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The second in an ongoing series, this collection of PiNG artists is compiled by Eric Hopper of Sylken and it reflects the softer, more melodic side of THE AMBiENT PiNG community. This sonic voyage features music from dreamSTATE + Susanna Hood, Alpha Wave Movement, Sylken, Paul Royes, Anomalous Disturbances, earotica, Solipsystem, karmafarm, Aidan Baker, Styrohead, URM, Sara Ayers and James Johnson. Toronto's AMBiENT PiNG releases the second in it's ongoing series of PiNG AMBiENCE discs, spotlighting artists from around the Toronto electronic community as well as like-minded PiNG friends from farther afield. This time compiled by Eric Hopper of Sylken, PiNG AMBiENCE 2 explores the space-ier side of the genre, sonic excursions to the planets that orbit the PiNG. The disc opens with "Phases of the Moon" by dreamSTATE and Susanna Hood, a flowing piece of spectral elegance highlighting Susanna's wonderful vocal stylings. A fantastic track that typifies the collaborative spirit of the PiNG. Alpha Wave Movement offers the track "Sunset on Timeless Landscapes", a beautiful lament to the mysteries of the stars. Synthlines ebb and flow, minimal percussion passes by, the occasional snatch of sound sweetening the mix just so. Beautiful. PiNG favorites Sylken supply a brilliant new song entitled "The Light Unseen". Travelling the same spaceways that have made them so beloved in the Toronto scene (and beyond), "The Light Unseen" captures the sense of movement through the stars, graceful pads and percolating synths providing the landmarks (or spacemarks if you will) along your journey. Guitarist Paul Royes treats us to a lovely work of layered and processed guitar that delights and inspires. His track "Dolphin Sky" is one of my favorites on the disc with it's beauty and virtuosity. Brilliant. Terry O'Brien aka Anomolous Disturbances provides "The Invisible Landscape" another guitar based piece. More drone driven in tone "The Invisible Landscape" offers our first glimpse at the darker side of the PiNG, a study in quietly building dark ambient. Very nice work. earotica is a collaboration between Scott M2 of dreamSTATE and myself, so out of fairness I'll decline to comment on it other than to say it's the first release by our mutual side project and that alone should be reason enough for it to be interesting to you... =-) Solipsystem chime in with another one of my favorites on the disc, "Verdant", a brilliant marriage of arpeggios and minimal synth melodies. Absolutely beautiful work that resonates deep within me every time I hear it. Steven Sauve in his guise as Karmafarm offers "of all the things we said", an exploration in organic synth systems and oblique motion that slowly gives way to a groovey synth line. I love the use of the soundfield in this one, it has such a rich, full sound. Lovely. "Turn Twist Twirl" represents the work of Aidan Baker, an artist who is comfortable in a variety of styles and forms. In this track he creates a spontaneous improv piece in keeping with the space-y styles of the disc. I often compare Aidan's work to the magical and this track is very much in keeping with that idea. A stunning performance by one of Toronto's brightest stars. Performing as Styrohead, Joe G, another Sylken alumni, contributes the track "Portal". Deep drones lay a bed of sound over which a variety of tones pass subtely and effortlessly. Wonderful work. Jamie Todd represents URM with the track "consume", a dark droning motion based piece. With a few simple elements Jamie takes us on a trip into the deepest depths of space, where stars are consumed by living dark matter and the laws of physics that we understand hold no meaning. Another fabulous piece from one of my personal favorites. Sara Ayers supplies the piece "I Sewed The Feathers To My Arms", a stunning vocal based piece accompanied by minimal instrumentation. I've said this before on countless occasions, but I think it bears saying again that Sara Ayers is a treasure. Her work is always of the highest quality, brilliant, sparkling, wonderful. This track is a prime representation of what she does, and of course what she does is amazing. Simply Amazing. "Broken" by James Johnson closes out the disc with a beautiful organic piece where keys play delicate melodies and found sounds play underneath creating a rich dense soundscape that lives and breathes within it's own environment. Wonderful work by one of the masters of the genre. Needless to say, PiNG AMBiENCE 2 is an excellent collection proving that there are an incredible number of artists creating beautiful music worth discovering for yourself. A wonderful introduction to a variety of talents and a testimony to the community that has developed around the AMBiENT PiNG. rik - ping things Check out the artist's website: http://www.theambientping.com Track List: 1. Phases of the Moon by dreamSTATE + Susanna Hood 2. Sunset on Timeless Landscapes by Alpha Wave Movement 3. The Light Unseen by Sylken 4. Dolphin Sky by Paul Royes 5. The Invisible Landscape by Anomalous Disturbances 6. Mara's Dream by earotica 7. Verdant by Solpisystem 8. of all the things we said by karmafarm 9. Turn Twist Twirl by Aidan Baker 10. Portal by Styrohead 11. consume by URM 12. I Sewed The Feathers To My Arms by Sara Ayers 13. Broken by James Johnson Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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