Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: electronic

  • Adios Amor (Goodbye My Love)

    Adios Amor (Goodbye My Love)

    From the first sweeping notes of this sumptuous rendition of a beloved piece from Jose Felicano, Adios Amor (Goodbye My Love) you return to the halcyon days of music that created new sounds to charm a younger generation and many of the older generation.

    Award winning Australian composer and lover of music from the 1960’s and 1970’s Jim Ottaway, has spent time in his studio creating a version of this beloved 1969 Australian hit that plucks at the heart strings and enchants once again.   

    Interestingly Adios Amor (Goodbye My Love) was only a hit in Australia but is a song many consider was Felicano’s best recording as it is timeless, rich with feeling and when listening to the original version the song still retains a lovely vibe many years later.

    As I am a child of the Feliciano era, the contemporary version created by Jim Ottaway with a wide sweeping use of electronic ambience, rich bass and strings, is an absolute delight to simply sit and enjoy. After the romantic introduction you expect Feliciano’s dulcet tones to flow through the speakers.

    Over the past eighteen months Ottaway has created some wonderful, contemporary versions of Gerry and the Pacemakers Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying and Wonderful Land from the Shadows, both hit records in their day and still beloved of music lovers worldwide, well worth listening to and enjoying.

    When Jim Ottaway sets out to play in his cave of electronic wizardry the result is always well worth the effort. What will he choose to be his next captivating and catchy single for 2026?

  • Dawn

    Dawn

    Spiritual and deeply resonant Dawn, Sonia Haramis’ new single is perfect for sinking into, absorbing the slow and yet soothing sounds of piano and electronic melodies that herald in the dawn; the dawn of a new day, brooding, peaceful, undecided and full of possibilities; the dawn of a new era, a new year, filled with hope, the deeper shades giving way to lighter days, brighter mornings, fresh new beginnings.

    Well known as a spiritual story teller, Sonia Haramis has converted this skill into telling a story through ambient music which allows each story dreamed to be unique, personal and divine. Dawn will allow you to dream, to relax, to be peaceful and reset the body, mind and soul for another year full of hope and promises.

  • A WALK IN THE SHADOW GARDEN

    A WALK IN THE SHADOW GARDEN

    A Walk in the Shadow Garden is an evocative collection of songs with captivating titles, designed to entice you into the mysterious world of the garden after dark. A time when the trees, birds, flowers and day creatures are beginning for settle for the night to come, the night creature and flowers still slowly emerging.

    But perhaps there is another aspect to this music that is reflective, retrospective and somewhat fascinating. Parallels could be draw with looking at life, looking back and contemplating the life one has lived as one grows older. Walking through the night garden of time, chatting with the gardener as to the whys and wherefores gathered along the many pathways taken. A whimsical thought to tantalise!

    Rudy Adrian has in this delicate, and carefully created album, captured the essence of the mystery, the magic and the anticipation of the night garden with a delicate balance of electronic drone, occasionally interspersed with the sound of insects and guitars being lightly strummed in the opening song A Walk in the Shadow Garden.

    Dawn Redwood, once a prolific tree but now largely endangered, now found only in China in profusion has been paid tribute to its tenacity, mysterious, majestic elegance in this light, delicate and yet strong composition.

    Delicate and dreamy Perchance to Dream enters into the very heart of the garden, the shadows deepening, the desire to wonder, to dream, to create enchantment within the mind is ever present, evoked in part by this soft, subtle song.

    As you wander you begin to form questions to ask the gardener, a mysterious, yet ever present spirit within the structure of the garden, which brings this peaceful, relaxing and enchanting album to a close with Conversations With A Gardener: each piece, each song a tree, a plant, a moment in time, there to ponder, to wonder, to enjoy.

  • Pythagorian Wilderness

    Pythagorian Wilderness

    Pythagorian Wilderness is once again a non-formative element of returning to the womb of life, which has been captured beautifully in the tenth lullaby in the series, The Lullabies, from Niclas Tamas, which drifts, encompassing moments of soundless timelessness.

    The sounds of space are like none other; softly captured to resonate deep within the psyche, the auditory spectrums of the mind, to gently soothe and encourage release from stress and disharmony within the body.

    Tamas music is heavily influenced by Hungarian/Carpathian folk music based on tonal sounds. He uses many of the tonal sounds within the electronic spectrum to create his journey of relaxation, thereby formulating a short moment of time when nothing is asked of the listener other than to relax into the moment, to travel in peace and harmony, to return refreshed.

    Pythagorian Wilderness is perfect for a brief moment of Mindful meditation in a hectic day.

  • Geomorphology Bots

    Geomorphology Bots

    It is well worth a visit to Niclas Tamas’s website to experience his exquisite piano music, as well as a journey into the far side of music with his Ambient collection of what he considers as ‘lullabies; the first ambient piece, and second under Ambient, is Geomorphology Bots, a deep, melodious, drifting piece of music.

