S1gns Of L1fe "The Age Of Cymatics" (2021)

 

This entry serves has a marker of discovery, a favored familiar frontier, voyaged by an artist exploring that magical space between distant stars and our imaginations. Cosmic Ambience, as I've come to call it, the space inspired synth style mastered by Dreamstate Logic, which became an obsession last year. Spotify's algorithms has finally steered me on to neighboring territory. Signs Of Life, presumably using the 1s to distinguish the name, provides a welcome hour of lengthy tracks stiring temporal focus, through dense stellar atmospheres that calm and sooth in their droning.

To deter from my usual astral analogies, I'll get direct. Signs has an approach of intention. Its strengths emanate from visible synths arranged with character and purpose. Bustling on looping melodies, alongside sparse glitched percussion, little feels hidden. The craft doesn't linger in reverberations but strides inline with its projections. Although there is an apt amount of spacious echos for its aesthetic, the spacey mood is thrust forth by bold instruments resonating with one another. Airy pads and lofty synths are present throughout but serve more so as a glue.

I also suspect the VSTs behind this sound are similar, with some bass lines and other tones having an uncanny resemblance. Signs also loves the swells of reverb that shift the music into new phases. One can feelsa greater sense of progression and direction changing on these tranquil cosmic voyages. I'm pleased to have discovered more of this niche to add to my collection, its fantastic music for getting in the zone. This too joins the Temporal Focus playlist. Still searching for more!

Rating: 7/10

Annihilation Of Self "First Orbit" (2021)

 

In search of more meditative astral ambiences, Annihilation Of Self caught my ear with an eerie, uncanny familiarity. The culprit? Song two, Condensate, one of Spotify's algorithmically inserted tracks. It had weaved itself into the unconscious musical map. A curious encounter with this new venture into unintentional listening behaviors. Either way, the full album merited a go, yet didn't yield quite the magic I was hoping for.

First Orbit checks all the spacey boxes. Airy, atmosphere dawning synths and a whirling array of buzz saw VSTs are present. They build a dark, technologically inhabited environment, on cosmic scales. A dynamic flow of intensities weaves the glittering melodies of stars between harsher tones of endless void. Its scales against itself, keeping moderate tempos and ushering a songs feel through many apt shifts.

Its darker moments felt more captivating. The buzzing oscillations brooded a tense yet distant distress. Brighter melodies and upbeat motifs felt off in comparison. One notable balance between the two sung personal inspirations. Emma weaves in a bright yet mournful piano melody to ascend the stars with a beautiful sorrow. It seemed deeply personal to me, perhaps the name hinting at a story behind the tune.

Despite a plentiful amount of listens, I've found myself lukewarm on the record yet writing up a "review" of my experience has highlighted its merits with greater intensity. The issue feels like a lack of distinct melodies or moments to cling too, yet the overall tone has the spacey drifting feel I adore. Perhaps I needed more time with it. First Orbit has been placed on my "temporal focus" playlist. Maybe it will grow on me.

Rating: 6/10

Siebzehn "Starship Signals" (2016)

  

 Following up on The Ocean Palace, we have another spacey Pysbient record, interestingly created the same year. Once again its another expectant occurrence in terms of meditative mood and focusing ambience. Like the latter it had an allure of mediocrity that landed it square in the middle of the spectrum. Siebzehn's defining characteristics are built within its busy instrumental nature. Soft rattling synth stabs oscillate alongside aimless percussive noises, held by a steady groove as one is locked in this slice of time. Bass lines brood below with a synthetic textural intensity. With this blueprint, a fair range of astral inspired temperaments are explored.

Under The Radar strikes as a resonant assembly of the spacey tonality heard so far. Illusive melodies strike a sense of momentum frozen in time. Its pulsing bass loops its brief notation as airy occurrences of alien noise drift in and out of focus around it.

Tektoniks is another highlight. Again, lead by a bass line slowly pulsing with a touch of sub, were guided through unease and tension. Observed with a sense of detachment, percussion waivers in and out of focus alongside the sounds of deep space.

