Serrie, Jonn

Artist: Jonn Serrie + Gary Stroutsos
P: 2000
On HIDDEN WORLD, Serrie and flautist Gary Stroutsos delve into the arena of Native American Indian sounds, it is explicitly Native American, and instead subtly probes the similarities between various musical styles.

Artist: Jonn Serrie + Gary Stroutsos
P: 2009
On HIDDEN WORLD BEYOND, Serrie and flautist Gary Stroutsos delve further into the arena of Native American Indian sounds, something Stroutsos had already been known for but which Serrie had only begun exploring with his previous album, SPIRIT KEEPERS. HIDDEN WORLD BEYOND is less explicitly Native American than its predecessor, and instead subtly probes the similarities between various musical styles.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 1987 /  2002
Special edition remastered re-release with a bonus track, (Track 4).
Jonn Serrie had already been composing music for planetarium shows for years, but the decision to begin recording albums changed his career. And The Stars Go With You was his first, originally released back in 1987, and it revolutionized the 'space music' trend and skyrocketed Serrie into ENA superstardom (that is, if he hadn't done so already). Now the album has only been made better with the addition of "And With You 2," a track that was obviously left off of the original printing, but is now, in my opinion, one of the best songs.
Serrie's is music you can just put on, lay back, and relax to. Let your mind go blank and get lost in the soundscapes. Play it all alone on a quiet night to get in the mood. Let moments like the gentle percussion on the second half of the titled track or the harmonies of songs like "And With You 2" and "Stratos" carry you away.
Some of the songs even sound like two or three-act musical dramas. Take "Fantasy Passages" for example. When this track begins, you can imagine yourself floating around lost helplessly in the darkest areas of space. When the music is occasionally broken up by deep, loud, rolling thunderous effects, after which the music slowly creeps back in, you can imagine falling into a black hole, then falling back out into the endless abyss (ok, I know it's not logical to fall out of a black hole, but you get the idea). Finally, as the song begins perhaps to lighten up a bit, with an echoing synth riff that repeats over and over again for the rest of the song, you can imagine your resolution - floating into the brighter areas of the universe, into places you know.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2000
The Space Music of Jonn Serrie. Remastered works from 1977-1999.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2010
Jonn Serrie has pioneered the genre of space music in his long career as a composer of over a dozen albums and for such distinguished clients as NASA, Lucasfilm Ltd., and New York City's Hayden Planetarium. Jonn Serrie continues by bringing a new perspective to the holiday season with his own unique renditions of the old and the new. Atmospheric and romantic, Christmas Prayers makes the connection between where we are this time of year and what's beyond.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2014
Serrie uses an electronic medium to capture evocative imagery that spans the cosmos. In the first track “Day Star” the title track from his newest album, Day Star, the album opens up to a slight hum, like the opening of a planetarium show. If you just sit back, you can see the lights flicker in your mind’s eye as the stars burst into a story all their own. The heavens hold many secrets, but Jonn Serrie might just have an inside track to a few of them. Tendrils of sound reach up and grab you, pulling you into the dark abyss of space, letting you float on clouds of vaporous gasses and natural wonderment. In this music, I could see the planets spin and the universe move in a breathless pace of electronic splendor.  “Eden’s Waypoint” is a climb into the electronic realms of the vast canvas that are the heavens. Tinkling chimes and electronic blips are surrounded by swipes of sound like a radiant brush of color across velveteen blackness. There is much to be seen in the landscape of this piece. It is a voyage of discovery in a land as foreign to us as we are to it, but still we seek it out. The human heart is never content to just be…it always wants to see across the next horizon. 
“The Sum Over Histories” is the last piece on the album and one of the most effervescent. While all the pieces were celestial in nature, this song delved into the deep and hallowed mysteries of space and all of its frontiers, both in our hearts and in our imaginations. All of the books that take us to far off galaxies, namely the Alastair Reynolds series can be found within each note. Heinlein, Herbert, Moon, Cook and many more are other authors ruminating with a deep space feel. Hollow sounds, wispy sensations, electronic pulses and the complexity of a composition that transcends music into a work of the soul is what this piece is all about. If you want to experience a walk through space and time, listen to “The Sum Over Histories.” Jonn Serrie is a revolutionary voice in the pursuit of celestial electronic music. His work encapsulates the deep mysteries of space with the human desire to explore yet another blank canvas. It is a beginning. It is the before and ever after. It is the music of the great beyond and that which will never be discovered. That is space…open…wild and free. One of the last unknowns and Jonn Serrie has crafted its soundtrack with artful electronic and brilliant compositions that have been heard at planetarium shows and on several albums. “Day Star” is the perfect end to a stressful day and the perfect gift for sci-fi fans.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2005 
Jonn offers here what must be a personal CD for himself, or at least one filled with memories as this is dedicated to his Grandmother who was apparently quite accomplished in church choral and worship music. There are some very familiar "old hymns" here to those of us who grew up in a traditional church but they are done in the classic Jonn Serrie style. Very similar actually to at least two of his Christmas releases, these are pure electronic, space, spiritual, and as the title suggests meditative arrangements of some wonderful classic spiritual hymns. Christians in particular should enjoy this work, as I can personally vouch this gives the music some extra meaning. But really anyone, regardless of their spiritual beliefs, should enjoy this CD if he or she is already a fan of Jonn's. I believe this is a wonderful CD. I would recommend it to any Jonn Serrie fan.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 1989  2002
This is one of Serrie's masterpieces. In particular "Muroc", "Deep Spaceship", and "Glyder".
These songs are extremely relaxing songs which are great for meditation too, and for removing stress from one's life. Unlike Serrie's earlier work, this music has a more daytime ambiance to it.  After the incredible success of "...Stars Go With You", this second outing by Serrie continues to demonstrate his mastery of space music - this time a little closer to Earth as we get a piece of stratosphere.
This is not a single-minded concept like "Stars", we journey into other atmospheric environments prior to the departure into outer space. After the CD clears some banal compositions (the title track and "Sky Safari" [a fusion piece relating the then cliche rain forest music and the sky, I surmise] the flightpath takes us to Muroc - strikingly peaceful and beautiful moments which should not be overlooked by anyone who enjoys good music.
The space music on the second portion of the album, anchored by the cosmic titan "Deep Starship" (cast adrift alone in space for the rest of eternity), is on par with any of Serrie's spacemanship to date.
In total, this 1989 work is magnificent and worthy of the highest accolades.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 1989
This is one of Serrie's masterpieces. In particular "Muroc", "Deep Spaceship", and "Glyder".
These songs are extremely relaxing songs which are great for meditation too, and for removing stress from one's life. Unlike Serrie's earlier work, this music has a more daytime ambiance to it.  After the incredible success of "...Stars Go With You", this second outing by Serrie continues to demonstrate his mastery of space music - this time a little closer to Earth as we get a piece of stratosphere.
This is not a single-minded concept like "Stars", we journey into other atmospheric environments prior to the departure into outer space. After the CD clears some banal compositions (the title track and "Sky Safari" [a fusion piece relating the then cliche rain forest music and the sky, I surmise] the flightpath takes us to Muroc - strikingly peaceful and beautiful moments which should not be overlooked by anyone who enjoys good music.
The space music on the second portion of the album, anchored by the cosmic titan "Deep Starship" (cast adrift alone in space for the rest of eternity), is on par with any of Serrie's spacemanship to date.
In total, this 1989 work is magnificent and worthy of the highest accolades.

