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Are
you looking for wonderful, elegant, cavernous soundscapes- backdrops
for daydreaming, writing, or spa work? Do you seek music you can lose
yourself in, floating away on a tide of deep and colorful nuances
that only space music can provide?
Well, look no farther than Crown
Invisible. Unlike 'true' space music, though, CI sets its
musical gardens to slow rhythms, that spool in and out of the various
pieces- alternately propelling and floating the listener through the music.
The song titles give no hint of
what they contain, which is fair enough- because sometimes titles
create images in the mind that are difficult to reconcile with the
music. For instance, "V13" sounds more like a
software release than a song title, and gives no hint of the
cotton-candy sunset cloudscape that it heralds. But that is what the
music brings- the image of a southern California Pacific sunset, with
all the laid-back ambience of a Pacific beach.
"V12"
gives another impression entirely, being a remix of an earlier track
on another of CI's EP-length albums. This one adds an intriguing
rhythm track to the stately static sound-on-sound melody, giving it
more energy, yet also a quiet restraint. The soundstage is deep and
well defined, a carefully crafted electronic construct that isn't at
all artificial.
"V14", the
third and final cut on this album is another variation on the theme
and rhythm introduced in the first two cuts, and extended into a
lengthy coda. The lofty tone-on-tone soundscape is augmented with a
bright celeste- like voice, topping a towering, complex static chord
and driven by the same stately rhythm. This would very nicely
complement a spa setting; having that sort of brilliant airiness a
healing and relaxing sort of place would welcome.
"Remixes"
takes two previous Crown Invisible pieces, "V 8"
and "V13" and runs them through several remixes.
"V 8" is a
dark and Gothic piece, perhaps a distant echo of Enigma, but without
the chanting monks or the whispering woman. Instead, we are treated
to a wickedly waspish electric guitar, and cascading piano/ bell,
putting a rainy element into the music. The synth has a blurry,
rain-on-glass quality about it. There is an urban 3AM feel to it- an
intrigue of nighttime.
The "Confessions"
remix of "V 8" changes the rhythm a bit, and
amplifies that rainy urban wee-hours ambiance, adding layers and
islands of deep bass, and the previously mentioned waspish guitar.
Also added are snippets of radio/television dialogue- the insomniac
at 3AM on a rainy urban morning. The effect is that of the endless
hour- the minute that is ten, the hour that is two&ldots; when one
wonders if 4 or 5 AM will ever happen. The music breaks through this
floating hold, and advances towards dawn... 'nonstop'...Early morning
wake-up voices break through the fog, and time moves on.
The second "instrumental"
remix of "V 8" tries out a different rhythm
combination, and leaves out the vocal commentary. The rainy night
ambience is still front and center, and is as powerful on the third
go-round as it was on the first two.
Which "V 8"
do I like the best? Hmm- it's a tie between the "Confession"
and the "Instrumental". They both build
wonderfully upon the rather spare original.
"V 13"
gets 4 remixes on this album. "V 13" is
airier and brighter than its cousin "V 8",
and in the original, invokes a wonderful, colorful Pacific sunset in
my mind. It gets off to an interesting start- appearing to go into
its full theme, but instead throttling back to a static prelude
before launching into the main melody with the celestial percussive voice.
Two of the remixes are "Radio
Beams"- one short, and the other long. The short remix
adds a bass guitar, synth choir, and some radio voices to the
soundscape. The rhythm track is changed, too. The floating quality of
the middle part disappears, replaced with an edgy, progressive
rhythm. The stop-start quality of Crown Invisible's other
pieces is evident here- in a more powerful manner. It does not
distract- but it doesn't let you slip into yawning complacency, either.
The Long Edit has a different
introduction- a sustained industrial- sounding motif that segues into
the airy sound-on-sound intro, but keeping the industrial elements.
We are 'guided by a radio beam' into the main theme of the
song, sprinkled with bites of radio voices. Again, the rhythm
instrumentation is changed- busier this time, and there is an added
synth buzzing around in the layered soundscape. The extended middle
part segues between the rhythmic radio-peppered main theme, and the
ambient, floating sub theme.
The final remix of "V 13",
version 3 is the "No Pad Mix". This version
starts out rather Gothically- with no hint of the bright sunset
sounds of its previous incarnations. Then the familiar drifting
chords come in, and give way to rhythm and bass only, with none of
the layered synths that the earlier versions had, except for a peek
here and there. This is a sparer version of a lush piece, intriguing
in its own way. The sunset becomes more open, urban and industrial,
making the piece darker, but no less interesting.
The Cursor Club, PO Box 3327,
Hollywood, CA 90078, USA. Prices (when ordering directly from
us) are as follows: CD’s are US $8.50 each, with a S & H
charge of US $1.50 each ($2.50 each outside US). Order any 3 or more
for US $8.00 each, and we'll pay the shipping. Check or Money Order
only please (the retailers listed below all take credit cards).
We ship within 2 days of receipt of an order, and as with all our
products, if you don't like it we'll gladly give you your money back.
Reviewed by Lorie Johnson for
Ambient Visions
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