Starship Signals has its flavor and as the title suggests its sense of space is woven with mechanical, technological constructs of a future mankind. This is greatly emphasized by its slightly industrial approach to the drums which have a busy roll despite the relaxing nature of the music. I could hear this as a keen soundtrack to a video game, with the right space adventure inspired theming of course.

Rating: 5/10

One Arc Degree "The Ocean Palace" (2016)

 

Lately, I've been on an ambience oriented, cosmic themed, spacey vibe Pysbient kick. Whatever fancy words I throw at it, their is a niche in me for this temporal, meditative music that's been difficult to satisfy. The crossover territory of Psychedelia and Ambient in an astral setting slices like a blade, either immensely satisfying or rather dull. This is one of two recently discovered albums that fall precariously in the middle, leaving me unable to make up my mind. No doubt however, this one will make my "temporal focus" playlist for when in need of a restful yet channeled mind.

The Ocean Palace has a sense of stillness on arrival, as if the astral activity is elsewhere. One observes from a desolate planet, as the stars and skies above bustle with activity. This feeling evaporates as its tracks steadily bloom. Thumping bass percussion builds, each track running a similar trajectory with increasing intensity.

With Kraken Mare the record pivots to its textural offerings, different flavors of dense airy ambience and complimenting illusive melodies. Every songs feels tangled in a web of noise work, quirk sounds and details rumbling in and out of focus on mechanical rotations. It creates a sense of alien activity, not understood but observed. With Hydrogen Times Pi, a strong sense of influence emerges, the echos of pioneers Carbon Based Lifeforms brews as its lead melodies take on a similar character.

As I mentioned, this well fell in the middle, not quite as captivating but certainly not bad. Saturn Rising felt like its defining song and the ambience was pressured by a slamming sub bass drum and rapid clicky noises. Quite the contrast, that birthed an interesting atmosphere. I won't go deeper with this artist but the search is still on!

Rating: 5/10

Dreamstate Logic "Starbound" (2023)

Since discovering Dreamstate Logic last year, the spacey music has become a staple in my streams. These cool, cold, cosmic breezes of astral ambience are pleasurable tone setters when focus is required. Starbound is the first new material beyond twelve or so other lengthy release. I wanted to give these seventy five minutes more attention but have since discovered its mostly business as usual. Not that business is bad...

The records instrumental pallet is somewhat indistinguishable from prior creations. This artist seems very much settled on stick to what works. Stellar drones and shimmering dreamy synths lay its atmospheric foundations. When pace musters, sequenced melodies and gentle arpeggios brood steadily among dense galactic reverberations. As momentum gains, its Downtempo inspired percussive lines take charge with punches, thuds, combined for satisfying kick snare grooves.

Most notable on Approaching Aldebaran, do drums and its general mood, slip into the enclave of Synthwave. The buzzsaw's make themselves known among sparse synthetic tom drum strikes. Its a subtle shift but about the only song that showed signs of somewhere new to stride. I did pick up a couple new favorites on the journey, to scratch the itch. Otherwise a fine set of instrumentals fit to serve its purpose.

Rating: 6/10

Andrew Odd "Discoveries" (2015)

 

Seeking out more cosmic Pysbient by Andrew Odd, his earlier Discoveries ventures close. Downtempo beats are stripped out, pacing set in rarity by rumbles of deep bass and jolting sequenced synths. My favorite track is the one exception. Unknown Phenomenon builds steadily, the reverb soaked snare and complimenting thump of the bass kick amp up intentions. It lingers on this trajectory for some time before unleashing a gratifying closing astral melody. This is the craft I was seeking.

The rest of the records dealing in shades of spacey ambience brought about by combinations of dense electronic strings, murmuring bass noise and lofty, airy synths. These songs most circle their own tensions, drifting from resolution and lingering in the peculiar spaces as ambiguous textures and halfway tunes assert themselves.

The most remarkable of which is Leaving, the opening track. Its perpetual sense of abstract existence is bestowed by a cloudy organ synth tone. It holds an odd tension of possibility beyond what we know. Presiding through its entirety, encounters with grandiose string sections feel significant and momentous, as if observing first contact from a distance. Its distinct and special, the rest of the record offering more temporal solitude but never quite escaping to the extraordinary. A fair set of ambiences.

