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Ambient Visions' Focus on Innertones
 by Jim Cole and Spectral Voices

Jim Cole  began practicing harmonic overtone singing in 1991, initially inspired by the Harmonic Choir's Hearing Solar Winds.  He founded Spectral Voices and then, intrigued by the reverberant cistern recording of Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening, they found home in an empty water tower.  In 1996 he received an artist fellowship award from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts for work in overtone singing, which supported the production and release of Spectral Voices' debut CD Coalescence.  Jim has collaborated with  Steve Roach, Mathias Grassow, vidnaObmana, Alpha Wave Movement, Mike Hovancsek and Pointless Orchestra, Kevin Makarewicz, Mawwal, Paranoise, and Amir Baghiri. 

Jim is a member of the group Leland Burr and Expansion Project.  His music and singing have been featured on several episodes of the TV program "The Sacred Journey" hosted by Joyce St. Germaine.  

AV:  Hi Jim, nice to be talking to you again. For those who may not already know it, who comprises the Spectral Voices and how is it that you came to record music with them? 

JC:  Good to be talking with you again too Michael.  We Spectral Voices have always been Alan Dow and myself at the core, with other guest musicians joining us at various periods throughout our history.  Spectral Voices grew out of informal gatherings of those interested in overtone singing in southernNew England, beginning in 1991.  I searched for reverberant spaces locally because singing amid such acoustics helped us to blend and focus attention on drawing out the overtones in our voices, and encouraged contemplative listening during these improvisatory sessions.  My search for ever more reverberant spaces culminated in finding the water tower, which became our “home” for two and a half years. 




Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Innertones by Jim Cole and Spectral Voices

Ambient Visions' Focus on Treasure
 by David Helpling
and Jon Jenkins

A self-taught musician, David’s ability to "feel" the music has resulted in two captivating albums that showcase his atmospheric depth as well as his rhythmic sensibility.  David's debut release, Between Green And Blue, was a finalist for the 1997 INDIE Album-Of-The-Year award, and is already considered a favorite among listeners to this genre.

As a recording artist, Jon Jenkins sees it as his responsibility to reach out, grab the listeners by the ears, drag them into another world and show them around a little bit. "I've always been fascinated by the ability of a good piece of music to stimulate the imagination and transport the listener to another place in their mind without ever leaving their chair."

AV:  It's always difficult to recount the genesis of a piece of music even when you are the only person involved with the creation of it but when it is a collaborative effort I would assume it becomes even more of a task. Who had the first inkling of Treasure as a viable project and what was it that made this idea jump out at you and pull you into it?

DH:  Well, the way we were brought together had us both creating music as a team to begin with. A filmmaker by the name of Chris Cummings contacted Spotted Peccary and was a fan of both of our work.  He was finishing his film False Summit, and specifically wanted Jon and I to create the score for it together.  We hit it off during those sessions and there was no shortage of ideas or inspiration. In fact we would often go off on this kind of furiously fueled improvisation thing where we were just coming up with ideas and parts and could barely keep up with it.......


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Treasure  by David Helpling and Jon Jenkins

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Mystic Moods
 by Michele Ippolito

Michele is classically trained on piano. Her music is influenced by classical, new age and contemporary. Using various keyboard techniques, she composes full time and works on various studio projects with husband Vince, musician/producer at their commercial studio in Dixon Il. 

"I like to create music that is picturesque with unusual effects giving attention to detail, that prepares the listener's mind for the full meditative experience".

Mystic Moods 

AV:  Tell me about what drew you into making music in the first place and why it was that you settled on ambient music as a way of expressing yourself?

MI:  I was drawn to music at age seven when I found I had a gift for playing music by ear. I would hear a melody and begin playing it. My parents bought me a piano which led to me being classically trained in music. At this time I began composing music. As my appreciation of music grew, I found my niche in Ambient / New Age music because it better expressed my emotional feelings of spirituality and I liked the ethereal sounds and textures of this type of music.
Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Mystic Moods  by Michele Ippolito

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Second Wind
 by Lorrie Sarafin

Lorrie Sarafin first heard the haunting sound of the Native American Flute in 1993 and was instantly captivated by its beauty. She bought her first flute in 1996 and took it out into the desert to learn how to play it. An avid hiker, Sarafin is fond of saying that it is the desert that taught her how to play;  her teachers being the wind and all things in nature. 

