"Terraforms" is only $15.00CAN plus shipping and taxes where applicable!

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Landfalls

Eric Hopper's project Sylken returns with "Terraforms", a beautiful example of the ambient ideal. Working with some of the brightest talents in the AMBiENT PiNG community including frequent collaborator Steven Sauve, along with Wally Jericho, Jamie Todd of dreamSTATE, Terry O'Brien of Anomolous Disturbances and Gregory Kyryluk of Alpha Wave Movement, Hopper has collected a series of melodic ambient tracks of great beauty and wonder.

From the throbbing pulse of opening track "Terra Rising", where graceful arpeggios and deep pads blend together with each other to form a delicate web of sound, the listener is caught up in the beauty inherent in all of Sylken's work. A lovely way to start the disc.

"Landfalls" follows, a track that suggests a rainforest, an environment rich with vivid colour and beauty, lush keyboard washes bringing to mind thick forests of greenery. A wonderful example of environmental ambience.

Track three "Breath of Life" slows down the tempo slightly, a fragile and beautiful piece where occasional piano dances around sweeping soundscapes that pass through the soundfield like a slow wind. Fragile and lovely.

"Enfoldment" brings about a womb-like listening experience where the senses become focussed entirely on the music, Wally Jericho's sax bringing an otherworldly beauty to the piece.

"The Shores of Space" is a fine example of space music, a track that evokes the sensation of slow orbits around alien planets. Oblique movement and gently building waves of sound are underscored by soft melodies suggestive of stars. Beautiful.

Title track "Terraforms" is a lovely percolating soundscape that brings to mind the birth of planets, continents slowly taking shape over the course of millions of years. Wally Jericho appears again, lovely trumpet work giving the track an organic feeling, the spark of a soul that reminds us that the earth is just as much of a living thing as you or I.

"World of One" blends pads and drones, echoing tones and keening notes to suggest a pulse, a heartbeat, the beginnings of life. Subtly shifting tones and the tinkling of glass play throughout, a stunning work of minimalist wonder.

Track eight, "Gaia's lament" is a poignant piece, a slowly drifting series of pads that float around the senses, playing on the edge of our awareness. Nuance and infrequent shifts give shape to the track, a million instants of change so subtle that they're lost in the blink of an eye if you aren't already in tune with them.

"The Drift of Time" follows, a delicate melodic ambient track where pads rise and fall in strength overtop a mesmerizing tonal pattern. Stunning.

"Zen Sky", featuring a guest appearance by Gregory Kyryluk of Alpha Wave Movement, closes the disc. A shimmering otherworldly piece filled with glittering notes and musical phrases, "Zen Sky" encapsulates the whole disc experience for the listener. A wonderful piece, and a lovely way to close the disc.

Listening to "Terraforms" I can't help but be put under the spell of Sylken's charms. All of the tracks bring to mind a variety of different emotions and feelings throughout the course of the disc's length, a testimony to the talent and artistry inherent in the music that it can be so evocative. Once again Sylken has succeeded in creating music that brilliantly captures a mood, a feeling, a time and a space. Stunning work that comes highly recommended, as does the rest of the Sylken catalogue.

rik - ping things