Brian Eno: Music For Airports

The landmark 1978 Eno album 'Music For Airports' is the first acknowledged ambient work, after Eno himself coined the term in the album's liner notes. Interestingly given this albums landmark status as an ambient work, this is actually Eno's 6th studio album after his 1974 debut.

The album is considered fairly experimental for its day, consisting of four tracks labelled '1/1,' '1/2,' '2/1' and '2/2' using only tape loops, a synthesiser and a piano to create the 48 minute total runtime. Brian Eno himself noted that this album was conceived to provide a musical backdrop which could be as interesting to the listener when both listening intently and when the music plays purely in the background.

'1/1' begins the album with a piano and synthesiser based piece. The composer noted that this piece was constructed from two tape loops of separate piano melodies which interact well together utilising the effect of phasing which is used throughout. Here, phrasing refers to the interaction between two tape loops of unequal length that will when played simultaneously go in and out of phase with one another.

'1/2' is constructed in a similar manner as the first track but uses phasing between tapes of sustained vocal notes. The phasing effect in this effect creates at points, lush harmonies, and at others, dissonances. This is possibly the most cited track of the album and also the most familiar to a contemporary ambient composer given today's primary use of electronic sound sources.

The vocal loops remain present in '2/2,' which adds a piano to the instrumentation, before the work's finale, '2/2.' This final track is perhaps the most experimental due to its use of harmony and reedy synthesiser instrumentation. Overall however, the variety and progression between tracks certainly enhance this album.

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John Murphy and Underworld: Sunshine (soundtrack)

Having previously reviewed the Daft Punk soundtrack to 'Tron: Legacy' here, it seems pertinent to review this heavily contrasting work, the soundtrack to the 2007 Danny Boyle film 'Sunshine.'

The soundtrack is a collaboration between film composer John Murphy and Underworld, the british electronic music duo. Throughout, the collaborators fuse a traditional film music style written predominantly for strings, with electronic effects and processing more congruent to laptop based electronic music production. This marriage is echoed in the film's style, the score shines at moments of tranquility and of terror and excels at both.

'Capa's Last Transmission Home' uses material also seen in a later track, 'To Heal.' This track, which is actually adapted from a previous Underworld release is one of the rare moments of tranquility if the film and the lush synthetic sound world is well suited alongside the various other musical elements. The following track, which is taken from a scene in which the captain of the vessel dies, is an equally effective piece primarily for strings which shows Murphey's talent as an orchestral composer. It is later in the album however, where the score makes it's climax.

The composers' use of disjointed and highly dysphoric writing are highly effective in portraying the fear and terror felt on screen to the audience. 'Kanada's Death Pt. 1' for instance is one of the most effective examples of music in the film through the suggestion of impending angony, the greatest strength is that it leaves the listener to fill in the emotional subtext rather than making an overt statement of terror. With that said, the furious string playing in 'Pinbacker Slashes Capa' could not be a clearer commentary to the on screen terror, and yet it functions so highly effectively as it both contrasts and builds upon the previous writing which suggested an unseen terror.

Later, as the protagonist prepares for the seeming impossible task of escaping from a sealed airlock in 'Capa Suits Up,' we see more typical Underworld writing which actually ends with the furious string playing seen previous. This leads in to 'Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor),' possibly Murphey's best writing as it captures so clearly the myriad of emotions from the movie in preparation for the film's finale.

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Walter Carlos: Switched On Bach

The 1968 Walter (later 'Wendy') Carlos album 'Switched On Bach' album is the rather interesting Classical / Experimental music curio which introduced a great many to the Moog Synthesizer, paving the way for the slew of 70's acts to use the machine as their primary instrument. The album also marks its place in history as a breakthrough electronic album which will forever be one of the first classical music based albums to achieve platinum status.

The albums track listing contains, as the title suggests, a series of performances of Bach works, including a remarkable performance of the Brandenburg Symphony and three of Bach's Two-part Inventions. Most listeners unfamiliar with classical music will probably at least recognise Carlos' performance of Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring.

