Welcome once again to the AmbiEntrance Overviews, storage bin of miscellaneous audio delights, encapsulated in easy-to-digest short-form reviews. As usual, it's a pot pourri of assorted sounds, so there's bound to be something you like... E. J. Cryan: E. J. Cryan   (Inspiring Snow - 1999) (7.9) Warm electronics and slowbeat rhythms abound in E. J. Cryan's skillful outpouring of his musical soul. Gentle piano notes dance between the drumbeats of Inspiring Snow and sweeping synths waft around the persuasive bass groove and beats of Summer Dream. Strands of electric guitar Escape from a subdued percolation of bubbling bass, drums and synth strings. Lush, swirling electronics and a rather swaggering bassline empower Transformations. The electroambience of Rainstorm closes the disc with a lovely textural drippiness discernable within the drifting piano/synth/bass/drum framework. One personal problem; E.J.'s lyrics (not sung, but breathed) tend to be off-puttingly self-centered in the "I, me, my" department and there's an awful lot of whispering throughout the disc, a little too directly "in my ear" when listening with headphones, though through the speakers it doesn't seem so intrusive. That complaint registered, the 50-minute disc is really quite well done... new age moods with a cool punch; the overall lush arrangements and stylish beats remind me of an under-produced Enigma, which you may take as an invitation or a warning... Hear for yourself at the E. J. Cryan website. Enigma: The Screen Behind the Mirror   (Virgin - 2000) (8.3) Speaking of Enigma... Michael Cretu is back, again. Creating a stir 10 years ago with the chants-and-dance marvel of MCMXC a.D., Michael's released a couple others since. I missed the third one entirely, but decided to see what he's up to now... much of the same in many ways. The high points (gorgeous arrangements, lush production, cool beats) are still the high points, and the low points (overly "pop" sentimentality, particularly with his own vocals) are still the low... Instrumental Push the Limits (6:26) demonstrates Cretu's knack for blending intoxicating concoctions of mysterious ambience with exuberant grooviness. Gravity of Love exemplifies another of Cretu's predilections... that of backing diva-pop vocalists with his surging magical arrangements (And forget the monastic chants; they've been replaced by operatic mixed-sex choirs of powerfully Gothic proportions). Modern Crusaders replicates yet another standing Enigmatic tradition... when Michael chooses to sing, his voice manifests itself in an overbearing adult-rock style. In this song (and in the title track), he sounds an awful lot like Phil Collins, though energetically buoyed by a particularly well-produced mix. Dreamy vocal-and-synth soundwaves are slowly churned by thundering jungle drums and flute whorls in Endless Quest, topped by a raucously wailing lead guitar. The swirling miasma (plus raging Collins-esque vocals) of Camera Obscura (1:27) again highlights the choirs' mass cry. I know Enigma's dancerock grandeur isn't for everyone, but if all pop were this lusciously well-realized, the radiowaves might not be such a dismal place. If you like point-and-click mazes (and have Shockwave, and a fast connection), you might like to visit Virgin's Enigma website. In The Nursery: Duality   (Third Mind - 1992) (8.1) After getting past the somewhat grating pseudobrass staccatos of Belle Epoque (though the choral drifts are nice), it's into electrosymphonic sounds of the Humberstone twins. (See this month's In the Nursery interview for more info about the duo). With potential to uplift (or annoy), Always (as well as Universe) repeat cosmic feel-good phrases ("Strive to be happy", "Keep peace with your soul", etc.) making them a precursor to that "Sunscreen" song. Snaredrums flailed by Q and ethereal vocals from Dolores Marguerite C. add distinctive touches to many tracks, including the title track. Theatrical spoken word segments appear in several pieces, including Corruption which also swirls with synth strings, piano and drums. The majestic trilogy of Thoms, Pulse and Valediction brim with Gothic grandeur thanks to grand organ sounds, strings, woodwinds and military snare. Overall not as strong as my personal favorite, Stormhorse, but quite a nice listen. Stephen Philips: In The Moonlight   (Dark Duck Records - 1999) (7.8) Stephen Philips (a.k.a. Head Duck at Dark Duck) presents six gently meandering solo piano pieces with no wowee zowee effects other than the old sustain pedal. Lengthy, freeform passages, like In a Round About Way (12:37), create an atmosphere of their own, not "loungey" but much more introspective as Philips' fingers explore pathways up and down the keys. Relative Experience experiences relatively livelier moments while retaining the subdued mood of the overall recording. The high notes and low notes of Something in the Moonlight receive a faint backup in the form of a continually droning haze. Most tracks, like Relative Cause (4:02), seem a bit melancholy, or at the very least, thoughtful, by virtue of their deliberate pacing and spaciously pensive arrangements. Someone listening for virtuoso ivory-tinkling may be dissapointed, while someone looking for soft, acoustic piano reveries and/or musical ambience may be pleasantly appreciative. Thread: In Sweet Sorrow   (Sensory Expansion - 1999) (8.4) James Izzo is Thread; with a bit of somber vocal help from the Swan's Jarboe, he delivers the delicate, haunted slice of pain that is In Sweet Sorrow. Soft electronics, restrained beats and shapeless background swaths spread beneath the whispy strands of singing. File it under light electro-Goth and give it points for not being too overwrought. More electronically altered, A Sweeter Sorrow takes a detour down a beatier path. Two friends offer alternate takes; the [Arte.fa(t Mix] (7:47) keeps it low-key and ethereal, allowing Jarboe's words to hover like a fine mist over a bed of lightly pulsing electrons, while the [CazzoDio Mix] downplays the vocals and places on emphasis on gritty buzziness. Additional (soley instrumental) tracks include Sorrowgazer, a densely swirling cloud of pseudosymphonic swells and bittersweet piano tinklings and Rain, a muted expanse of organ-like drones and rippling textures. Refeshingly dreary, it all sounds good to me... see the Thread site for more info. Various Artists: arctic circles 2   (Beatservice - 1999) (8.5) 14 electronic Norwegian delights in a variety of styles, arranged with the beatier, more musical tracks to the front and the more experimental sounds to the end. The opener, Röyksopp's "Your Hands" (2:42) basically serves as two ambient intros to the Sternklang's streetwise strut through "Afterglow", a somewhat jazzy bass and drum excursion. Similarly, "Strawberries" by Motion Control smolders within a slow burning groove, adorned with lovely floating synthwaves and slightly gritty e-beats. Neural Network's "Mother Night" and TeeBee & K's "Jazztronauts" also strike urbanistically percussion-driven poses. "Stay With Me" from Mind Over MIDI enters spacier territories, while "Spirit" (7:58) by Sketch takes a dub-powered microelectron trip into dreamland. Those tracks seems to be the bridge into the more esoteric listening zone. "Fish and Concrete" is Information's descent into a submerged world of dense oscillations and other odd goings-on. A musical world poured from Tuka's audioblender, "Ghosts" mixes hazily bouncing rhythms with trumpet riffs and more, while "Loopback" by Debris stirs echoey underwater chaos with assorted sounds (including more trumpet riffs). "Exit" by Ultraviolet expands in big drifting soundwaves, then adds (and takes away) various drum riffs and electrical surges into the luxurious flow. Overall a very nice assortment, a definitely-worth-checking-into sampling from Norway's Beatservice label. Posted February 23, 2000 | 1999 Overviews Index

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