Various Artists: Weightless, Effortless Various Artists: Weightless, Effortless (Hypnos - 1999) Weightless, Effortless is the second "themed" compilation from Hypnos, the relatively young Portland label that has proven to be an ambient powerhouse. Contributors were asked to generate pieces which simply "are"... entities unto themselves, self-existing, untroubled... indeed, weightless and effortless. The realization of the concept makes for a supremely serene listening atmosphere, ideal for letting go of whatever mundane realities may be holding you down. A shimmering curtain of hundreds of whispers is pulled back to reveal a spacious panoramic soundscape in Kevin Keller's anicca, where e-piano notes are taken somewhere else by lush synth drifts. Nice work from a previously unheard musician. closure (5:25) features more of James Johnson's richly blended soundstreams; a rich and entrancing flow of synthesized fluidity which unhurriedly oozes a widely meandering course. Dean DeBenedictis seems familiar with the mocking of consequence, demonstrating by way of powerful rushes laced with synth choir and static-y pops. The darkness abates somewhat as long musical notes are underlain by distant water sounds, and overlain by various cosmic effects. A simmering potpourri of synth strands, bells and other organically stirring sounds prove that images remain (9:24) in Ma Ja Le's world, a place ringing with sweeping grandeur. A shower of glistening static falls over dense organ chords in Rod Modell's ipperwash twilight; bubbly notes are bathed in a sonic pool which flows into and out of various modes, sometimes into darker, though still magical, waters. Passing through a swirling vortex of wispy debris, the listener is floating in two thirds, surrounded by vast swells and Dave Fulton's meandering, Gothic space-harpsichord sounds. Bells, boiling bubbles and breezes form an entrance into Loren Nerell's state of liquid metal stasis; Indonesian gamelan instruments are used to generate the brassily clanging tones which hover over a relatively dangerous-sounding, though compelling, sublayer. A multi-level drone, Scott Fraser's straight lines lead from silence to a growing power source, which feeds upon synth energy and emits streaming rays at varying degrees of pitch. Densely compressed sounds swelter in its heart, sometimes more organ-like, sometimes brassier. In his first Hypnos appearance, Steve Roach contributes the deep-spaciness of bottomless, a headlong journey through an immense nightsky. Low and distantly throbbing, an endless celestial expanse surrounds, providing all the space anyone could ever need. Truly ambient in nature, these shapeless abstractions dwell mainly in a lighter realm of listening, a sonic nirvana, if you will. Weightless, Effortless is a radiant example of cohesion of artistry in the successful pursuit of a single, laudable result, worthy of an 8.6 AmbiEntrance accolade. For a darker, spacier slice of the Hypnos pie, check out this months coverage of Viridian Sun's Perihelion. This review posted May 26, 1999 AmbiEntrance © 1999-97 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).