Sarafin has performed throughout the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, including the Arizona Mills Mall at Virgin Records (1999), the Chandler Center for the Arts (as part of the Intel 2000 and 2001 Benefit Talent Shows), Camelback Inn (as part of the 47th Annual NCCJ Humanitarian Awards Dinner - 2001)

Second Wind 

AV:   Tell me about 1993 and your first exposure to Native American flute and what that meant to you in regards to the music you would eventually make. 

LS:  This is an interesting question if only for the fact that I’m not so sure I think of myself as a “musician”. I guess that depends on what one’s definition of “musician” is. I know I like music - all kinds!  And yet I have had no real formal training as a “musician” - although I did study piano for a few years back in the 80's - but never with an eye towards performing or making an album. I just loved the sound of the piano and wanted to make those sounds! Same thing with the Native American flute - when I first heard the sound back in 1993 - I knew that I had to have that sound in my life.

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Yoga Harmony
 by Terry Oldfield

From the depths of the ocean to the vastness of space are places only select groups of people have had the opportunity to experience. For those who are looking for the feelings of awe and wonder these encounters convey there is the music of Terry Oldfield. Terry’s gifts translate the enormity and complexity of these emotions to the rest of us through beautifully woven melodies.

In 2001, Terry moved to Australia and has been busy setting up his new life.  Now that he is settled in and has his new studio up and running, he is keen to get back into film music. He has recently completed the score for "The Falcon That Flew with Man" and is currently working on "Project Cobra", music for the pilot to a TV series featuring some of the original "Thunderbirds" team.

His most recent CD releases are "Celt" on MG Music and "Yoga Harmony"  and "De Profundis | Out of the Depths II" on New Earth Records. Also, recently released on New World Music is a breathtaking DVD "Terry Oldfield's Underwater World".

Yoga Harmony 

AV:  Before we get down to questions about your latest CD, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?  

TO:  My musical career started originally working in television in the early 80's and the 'New Age' albums were a spin off from that work. Composing music for images was second nature to me and my work moved in a natural progression - from landscape, where the picture is right there in front of you, to soundscape where the listener is invited to travel within, to an inner world of imagination. I now live in the subtropical part of Australia and still compose music for both my CDs and film, finding fulfillment in the balance between the two worlds of inner and outer.

Ambient Visions' Focus on
From the Sky
 by Ryan Farish

Billboard Charting artist Ryan Farish knows the ‘sky is the limit’ when it comes to his sophomore release “From the Sky” which hit retail shelves June 21st, 2005. Already establishing his name as one of the highest downloaded artists on mp3.com, Ryan raked in close to 2 million downloads by the time his debut “Beautiful” hit shelves. By the end of 2004, “Beautiful” moved on to # 1 on the Music Choice ‘Soundscapes Channel’, broke into the Top 10 Billboard New Age Charts, Echoes.org ‘Top 25 Albums’ monthly chart and “Sunshine in the Rain” was used for Innovative Stone’s documentary on the first granite building block for the new World Trade Center site.  (www.innovativestone.com) Currently, his music can be heard just about everywhere on a daily basis. The Weather Channel has been a dedicated fan and programmer of Ryan’s music from day one. Currently 6 songs from the new album “From the Sky” are in rotation on The Weather Channel’s ‘Local on the 8’s’ forecast; as well as the themed intro song on “Storm Stories” which airs nightly.  We also have dedicated support from the top satellite & digital cable radio stations including Sirius Satellite Radio and DMX Radio and terrestrial radio programs including Echoes and New World Buzz.

From the Sky  

AV:  For the readers of Ambient Visions who may not know a lot about who Ryan Farish is tell me a little about your musical career to this point and why you chose ambient/new age music to express yourself through rather than some other genre of music.  

RF:  Well, as far as my career, my second national record came out this past summer, and it had been a very exciting process. I also compose and license music for TV and Film. I create music in many genres, but specialize in instrumental music. My records are filed under New Age, but many times I am referred to as a crossover artist because my music does well on Jazz charts like iTunes, as well as appeals to the electronic/chillout fans.  

