Darshan: Ambient Darshan: Ambient (Darshan Music - 2001) If you're going to call your music Ambient, it damned well better be... No worries here... Working his magics upon the soundwaves under the name of Darshan, Michael Allison's ambient music utilizes the best of both concepts. Six cushiony expanses are easy to snuggle into. Winsome riffles of fragile musicality are Adrift In The Amber ; sweeping strings occasionally breeze above muted sparkles. Beautiful stuff! The dreamily ringing (though repetitive) tones of Worm Asleep (6:36) float in wafting liquidity, cushioned by wandering sound filaments. The Mirror of Silence unhurriedly intermingles subdued chimes with layers of hovering drones, eventually releasing higher strands. Delicate phrasings reverberate quietly over a soft, churning backdrop as Transparent Yellow Pastoral glimmers with undeniable allure. The same-titled poem in the liner notes is not included in the track... thankfully perhaps. The Dream Pool (13:55) brims with warmth as fluid audiomotions swell and recede, topped by cyclic motifs (through continual retreading of recognizable tunefulness leads to redundancy despite a more-organic background flow). Darshan has further refined his sound since we heard The End of Days... Ambient is what it says. Ephemeral soundshapes drift for nearly one hour garnering an appreciative 8.7. You can reach Michael at darshanmusic@aol.com. This review posted April 30, 2001 AmbiEntrance © 2001-1997 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).