When one considers the album's advanced years, there is a truly remarkable attention paid to mixing the album - each of the tracks sound crisp with fantastic attention to articulations and dynamics, rather than a flat compressed amplitude, and Carlos' use of the stereo field puts the album far ahead of its time in this regard.

While the album has been very carefully mixed, all performances featured on the album have clearly been subject to great care, with impressive variety of timbre and expression. Every track contains a multitude of synthetic instrumentation and shows Carlos' expertise with their craft, not to mention the versatility of the Moog system. This album is without doubt one of the best exposition of the great variety possible with a synthesiser, given a skilled operator with the know-how and imagination to pull off such a feat as Walter Carlos.

Unsurprisingly, following the great success of 'Switched On Bach,' Carlos continued with a variety of projects including several follow up albums and soundtrack credits including 'Tron' and 'A Clockwork Orange.' For a review of the 1969 release 'The Well Tempered Synthesizer,' click here.

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Depeche Mode: Tour Of The Universe

'Tour Of The Universe' is a live album/DVD release recorded during synth pop group Depeche Mode's most recent tour in 2009. While the tour was largely supporting the group's 12th studio release, 'Sounds Of The Universe,' the set list contains material which goes back as far as the group's 1986 'Black Celebration' album.

Among the credits to the album is its chart performance, in fact going platinum in Germany and becoming the first live album to top the German music charts in a period of two years. The album also exhibits the group's praiseworthy musicianship, a notable virtue given the band's 31 years in the industry.

The album begins with 'In Chains,' 'Wrong' and 'Hole To Feed,' all from the group's 'Sounds Of The Universe' album, before revisiting tracks from their wide and varied musical past. Among the highlights of the album are 'Enjoy The Silence' and 'Personal Jesus,' in addition to several of the band's classic played toward the finale of the set. The band's energy sustains a listener's interest through the 2 hour long album and indeed the new arrangements to their older material allow Depeche Mode to showcase their formidable talent.

The album is clearly crafted with great precision to sustain their audience's attention, seen particularly in the juxtopposition between the energy of 'Personal Jesus' and sobering finale of 'Waiting For The Night.' While the audio CDs' are mixed with loving care, the DVD performance certainly adds even more to this fantastic live album.

For the review of the band's 1990 release 'Violator,' from which several tracks in the set list are taken, including 'Personal Jesus' and 'Waiting For The Night,' click here.

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Royksopp: Melody A.M.

Royksopp are an Electronica duo which hail from Tromsø, Norway. The album here featured, 'Melody A.M.,' released in 2001, is the duo's critically acclaimed debut. Containing 14 tracks and a healthy 1:08 runtime [the US special edition is reviewed here], the album produces some memorable material, so much so that 'Eple' (meaning 'Apple') was even licensed by Apple Corp for the welcome music to OSX Panther.

One of the most interesting aspects of the album is the composer's ability to combine downbeat electronica which saw a great rise in popularity during the early 00's, with etherial electronic soundscapes. The textural complexity seen throughout the album also illustrates a high degree of compositional awareness from the duo not commonly seen so early in an acts' career.

The album from the very first track, 'So Easy,' exhibits an affinity with beat based electronica but the sombre string pad atmospheres seen in later material such as 'In Space' adds a further dimension to the album stylistically. In terms of the album's instrumentation and construction, there is a clear influence from the French duo Air (see the 'Love 2' review here) but further developing their sound with a catchier edge which has been met with popularity in the cases of 'Remind Me' and 'So Easy' to name just two examples.

Having extolled the virtues of the bands stylistic prowess, the final track, '40 Years Back/Come' presents a disjointed retrospect in two parts, ultimately concluding the album with a mysterious soundscape more common in Ambient music.

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Alva Noto: Insen

Released in 2005 by Carsten Nicolai, better known as Alva Noto, in collaboration with pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto, Insen is the second album in an ongoing series by the duo. Alva Noto has to date released a total of 45 albums under various aliases since his 1996 debut 'spin.' This album however presents an intriguing marriage of ambient piano technique with Noto's distinctive Glitch Electronica composition.