AV:  How long after the release of Beautiful did you first start to work on what would become your latest release From the Sky?

RF:  Not long at all, probably no more than a few weeks. I am always writing music, and because I layer so much in my music, it takes quite a while to complete a track, so I get started as quickly as possible.

Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on From the Sky  by Ryan Farish

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Lingering Light
 by Jeff Pearce

Since his first cd release in 1993, Jeff Pearce has been at the forefront of guitar based ambient music. And over the course of eight solo releases, Jeff has refined his art and his approach to the electric guitar.

Jeff's music has been featured on such syndicated radio programs as "Echoes" and "Music from the Hearts of Space", as well as numerous regional radio shows. Jeff's music has also been featured in special projects for Mercedez-Benz.  Reviews of Jeff Pearce's music have appeared in such magazines as Billboard, Downbeat, Alternative Press, Guitar Player, Tower Pulse! and New Age Voice. In the year 2000, Jeff's cd "To the Shores of Heaven" was voted the favorite ambient cd of the year by New Age Voice magazine, as well as by the listeners of the "Echoes" radio program.  Jeff is an active live performer, having played everything from house concerts to all day festivals.  Jeff's 2002 cd "Bleed" was debuted at a Gathering concert in Philadelphia.  In early 2004, Jeff scored the soundtrack to the "Luminous Dimensions" DVD by "ambient animator" Michael DuBois.  Jeff's most recent cd is "Lingering Light" on the Jeff Pearce Music label.

Lingering Light  

AV:  For those of my readers who may not know what a Chapman Stick is can you give us a brief overview of the instrument itself and when it first started to gain popularity.

JP:  The Chapman Stick (www.stick.com ) got it's start when Emmett Chapman was playing his guitar in 1969.  He was inspired to reach over and tap a string on his guitar, then he propped the guitar up more vertically and tapped the strings.  That was the start of what has to have been a long journey for him.  He started building instruments specifically for his playing technique, and humbly called these instruments "Sticks".  I know if *I* invented something cool like that, I'd be tempted to call it the "ultra-cool-mondo-terrific string machine"!  So it's good he was the one who named it.

Sticks have never entered the "mainstream" of the music world like the piano or guitar, but there have been many players over the years to play the Stick; Tony Levin is the person who a lot of Stick players point to as their first encounter with seeing/hearing a musician play the Stick.  The bass player from Dream Theater plays a Stick from time to time, and there are a lot of musicians outside of the public eye who are quietly exposing a lot of people to the Stick. 


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Lingering Light  by Jeff Pearce

Ambient Visions' Focus on
World Fiction and the Gathering DVD
 by Kit Watkins

Kit's solo career began in 1980 with the self-produced album Labyrinth, released on his own Azimuth Records label. The album won him 5th place in Keyboard magazine's Annual Readers' Poll Awards for keyboard album. He recorded and performed with drummer/percussionist Coco Roussel during this period. During the 80s, Kit continued to produce solo and collaborative albums, some released on his own label, while others were picked up by larger independent labels. In the early 90s, Kit formed a new label, Linden Music, which released a number of his new recordings, as well as CDs by Robert Rich, Jeff Greinke, and David Borden.

His music style has changed focus from album to album, and has gradually veered away from the progressive rock of his youth into more subtle and mysterious forms of expression, such as ambient-jazz and world-fusion. His influences include artists such as Brian Eno, Mickey Hart, Mark Isham, Joe Zawinul, Harold Budd, Wayne Shorter, Steve Reich, Joni Mitchell, Jon Hassell, Eberhard Weber, Jeff Greinke, Robert Rich, Jan Garbarek, Steve Roach, Wendy Carlos.

World Fiction  

AV:  You've been a busy guy since last we spoke during your interview  for Ambient Visions. What have you been up to since then besides the projects that we are going to talk about?

KW:  The web site www.KitWatkins.com  is an ongoing project, so that keeps me busy. These two new projects also have given me plenty to do -- especially "The Gathering" DVD.

AV:  Your latest CD, World Fiction, was released not too long ago. What  was the seed of inspiration for this CD and how did you go about  beginning to do the work on it?

