Javi Canovas / Aureal

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‘Open Flux’ is something of a scene setter. It’s as if dawn is breaking over a misty landscape. ‘Perception’ gets underway with beautiful plucked strings hanging in the air then decaying into the distance. Lush, warm backing adding a shimmering heat haze. Things take a decidedly dark twist for ‘Aeternus’, the sun going behind a mountain, leaving the valley in shadow. ‘Empty Memory’ takes us back to warmer realms but this time with a hint of sadness. Things are peaceful but somehow not as they were. Something is missing. ‘Downfall’ doesn’t lift the mood but to me provides a meditative atmosphere from which answers can come. ‘Echoes from the Dryland’ is a beautiful number with gorgeous flute drifting over a lush reverberating backing. Maybe we now have peace of mind and are moving on. ‘Fractal Dimensions’ drifts along pleasantly enough. We get to another flute lead piece, ‘Age of Irreality’. The mood is similar to ‘Echoes…’ but with a hint of sadness. So far all the tracks seem to have gone together as different chapters of the same story. We now move on to a new quest for the five-part title track. The opening section fizzes into life then settles down to a moody soundscape where unpleasant things could be lurking in the mist. The second part uses the most exquisite combination of sounds with bubbling effects giving it all a rather primordial swamp like feel; a bit like a slightly more melodic version of ‘Zeit’. I absolutely loved it. The next section is brighter with a slow lead meandering around warmer shimmers. The fourth is like an approaching storm with chollyThe final chapter has a subtle melodic quality and overall is all rather tranquil and dreamy. It’s a lovely way to finish a gorgeous album. Javi may be well known for his Berlin School outings but this album is a real must for Robert Rich fans, especially Aureal 1 to 5. DFL

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Markus Reuter and Zero Ohms / The Sun is Just the Sun, But the Stars They Call The Heavens

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Ambient albums aren’t usually my thing, but to me this one shines out against a backdrop of countless other drone merchants. ‘The Bridge and the Mother’ starts with abstract sounds of someone walking over gravel, backed by deep but warm textures and bright percussion. Gentle guitar touches shine above it all like the early morning sun. The music fades away leaving the walking sound effects. A car starts up and drives off. ‘Marsh of Sleep’ takes us to another beautiful warm setting, like a peaceful garden with birdsong in the background. Ethereal shimmering effects float through the air. There are no obvious patterns or structures, just a lovely ever shifting sea of sound conjuring up one pleasant image after another. ‘Of Praise and Motionless Skies’ is the best track so far with deep windy reverberating drones contrasted by angelic sighing pads. Bright note droplets fall like a gentle refreshing rain. As the track goes on the mood gets a little darker but it is still beautiful throughout. A deep dark sonic soup gives ‘Letting Go Is The Hardest Kind’ a rather eerie but also melancholy feel. As we progress things become increasingly intense, stormy and even aggressive. Anger amongst the sadness. So much seems to be going on in‘ How I Became’ that it is hard to focus on any particular element. Layer after layer of sound shifts, swirls and mutates. Best really not to analyse it at all- just go with the flow. ‘The Perspective of Disappearing’ creates images of dark undersea realms with curious Morse code bleeps over the top. There is loads of energy, indeed it could be said to get quite violent at times! It is the shortest track on the album at just under five minutes but another highlight. ‘The Emptiness Continues’ is initially a montage of swirling sounds until a bright lead line floats above the storm. Must admit that this track didn’t do a great deal for me compared to the rest of the album. Quite frankly it was too complex with loads of subtle sub plots going on underneath. There was just too much going on for me to take it all in. It just came over as chaos, but that could easily be to do with the limitations of my brain rather than the music! There is an instrument list in the sleeve notes but throughout the album everything is so processed it really means nothing to me. All I hear are electronic sounds and textures but what wonderful sounds and textures they are. DFL

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Javi Canovas / Gravitational Waves

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Javi returns to his roots for this superb Berlin School styled EP. Little echoing note droplets, like rays of light shining trough a dense overhead canopy, give a pleasant start to ‘Solar Dome’. A simply awesome bass laden sequence then becomes the main feature. A second higher register sequence erupts through the storm clouds and we surge forward on an incredible exciting wave of pure energy. Mellotron is used subtly as the rapid pulsations morph, having an understated melodic quality all of their own. The bass line is always there but surges to even greater prominence from time to time. Oh my goodness- what an opener. ‘Elephant Trunks in Space’ must be one of the more bizarre titles to a track. We have an appropriately cosmic beginning. Deep sighing drones come in but then, as with the opener, another amazing deep sequence makes an entrance. Turn up the volume and feel the ground shake (might be an idea to check your insurance policy covers music induced earthquake first!). More percussive note patterns chatter away in the background, like objects falling from shelves, and then the most gorgeous tron makes an entrance, as if sun is shinning through the slowly settling dust. A further sequence, this time quite melodic, darts this way and that. This is absolutely incredible- yet another highlight in Javi’s list of creations. I must admit I was going to say this is one of his best tracks ever but I think I have already put this many times in reviews of his music in the past. ‘Dispersion’ begins with twittering effects. A slow melancholy melodic loop emerges, backed by moody flutey synth. Two sequences materialize together; covering all areas of the sonic spectrum from those frequencies you feel rather than hear to the ones ideal for solo duties. The surrounding pads provide the ideal setting for such a complex picture of weaving notes. As with the other two numbers this is incredibly powerful stuff but this time there is also a sort of moody undercurrent. If you like your mid to late 70s style sequences these three tracks are essential listening. DFL

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