KVR member releases - GOSSIP

[Parallel Worlds]

Joerg Strawe - CUE Records review of "Existence" cd album:

Elektronik aus Griechenland
Ein weiteres Album von Bakis Sirros aus Griechenland. Er firmiert unter Parallel Worlds und es ist bereits sein drittes Album. Existence lasst bekannte PPG sounds auflebel und kombienert achtziger TD sound mit modernen Klangen. Lasst aber immer wieder traditionelle synthesizer sounds durchklingen. Ein tolles album und nur bei uns erhaltlich. Ein Titel zum probehoren war auf der letzten Schwingungen CD!

btw, there is a mistake in this review: this is my DEBUT album, Not my third...

[DanSad]

I personally beleive that it could be a real talanted succeful collection done that would be based on kvr member's tracks

[cloudspine]

Here's a review of my fifth release, Deluvia, by the prominent ambient reviewer and musician Ben Fleury-Steiner:

The ever productive Na-Koja-Abad returns with a painstakingly evolving 7-part 'Deluvia.' Na-Koja-Abad seems to be flowing in the same tidal waters as his previous opus, Black Serpent Dreaming: Rites of Passage - even the artwork follows aesthetically in its liquid, ghostly pastels and cryptography - only this time, the dark tribal hues are more fully developed, oxygenated even; seven clouds exhaling with primal life. 'Deluvia' marks impressively the artist's evolving craft.

[cloudspine]

And a review by Paul Jury of Morpheus Music, surely one of the finest ambient webzines, which also happened to pick Deluvia for one of its "Featured CDs"

STYLE - Submarine spaces, ambient drift and gentle tribal rhythm. Deluvia immerses the listener in deep water shade and slow motion current through careful layering of synthetic tone and well integrated 'organika' - frame-drums, dholak, djembe, shakers, rainstick, sand, pebbles, sea-shells and chimes. The drones that well up, morph and decay are in constant subtle movement, one layer washing its transparencies across another - sonic ephemera hanging in the mass of the tides. Ney flutes and whale-like strains pierce the loneliness, for a while forcing back the darkness, before once again sinking out of ear shot. Long, drawn-out pads and heaving assemblages of sound combine atonal turbulence and disturbances with brooding musical undulations and harmonious flow.

MOOD - Na-Koja-Abad has created a series of inky sound pools that are dark and murky, yet beautiful and appealing in their gloom - like the darkness of submerged caverns, the obscurity of the lowest of sea beds. There is the sense that you never quite know what might next emerge out of the shadows - percussive effects suggestive of ambiguous life forms or time-sculpted natural formations. Mystery, uncertainty - lost in the vastness of bewildering places, fascinating solitudes.

ARTWORK - Graphically enhanced and textured photography fills all panels - ultramarine, indigo, black. Aquatic vistas with emergent forms held in pools of light. Again Na-Koja-Abad produces his own distinctive imagery - rich in texture and luxuriating in background darkness. Rock structures, coral flutes and tubes, text subdued and dim - words working in harmony with imagery. The rear cover presents the track titles and times; credits are on the reverse of the inner booklet, the innermost panels given over entirely to an undersea twilight.

OVERALL - Na-Koja-Abad's fifth album is perhaps his most tenebrous - beats are infrequent or very subtle and the ambient mass is dense and lightless. Imagine the steady sway of deep ocean current, the to and fro pull of an enormity of water - the surface far from sight, uncertain presences somewhere off in the gloom. The seven tracks fade into one another through brief silences softly maintaining a constant mood throughout.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM - Ambient fans that enjoy smooth isolationist intensity will find this an absorbing composition. This album goes further, lower, deeper into the intriguing and lonely places Na-Koja-Abad has explored on previous CDs - if you enjoyed the weightier aspects of his earlier music you'll appreciate Deluvia.