Rating: 6/10

Andrew Odd "Life" (2015)

Seeking more of the Random Thoughts magic, Life of five years prior has flickers of a neighboring charm. Its opener, the lengthy, tense Spark, and aimless dreamy closer track, Darkness, both brood on airy tensions of lofty synths, uneventful soundscapes mulling over their own individual moments. The three songs between venture out of cloudy ambiances with pleasantly subdued encroachments of melody. Drifted along by spacious Downtempo grooves, deep baselines hum with mono-tonal force to reinforce its persuasive percussion.

Unlike the cosmic vibes to follow, life rests gently with the beauty of earthly things to inspire its mellow moods. Always calming, the chemistry of instruments soothes through its effortless pace and welcoming tones. Airy synths house spurts of aimless electronic melody as its motions stew on the feeling of each track. Wonderfully crafted, they can probably fit a variety of feelings the listener might have. Its spell is fantastic for focus, a delight to enjoy when tasked for work. Its only flaw is a lack of depth with only two thirds of its thirty three minute stay being the sweet stuff.

Rating: 5/10

Andrew Odd "Random Thoughts" (2020)

  

Spotify is sussing my tastes out and the spacey ambience I adore has been served up. Finnish cosmonaut Andrew Odd caught my ear a flavor of deep space I couldn't resist. Hints of Downtempo momentum burgeon from its lurching percussion, brooding awaiting release. Birthed out of deep pursuing bass pulses, long adorning synth strings and cloudy ambiences mull in the void. Minor textures become major melodies in its astral unraveling of otherworldly marvels. Steadily they build, sparse lifeless tunes bloating to wild animations as gusto is mustered to venture forth boldly.

Cosmic storms, celestial bodies and colliding nebula illuminate in the blink of an eye. One drifts by, radiating in observation, then continuing momentum off into distance shadows, unable to change course. These swells of magic best culminate with a drive of powerful percussive grooves. Mechanical and stiff, the repetition aids the moment with a lively presence far from its humble, dreamy origins. Only a feature reserved for three of the five tracks, its more ambient oriented cuts are a fine craft too.

Likely inspired by Carbon Based Lifeforms and others in this spacey realm, the execution outstrips its similarities. These experiences are so well crafted, visions to be inhabited for lovers of these vibes. Andrew straddles an interesting line where his forever expanding soundscapes will go from subtle temporal remedies to mesmerizing distractions yet somehow serve both the background and foreground of you're musical attention span. Riveting stuff, an immediate classic "go to" for my introspective moods.

Rating: 8/10

Dreamstate Logic "Space Born" (2020)

 

This will be no regular record review. More so a marking for my future self. The purpose of this blog has always been to catalog the musical exploration, providing references to our adventures. Memory is a limited resource and although personally music evokes the sharpest of recalls, it is still a healthy practice that has helped me resurface many magics that haven't popped into the conscious experience.

Keying in the right combination of terms to suit my introspective mood, Cosmic Ambience yielded a stellar find. With a catalog of similar sounding ambient pieces, the idea of a "record review" felt wayside to the simple and familiar pleasures this artist offered. Similar in emotion to Carbon Based Lifeforms and with cosmic tones akin to Stellardone, an especially calming melody of dawning astral synths and lofty reverberations offered a deep wondrous peace in its soothing temporal chambers.

Its seven songs scales the starlight as a sense of drifting beyond time carries one on a gentle glide through the infinite. Dreamstate Logic differentiates itself with a calming temperament that does on occasion stride with gusto as lumbering percussion rumbles up momentum and the odd shining melody pushes itself into focus.

It may be that this artist has more to offer but with a plethora of albums released in 2020, one would suspect these are pallets of spacial ambiences, as opposed to distinct musical experiences. That impression could be a falsehood, so as I revisit this mood, I'll see what I unearth but for now this will be a permanent fixture on my relaxation and focus playlist.

Rating: 7/10