KW:  Most of the pieces on "World Fiction" (all except the two Delirium tracks) were created with the thought of live performance in mind.  They were live improvisations created in my performance setup, without computer sequencing or multi-tracking. I used looping devices to build them and later edited the pieces down to make them shorter (and pick and choose the most interesting parts). These pieces have a very different quality in comparison to my more composed work -- they're very immediate and spontaneous, and a little rough around the edges.


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on World Fiction and The Gathering DVD by Kit Watkins

Ambient Visions' Focus on
The Shaman's Heart
 by Byron Metcalf

Byron Metcalf is a drummer, percussionist, recording artist, and record producer. With over 30 years as a professional musician, he has performed on gold and platinum albums in the pop and country fields and in recent years has been experimenting with the use of drums, percussion, and other sounds to induce nonordinary (altered) states of consciousness in both ceremonial and therapeutic contexts. Byron's 1998 CD release HELPERS, GUIDES & ALLIES continues to receive enthusiastic reviews in the shamanic, trance dance, and therapeutic communities, and was rated #4 in  Backroads Music's 1998 Best of Year Selections in the World Music category. Byron collaborated with award winning recording artist and sonic innovator Steve Roach on the critically acclaimed 2-disc epic THE SERPENT'S LAIR (Projekt Records, Sept. 2000). NOT WITHOUT RISK was Byron's second solo project. WACHUMA'S WAVE (Spotted Peccary, 2003), a collaboration with German artist Mark Seelig (with Steve Roach), was chosen by Backroads Music as the #1 Release of 2003 in all categories.

The Shaman's Heart  

AV:  Your latest CD The Shaman's Heart was recently released. The title gives listeners an idea as to what to expect from the CD but could you tell me that you wanted to create for yourself when you started work on this release?  

BM:   I've been involved in shamanic practice for many years and have envisioned doing a CD project that was based on the traditional 220 bpm shamanic journey tempo for quite a while. For journey work, I personally find the typical single or double drumming CDs, as generally used in core shamanism practice, to be pretty boring and they don't really support they type of journey experience I prefer. So I wanted to create something with varying subdivisons of the basic tempo along with various textures and other atmospheres that are inherent in this type of inner exploration. The overriding intention is to support the listener or journeyer in staying connected to their heart center while traveling through the various landscapes and sometimes challenging experiences one might typically encounter in deep journey work.  


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on The Shaman's Heart by Byron Metcalf

Ambient Visions' Focus on
pSy-fI
 by zerO One

zerO One (aka Kevin Dooley) first came to public attention in 1998 with the release of his first (self-titled) CD on the Waveform label.  A student of electronic music since the 70s  (Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre, et al), Kevin has been composing and recording various genres of music for over 20 years.  

In addition to his ongoing solo projects, Kevin has played in several electronic groups, recorded and mastered numerous CDs ranging in style from rock to hip hop and for a short  period played the Howitzer cannon with the Kansas City Symphony. 

The zerO One project marked a significant change in Kevin's musical philosophy. "zerO One was my attempt to strip the music of all but the bare neccessities," reflects the artist. "Up until this time my music had been far more lush and layered. My goal with this music is that each individual part be capable of standing on it own, with no extraneous details left." 

Kevin continued to develop his new musical approach and, two years later, in 2000, released his second Waveform CD, "protOtype2." It would be over three years before the release of the third zerO One CD, "psy-fi," on the Spiralight label. 

Psy-Fi  

 AV:   Before we get down to questions about your Psy-Fi, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?

zerO One:  I’ve been playing music since I was about 8 years old.  My first instrument was tenor sax – I played in school marching bands, swing bands, orchestra.  My father was a great tenor sax player, and he encouraged me.  It wasn’t until the mid-80s that I discovered electronic music.  One of the first tracks that caught my attention was Autobahn – it just mesmerized me, and I set about learning what this music was about.  I started listening to all the electronic albums I could get my hands on – Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, etc.  Playing music had become a normal part of my existence at this point, and I decided to pursue the electronic style.

