This project involves Stefano Gentile himself, he's the head-chief of Silentes records, one of the most renowned italian label for what concerns ambient music, field recordings, soft electronics and anything in the likes. His cohort in this band is Gianluca Favaron who has a few ambient, experimental releases out on several labels. This' an equilibrated duo considering Gentile takes care of objects, guitar (he's already played guitar for other projects including his all star "band" called Maribor) while Favaron uses microphones, electronics and loops and both are credited for the field recordings. Considering one of the members is the man behind such a label I don't think you'll be surprised to discover the release has been somehow influenced by ambient music, but beside that obvious conclusion I wouldn't define "the other room" as an ambient recordings, this music has much more to share with minimalism. I guess the most learned now reading will be thinking by some means minimalism and ambient music have always been linked by an umbilical cord people like Brian Eno has never tried to hide. As said this' minimalist music to the bone and with a strong relaxing edge, don't expect something explicitly melodic, but no doubt this' a soft blanket to get asleep while catching a train of thoughts.

'Quiet Places' is the most recent full length released by Janne Hanhisuanto. Quiet Places is really the most fitting title that could've been chosen for this work, and the songs themselves, even more appropriately titled. Each title reflects PERFECTLY the feel of its audio counterpart; titles like 'Dance of the Electrons,' 'Day Dreams' and 'Breathing Universe' fit the songs like gloves. The album as a whole is a great work; very thoughtful, emotional, deep. Almost the entire thing has a great retro feel to it with its synth pads, bells, moogs and just the overall feel gives off a very late 70's to mid 80's vibe, but in a very inviting way. There are only a few select moments where the retro gives way to 'dated' and loses its charm, but then seems to come right back again. It opens with the title track, a very light and beautiful piece with airy textures providing a bed for some lone high pitched, resonant tones quietly suggesting the echo of a melody. Song to song it flows almost perfectly, save for two songs that while are really great pieces of music, are just a LITTLE out of place only due to the extreme difference in their sound and feel in relation to the rest of the album. 'Some Kinda Image' has more of a contemporary feel but with an early psychedelic core. It has just a whisper of Pink Floyd beneath its wings, and boasts guitar riffs reminiscent of King Crimson, though maybe given the rest of the record, Brian Eno with Robert Fripp would be a more appropriate reference? Also, 'Romance (2)' feels again just the TINIEST bit out of place here, though not quite so much as 'Some Kinda Image.' It is a short piano piece, which is quite beautiful with notes of Beethoven somehow melded with memories of the Cure's 'Love Song.' Again, not that it doesn't belong, it's just quite a departure from the ebb and flow of the remainder of the record. I must say though, Janne does tie between the contemporary and ambience with perfect fluidity, it just takes you off guard for a moment. With its soft textures, light ambiences and occasional errie soundscapes, there isn't a dull moment within these 'Quiet Places.' There are a few slight lows, but never even close to low enough to sink completely.

The latest and greatest by Access to Arasaka goes by the name 'Geosynchron.' Part three of a pseudo triptych (started with 'Orbitus' and continued with 'Aleph') it proves to be the perfect climax. It is an expertly crafted journey through time, space and the unknown. It's songs draw their titles from equal parts mythology and space, and they really couldn't have been chosen better. Sole member Rob Lioy carefully constructs these works to near perfection, using lush textures and pads, drones and precision glitches, dotted throughout with what I liken to lost attempts of communication by the superior alien race. We are drawn through delicate, minimal pieces; digital soundscapes bathed in synths and vocoders; and full on glitched out complexities. There isn't a single track of filler, not a song to skip past and at no point does it get dull. The only potential moment of awkwardness is 'Lysithea' (featuring Jamie Blacker) where the flow of the record is just ever so slightly hindered by a very cold and lonely piece (in a good way, I assure you) where Blacker's vocals add a very different, almost goth feel to the piece. It is a great song, just as good as the rest, but feels just a tiny bit out of place with the rest of the album. That being said, it still doesn't take away an ounce of anything from 'Geosynchron.' Access to Arasaka is a name you'll want to remember and 'Geosynchron' is a record you'll want to play over and over again.

According to the linear notes "the idea behind the album is the trial of creating an inner feeling [...] which is superior to others", so the result is a sort of symphonic dark ambient where, instead of creating the oppressive dark soundscape, the sound spectrum is brighter and more aggressive.
The album start with an untitled track serving as an introduction to the six parts of this release, "Supremos I" is an almost epic slowly evolving synth line that ends where begin the noisy aggressive second part of the track. "Supremos II" is a quiet juxtaposition of small noises where "Supremos III" is reminiscent of some old sci-fi soundtracks. "Supremos IV", the longest track of the album, return, in his first part, to the epic soundscape of "Supremos I" while, in the second part, turn to industrial territories and quietly ending in an almost elegiac way. "Supremos V" is a quiet drone while "Supremos VI" is perhaps the most brighter an epic of all track relying in a high frequencies drones. The last untitled track is a dark ending closer to the classic dark ambient territories.
This release is well produced, compact and coherent in his development and has a good quality: a personal idea of sound that distance from the orthodoxy of this genre. Recommended.

A new album from Robert Henke's Monolake project is always a cause for celebration. "Ghosts" is the second installment of an intended trilogy, the first being 2009's "Silence". There is a sense that events are unfolding, there is a story unfolding, but its hard to say what exactly it is. "Ghosts" creates a strange and compelling sonic journey, that gets deeper and vaster, the more often you delve into its depths.

This is some of Monolake's most rhythmic work in a hot minute, primed for adventurous dance floors everywhere. Almost every track is rooted down with a smooth, low bottom end, that lays most of the monsterstep hacks to waste. Henke's produtions are always clear, tight, and crisp. Flickering around the margins, clattering steel and tinkling glass flutter like half-remembered dreams, in classic 90s Rephlex fashion. Intricate as a swiss watch, but funky as a Prince concert. "Ghosts" sounds equally good on a robust club sound-system as in yr living room, on a good pair of headphones, where countless thousands of microscopic details emerge and reveal themselves.

It is this care and attention to detail that makes Robert Henke's work stand head and shoulders above the competition. As one of the inaugural inventors of the notorious Ableton Live software, he understands sound on a molecular level. The amount of stretching, fading, warping, panning, down-sampling, up-sampling, and spatial reconstruction is breathtaking. While he has an engineer's mind, he said in an interview with Self-Titled Magazine, "If I had to choose between the perfect concept and the perfect emotion, I'd choose the perfect emotion." Monolake creates music for cyborgs. He makes the machines summon his dreams.

"Ghosts" is mostly ominous and dystopian, somber and reflective. It will never be mainstream club fodder. It is intended for deep listeners and thinkers. Those that take the time to investigate "Ghosts" abandoned space station, the rewards are many and vast. Robert Henke has raised the bar for fellow electronic music producers almost impossibly high.

Pure.
Glowing.
Genius.