheral, dreamy, laid-back atmos," according to Hopper. Visit the Sylken site for info.

ARTISTS: Please email me with album titles and info if you want your latest release mentioned in this column.

More information about this concert is available at :

Zomer van Antwerpen

Wapper 2 &endash; 2000 Antwerpen - Belgium

Tel: 03/ 224 85 28 &endash; Fax: 03/ 224 85 23

E-mail: zomer@antwerpenopen.be

Website: www.zomervanantwerpen.be

• Be on the lookout for the long awaited release of ambient caramel from Abstract Audio Systems. This single track CD was originally planned to stretch a full 60 minutes. However, it has been trimmed back to slightly more "EP-ish" proportions.
• Plans are also in the works for the release of the first Blackstem EP sometime within the next few weeks.
• Further plans to add streaming audio to our website are being considered. In a related issue, the Machine Tribe Recordings remix contest slated to begin this month has been shelved for the moment due to server space issues. Technology: love it or hate it, we are all its slaves.

In April Dean Santomieri, Jonathan Hughes and Michael Bentley (eM) played live in a handful of cities in The Northeast (NYC, Toronto and Syracuse). There are some snapshots and an exclusive live MP3 posted as part of the Tour Scrapbook. The artists are in the process of arranging more live dates for 2003, both locally (in the greater Bay Area) and in other areas of the US. Stay tuned for further details.

Some may recall Jonathan Hughes' Fluid project from a few years ago, a set of two CDs which could be played together to create layered ambient pieces. Fluid 2 follows this idea with some new twists. This double CD will feature twelve tracks by Jonathan Hughes and twelve tracks by some of the most prominent names in the electronic music scene, including Tetsu Inoue, Ian Boddy, Twine, Mat Jarvis, Saul Stokes, Seofon, Susanne Brokesch, Dreamstate, Interstitial, Jussi Vaisanen, Dean Santomieri, and Michael Bentley/eM. In order for these tracks to work together all the tracks on Fluid 2 are in similar keys, are six minutes long, and contain minimal rhythmic elements. By playing the two CDs simultaneously on separate CD players (preferably in random order) one can create dozens of unique composite tracks that are, in effect, virtual collaborations between artists who may have never recorded together. More info, visit the Fluid 2page.