RARITIES

Artist: Optical Image
P: 1995
More music in the TD style, when Chris Franke was the main musician in the group.

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Artist:  Parks
P:  2009
Utterly beautiful sad downtempo/ambient track, a masterpiece!
Melodies like Ulrich Schnauss, only in slow motion.

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Artist: Passe Simple
P: 1992
Mystic music of great passion, yet still easily accessible; gentle melodies drawing from ancient Indian music plays and inspirations; finely crafted rhythms; rich and powerfully orchestrated soundscapes over which classical trained opera voices are singing brightly; synthesized samples and rhythms totally modern and catchy, yet loaded with depth. Rewarding music and very individual, it's that simple. Passe Simple.

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Artist: Patrick Kosmos
P: 2000
Open air live recording, in the Flemish Ardens on august 14 - '98. This concert was recorded on the night of the falling stars between 23:00 & 04:00 h. Two 30+ minute tracks of tribal ambience with world influences, along the lines of David Parsons. The title track starts very subtly and slowly, with gongs and bells for the first five minutes. Drifting atmospheres then come into play, followed by a simple repeating rhythm of two short drum beats followed by a long beat, slightly lower in tone. The music is contemplative, and isn't either too light or too dark, but rather tends to take on the mood of the person listening at that moment in time.

Artist: Patrick O'Hearn
P: 1985
This is Patrick O'hearns first album. The music on here is rather dark, spacey, and electronic, contrast to his post Indigo material.Give a listen to the haunting title track with those thundering drums combined with a spacey atmosphere, Beauty In Darkness with a dark almost like an approaching storm with. The opening track At First Light is a gorgeous song with haunting synthesizers combined with some tingling synths. I heard that the melodic structure of this song was sampled in a club hit ten years later with Robert Miles Children and Patrick was not too pleased. While I love children a lot, At First Light is a new age classic. "Patrick O'Hearn's Ancient Dreams is a journey through a shifting, heartfelt audio landscape. It sheds light in many ways and touches secret places. Cool and elegant one moment, thundering and majestic the next, it explores a path that will carry you deeper with each listening. There are glory and laughter here, side by side with the cool, peaceful clarity of night. O'Hearn's unique dual voice, expressed with bass guitars and synthesizers, is both fluid and strong. Working with producer Peter Baumann, founding member of Tangerine Dream, he has created a rich feast for the ear, and for the mind's eye."

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Artist: Patrick O'Hearn
P: 2003
As a soundsmith and composer of melodic elegance and grace, Patrick O'Hearn stands tall as a true original. This new release on his own label is a perfect balance of lush textures, melodic understatement and emotional space. The world needs more of this beauty. In BEAUTIFUL WORLD, Patrick O'Hearn continues the path of refinement and reductivism in his music, paying close and careful attention to detail, yet mindful of never exceeding that which is sufficient or necessary. The resulting compositions therefore seem to possess a rather kaleidoscopic quality, able to be listened to time and again, often discovering new or subtle elements along the way. From the dynamic opening of "Facing the Sun", to the calm repose of the closing, "An Evening Sky", we're taken on an intriguing journey by an artist whose experience and dedicated pursuit of craft is almost an anachronism in this day and time. When queried on his methods, O'Hearn compares his compositional approach to that of observing nature.
"One can pick up a small stone and regard it at arm's length. However, the closer it is examined, the more a fascinating detail is revealed. That is what I strive for in my work."
Recorded between January and June 2003, BEAUTIFUL WORLD is indeed a realization of that effort. Both rich and distinctive, it is a welcome offering from an inspired place, and engaging soul.