Texturally, most of the album is quite minimal but with Noto's extensive treatment of piano to create grooves, sustains and even percussive rhythms, the album remains a highly credible work. Stylistically, the approach to composition features typical glitch technique but lacks the pace of much Noto material previously released and presents a series of 7 tracks, a total of 43 minutes, of intriguing pseudo-Ambient material.

In a way, for the attentive listener, the minimal instrumentation presents a slight tedium. For this reason, the 4th track, 'Moon,' deserves a special mention for its textural variety and construction of new additional timbres from Sakamoto's piano playing. Much of the album must be considered a complete work rather than a series of tracks, given the fantastic development throughout from its early minimal ambient beginnings to the more notable integration of glitch elements seen in 'Iano' and the highly processed sombre ending, 'Avaol.'

For a review of Noto's later 'Unitxt' album, click here.

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Global Communication: '76:14'

While many readers may be unfamiliar with Global Communication, an ambient duo based in the UK, their debut album, simply entitled '76:14,' has received wide-spread critical acclaim. Frankly, for anyone with a Penchant for ambient music or downtempo soothing electronica, it's clear to see why this album received such praise.

The album begins with the brooding synthetic introduction portrayed by the first track, 4:02. This continues to build until a climactic conclusion at which point the haunting grand father clock crossfades in from the next track, '14:31.' The true strength of the album becomes clear from having listened to very little of the material on offer: Global Communication have an uncanny ability to give ambient music great interest for the attentive listener through their arrangements and choice of material.

The dysphoric introduction to the third track, '2:25' slowly evolves to incorporate a heavy beat which given the ambient beginnings to the album initially seems out of place, but it integrated well into the piece and contrasts well with the next track which seems to even draw inspiration weakly from Enigma and similar acts through it's use of a faux-New Age vibe which is also seen more overtly later in '5:23,' whose sequencer based synthetic rhythms and filtered white noise draw an instant comparison to 'Love on a Real Train' by Tangerine Dream.

This album is unashamedely a great ambient work, all the more due to the variety afforded the the expert use of material. The album takes the listener on a musical journey and serves as a brilliant musical backdrop to the daily grind. When one considers that this album was made in 1994, it's longevity and sustained relevance is a great credit to the English duo.

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Enigma: 'Love Sensuality Devotion - The Greatest Hits'

The Enigma Musical Project is estimated to have sold in excess of 50 million albums and this 2001 greatest hits compilation release 'Love Sensuality Devotion' certainly contains some noteworthy material. The musical project themselves, led by Michel Cretu, is known for the New Age music influenced writing which combines dance and traditional chant elements, a highly original premise at the time of the act's debut.

Enigma: Love Sensuality Devotion

The album begins with the brief reference to the 'Enigma horn' which has featured on every album previous, before introducing 'Turn Around,' which in typical Enigma style combines electronic textures and vocals with world instruments, a strong shuffle beat and not forgetting the use of gregorian chants - a stalwart of the Enigma sound.

The Album continues to include the expected hits such as 'Sadeness Part 1' which was almost a worldwide number 1, alongside some Enigma's lesser known output. The album does however give a clear sense of intelligent design through the 'flow' and continuity throughout. Most of the album fuses New Age elements with Dance music beats which fans will have grown to expect but tracks that veer away from the dance influence, such as 'Principals of Lust' and 'Return To Innocence,' prove to be some of the most rewarding musical experiences of the album, certainly worth of a listen.

For a review of Enigma's debut release, 'MCMXC A.D.,' click here.

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Kraftwerk: Minimum-Maximum

Having previously reviewed the first major Kraftwerk release, 'Autobahn,' Here, this review will feature their last commercial release, the 2005 live album 'Minimum-Maximum.'

Having only released a total of 7 albums from their success with 'Autobahn' and a compilation album, 'The Mix,' this live album adds no new material other than 'Planet Der Visionen' ('Planet of Visions') which is essentially a remix of their 'Expo 2000' single.

In terms of style, The album matches the heavily sequenced digital synth-driven sound seen in 'The Mix'. While the album is thin on new material, the new arrangements of Kraftwerk classics which total a shade over 2 hours of music in all do illustrate the versatility of the group and mastery of their kraft. Having said that, for those without an affinity to the highly polished electronic stylings which the band specialise in, a slight lack of variety and lengthy arrangements in the album may create mixed reactions.

