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Review by Mark Morton This is a reissue of a cassette-only release from 1989. As such, it is a window to an earlier time that needs a little attention for today's listeners to get maximum enjoyment. The artists allow the themes to develop slowly and there is no attempt to provide a great deal of stylistic variety, as one sometimes finds now. As a longtime listener to ambient music, I enjoyed the old-school flavor of this release. Fans of Vangelis's work from the late 1970's and early 1980s , as well as Tangerine Dream's more melodic mid-80s ventures will enjoy this reissue. "Rising Sun" opens the recording and is a sonic portrait of the title. A brief soundscape serves as a prelude to short motives in a cheerful mode, intended to be the spreading of light across the land. Some sonic shimmering, aided by the tonal qualities the analog equipment used is added to good effect as are tinkling xylophone sounds. As the piece progresses, the percussionist (presumably Broekhuis) adds some Vangelis-like kettledrums. "Floating" begins with water sounds and a somewhat subdued bass drum sound. The piece is short and generates a pleasant mood with brief piano melodic fragments. "Rivers" begins with an ostinato bass that introduces a passacaglia harmony that continues through the piece. The pad sounds that accompany this structure are optimistic but also contain poignant longing. As the piece develops, short and insistent motives, similar to those Vangelis, are added to the piece, along with some analog brass sounds. The combination of ostinato with pads is effective in this piece as it simultaneously relaxes and stimulates. "The Well" begins with water sounds and some "clacking" sounds to represent the sonic environment in a well. This piece begins with a lot of flute sounds and flute pads with simple melodies that later is developed by a Berlin sequence that should have entered the piece a little earlier. The lead sounds here are very lyrical and expressive. "Meadow" has some somewhat aggressive and rhythmic pulsing sounds, which is odd given the pastoral title. The rhythms are nicely staggered and some very nice Berlin sequences result. The entire piece is very static harmonically but more rhythmic that I initially expected. "Malibou Beach" begins a note similar to "Rivers" but soon turns bombastic in a positive, Vangelis-like way. Again, some Berlin sequences circa mid-80s Tangerine Dream are provided. "Escher Dreaming" begins with impressionistic effects and a freer feel that the other pieces. The sequences drive the piece but their timbral structure does not carry a distinct enough rhythmic heft to make this a Berlin piece, instead, a lighter mood manifests. The final and longest piece, "Ocean Tale" is subdivided into 3 distinct sections. The first, "Shoreline" is my favorite and a very nice drone piece with different timbres and shadings that moves along at just the right pace to be effective. At about 8 minutes, a faster sequenced section develops with some nice pads weaving through the rhythmic sounds. The final section sounds buzzy and mysterious, a fitting conclusion to a mostly enjoyable voyage. Boots provides his melodic and orchestral synth tone throughout and Broekhuis provides able and varied percussive support. Those folks who first heard this in 1989 probably enjoyed it very much and the reissue allows those of us who missed it to enjoy an album from another time that demands to be listened to on its own terms. |
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