AV:   Your latest CD,  Psy-Fi, was released not too long ago. What was the inspiration for this project and when did you actually start work on it?

zerO One:  I started on Psy-F in the fall of 2001.  I worked on it, off and on, for about 3 years. I guess the inspiration for Psy-Fi was probably the same as my other projects – that is, to experiment with sound and composition to see what I came up with.  Music has a strong emotional impact on me – my projects tend to be a sort of catharsis. 


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on pSy-fI by zerO One

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Mystical America
 by Laura Sullivan

Laura’s appreciation for our environment blossomed in the wilderness setting where she grew up and continues to influence and inspire her compositions to this day. Her 2003 release, Pianoscapes for the Trails of North America, included a song inspired by each of the National Scenic Trails, such as the Appalachian, Continental Divide and the Pacific Crest. Pianoscapes continues to be well received in retail sales, featured programs and radio airplay and debuted at #5 on Apple Itunes, sustaining a rank in the Top Ten downloaded NEW AGE CD’s for over 3 months. RJ Lannan of the New Age Reporter writes of this release: “Laura Sullivan’s music shimmers with an effervescent vitality.” A portion of the proceeds of this CD are currently benefiting the National Arbor Day Foundation’s tree planting programs. In the spirit of this effort, included within each CD jewel case are tree seeds of the Blue Spruce which the listeners can plant in Laura’s unique program called “Buy a CD & Plant a Tree.”

Mystical America  

 AV:  Before we get down to questions about Mystical America, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?  

LS:  I grew up on a farm in Northern California. My mother started teaching me to play classical piano when I was 4 years old and I began “making up my own songs” on the piano when I was about 8. I was very influenced by the classical music I was learning and the style of my music still reflects my classical training. In most record stores my music is found in the “New Age” section, although some prefer to categorize it as something else such as “Contemporary Instrumental” or “Neo-Classical.” 

AV:  Your latest CD, Mystical America, was released not too long ago. What was the seed of inspiration for this CD and how did you go about beginning to do the work on it?  

LS:  I’ve always been enthralled by places that have spiritual significance, mystery and mystical intrigue. Growing up near Mt. Shasta, a place very close to my heart, I was always fascinated to hear stories about how people had been affected by the spiritual power of the mountain. Through traveling I became inspired by other fascinating places in America and decided to try and capture some of the beauty and magic of these places in music. 


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Mystical America by Laura Sullivan

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Continuum
 by David Wright

Writing in the magazine 'Dreamsword', Mueller said of 'Reflections' that, "Of all the demos I have received, this was the first and only one I liked and still like".

Continuum   

AV:  Before we get down to questions about Continuum, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now? 

DW:  I’m 31 year old with 20 years experience and music has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. I live in Suffolk with my wife Elaine (who runs AD Music) and my 23 year old son Steven. 

I’ve been creating music since the early 1980’s but didn’t release my first commercial CD, Marilynmba, until 1991. My first full album was the 1989 cassette “Reflections”; the release that KD Mueller was so enthusiastic about. That early release, and 2 other cassette releases, was released on CD in 2000. 

I’ve always enjoyed long, impressionistic style music. My influences can be traced back to Pink Floyds ‘Meddle’ and Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’. From there I got into Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Kitaro and Vangelis, to name but a few.  


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Continuum by David Wright

AV:  Before we get down to questions about your latest CD, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?

GK:  A basic need for expression without the limited boundaries of language. I grew up listening to soundtracks which led me to Jean Michel Jarre and early Kitaro whom I saw in the late 1980’s performing live on VH-1.

AV:  Your latest CD, Ephemeral Highways, was released not too long ago. What was the inspiration for this project and when did you actually start work on it?

GK:  Inspiration came from listening to early ECM label jazz and early Windham Hill label music. Music from Metheny, Tibbetts, Micus, Rypdal, Ackerman, Isham all these guys used space in their compositions and deeply emotional melodies that transcendent time.

None or very little of what any of these guys recorded in the late 1970s and 80s sounds remotely dated.


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Ephemeral Highways by Gregory Kyryluk

Ephemeral Highways   

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Disciple
 by Mark Seelig

After many years of therapeutic and academic training Mark left the scholarly world behind. The influence of Asian mysticism and spirituality, along with the musical traditions of India have turned his life around.