[wavephonic]

hey guys the WAVEphonic CD "satellite jungle" is available at artistlaunch,

http://www.artistlaunch.com/cdmain_2cat.asp?cdid=2432

download in 320kps mp3 format with cd art

http://independentartistscompany.com/dm ... did=340651
a mix of ambient soundscapes, some groovin electronica and a couple tracks of guitar motifs with zeoy wielding the axe,
produced by M Ludlam

would appreciate your consideration, thanks

Ed

[cptgone]

the first "pro" review of "Pussy at the Bottom":
(my translation)

3rd album by Sonic Love, full of pussy from Aalst [my hometown, cptgone] And that's less tasty than it sounds, because even though synths, vox, gtr and bass supply an eclectic album, here and there it's just messing about. "Pussy at the Bottom" seems to come straight out of jazz school, confused on purpose, with a kind of act-normal-that's-weird-enough-as-it-is attitude [i think the reviewer uses an expression he doesn't really understands here, stating the opposite of what he means here, otherwise it's gibberish to me]. There's no doubt Sonic Love is trying to be experimental here, but "Pussy at the Bottom" faces the same problem the umpteenth toilet-on-exposition-in-a-museum has: it has no significance left.

This was published in a free rock & dance mag, RifRaf, they did like my previous album (and compared it to The Orb)

[Parallel Worlds]

Review of Parallel Worlds "Insight" cd album on Dagheisha.com, Italian online music mag:

"Le coste del Pireo adombrate dalle esili nuvole di un tramonto autunnale rappresentano l'immaginario decadente descritto dai greci Parallel Worlds. Il fruscio dell'acqua, la sabbia che viene alzata dal vento e la notte che cala inesorabile permeano il loro suono con voluminosa fatiscenza ('Dying Earth'). Mondi paralleli e detriti industriali che si incastrano su traumatologie ambient e sinistri accordi digitali. Battiti perversi ma anche melodie di ampio respiro con riferimenti a situazioni giΰ percorse dai norvegesi The Knife ma anche soluzioni liquide decisamente personali. 'Insight' vi avvolgerΰ in un caldo, umido abbraccio riportandovi alla mente il baratro in cui cadiamo e l'acqua gelida da cui spesso veniamo investiti negli incubi. 'The Past', 'Hollow Minds' e la traccia che dΰ il titolo all'album i pezzi piω disturbanti e corrosivi."
www.dagheisha.com

for whoever speaks italian, that is a very good review i have been told...

[Parallel Worlds]

Review of Parallel Worlds "Far Away Light" cd album on Dagheisha.com, Italian online music mag:

"Lontani dalla luce ma non dal cuore. Paradigmi elettronici che si scontrano con le intuizioni geniali della mente di Bakis Siros creatore del progetto Parallel Worlds. Assunti digitali che si frappongono tra teorie di distruzione e contemplazione dell'artistico piacere della rovina. Rispetto al passato la sua musica si θ fatta piω corposa e meno lineare accorpando al suo interno influenze ambient e riferimenti all'elettronica sperimentale della fine degli anni settanta. La suite 'Musique Electronique', 'Dreamstate' e un'immensa title track i mirabili risultati raggiunti da Siros con un album che lo colloca di diritto tra i migliori esponenti di un genere che spesso si perde in uno sguardo eccessivo al futuro non riuscendo a fermarsi e raccontare storie. I tessuti organici di 'Far Away Light' vivono invece di elementi presenti con forza nella nostra coscienza materiale e per questo molto piω capaci di fare sognare e liberare idee. 'Expectations' e 'Fading Memories' lasciano terminare un viaggio che deve rappresentare un passaggio obbligatorio per tutti coloro che amano le escursioni digitali."
www.dagheisha.com

for whoever speaks italian, again, that is a very good review...

[wavephonic]

hey guys the WAVEphonic CD "satellite jungle" is available at artistlaunch,

http://www.artistlaunch.com/cdmain_2cat.asp?cdid=2432

download in 320kps mp3 format with cd art

http://independentartistscompany.com/dm ... did=340651
a mix of ambient soundscapes, some groovin electronica and a couple tracks of guitar motifs with zeoy wielding the axe,
produced by M Ludlam

would appreciate your consideration, thanks

Ed

thanks to AL for the feature

[Parallel Worlds]

PARALLEL WORLDS - "OBSESSIVE SURREALISM" (DiN26)

check out the main/news page of the Synth Music Direct website
(www.synthmusicdirect.com) for comments on my new CD album. (www.din.org.uk)

here are their comments:

"Parallel Worlds / Obsessive Surrealism An amazingly inventive rhythmic / melodic release that sounds quite like nothing I have heard before but is so listenable without any of the too 'difficult' moments that often comes with such inventive releases. This is probably the best release on the DiN label so far. Deserves to be huge. "

