Nine from Spotted Peccary Music


Before Sunrise by Jeff Greinke
Echo by Chris Russell
Elevations (Special Remastered Edition) by Eric Wøllo
Fire Opal by Massergy
How it Happened by Tom Eaton
Lotus Rising by Chronotope Project
The Truth of Being by Madhavi Devi
Toward the Horizon by Craig Padilla and Marvin Allen
Wind Journeys (Special Remastered Edition) by Eric Wøllo


Before Sunrise by Jeff Greinke


Eight amazing portraits of a time when most are dreaming. This is what I think of as classical
music today, piano, cello, viola, winds, brass, vibraphone, a huge night landscape in the desert,
and just a hint of synthesizers are used as a palette to sonically paint these impressionistic
delights. A series of instrumental  soundscapes examining the longest hours before the light of
dawn. I like “The River” because of the uplifting interlocking motion. I like “Mountains and Clouds”
because of the layers and details, a very interesting exploration of an imaginary view of a
mountain in the darkness as the dawn progresses. Overall, Before Sunrise is a satisfying and
thrilling series of chamber music performances with plenty of charm and variety, smiling friends
playing great music together. You can hear that it is a real violin bow and the sound of breath in
a brass instrument, and it sure makes a difference in the listening experience.


Artist website


Echo by Chris Russell


Caves are dark, and it can be hard to tell just how big they are. When I listen to this album I
imagine riding in a UFO with my new friends from far away, and we are exploring huge caves
that have rare and long forgotten treasures hidden in the darkness. This is a fine example of
music that is not music, there is seldom a beat, there are lots of strange and pleasant sounds,
and it has a compositional coherence, while keeping a mystery about what might happen next.
Mr. Russell takes field recordings and found sounds, electronically treating and sculpting them
into a form of science fiction, illustrating strange scenes in strange places. I find this to be more
satisfying entertainment than the old verse chorus verse business, but there is a place for all
these things. On Echo my favorite tracks are “Radium,”  which combines dark mystery with a
positive bouncy pattern played with small mallets on glass and metal objects. I like to listen to
“Varuna,” with its deep oceans hidden in a really big cave, and “Sparse” because of the ancient
wandering energy it brings, this song feels to me like an exotic caravan you come upon and
travel with for a time.


Artist website

Elevations by Erik Wøllo


My first time listening to this music I had the impression that only synthesizers created this sound,
later I learned that electric guitars are the specialty of Mr. Wøllo. Now I know that he has been
doing this for a long time and I should have been paying more attention. The sound is bright and
cold, against a deep black sky, with an astounding variety of tone colors, and melodies that are
sometimes haunting and sometimes uplifting. And there are these little interesting odd mysterious
things that happen in there. A series of Odysseys and time spent looking down onto mountain tops.
Alternating clusters of tunes with a beat and some tunes with no such containers. I am a big science
fiction fan and this works really well for evoking amazing vistas on distant spheres, among other
cosmic delights. Favorites: “Novalis” which has an energetic pulse and repeating alternating
patterns under a tart guiding melody; “Green Odyssey” for the abstract Bossa Nova jungle scenes,
and “The Land of Birds” which features layered classical guitars floating in space, working out a
slow motion call and response.


Artist website

Fire Opal by Massergy


The range of sounds gathered to create Fire Opal includes guitars, with the usual analog technology
and synthesizers that Massergy uses to bring the wilderness of that part of Texas into your listening
experience, in his unique way. True to his musical legacy and his approach to composition,
occasionally exploring the textural and cerebral sonic territories where there is no driving beat,
these guitar sounds range from harmonic finger picking to melodic expositions, usually in the
proximity of ambient synthesizers, sometimes alone and sometimes supported by a bass guitar.
My favorites are “Lunar Cinema” with what sounds like a horn, thoughtfully examining the ancient
stone ruins on the moon using a spotlight at night; and “Cold White Smoke” which has an extended
swirling dialog between what sounds to me like some sort of a metallic glockenspiel, with
keyboards and the electric guitars, all under a synthesizer glow.


