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review by Dene Bebbington Originally intended to be the fourth Ambient Life disc, Trajectories has instead been released as a new album because it sounded too different as a result of better equipment and changed artistic concepts. Fans of Diatonis's work will be pleased to know that he's still using processed sounds including guitar and still has that special touch which imbues his music with a sense of seeing beyond the surface of the material world to something more essential or even spiritual. Apparently mistakes have been left in the music to add variety rather than going for a "perfect" sound. This has proven to be a good approach which also gives the careful listener an added sense of satisfaction in trying to detect the flaws. Getting the album off to a grand start is "Mourning Sky", ironically though this piece has an uplifting nature thanks to a striving guitar melody that gives off a sense of hope as some peaceful -- almost solemn -- synth like washes move around the background. Another especially noteworthy piece is "Lucid Dreaming"; on here a couple of simple melodies formed by graceful almost vocalised tones repeat throughout in a dreamy fashion while ever so peaceful waves flow in and out. Every time I listen to this piece it makes me think of the scene near the end of the film Contact on the calm beach of an alien world that has a night sky more beautiful than our own. On balance I'd say that the first half of the album contains the most enthralling and sublime tracks. That's not to say the latter tracks are bad though. Indeed, the oxymoronically titled "Thundering Silence" is a daydreamy piece that has the calm of a lazy sunday afternoon reverie occasionally broken by burgeoning white noise kind of sounds which become relatively quite loud. I'm really enamoured with Diatonis's brand of ambience. I can't do anything but recommend Trajectories to anyone who likes the kind of music that can send shivers down one's spine. |
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