The first release by 'Amongst Myselves' - a collaboration of South Australian musicians, Steve Roberts, and contributing artists - is a welcome addition to the ambient music genre.

Entitled 'The Sun in the Bottle' ( with credit to a popular ABC children's program, 'Catweazle') this release is the result of four years of writing and development - an 11-track journey into self-realisation and reflection.

"I actually see the CD as cross genre collection - at once covering ambient, dance and landscape sub-genres," said Steve Roberts, composer and title artist on 'The Sun in the Bottle'.

The 'ambient' genre has developed out of the trends towards 'New Age' music, but takes sounds one step further - incorporating rhythms perfect for relaxation, movement, dance or trance. Ambient theorist, Lloyd Barde, has said that the music generally possesses 'a rhythmic or trance-like nature'.

"As we watch the ever-evolving growth and rising emergence of this genre, it is often described by terms as 'mutated' or 'deconstructed' - anti-categorisation at its very best," said Barde.

Highlights of the 11-track release include Urban Desert, Pale Blue Dot, Moxam's Stars and Passing the Sword Handle of Orion.

Many of the tracks have a dream-like quality, enabling the listener to take their own journey, into self-reflection, contemplation or indeed, inspiration.

Roberts says that the release gradually became a very personal and emotional project for him, with many intimate life experiences inspiring his writing to an almost autobiographical level.

"Many major events in my life have led to the creation of tracks such as First Woman on Lysithea which leads the listener to the end of a womans life into a less painful existance. This woman is my mother." said Roberts.