After receiving classical training on the violin from age 8 through 14, followed by guitar playing and singing, his musical focus has shifted again at age 42: During a deep vision quest, Mark felt encouraged to take up the North Indian bamboo flute 'Bansuri' at a rather late age for picking up a new instrument. He is now studying with the Indian Bansuri Maestro R.K. Bikramjit Singh.

Mark's music and work is offered hoping to make a small contribution to raising consciousness: May we all learn to face our shadows, honor our skills, and live in harmony with each other and the universe.

Disciple   

AV:  Before we get down to questions about Disciple, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?

MS:  Several years ago I went through a very severe health crisis caused by heavy metal poisoning. Along with some regular methods of clearing the body from toxins, I had also engaged in shamanic vision questing to understand what had happened to me.

During the journeying I would frequently listen to classical Indian music played on the bamboo flute ‘Bansuri’, and in one of my visions I felt that I was told to pursue the healing quality of this music by taking up the Bansuri myself. From that point forward I devoted as much time as possible to studying the devotional aspects of Indian Ragas.


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Disciple by Mark Seelig

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Silver
 by Thom Brennan

Thom Brennan began his brand of electronic music in the early 1980's. Inspired by the landscapes he lived with in the American Southwest and Pacific Northwest, his self produced albums have defined a unique and organic style of soundpainting.... A colorful and private world of harmonic tapestries.

In addition to an ongoing series of solo works, collaborations with ambient composer Steve Roach appeared on the 1988 Fortuna release "Western Spaces", and the Projekt compilation "Amplexus".

Recordings have been released on Rubicon Records (Canada), Phonogram (France), IC Records (Germany), Amplexus / Arya (Italy), Projekt, Fortuna, Space For Music, AtmoWorks, and his own RainGarden Music.

Silver   

AV:  Before we get down to questions about Silver, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?

TB:  I developed an interest in electronic music in the mid 70s.  I was listening to Morton Sobotnik, Tomita, and the early styles of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. Certain albums really inspired me- Edgar Froese “Aqua”,  Terry Riley “Persian Surgery Dervishes”,  Klaus’s “Timewind”, among many others. I self taught myself keyboard using a massive double manual, and very old vacuum tube organ I bought for about $150. We almost always had a piano in the house growing up, but I wanted the ability to sustain sound- so I was always playing it with the sustain pedal down.  All of this taught me some basic harmonic relationships, but I would never proclaim to be a great keyboardist. I was more interested in synths, so by the time I was in college I purchased an Italian made unit made by Crumar. It was very cool- I wish I still had it. It essentially had a monophonic synth built on top of a polyphonic organ.  Later I acquired a Roland system 101 module and sequencer and from there kept upgrading until I had some decent knowledge, skill, and a couple of really good machines to record my first album on. 


Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Silver by Thom Brennan

Kurt Doles

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Mercury
 by DAC Crowell and Kurt Doles

Mercury   

The Sea and the Sky

AV:  Could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?

DC:  Well, I live out in rural Illinois, in a very small town, along with my companion of 15 years and my tech assistant. We have a century-old house here, of which the top floor is the almost-completed Aerodyne Works studio, which is where Kurt Doles and I cut “Mercury” for Suilven Recordings and also where I finished up “The Sea and the Sky” for Magnatune. The studio is sort of the culmination of building up a massive pile of equipment and such, which started about 25 years ago in Nashville, which is where I’m originally from. I started learning music around age 3, kept at it over the years, then started working in the compositional side of things in the late 1970s.

Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Mercury by DAC Crowell and Kurt Doles

Ambient Visions' Focus on
Liquid Mind VII: Reflection
 by Liquid Mind

Early live and studio experience with the Capitol Records’ group “Missing Persons”, and studio work with Frank Zappa, Michael Jackson and many others have helped Chuck to develop high production values. Spending many studio hours over the years with five time Grammy winning engineer Bruce Swedien and famed producer Ken Scott has inspired Chuck to explore unique and subtle gradations of sound and feeling in his music.

Liquid Mind VII:
Reflection

AV:  Your latest CD Liquid Mind VII: Reflection was released not too long ago. What was the inspiration for this project and when did you actually start work on it?