The extracts from the group's 'Trans Europ Express' and 'Computer World' albums incorporated into the set really shine, being very well suited to the bands current performance style of 4 laptops on stage. While some tracks verge on monotony and the album as a whole lacks great variety, their reinvention of classic tracks bring their music to an increasingly modern audience and go to show that they've still got it.

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Air: Love 2

Air are a french electronica duo active since 1995 having released a total of 6 studio albums and 2 compilation albums. Their 2009 release, 'Love 2'crystalises their electronica style but interestingly adds a psychedelic influence which is seen from the very first track.

The pseudo-Title track 'Love' is a throwback to the early electronica stylings of Jean Michel Jarre, with a typical Air stamp on things through their more prominant use of lush vocoded vocals and non-synthetic instrumentation. Many media outlets have used Air's output through the years in TV ads, the downtempo feel in several of the Love 2 tracks such as 'So Light Is Her Footfall' and 'You Can Tell It To Everybody' give the tracks huge potential.

While a fairly unusual example of an electronic album due to Air's the extended use of world instruments, the album contains several highly interesting tracks, certainly worth a listen.

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Daft Punk: Tron Legacy Soundtrack

While it may be considered unusual for a blog professing an interest in electronica works from yesteryear to review a 2010 soundtrack by one of the biggest names in the House Music genre, this album deserves a special mention for its notable compositional merit.

Dart punk themselves are a french duo who first came into the public eye with their 1997 release 'Homework' which compiled previous minor single and EP releases from 1993 onwards. Since then, they have released 3 studio albums and 2 live albums in total, as well as a number of singles, compilations and their soundtrack to the 2010 film 'Tron: Legacy.'During their career, the duo have enjoyed 5 Grammy nominations and 2 Grammy awards in 2009: Best dance recording and Best electronic/dance album.


The album contains 22 tracks, with various additional tracks exclusively available from different online outlets. Among them is the most recognisable track, 'Derezzed' which was also released as a promotional single. The music throughout fuses orchestral writing for an 85-piece orchestra with typical daft punk electronic instrumentation added. As a soundtrack album, the writing style sets it apart from many other examples, however Daft punk do at points employ typical film music writing techniques, with the main theme recurring throughout.

The album manages to combine many contrasting moods without losing continuity. The brooding 'Solar Sailer' also is a highlight of the album alongside 'End of the Line' and 'Derezzed.' This is a notable example of film music for lovers of electronica.

A remix album, 'Tron: Legacy - Reconfigured' has also subsequently been released.

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Tangerine Dream: Booster

Tangerine Dream first became a household name after the increasing attention received since their first experimental music releases in the late 70s. As an early proponent of Krautrock along with Kraftwerk and similar bands, Tangerine Dream first began by creating avant-garde pieces making use of early analog synthesisers. As their career advanced and Tangerine Dream refined their sound, they became highly influential in the development of the 'New Age' musical genre and inspired several other acts, such as Enigma.

The 'Booster' compilation contains a total of 16 tracks across 2 CDs and serves as a tasteful retrospective for the bands output, including excerpts from 'Logos' and 'Tangram.' Alongside examples of Tangerine Dreams past hits, the album includes several lesser known tracks and some more recent compositions. The album itself includes several tracks recorded live, alongside several studio compositions, the sonic quality however is truly remarkable, this album is indeed very well mixed to sound crisp with great attention to detail.

The first track, 'One Night In Space' is a masterpiece in its own right and establishes the sequencer driven electronica style which is seen throughout the entire album. It is unsurprising that this has been incorporated into many of their live sets of late. With that said, most of the album is more ambient than the first track, serving as great background music. The hypnotic quality of 'The Greek Mirror' for instance reminds the listener of the bands roots in new age music but in a much more sophisticated electronica soundworld.

Overall, this album remains one of my personal favourites of all time, containing some truly exceptional examples of electronica which remains unparalleled by any other band. A later expansion to the 'Booster' Series, 'Booster Volume II' is reviewed here.

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