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review by Bill Binkelman Richard Roberts (a.k.a. Zero Ohms) is quietly making a name for himself in ambient music. His recordings of recent years have been most impressive, whether operating alone (Sweven, True Degrees of Freedom) or collaborating with others (Immense Distance with Brannan Lane, Ecstasis with Gordon Rhyne). One of the things I have always admired about Roberts' music was how interesting it was to digest and explore, as if I were traversing an unknown territory. For example, True Degrees of Freedom is a recording that could take many playings before one even started to unover its many wonders. Perhaps that's why when it comes to Spatial Glacial Nebulous, while an excellent album from an artistic standpoint (and make no mistake about it, this is a superb spacemusic recording), I am not as enamored of it as I would like to be. I can't find any real faults with the CD, but my appreciation of it stems more from an aesthetic connection than a spiritual or emotional one (unlike, for example, the track "The Poetics of Space" from Sweven which no matter how many times I listen to it, sends shivers up my spine). Part of my reaction could be because Roberts set out to make an album that more or less simulates what he can do while playing live. All the music on the CD was recorded "live" in the studio, with the artist producing all the music via his wind-synth (a synth controller played as a wind instrument). As a result, the music, by nature, cannot be too complex. In retrospect and all things considered, this is a solid effort given the project's innate constraints. and, truthfully, spacemusic fans will have absolutely nothing to complain about here. There are seven tracks on the album, each one named for a surface feature on the moon (either a "sea," "marsh" or "lake"). "Marsh of Mists" opens the CD with undulating waves of warm synth chorales blended with wavery undercurrents of shimmering textures. The mood is inviting and floating in the best cosmic sense of the word. "Sea of Vapors" is darker in nature, but only comparatively so. Choral effects, this time in a more celestial vein and denser, intermix with a deep droning wash. "Sea of Clouds" is, for me, the least satisfying track on the album and, even though it is shortest, it feels like it goes on too long. Here, the chorales are both haunting and majestic (in a soft way), an interesting juxtaposition to be sure. However, the lack of progression as the track unwinds left me feeling bored, something I never felt with a Zero Ohms album before. Of the remaining four songs, "Sea of Moisture" may be the best. Eschewing the choral effects, Roberts blends a flute-like sound with serene tones and washes and what almost sounds like a very lower register didgeridoo. I like how Roberts interweaves the various elements on the song, bringing each one into focus briefly, then melting each one into the other in random patterns. "Sea of Crisis" (as befits its title) is a darker song (at the outset), and ambient-dronephiles may enjoy its sinuously unfolding shadowy sparse tones and drones, although I again was impatient for more development in the track. "Sea of Cold" turns the thermostat down even lower, with foreboding shape-shifting soundsculptures of drones and textures. Roberts eventually folds in warmer musical elements to alleviate the disturbing nature of the piece. "Lake of Dreams" is probably the most minimal track, opening with a single floating tone which slowly evolves to include a few other spacy textures in the service of a serene sonic portrait of a land drenched in perpetual twilight (this song reminds me somewhat of sometime Zero Ohms' collaborator Brannan Lane's recording Sleep Cycle). In the end, my misgivings about Spatial Glacial Nebulous are based on my previous exposure to the artist and my preferences for his past releases. As such, my comments are less indicative of the album's merits (which are considerable if you are into spacemusic of a floating nature or minimal ambient drone/textural pieces) and more an evaluation based on taste. For whatever reason, this album didn't resonate with me as past efforts from Zero Ohms have, despite it containing a lot of quality space and ambient music |
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