Here the last copy of the first MIRAMAR label version!

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 1995/ 2002 
In Ixlandia, John Serrie creates a soothing, contemplative atmosphere. The title track starts the cd off with a mellow, romantic, cool jazz feel. Although primarily electronically produced, the first part of the album has a decidedly acoustic feel, especially the tracks featuring the saxophone and guitar of Steven Charles and Chris Kenny, respectively.
The later tracks change mood slightly, being less romantic and relying a little more on slowly pulsing waves of sound. It is one of these later tracks, "Starport Indra", that I found particularly appealing. Although not on the cutting edge of the genre, this album should find an enthusiastic following among fans of new age and contemporary instrumental based music.
Recorded and mixed at Future Music Studios, Atlanta, GA, USA
Composed, produced and engineered by Jonn Serrie
Eric Hassel - additional keyboards
Chris Kenny - classical guitar
Steven Charles - saxophone
Laura Brantley - special effect vocals
Dr. Fiorella Terenzi - translation, narrative
Larry Fast - additional sound design
A gentle, romantic recording, mixing Jonn's signiture ambient space music with more sensual overtones.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2003
Synthesist Jonn Serrie has always traversed a spectrum between deep space excursions and sentimental pop melodies. He charts a similar course on Lumia Nights, creating ambient lounge music full of breathy synthesizer pads and cocktail-bar-at-midnight moods. He even covers the jazz standard, "Autumn Leaves" to cloyingly bad effect. Just think Lawrence Welk plugged in. The lounge rhythms are offered up with none of the irony you might find in electronica artists such as Thievery Corporation or Loop Guru, whose grooves call up an iconography that's twisted on its head. It's not until "Deep Mystery" that Serrie floats off into the night sky with shimmering synthesizer textures that recall some of his Planetary Chronicles recordings, but even here, the synthesist goes for melodies that exhibit more saccharine than soul. --John Diliberto

