John Gregorius - “Still Voice” CD

Wonderful ambient guitar pop

Veteran guitar player and producer Gregorius has found his niche with this collection of melodic, ambient guitar works that generates a warm and pastoral existence, uncluttered by trends or genre. The opener, “Grounded In Mystery” is simply a beautiful and gentle wisp of soft harmonics and fleeting guitar. 

Gregorius’s songs are essentially heart-lifting soundtracks to films that don’t (yet) exist. His soft guitar melodies are placed simply atop beds of electronics and processed guitar, crafting an instrumental pillow of dreamily introspective ambient “pop”. “Benevolence” picks up a wafting rhythm, but remains a positive and reflective tone. “True Self” brings an almost droning post-rock, shoegaze vibe and works amazingly well. 

“Still Voice” is a lovely, heartfelt, and emotive album of gentle ambient guitar compositions that I very much appreciate after too much angry noise and cluttered sounds. It’s the perfect album to wind down to, and Gregarius is a highly skilled composer who I’d love to hear more from. Bravo!

Spotted Peccary Music

John Gregorius site

DeeperNet - “Impossible Landscape” CD

Superb electro grooves

Portlander Andrew Miles’ second album as DeeperNet continues the deep and dark electro grooves of his fine debut of a couple of years ago. Opening with the exotic “Aether” (which could almost be a trippy Coil outtake, and that is high praise), the album then pursues a more dubby trance groove with the pulsing “Fractal Dimension”.4

The rest of the album is a diverse set of quality electronic sounds, from the melodic “Fluid In Blue” (featuring the ethereal vocals of Zefora) to the upbeat synthpop of “Illuminated By Ultraviolet”. Other standouts include the percussive yet tender “Falling Through” (again featuring the soft vocals of Zefora) and the 10-minute finale, “Quantum Teleportation”, which flows in an astral trajectory with deep near-goa beats. A fine and more than enjoyable album by an artist who knows few boundaries.

Spotted Peccary Music

DeeperNetbook

Darshan Ambient - "Falling Light" CD

Veteran composer Michael Allison has been a staple of the ambient/electronic scene for many years, and "Falling Light" shows him moving ever closer to well-structured songs, rather than simply mood pieces. The title track opens this 12-song, 60-minute journey, and it's an upbeat, even rhythmic bit of light and airy ambient pop. "Small Blue Ones" brings some trumpet and mystery, all the while remaining optimistic. "A Boat Beneath A Sunny Day" sums it up well, another magical and wondrous journey with lovely swells of guitar, synth bass, and piano. "Clothed In Wakefulness" could be a lullaby of sorts, while "The Immense Window" is a drowsy, gorgeously fleeting moment that lasts 7 minutes, complete with choral voices and piano.

"Falling Light" is an album of proto-ambient pop songs, and this set of mature instrumental tunes do well to illustrate that times of hope and positivity need not be sappy nor saccharine. Well-done.

Lotuspike

Darshan Ambient