LM:  Liquid Mind VII is the first album I've recorded for Real Music. It was recorded from December 2003 through the summer of 2004. Terence Yallop, one of Real Music's owners, has always been a supporter of Liquid Mind. He told me that he meditated to Liquid Mind every day for many years. When I decided to close my label due to an increasing quantity of work, I decided that Real Music would be a wonderful home for Liquid Mind. As for my inspiration for this album...the titles of the seven albums are a reflection of the progress of my own healing.... first Ambience Minimus (simplifying my life), then Slow World (slowing down the pace, working a bit less, more time for life), etc. Liquid Mind VII: Reflection is the most introspective album I've done, and the first where I verbalized in the liner notes what I was thinking as I wrote and recorded the album. Learning to listen in the silence of my soul has been a difficult at times, but I press on nonetheless. 

Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on Liquid Mind VII: Reflection by Liquid Mind

Ambient Visions' Focus on
8 Shades of Sound
 by Formaria

Under the pseudonym ‘Igneous Flame’, I have released three critically acclaimed ambient albums, ‘Tolmon’ (2003), ‘Intox’ (2003) and ‘OXANA’ (2004). My ambient work was initially influenced primarily by Brian Eno’s ‘Thursday Afternoon’ ‘On Land’ and ‘Apollo’ albums. I also create surround sound soundtracks for gallery installations and have composed soundtracks for short films.

I live in Northern England and I’ve played guitar for 25 years. As part of my studies in Music Technology, I was introduced to electroacoustic music and I started experimenting with the practice of processing recorded sounds, which in turn, started me thinking about applying this way of working to creating ambient music. Some reviewers have referred to the ‘synth sounds’ on my releases, but I actually very rarely use synthesisers for my ambient work. Most of the sounds I create were originally recordings, heavily processed. It is all computer based. I also have a more beat based side project called ‘Formbank’. 

8 Shades of Sound

AV:  Your latest CD, 8 Shades of Sound, was released not too long ago. What was the inspiration for this project and when did you actually start work on it?  

PK:  At the beginning of the New Year in 2004, my chillfactor10 records labelmate Nick Kemp (who records under the ‘Darkness within Darkness’ name) played me some vocal improvisations that his friend Mary Whitaker had sung over some of his material. Within a few minutes of hearing these rough tracks, I felt that Mary’s voice had real potential and was very suited to ambient material. A month later, she came to Nick’s studio and I recorded her improvising over backing tracks that Nick and myself had created. She did two takes for each track and was finished in about three hours! I then started refining this material, which finished up as the ‘8 Shades of Sound’ release. 

Click here for the rest of our CD Focus on 8 Shades of Sound by Pete Kelly

Ambient Visions' Focus on
My World
 by Jamie Bonk

My World

AV:  Before we get down to questions about your latest CD, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?

JB:  Where to start... I'm a guitarist/composer/producer, and I have released three mostly instrumental records.  I say 'mostly' because my latest release, "My World", has a couple of vocal tunes on it.  Some quick background info... I started playing piano at the age of four and then later picked up the guitar after seeing Johnny Cash on TV.  I studied classical guitar and jazz throughout high school and ended up going to Queen's University and getting a BMUS in composition. After Queen's, I did a fair amount of freelance work in Toronto -- demos, records, filmwork, etc. -- as well, I taught guitar in just about every style.  The first CD I released was my self-titled debut and it came out in 1997 in Canada and 1998 in the US.

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Ambient Visions' Focus on
Blue Sky Red Guitars
 by Erik Wollo

Erik Wøllo has been composing and performing music for films, theatre, ballets and exhibitions as well as composing for strings, woodwinds and larger orchestras. As a guitarist he has been leading his own groups, playing at clubs, concerthalls and festivals in Scandinavia , USA and Canada. The last decades he has spent creating his solo albums in his own "Wintergarden Studio". His music has been released worldwide and very well reviewed in music magazines, and his solo albums have appeared on radiostations in several countries. He creates music that is both lyrical and rhythmical with high sensibility on melodic and structural formations. With his diverse musical background, he successfully integrates elements of jazz, rock and classical, as well as ethnic and electronic ambient music. This synthesis appears on his albums as an ensemble of technology and powers of nature.  His music reflects the currents, dreams and hopes of our time, offering the listener a highly original and exciting musical experience.

