When the computer animation wizards from Mind's Eye needed an energetic electronic groove to back their free-flowing visuals for the Ancient Alien videos, they chose several tracks from Waveform Records early catalog. (Those tracks have been compiled in their 73-minute entirety as a separate soundtrack CD from Waveform, also entitled Ancient Alien, reviewed here recently.) The warm, familiar and pleasingly upbeat sounds of A Positive Life, Sounds from the Ground, Pentatonik, and Om flow smoothly, seemingly syncopated with the constantly evolving video images. Obviously video cannot be viewed in an "ambient" fashion, but the visual art showcased here is certainly out of the ordinary, often amorphously abstract and sometimes nature-focused, much like my usual listening material. The opening segment The Vortex focuses on abstract shapes and geometrical patterns. Exploding particles and colors fly about the screen. Ancestral Waters enters a more "natural" realm, with dazzling bodies of water in preternaturally fluid motions, expanding and evolving to include various aquatic lifeforms. Intra-Terrestrial Fusion features hypnotically spiraling coils performing elaborate gymnastics in various settings, as well as a computerized hummingbird segment. Not as spooky as its name implies, Within the Dark Nebula presents a moonlit worm-trek, neo-primitive symbols, a particle storm, big blurs and a shapeshifting globule, among other visuals. Distant Atmosphere takes us over digital volcanoes rising from a sea of pixels, following a bird's flight through forest, clouds and ruins. Progression Primeval is a shorter video, introducing us to headless, multi-hued clay golems who dance and intertwine, demonstrating the benefits of working together. The skinny cave-drawing aliens of Antediluvian Design give way to unworldy architecture, mountain vistas and fog-shrouded orchards, winding up in abstract shape play. The Artifice of Dimension features an Aztec-like design eventually overrun by replicating little power orbs, which expand into a bubble frenzy. When your eyes need a little bit of what your ears have been getting, I recommend checking out these entrancing vision-trips. The Waveform tracks work really well, but of course, you could add your own musical accompaniment. For more information about happenings at Waveform, be sure to check out this month's interview with Forest, the main man behind the radio/Internet space/electronica show Musical Starstreams, as well as Waveform. And, thanks for bearing with my humble attempts at capturing screenshots :) Feb. 28, 1999 AmbiEntrance © 1999-97 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).