Tag Archives: Tangerine Dream

Album Review: ANTIPODES by CIRRUSAKA

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I enjoyed listening to the music of this electronic music group CIRRUSAKA. Yes it’s all caps as that’s how they present themselves. They’re on bandcamp now. I like bandcamp as it is a great way to introduce your music across platforms. The fact that it has WordPress support makes it awesome. Now CIRRUSAKA  is not your typical indie band trying to get their music across for the first time. These are musicians who have already collaborate with different groups and have released their music as solo artists. You can hear the level of discipline and mastery in every execution of instruments in this album.

The opening track  Knocknarea is a bit fast. I get that floating and flying feeling when I listen to this music. Everything about the album sparks of clarity and smoothness. Thanks to the meticulous sound engineering. Owning your copy of this album brings about a superb listening experience. The style also reminds me of Jon Anderson and Vangelis, with a little touch of Tangerine Dream. Life’s Mountain showcases the haunting vocals of Ross Ackerman who is from New Zealand. You need to check out the remixed version of that same track at the end of the album for a taste of something haunting and captivating( Clare McCarthy did a great job with the keyboards. The arrangement reminds me of parting clouds and wind blowing through thatched roof).

Sean McCarthy and Ross Ackerman did a great job in making the tracks cohesive throughout the album. It’s like reading an epic poem or reading a classic novel where all chapters are finely woven, and nothing sticks out like a sore thumb. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam which has a great intro and narration. Nicholas Roberts narrated The Rubaiyat. His voice is what Sean McCarthy referred to as Burtonesque (after the late Richard Burton).

CIRRUSAKA  is a collaboration of musicians from New Zealand and Ireland. They have created this amazing album which celebrates clarity, the beauty of sounds, melodies and atmosphere. There are 8 with an average of 10 minutes per song. This is geared towards those who just want to relax and unwind after a long day. Or those who simply appreciate beautiful music.

Ox Cohen:Tri Axis Triple Works

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Ox Cohen

Artist: Ox Cohen

Album: Tri Axis Triple Works

Style: Experimental Rock/Ambient/New Age

Hometown: CHICAGO, IL

Every track of Ox Cohen is like a portal into another world. You don’t know what to expect when you open it. And in every track lies its own Jack in the Box. There are strange and mesmerizing sounds that happen within the span of the track. Tri Axis Triple Works is an album about voyage within and into space. The use of experimental rock calls to mind Vangelis and Tangerine Dream with the melodic beauty of Yes.

I think this is the kind of album you would like to listen to in your bedroom while staring at the ceiling for an hour. It really takes you away. Tracks like Cloud Voyage and Refinder really do their job in transporting you into an electronic sound scape that moves forward. Gem Highway almost has that Flock of Seagulls 80s synth vibes. Coupled with hypnotic beats, everything swirls as if in colored lights. You can sample most of his music here: http://www.banguskahnmusic.com/music/

Tri Axis Triple Works sounds like a taster of what’s more to come from this classically trained musician from Chicago.

Bio:

Ox Cohen artist born in St. Louis and raised in Chicago began his music training at age thirteen learning the basics of Blues and Heavy Metal to start and later expanding into Jazz and Classical throughout the years as he had gone to Music High School and College. Later played in several bands. The band experience was semi-professional, one of which was mainly a grunge/alternative influenced one and the other a metal band. Then as time had passed Ox Cohen became more into composing, although he had written throughout the time period. In the last seven to ten years became more enamored with computer recording, the keyboard as well as the cello and fusing guitar within the synthesized instruments. Ox Cohen is a big fan of a lot of the Hard Rock and Progressive Rock bands coming from the Seventies as well as the bands of the Alternative movement of the Nineties yet as well influenced by many other genres including the Sixties and Classical music. He hopes that listeners can appreciate his music and hopes it will bring a healing effect when it is possible.

Links: http://www.banguskahnmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ox-Cohen/331961380155645

Electro Weekend: Welcome to the Strange Side.

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In this edition: ElectroCelt, Scarlet Soho Feat Tagdual Pop, Timid Simian and Tangerine Dream.

ElectroCelt

ElectroCelt : Visions of Horizons

Hi there people. More stories coming out this month. Today we are featuring an Irish electronic musician now based in Perth Australia. His name is Geoff Keogh known by the moniker, ElectroCelt. He started off as a big Fan of Tangerine Dream attending most of the gigs. Between working on odd jobs and hanging with other musicians, he met Sean McLoud who asked him to bring out his music. That resulted to Digital Fields.

He spent the whole month of June 2008 locked away in the studio as he worked on the EP. Mixing of the tracks followed a month after. Only in the early hours of the morning would he emerge from the studio to start working on his other job as a taxi driver.

He  ended up in Peter Gabriel’s studio (RealWorld studios in Box Wiltshire in the UK) remixing the Digital Fields tracks. He also started working on Strange Elements but the physical release is yet to happen.

His music is expansive. It has that feeling of being swept into the horizon. My favorite track is Emerald Sand (Strange element) for its amazing sounds, subtle percussion and the feeling of floating into space. Get to know more about ElectroCelt by liking his facebook page and follow this soundcloud channel.

More can be heard here: http://soundcloud.com/electrocelt

https://www.facebook.com/electrocelt.ECK

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Scarlet Soho Feat Tagdual Pop

Here is a nice video  by Scarlet Soho and gang. According to Loic Rathscheck: “The reason you see me run around is because I play Tugdual in the video, one of the protagonists from the saga Oksa Pollock. He is the singer in a rock band. In our track, James lends his voice to Tugdual. So this song goes with volume 5 which has just hit the market. I sort of hope people will associate it with the book. That is the idea behind this track.” Since this is a collaboration,  Loic added: I did the video. Scarlet Soho wrote the lyrics to the song and then James sang the tune.

Well I like the video and the concept behind it. I think it is clever for the writers behind Oksa Pollock to collaborate with musicians because these days music is the best vehicle to have your art across.

Find out more about this track and the people behind through the following sites:

https://www.facebook.com/TugdualPopMusic

http://www.myspace.com/loicthefrenchman
http://www.the-oksa-pollockmania.fr/#Home.D

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Timid Simian

The first few minutes inside Timid Simian’s music is like being incase in a bubble of light and vibrations. He has a way with melodies and synth programming. A kind of calm emotion runs all over his tracks. They are melodic too. There isn’t much info about Timid Simian other than the fact that he is based in Canada and he is a friend of Layne Greene whom I featured in this site. Well whatever he is doing, he is doing it really good. Can’t wait for this to become an EP or album! It the kind of music you would want to turn on when you are waiting for someone in a hotel lobby or when you are just tired and you want to chill out.

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Flashback: TANGERINE DREAM – Hyperborea

One of the most influential bands of the contemporary electronic music. I first heard about them through the movie Legends starring Tom Cruise and Mia Sarah. I was a little kid. But I remember being fascinated by the sounds they made and I was like: Wow it sounds like golden snow. And I must have one of their albums. And I did.