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'Still Life' was released in 2000 and impresses as a visual auditory journey. 'Ra's Playground' takes us away with a long spacey ambience, long tones, a distorted female announcer, swelling, long vent tones, we drift for almost 12 minutes, melody suggesting itself occasionally, the voice returning (German or Russian) fading slowly. We keep drifting through 'Shepherds of the rings' with a soft deep melody, resonances and slicing shimmers and long descending touches.

'The ground melts' briefly as a manipulated voice swaps for a big blasting rumble tone rising through to 'Ship of dreams' as a twinkling synth sequence is gently phase/tweaked, deep wells below and a male voice, To slow melody and soft whooshes as a computer burbles, a melody that gently drives it into big horns and a majestic drum roll. A simple ear-to-ear percussion that has a shaker edge is introduced over the soft winds and gentle long tones of 'Safe in narwang baru'. A deeper thud develops and the percussion opens out into a shimmer as dits and squiggles join the drift.

The first three quarters of 'Encounter at the bay' reminded me of The Resident's 'Eskimo' (what a classic) with deep low tones, swirls and winds and a long tone melody pulsing across the waters, developing a more active sense of drama until the final few minutes where the waters break and crashing waves fill the soundspace. 'Lowell's legacy' is based on strange bent calls, piano and synth swirls swells and chords that is bleakly stirring. As 'Darkness' opens a gentle hissing continues (AM segues tracks nicely) with little noises in and a melody from changing notes (short, modulated, squelched) that is interrupted by interference bursts that has a skittering aura. A strange voice and frog loops presages a shift to a spacey dark ambience with voices in. Voicish rhythms of long edgy tones then bloopy pulses and long tones imbued with a slow upright piano are the drifting 'Relics of an early universe' that close the album.

Jeremy
ampersand@pretentious.net