[Parallel Worlds]

PARALLEL WORLDS - "OBSESSIVE SURREALISM" (DiN26)
www.din.org.uk

check out the main/news page of the Synth Music Direct website
(www.synthmusicdirect.com) for comments on my new CD album.

here are their comments:

"Parallel Worlds / Obsessive Surrealism An amazingly inventive rhythmic / melodic release that sounds quite like nothing I have heard before but is so listenable without any of the too 'difficult' moments that often comes with such inventive releases. This is probably the best release on the DiN label so far. Deserves to be huge. "

[Parallel Worlds]

more reactions on the new Parallel Worlds cd album "Obsessive Surrealism" (DiN26), and a full (great) review in italian:

Tom Carpenter (Analogue Solutions):
"...CD it's great! I like atmospheric music and the sounds are great"

Bob Williams (Analogue Systems):
"...definitely your best work to date, ...and all the sound programming is excellent"

Peter Grenader (Plan B):
"It's terrific, ...I really like it."

Mike Brown (Livewire Electronics):
"got the CD yesterday... been listening to it ever since! excellent!"

www.Dagheisha.com (Italian Music webmag):
"Un surrealismo che incentra la propria ricerca sulle infinite potenzialitΰ del Doepfer A100 modular e sulla combinazione tra atmosfere sognanti ispirate all'elettronica analogica e agli anni settanta quanto ai traguardi raggiunti in questi anni dalla musica ambient. 'Obsessive Surrealism' conferma la straordinaria visionarietΰ di un Bakis Sirros sempre piω vincente nella catalogazione delle proprie emozioni e influenze. L'inesorabile e morboso incedere di questo manifesto ossessivo di elettronica moderna trova il suo apice assoluto in 'Different Pathways' e 'Into The Caves Of The Mind' che pitturano in un contesto schematico ma mai freddo la deframmentazione organica di quelle cellule visive con le quali siamo abituati a confrontarci quotidianamente. Nessun confine e nessun limite θ stabilito in tale ricerca anche quando a tratteggiarsi sono 'Pale Yellow Sky' e 'Crying Spells' che si allontanano leggermente dall'imprevedibilitΰ generale per ricordarci che anche le menti piω sperimentali amano sottolineare i propri concetti. Non fatevi scappare l'artwork curato da Progs von Dφn limitato alle prime 1000 copie."

[Parallel Worlds]

Parallel Worlds - "Obsessive Surrealism" CD review of Synth Music Direct (www.synthmusicdirect.com) :


"Electronic bleeps contrast with a lovely organic piano as 'Beneath Fear' gurgles into life. All manner of sounds fizz and slither around the piano melody- then in comes a sedate but sublime rhythm, ethereal pads sighing over it all. The beats become more aggressive then subside again leaving wonderful contrasting melodies. What an absolutely awesome opener this is: inventive, compelling but also easy to get on with. 'Different Pathways' takes an alternative but equally as effective approach. Strange alien animal sounds mix with a staccato rhythm which literally seems to crack with energy. We then go through a grungy section as if electricity is arcing, escaping from some vast energy source. Subtle lonesome little lead lines roll over the top demanding your attention. Each sound is so precise and covering most areas of the sonic spectrum but at no time is there a sense of clutter. It's as if every single element can be heard and taken in. If anything extra were added it would be too much. If something were removed the track would not be complete. Perfect. 'Empty Human Cells' features melodic stabs over almost growling bass shudders which form a melodic focus all of their own. A deep rhythm purposefully stutters underneath. It's almost as if some awesomely powerful but injured creature is making its way through the darkness. You wouldn't want to meet it! 'Increasing Complexity' has a wonderfully moody five note repeated melody to which another rather sinister lead is added. A gentle rhythm compliments the melodies wonderfully but it's the sounds chosen for the beats that are the most impressive feature- subtle rather than bludgeoning. Even though it's all incredibly beautiful, there is something slightly unsettling about it at the same time.