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Artist: Patrick O'Hearn
P: 1987
This is the essential Ohearn album that you should not pass up. It is probably Patricks most space oriented of his electronic albums to date. It's the dark electronic, rainy music that makes you love this album. Every song on here is a breakthrough for this extremely talented musician.
Rainmaker is a very haunting song with an intense misty atmosphere with some ceramic percussion. Sky Juice is a breathtaking song with very electronic synths and some jet sound effects with some thumping beats and a cool bass. However that is nothing like the next one. Cape Perpetual is beyond any word you can describe about this song. It's a very spooky track. It starts of with some strange breezy wind instruments and some thundering sounds in the distance. At about 30 seconds there are some synthesizer hums that fade in. It then becomes a dark very space oriented song with ceramic percussion and thundering jet sound effects. This song alone makes this album a five star. Gentle Was The Night is a very beautiful song with just mostly synths. This is a great song. Fire Ritual is a very pop oriented song and some vocal doodling here and there. This is probably the brightest song on here. 87 Dreams Of A Lifetime lives up to the title. This is a very stunning and could rank as one of his best 80s tracks ever. It starts with just some ambient synths and the synths get louder and at about a minute into the song the real music begins. This is a haunting song with a catchy rhythm and a space jazzy stmosphere. Dimension D is a very space oriented song with some haunting sound effects and a very dark ambient atmosphere. Forever The Optimistic is a pop oriented song with great electronic bass, a great hook and some synth tinklings throughout the song. Journey To Yoroba is another haunting song. It has lots of ceramic percussion and ambient synths. The closing title track is great with more great synths and cool drums.
All in all rank this album as one Mr. O'Hearns strongest masterpieces to date.
In fact this album for a time is almost like the soundtrack. In fact we strongly recommend this album to all who love music to listen to while thinking. It's very intelligent music that should be enjoyed by all generations.

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Artist: Patrick O'Hearn
P: 1989
The perfect blend of rhythms, synths and orchestrations. Relaxation is not complete without this CD playing. This is different from most of his earlier masterworks Ancient Dreams, Between Two Worlds and Rivers Gonna Rise. While this album has a lot of the trademark sound of the previous ones this album incorporates Middle Eastern and Mayan instruments to create a masterpiece in the world music category.
Amazon Waltz is a jazzy song with Brazilian wind instruments and percussion plus some chants as well. Nepalese Tango is similar to the previous one but not quite as fast and has some worldly bells and drums. I could play this one when driving through the jungle with mountains nearby on a misty day. Black Delilah is a unique track that incorporates stunning cello performances as well as a violin to create a masterwork. Chattahoochie Field day is a very daytime song with bouncy rhythms and a very jazzy vibe to it. The Illuminator is a very electronic song with beautiful synths and some plucky instruments. At the middle of the song the synths sounds very much like the pluck instruments from Enyas Orinoco Flow. This is my favorite song. One Eyed Jacks is another typical jazzy O'Hearn song but still great. Hear Our Prayer is a song with Middle Eastern drums and chants. Delicate is a dark track with the trademark synthesizers but has beautiful haunting chants. The title track is a very intense with thundering rain sound effects and bells. One standout track in this album. There's Always Tomorrow is a somber yet happy track at the same track. It's a nice jazzy closer to this album.
This is probably Mr. O'Hearns last daytime sounding album. This album is a definate masterpiece. It's totally different from the dark, chilling, frightning masterwork Indigo and all latter material that would follow.

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Artist: Patrick O'Hearn
P: 1991
This is one of P.O.'s most brilliant magical landmark albums to date. This is a complete departure from the sunny daytime feel of El Dorado and Rivers Gonna Rise. This is a very dark and more midievel sounding recoed that shatters new grounds in his music and is one of his strongest albums to date. Devils Lake is a very scary sounding song with echoing pianos and a very ominous sound. At 3:56 some electronic percussion and some rhythm comes in giving a feel of traveling through space towards a glowing cluster of stars. Sacrifice is a haunting track with very dark tingling synths for about the first 3 and a half minutes. At about 2:40 drums come in and real add on to the song. The horns are beatiful. When I close my eyes when listening to this song I could imagine being out in the forest in the dead of night and then all of a sudden a green glowing, wide-eyed warrior ghost on a chariot coming out of the background being pulled by horses. Coba is beyond what words can say alone. It's a very frightening song with echoing drums and very nighttime synths. I love the intense bridge with strong synths from 2:18 to 3:00. It then ends with the ambient synths continuing. This is my favorite song on this album. Upon The Wings Of Night is what the title says. It's a most ambient song with trumpets but they really sound great.Sacret Heart is another beautiful but a tad bit brighter but still dark and spacey. The Beauty Within is another beatiful but with echoing pianos but at the last 30 seconds the pianos give away to pulsating synths and fade out. What an amazing song. Desire is absolutely magical. It starts out with dazzling synths. Then some drums come in. This is one of the best songs on this album. Ringmasters Dream is very unique. It starts off as an ambient track but then later it gradually morphs into a sort of orchestraesque song and then fades into carnival sounds at the ending. Espana is a truly magical closing track to this CD. It a very peaceful with a truly melancholy feel. A great closer to this CD.