Blue Sky, Red Guitars

AV:  Before we get down to questions about your latest CD, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started creating the style of music that you do now?  

EW:  I started to play the guitar at the age of 11. The first years it was the usual influences like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd. And all the major electronic artists. I also studied the classical guitar repertoire as well. Right after high school I started my professional career. At that time around 1980, I played a lot of jazz oriented music, leading my own groups touring around in Norway. Playing in small clubs, concerts and doing festival and TV performances.

Gradually I became more interested in ambient soundscapes and the idea of creating music for a recorded media like tape, vinyl or CD and using the studio as an extension of my instruments. In 1984 I quit all the bands, and started to build my own studio. I wanted to concentrate more on composition, and less on playing live. Which also resulted in a new direction musically. On “Traces”, my third album (1985) you can hear a more modern electronic musical world, with influences from various genres, also ethnic music.

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Ambient Visions' Focus on
The Reality Temples
 by Richard Bone

Recent projects include Richard's latest rhythmic recording entitled The Reality Temples released June 30, 2004 on the Spiralight label. This disc debuted at the #6 position on the New Age Reporter Top 100 chart for August airplay and has been nominated for the 2004 NAR Lifestyle Music Awards' Best Electronic Album. Orlandomaniac Music released Untold Tales on April 15th -- a CD of nineteen previously unheard vocal demo tracks Richard recorded during his early Survival years of 1979 - 85. Other 2004 projects included a various artist compilation CD from Spiralight Recordings called Ambienism Vol. One featuring a new track of Richard's entitled "Stillness Repeating" that was released March 15, 04. Upcoming projects include a new ambient recording entitled "The Serene Life of Microbes" - the follow-up to the 2002 Electroshock release Indium - expected to release mid to late 2005.

The Reality Temples

AV:  Richard it's so nice to talk to you again. It has been a few years since the interview we did for Ambient Visions but you are just as active as ever. You have a new release coming up on Spiralight Recordings called The Reality Temples, what directions are you journeying with this latest release?

RB:  I first became obsessed with music at the height of the psychedelic 60's. However, the records that grabbed my attention from that era were not the fuzz toned guitar LPs but rather the ones that explored studio wizardry of the time. Anything that used primitive electronics, backwards parts and moving sounds back and forth across the stereo field, were the records that moved me. The Reality Temples is my attempt to take some of that era's ideas and incorporate them into my style of writing.

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Ambient Visions' Focus on
Somnium
 by Robert Rich

Rich has performed in caves, cathedrals, planetaria, art galleries and concert halls throughout Europe and North America. His all-night Sleep Concerts, first performed in 1982, became legendary in the San Francisco area. In 1996 he revived his all-night concert format, playing Sleep Concerts for live and radio audiences across the U.S. during a three month tour. In 2001 Rich released the 7 hour DVD Somnium, a studio distillation of the Sleep Concert experience, possibly the longest continuous piece of music ever released.

Rich has designed sounds for television and film scores, including the films Pitch Black , Crazy Beautiful, and others. He also works closely with electronic instrument manufacturers, and his sound design has graced the preset libraries of Emu's Proteus 3 and Morpheus, Seer Systems' Reality, sampling disks Things that Go Bump in the Night and ACID Loop Library Liquid Planet. Rich has written software for composers who work in just intonation, and he helped develop the MIDI microtuning specification, which was accepted as an industry standard. As a mastering engineer, he has applied his ear to numerous albums in recent years, and his studio was featured in the September '99 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Somnium

AV:  Where did your interest in the realm of sleep and music originate?  Was this a personal interest or were there some studies involved that moved you along this path?

RR:  The two interests grew concurrently from an interest in altered states of consciousness, the potentials for the mind to journey beyond traditional realms of thinking. I was still a teenager when these interests began to coalesce, and I had not had the opportunity to explore some of the chemical routes to these states. That's a good thing, since I started to realize early on that nobody needs drugs to journey inward. The tools are built into our consciousness. I was already playing music when I entered college, and I played my first sleep concert in my freshman dormitory, before I decided to study psychology. Later, when I began to focus on sleep research, everything fell together nicely. It all came from a common interest in trance and altered states.

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