'Into the Caves of the Mind' uses a repeated three-note melody which slowly rises up, floating through a sea of tinkling percussion. Mean drums crash out like a whip, joined my all manner of other fascinating syncopations- then its all calm again for a few moments. Weird manipulated and scrunched sounds mingle with each other, at one moment trying to meld into harmony then at the next seemingly vying for supremacy. Whip- the drums return. Scratching creeping creatures emerge for 'Interlude', creating quite an eerie atmos. 'Reflective' starts with very moody pads. The drums give a feel of foreboding, a squelchy bass line heightening the tension whilst a lovely little questing melody provides a mysterious contrast. I've heard nothing like this combination of sounds and rhythms before and I'm completely drawn in by it all. 'Mindmists' contains yet another wonderful collage of sounds then piano and gurgling slithering effects. We start to chug along again and there's even mellotron thrown in there adding a further level of mystery. There is an unclutteredness to it all and yet so much is going on that it is just impossible to take it all in. 'Pale Yellow Sky' rumbles into life. And these rumbles are so incredibly deep. Little melodic note droplets fall like water from a carven roof high above. Ticking percussion mixes with the coolest a beats which grab the attention and don't let go.

'Distracted' is initially a riot of bleeps and twittery sounds. Two sequences and a rapid staccato rhythm suddenly propel the track forward and I'm taken with it on the back of the bubbling cauldron of pulsations. Then it's all stop and I'm left in a delightful state of float before the syncopations return and I'm off again. We finish with another rather spooky section, a voice being heard so low in the mix that it is impossible to work out the words. This of course makes it seem even more sinister. 'Crying Spells' has a slow build up, a throbbing pulse and swirling effects very gradually getting louder but never really bursting through. Again it's all so tremendously moody but this time in a brooding understated sort of way.

What an album! File under 'God Knows' or 'Genius', both would be applicable. Truly unique and Very Highly Recommended to anyone who wants to try something that is new but also accessible. (DL) "

[Parallel Worlds]

Beneath fear:
It has a beautiful mysterious atmosphere evoked by the bubblings and slitherings of sounds. Very nice contrast of dark layers and lighter floating melodies and esotheric choir. It also shows a row of rhythmic peaks, which lift it even more, before it sinks back in an undulating morass of fascinating electronic bubbles and audio slithers.

Different Pathways:
Very strong piece. Starting with dark, hauntisch layers which glide over a bed of sizzles and other pre-mordial sounds out of which a electronic rhythm slips, on which on top several shade-friendly melodic progressions crawl.

Empty Human Cells:
This piece is a haven for subtle experimental electronic percussion almost Frohmader-esque, an erecter of exotic melodies Japan (the group)-like and keeper of the most undescribable watery noises and sounds.

Increasing Complexity:
One could swear to hear the hand of Ian Boddy on the electronic percussion. The whole piece drives on a hazy, short melodie upon which undercurrent other melodies and invigorating percussion walk.

Into the caves of the mind:
Sirros paints with reflective sounds the insight of his own mind. Percussive slabs shoot like electric pulses through these spaces.

Interlude:
The beginning of this track could almost have been the opening music to the dark Tangerine Dream soundtrack The Keep. The same approaching stamp of deep reverberated percussion and accompagnied by distant thunderish roar and strange, camouflaged melodies.

Reflective:
Although the ghost of Depeche Mode hovers above all tracks, it's nowhere so effident as on this track. Fabulous bass stamping, though with a shy character in the end, also the revolving dark talking of sound, occasionally erecting glow and a dark-warm blanket of melody overlaying it without touching. Slight critism: meaby it's a bit too long.

Mindmists:
Tomita-Moogish big ominious sounds rise like prehistoric monsters, along the way choir and mid-tempo rhythm lead it to an intermezzo of which rustic character leads it's to a fade ending.

Pale Yellow Sky:
Listening too this piece, is like walking through a modern city, destination unknown.

Distracted:
Piercing, metalic noises introduce an tempting drum and sequence rhythm with processed wah-wah effect-melodie which all dissapears in a eerie echoing drum-surrealism. I would call this up tempo piece classic Parallel Worlds.

Crying spells:
The closer retakes the eerie echoing drum-surrealism for the final secret.

So, I think it's Parallel Worlds' best album to date!
Some great sounds they made, sometimes reminding of Japan (the group), sometimes even reminding of the great Isao Tomita!

Roel Steverink

[jplanet]

Since it's Prog Month around here, perfect time to announce my band's first CD:

Shadow Circus: Welcome to the Freak Room

http://www.shadowcircusmusic.com