    The first track is Lullabies, a beautiful piano song which then leads into the ambient collection commencing with Geomorphology Bots at 7 minutes 13 seconds long. It is the perfect length for a little quiet meditation in the midst of a busy day, or simply being able to reset the vibration for the day. Best listened to in a relaxing space and simply allowing to music to drift into the desired emotions, it encourages a sense of mediation, or relaxation which brings with it a deep sense of peace.

    Released in December as a single, the cover is fascinating, reminding one of the early days of imaginary space people in all their vivid and exotic manifestations.

    Having spent many years studying Humanities, before a career in technology and then a major lifestyle change, Tamas has the lived background to create music of the caliber that wakens the sonic levels of the mind and allows the work to bring with it healing and relaxation.

     In spite of the cover and the name, Geomorphology Bots is well worth downloading and adding to your evening series of relaxing and enjoyable melodies.

  • Keith Richie – Ambient Highways

    Keith Richie – Ambient Highways

    Born of frustration, despair and musical blockage some six years ago, Keith Richie sat at his keyboard, placed his hands on the keys hoping for something wonderful to occur. It did, with the end result his latest release Ambient Highways.

    Track after track was born, his wife putting together the artwork on the cover to represent the title track, Ambient Highways in visual form, a glorious piece of work to compliment the music. Listening to this album moving down a long road in remote Australia, the melodies perfectly enhanced the scenery unfolding, that of timelessness, something majestic beyond the control of humanity, of time and place.

    As the tracks unfold the element of space, floating, richness and beauty allows the mind to float free, to create the element of dreaming, gently moving through whatever emotions are allowed to surface, to visualise, then let float free into the mystery of space.

    V Feeling is something totally specific in the construction, as if the voyager has stepped into another level of consciousness, alone, specific with emotion and quietly, almost delicately resonant whereas Dew From the Morning Star is light, fresh and once again underpinned with an immense feeling of great delicacy.

    The final piece Ultima Thule is ethereal, light, there but not there, moving into an element that could be considered as the ultimate place to be, emotionally and mentally at the completion of deep meditation, where the body, mind and soul feels cleansed, relaxed and in harmony with life’s many Ambient Highways.

  • Sacred Spaces

    Sacred Spaces

    Surreal electronic sounds greet the day as A Metaphysical Morning begins to unfold in a most enjoyable and easily acceptable style introducing Michael Whalen’s Sacred Spaces, a work released in March around the time the World was beginning to understand the terrible seriousness of Covid-19 or Corona Virus.

    Many people wished for something similar in real life to A Metaphysical Morning where they could escape the reality of what lay in store as the months unfolded. As this piece emerges it entices and temps, offering a small space in time to simply flow with the music, which then develops into a light, airy, somewhat elegant and enchanting morning emerging from the darkness of the night.

    Sacred Spaces follows, which proffers a change of tempo and vibration, wrapped in light and joy, which allows time and place to be created to simply enjoy the moment. Many daydreams are easily found within this piece, which as with all electronica will change with the emotions on each engagement with the music.

    1000 Paper Cranes is a most intriguing piece, which bring immediately to mind the wonderful and delicate craft of origami creating a myriad of beautiful, delicate paper cranes set in a minimalist panorama; a subtle chanting of monks can be  faintly observed in the sea of sound delicately washing around the cranes. This mystical and immensely soothing piece which has a somewhat tragic backstory based on the life of Sadako Sasaki, a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, who, later diagnosed with Leukaemia, set a goal to create 1000 paper cranes in her lifetime.

    Each of the pieces on this sensual, delicate and a utterly fascinating musical immersion comes from more than ten years of Whalen creating various themes in a search for a higher power, a deeper meaning in his life, which possibly explains the almost velvety smoothness of each of the pieces, as they blend seamlessly into one, deep, relaxing and metaphysical journey. Smooth and full of richness, Sacred Spaces offers a residual sense of peace and harmony for the soul.

    This is so, until the final piece The After Life, a funky, catchy 4.40secs of upbeat music which opens doors to what may lay beyond what we think we know. Following the intro of almost a singular rhythm, a flourish of trumpets precedes a choral segment that leads to the supposition of the heavenly choir welcoming the traveller home. Gloriously vibrant it leads into a timeless element that soothes and relaxes, which certainly makes for an interesting concept on life’s final journey and destination.

    Sacred Spaces is the perfect panacea for those who love to escape through the medium of blissful, spiritual music or simply for those who need to relax, recharge and refresh. However long it has taken for this delicately beautiful work to emerge, through various incarnations, from perhaps classical to maybe new age to full on dainty electronica, Whalen has certainly crafted a collection perfect for the ages.

     

  • Milestones

    Milestones

    Spacey, interesting and intriguing as is so much electronic music, this latest released from Hollan Holmes, Milestones captures an interesting schism in time, a time of retrospective journeying into that place often called ‘some other space, some other time’.