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Artist: Patrick O'Hearn
P: 1990
This CD is radically different, because it is his music re-mixed by others. Hip-hop beats, environmental sounds, snippets of dialogue. You can imagine that the typical new age fan listened to this and said what the hell is this noise! Too bad, because this is really wonderful stuff. If you like music from folks like "The Art of Noise", "William Orbit", and "David Van Tiegham", you should check this out.

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Artist: Patrick O'Hearn
P: 1988
This 1988 opus from O'Hearn is a great follow-up to the extravagant "Between Two Worlds". Similar in sound and production, "River's Gonna Rise" is arguably O'Hearns more upbeat, brightest, and sunniest in mood, totally opposite in mood to "Indigo" and "Trust", this is probably the easiest album to get into. The album cover does kind of portray the mood of the album: daytime.
"Homeward Bound" starts the set with a very upbeat, sunny afternoon, and joyous sound and an eclectic blend of New Age, jazz, and some pop. It's probably the sunniest song that Patrick has ever recorded and a great one too. "The Stroll" is a mellower and less sunny in mood and more of a cloudy afternoon song. I often play this when it's cloudy on a summer afternoon. This is a very pleasant song. Kind of reminds me of "Life Along The River Vaal" from "Ancient Dreams". "Glory For Tomorrow" is a jazzier song with a gorgeous soaring climax with it's marching drums, synthesizers, and trumpet playing kind of like soaring above the landscape on a sunny afternoon. I love hearing the song mellow down during the last 50 seconds before finally ending. "Acadia" is a more upbeat, strongly electronic, New Age groove with a spacier atmosphere. "Forgiveness" is one of the darkest songs on the album but it's still a relatively daytime mood song in general although more of a cloudy late afternoon in mood. It starts with mesmerizing ghostly keyboards and builds into a serene jazzy song. "April Fool" is the most upbeat song on the entire album. The song starts with electronic jazz intro and becomes an exotic, upbeat, and semi-danceable song with an astounding blend of New Age, dance, jazz, and a little pop. The song even has a bit of a tropical feel to it too. "Reunion" is another standout song on the CD. It starts with a jazzy crescendo for about 1 and a half minutes before keyboards come in and the song becomes a jazzy and upbeat song with a sunny and joyous major note feel to it. I would even go far as to say that it could've even made a small dent on the pop charts. "A Brief Repose" is the darkest and most eerie song on the entire album. It's a mix of ambiences of guitars, haunting keyboards, and beautiful trumpet playing. I often think of walking through a path through the woods in a city when I listen to this gorgeous song as I think if this being a mix of urban and earthy all in one. "Subtle Persuasion" is an eerie New Age song with a slight spice of worldly xylophones against a backdrop of haunting ambient melody, slow rhythm, and electronic keyboards. This song has a very foggy daytime mood to it. The closing track "Portobello Locks" is a calm sunshine afternoon song with a jazzy and mellow atmosphere almost like making it home after a long journey and the sun's rays shining through the windows.

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Artist: Patrick O'Hearn
P: 1992
White Sands - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack //Score Composed by Patrick O'Hearn//Plus one track by Dwight Yoakam and Little Feat
A dead body, a rodeo, a schmoozy exclusive fundraiser and a nosy cop who gets into the middle of it all make for a nailbiting rollercoaster ride of a movie. Willem Dafoe, Samuel L. Jackson, & Mickey Rourke are at their best in this great story. A fantastic supporting cast is also featured. The eerie, haunting music of Patrick O'Hearn (from his "Indigo" album and more) provide the perfect soundtrack for this humdinger of a mystery. You never know who will do what, so hang on and enjoy the ride.

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Artists: Paul Haslinger
P: 1997
This is a lovely movie both in the computer-generated graphics and accompanying music, but suffers from a disjointed feeling. An accompanying "making of..." feature describes how the various planets were created by computer animators around the world who never met -- they just corresponded by email.
The result is just a series of gorgeous planetscapes with saucers and "probes" gliding over them, tied together (if at all) by a wispy story of aliens searching for a legendary gateway planet. One almost has the feeling that the story was forced upon a collection of already existing scenes.
The story itself is ponderous, new age philosophy and the gentleman that produced Planetary Traveller seems to have thought it an epoch making project.
With the music created by Paul Haslinger it is the perfct mixture. He blends symphonic with electronic means.

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Artist: Paul Lawler
P: 1997
Paul Lawler makes electronic music for imaginary movies of the mind. His compositions are among the most diverse and dramatic.

