Textural electronic composer Jeff Kowal's relative newness to the genre is definitely not reflected in this, his third album as Terra Ambient. "Wanderlust" is Kowal's personal soundtrack to his new home in the American Southwest, and it seems he has captured that vibe marvelously. The mysterious and magical 'Myth', for example, blends tribal drums with darkly cinematic strings and erupts into a dramatic and melodic crescendo, giving off a distinctly dusky, primeval mood. "Visionquest" begins as a darker, solemn synthscape as well, before giving way to a more uplifting and flighty direction. Kowal seems to be gaining some ground melodically on this release, gravitating from the pure texture/mood and into a more structured sense of landscape, and it works quite well. Imagine a new soundtrack to something like "Baraka" or even "Planet Earth" and you will be, perhaps, in the ballpark. Kowal is a master of mood and shadowy texture, and "Wanderlust" is perhaps his finest work yet. (Lotuspike)
Jeff Kowal's blog
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