    Intriguing pieces capture elemental vibes that change the contextual nature of the music which prevents the listener predicting what is to follow in each track. An almost space like theme appears to develop, especially early in the collection with, One Giant Leap, when the voices of NASA Astronauts reach out from deep space, before a serious electronic journey into the imaginative world of space commences. Neil Armstrong’s famous words ‘One giant leap for mankind’ once again reach out through history to mark this momentous occasion.

    About the time of this historic space mission modern day synthesiser music was in its very infancy, experimental and confrontational. Groups such as Tangerine Dream were well into experimentation, Mike Oldfield was capturing audiences worldwide with this amazing sound and many rock groups were using this amazing ability to distort soundwaves to their advantage with anew beat and vibe being to shape music on a regular basis.

    To this end more than sixty years on, the twisting, reshaping and bending of sound waves continues to stretch the mind, creating sounds that tease the ear, allowing the mind to drift and flow, to take the listener to any place they choose to go, courtesy of ambient electronic music forms.

    Milestones records some of the many way points as it continues to explore hidden nuances within the sound spectrum. Encompassed within in several tracks is an almost overarching, spiritual feel to the music, whereas in others such as Bulletproof the vibration captured is unsettling, almost jagged in its interpretation.

    Something Wicked Comes this Way a fitting title for an eerie, slightly disturbing interpretation for the hollow sound of the dark unknown, which if nothing else, attracts the darker imagination before building to a crescendo of surreal sounds moving across the ether: Alfred Hitchcock in musical format, which aptly demonstrates the power of electronica to shape, shift and change

    As a finale Ayyappan is a melodic, peaceful and relaxing composition that has a dreamy, etheric mood floating throughout the lengthy piece. Thankfully this allows the mind to relax and refresh after a somewhat challenging journey across the musical spectrum of electronica.

  • 21 PULSE ECLIPSE

    21 PULSE ECLIPSE

    21 Pulse Eclipse is edgy, prickly, synergetic and based on the alignment of three celestial object known as Syzygy, ergo, the heart, mind and spirit, which create their own rhythmic pulses that in the right space can enable all three to come into complete alignment.

    Using the wide range of electronic tones to achieve this synergy of flow has created an interesting listening experience, which should only be utilised if there is the desire to move into a deep, transcendental state seeking alignment.

    If this state of alignment is not required the soundscape is edgy, almost abrasive, jarring in some aspects and definitely unsettling, certainly different and once again, as with much of the electronic sound-scaping, challenging.

    Much can be read into or placed into this realm of pushing sound waves to the very extreme, and as careful listening will discover, the voyage to alignment is anything but pure, smooth and relaxing.

    Dark moods created are moved over with a sharper, distinctive shift, while floating, drifting follows to soften the vibe created, allowing a more mellow space, time and place to be created. This of course is the true mission of electronic music, as it tantalises the brain, stretches the mind and allows the emotions free flow without form or void; as is the beginning, so too is the ending.

    As there is no central link, nor earthly connection to be hooked into in this debut work from Bart Hawkins, the realms of psychedelia beckon, to be enjoyed in entirety over the eight tracks that blend seamlessly into a conjunction of opposites, which considering this album was created during a full lunar eclipse, is not surprising.

    Interesting and to be enjoyed when and as required.

  • Crucial

    Crucial

    Prog rock is a genre that lends to much diversion of sound and in Crucial, the third album from Swiss guitarist/composer Roland Buhlmann, an amazingly intriguing construction of sound pieces, some reminiscent of 1970’s fusion band Sky, also the intriguing Kintaro, who is noted for his electronic-instrumentalisation, has been created.

    With Crucial Buhlmann displays some serious skill with electronic guitar, an immense knowledge of sound combination with an overwhelming desire to put together such diverse ‘instruments’ as oil tanks, wine glasses, branches, knives, electric and bass guitars and so very much more, to create a work that is a wonderful blend of guitar with a percussive base.

    From the first track of the eight, Kaiilen, the work is intriguing, and dependant on what is the mood at the of listening it can either be soothing or fractious; Higgayon is such a piece that it has both aspects, from a soft, almost synthetic flavour to some seriously strong guitar riffs, changing the tempo when least expected.

    Crucial as the title track, is introduced with a bassline that is strong, forceful and then a tapping, translate to wine glass, effect is added, building a real intrigue to the sound. A raft of other percussion sound is included which makes fascinating listening trying to discover what has been used to create the sound. Some serious guitar work is on display with this composition.

    After the deeper, strong tracks previously the delightfully light Miserere is a piece that is most enjoyable for its slightly more delicate nature. Still percussive, but with an almost purist jazz element to some of the guitar pieces, it makes once again, a gloriously interesting piece of improv.

    At eleven minutes long the final track Subconsciously is one that slowly drifts across the many aspects of the mind, offering, challenging, sharing and once again intriguing, with what appears to be a carefully selected ‘random’ combination of sounds.

    As a completely prog-rock album this is one for the purist, but also makes good listening when the mood is totally right, for others who enjoy a little prog-rock or improv, for the sheer mastery of the instruments and sounds created.