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Artist: Paul Ward
P: 1991
Paul Ward's name is familiar to many people for many reasons. Originally one half of the 80's Newage synth duo Quiet Point he went on to record music under his own name and work closely with artists such as Wavestar, John Dyson, Kik and John Parr to name but a few. So no wonder, that this CD sounds like John Dyson.

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Artist: Paul Ward
P: 1994
Paul's follow up to the hugely successful 'For a Knave' CD is certainly packaged very individually, with the opening lines of a curiously clever children's fantasy (which Paul wrote himself) dominating the cover. I think it works extremely well, indeed the cover and CD look refreshingly professional. Now for the music.'Waiting for a Miracle' is a superbly measured track. A magnificent opening melody gives way to an uptempo section punctuated with, what sounds like, heavily treated speech - although I believe it's nothing of the sort!. Enter searing MiniMoog and, yet again, some brilliant Sean Michael D'Lear guitar, and... well I could listen to this track all day. However, there are nine other tracks to sample. It will come as no surprise to those of you who have read my review of the 'Beyond the Quiet Point' cassette that I like 'Taken to a Place'. In fact I like it a lot. Wisely, Paul doesn't change a winning formula too much, simply redefining a track of classic beauty. 'Bloody Dangerous' features expertly positioned samples and a lead synth voice so raw that it sounds like it's just had is arse wiped before being served up on a plate. Perhaps at times the track harks back a little too much to 'For a Knave'. However, this may be intentional, for the rest of the track is so different that it showcases perfectly some very diverse talents.
'Time, the Magician' is another bright, uptempo outing which keeps the album in a holding pattern rather than really letting it loose. Enjoyable all the same with MiniMoog a-plenty and the radio broadcast ending, which segues into 'Death by Wireless', is pure brilliance.
'DBW' has already been showcased live, along with track 1, at the EMMA#1 festival and with its catchy melody and poised middle 8 it is sure to become a favourite.
As soon as the opening of '64K World' hits home you know this is going to be something special. Superb melody, strong rhythm, and some mind blowing noises combine to produce EM straight from the top drawer. 'Iceman' is a superbly constructed diversion to the album, the lack of drums emphasising an arpeggiating sequence contrasted with sweeping synth.
An extended opening riff introduces 'Overnight Snow' creating, I'm sure, very deliberate anticipation which is rewarded in the shape of a truly majestic track which again features some wonderful synth soloing. 'Closer Than You Think' has been brushed down, tweaked in one or two places, given a very different D'Lear guitar solo, and presented here sounding as fresh as ever. It's a thrilling track featuring some brilliant sequencer work.
'Silly Kind of Secret' ends the album perfectly, a very appealing and meticulously performed piece of quality EM to which Paul, very understandably, couldn't resist adding a few closing vocals. This album very much carries on where '...Knave' left off, showing an increasing maturity and mastery of the art of producing Electronic Music. Helped in no small part by superb sound quality, Paul has produced another truly dynamic album which simply demands to be listened to. Miss this one at your peril.

GG
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Artist: Pegasus
P: 1996
Originally recorded in 1993, this CD offers 10 bite sized tracks, the longest clocking in at just under the 9 minute mark. 'The Job' opens with a slightly quirky theme, however the bulk of melodic content is supplied by the sequence which busily weaves its way around the rhythm track. 'The Friends' immediately brings to mind Harold Faltermeyer's 'Axel F' before going off at a tangent and adopting a more laid back stance. Obligatory flutey synth jostles with brass type sounds, and the arrangement is workmanlike rather than inspiring. 'The Love' initially raises the tempo, but it soon slows down again. However, this is an enjoyable piece which interplays piano with synth lines, raising the tempo at intervals allowing bass sequences to flesh out the sound.'The Society' is the longest track and opens with some well a presented ambient noise collage. A few minutes in a sequence starts to develop which unusually takes the track into quite a "funky" direction, complete with more quirky melodics. It's certainly different, but it does sound a bit "weedy" in places. You can't accuse 'The Confusion' of being weedy though. Beefy synth chords and booming sequences combine to produce potent brew, and the classical interludes perhaps explain the title - a bit of schizophrenia? The title track again serves up classical touches with contemporary rhythms, however 'The Falling' is very different and could easily be the soundtrack for the weirder parts of 2001. 'The Prison of Thoughts' serves up a heavy beat and some fine syncopating sequences which support more enjoyable melodies all the better for being picked out with true synth, rather than classical, timbres. 'The Individual Integration' closes and this is another fine uptempo number with drums and sequences aplenty. (GG)