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 1993/ 2002 
A lush and dreamy album, replete with languid synthesizer washes, acoustic instrumentation and haunting melodies.
The first four tracks are the exceptions to the remainder of the CD and are appealing to most anyone. Beginning with the fifth track, "Velvet" Jonn begins his spell casting as the music progressively becomes more free flowing, airy and subdued.
The surprise is that half way into the "Ancient of Days" a melody and percussion line emerges and after a moment drifts away. Each song smoothly flows into the next and lulls the listener into a deeper state of relaxation while not being totally space music, it is perhaps the musical representation of the last strands of our earth's atmosphere.
Recorded at Future Music, Atlanta, Georgia.
All songs written by John Serrie except "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" (Jimmy Webb).
John Serrie - keyboards and synthesizer
Chris Kenny - guitar
Eric Hassel - keyboards

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 1992
A terrific work that is worthy of the very best of the "deep space probes" of radio programs such as "Hearts of Space". Mr. Serrie delivers exactly what those who sit in their deck hammock on a cool night desire; a rich audio companion to the lights of the firmament.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 1992
A terrific work that is worthy of the very best of the "deep space probes" of radio programs such as "Hearts of Space". Mr. Serrie delivers exactly what those who sit in their deck hammock on a cool night desire; a rich audio companion to the lights of the firmament.

Here the last copy of the original first Miramar-label version!

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 1994 / 2002
Jonn Serrie is a composer with a vision, and that vision is SPACE: the awesome majesty and mystery of the cosmos. This album has not only defined what deep space music is, and what it must be, but it has set the standard very high indeed. All of the tracks on this album are memorable, but the best is surely the last one, On a Frontier of Fables. This piece is an extended excerpt from "Aniara", a production of the Bishop Planetarium in Bradenton, FL. Majestic, dark, and sweeping are just some of the words that describe this cosmic music from the depths of space and time. Be sure to turn off the lights when you listen to this one.
 

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2002
Spirit Keepers is a musical offering that combines the ethereal world of Space Music with ancient Native American tribal music. The merging of these two musical forms produces a magical listening experience that is vast in scope, and one that reflects the musicians' deep personal respect for Native customs and traditions.
Recorded and mixed at Future Music, Atlanta, GA, USA .
John Serrie - keyboards and synthesizer; John Winterhawk Johnson - Native American flute, Native percussion, poetry, narration, chanting and medecine; Tom Walks in Dreams Goodman - native percussion, harmonica, chanting, Native American traditions and guidance; Danny Wolfwind Bigay- Native American flute and percussion; Myra Star Hawk - channeled energy and narration; Huston Singletary - additional keyboards and programming, custom percussion and Sound Design; Sherry Shelton - narration and percussion.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2011
In his most recent work, Serrie set out to create an album that would provide a peaceful comfort for those in need.  The resulting Sunday Morning Peace reaches deep into the listener’s soul.  With the sounds of the seashore woven into the fabric of the music as a gentle foundation, the songs create a powerful atmosphere filled with relaxing and therapeutic values.  Passages from this album have been adapted to the Hemi-Sync therapy processes and are sold to the professional community.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2017
In the late 70’s when I was beginning my career in the creation and production of professional space music for the planetarium industry, I came across Stewart Cowley’s book series that told stories of the Terran Trade Authority through prose and space art. The work used to support the stories came from the portfolios of some of the finest space artists in the world. These books, Spacecraft, Spacewreck and Great Space Battles, became a personal Bible of inspiration, musical vision and synthesizer programming techniques for planetarium show production and space music album concepts for many years. To this day, I still use them in that fashion. The Sentinel represents a Virtual Reality journey, going deep into my imagination and musical universes as I create audio chapters of space music that the listener can experience firsthand. In this journey, you are The Sentinel, you are on the command bridge, you are wearing the spacesuit, it is your universe, all told through imagination and the superb influence of these 3 great books. Welcome Aboard!

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2003
At the last instant before the sun sets on a clear evening, a sharp-eyed observer might notice the bright speck of sunlight turn green. For most of the world, that "green flash" marks the end of day. But for a lover of the night sky, it marks the beginning of a Stargazer's Journey. Even William Herschel, who discovered the planet Uranus, knew that music had a lot in common with Astronomy. It's been a great tradition that continues with John Serie's beautiful collection of cosmic musical poetry.

Artist: Jonn Serrie
P: 2009 
Jonn Serrie is the formost composer of space music. His name is synonymous with this genre of electronic music. Known for his numerous works commissioned for planetariums around the world, he has reshaped and redefined ambient space music.

Jonn introduces Thousand Star which follows a similar direction he had taken with The Stargazers Journey, in that he presents an opportunity to embark on a sonic voyage into deep space. This time, instead of an Earth based view of observing space from a distsance, Jonn invites the audience to take the voyage with him as it happens. The song titles and poem act as a guide as to where and how the voyage unfolds, with timing and sound design elements emphasing direction and place. The album is intended to play as if the listener were taking part in a science fisction novel, told with music and sound design instead of words and pages. Discover a new voyage each time you listen.