Artist websites

How it Happened by Tom Eaton


Dark electronic wonderment, inspired by imagining the story of rivers in the winter. Slow shivering
piano with synthesizer textures and sparkles. Meditations from deep under water, slow and
relaxed. There is a polished and breathtaking quality consistently through all the work here. The
cover art shows winter with no snow, the grass growing by the river is brown and dry, but the
colors are rich and you can feel the season. This music lasts forever, time stops, and you can
experience the eternity of deep listening. Once upon a time music that could put people to sleep
was considered to be a problem, this music does not force you to sleep but it does allow for your
thoughts to emerge in a natural way and you will very likely find yourself feeling relaxed. It is pretty
to listen to, very delicate and haunting. Mr. Eaton has a career of experience with recording and
producing some of the finest music on the planet; this new album takes the work to a new place.
The sound on How it Happened comes from from many sources, including electronic, compared
to the mostly piano-based music that precedes this album (Matjora is Still Alive, Abendromen and
Indesterren). There is plenty of piano on How it Happened but this album is a study in sounds that
are not so much focused on the piano. My personal favorite here is “Later, At Night, by the Lake,”
the sound just shimmers there behind the speakers and I want to turn the lights off and see if it
glows in the dark.


Artist websites


Lotus Rising by Chronotope Project


Synthesizers, sequencers, microtonal mysteries, rhyming percussion, an Irish whistle, a cello, a
Harpejji, and so much more. The music is energetic without being overpowering, the meditation
is always positive and illuminating. Gentle melodies and always a mindful movement towards
awakened awareness. My favorites here and now are “Opening the Hand of Thought” not because
the visual idea of thought having a hand to open, but because of the nifty beat and range of tempo
and instruments, this one sends me. Also “Gateless Gate” sounds to me like a soft floating gas
with tiny tingling chimes and some punctuating clicks and pings. The overall effect is upbeat and
rich, abundances of sparkly tones and steady beams of harmonic colors. I did not mention
Buddhism, did I?


Artist website


The Truth of Being by Madhavi Devi


A burst of colors, plus different kinds of harps, with an easy to love tempo and weaving of melodies,
plus abundant spirit. This artist’s work is new to me, but familiar too. An instrumentalist that paints,
and is fully engaged in life from writing to cooking, and all things visual and musical that might fit
in between, and a practice of Intentional Creativity. Madhavi Devi (Cheryl Gallagher) composed
and played this music, gathering synthesizers, harps, flutes, percussion, and many colors; she is
joined by Howard Givens on guitar and synthesizers, and Stephanie Britten Phillips, playing viola.
The sound is a melodic multi-tinted vista supported by light percussion and plentiful positive
thinking, which you can hear. Doppler beams twisting as they glide past, wind chimes adding
accents and extra details in a lush floral landscape. Favorites: the percussive “Jade Breeze,”
because of the colors and the constant melodic transformation while the beat keeps the caravan
on time. “Breakthrough” has a spooky dramatic sound, including monks chanting and hand drums.  


Artist website

Toward the Horizon by Craig Padilla and Marvin Allen


Starts with an electronic noodle and explodes, a supersonic jet passes overhead pulling us into a
new place, you are upside down and loving it, up and down mean nothing, instead think near or far.
The cover art for the album shows the contrasting rainy umbrellas of the Northern Pacific coastal
climate and the dazzling colors glimpsed through the clouds. This is space music, conceived of
in the terrestrial elements and taking place high above, in another universe. I love the sounds
guitars can make, and guitars with synthesizers will break some laws of music. I am catching up
to the Hendrix-era Electric Ladyland realm of science fiction soundscapes, but to my new ears,
Toward the Horizon is from a whole new place, this time with no drums and no vocals. Just
vertiginous atmospherics and disregard for gravity. Favorites include “Beneath the Surface” I
imagine being deep underwater watching a UFO land on the rocks above; and “Liquid Heaven”
exploring the ocean with planets moving in the distance. You might want a seatbelt, not because
its rough but because down is so very far away.


Artist websites
Wind Journey by Erik Wøllo
Up and away, into a bright blue sky, cold and clear! From up here you can see forever, with a full
depth and lots of small components. This is perfect electronic air conditioning, the music provides
a frost you can enjoy while wearing a t shirt with sunglasses. This is all about the sounds of wind
and altitude that a guitar can bring to life. This kind of music is not about fast and furious guitar
dazzle, this is all about great soaring music dazzle, simple amazement and fine compositional
design, working with the sounds of the wind interpreted by the electric guitar. Wind chimes,
percussive harmonics, soaring freefall guitar treatments, you can hear how cold it is.


Artist website


Written by Astral Jim

Tags: #ambientelectronic #electronicmusic #ambientmusic #SpottedPeccaryMusic #JeffGreinke #BeforeSunrise #ChrisRussell #Echo #ErikWollo #Elevations #Massergy #FireOpal #TomEaton #HowitHappened #ChronotopeProject #LotusRising #MadhaviDevi #TheTruthofBeing #CraigPadilla #MarvinAllen #TowardtheHorizon #WindJourneys

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