Pete Namlook & Tetsu Inoue 2350 Broadway

Well, I certainly don't like everything on the Fax label but I can't fault their re-issue programme (on Ambient World) in any way. This double CD set is essential if you are into bleak space music. It is a joint composition with Tetsu Inoue, a guarantee of quality. I have enjoyed everything I have heard which he has had a hand in. The first disc begins with cosmic wave sounds setting the scene for the next two hours twenty minutes plus. Its all highly atmospheric and floating. Often quite dark but always very 'visual'.

A slow repeated note pattern gives 'Vision of Pulse' its first initial structure but in a very deep space sort of way. Other notes and twittering effects here and there create a sense of mystery. In the eleventh minute the note pattern goes away and we are left in a sea of shimmering effects. Violent whooshes of sound erupt from the speakers from time to time as we pass through more active areas of the galaxy. At around the twenty minute mark a little melodic detail is added. 'Raga' is the second shortest track on this double CD set at just under half an hour! It begins with a slow pulse which soon becomes irregular and more complex.

More windy cosmic pads come then go amongst a collage of strange sci fi type bleeps, burps and crescendos. Distorted, just heard vocal samples give the experience an even more eerie edge. The sounds become more chaotic but if anything even more descriptive, all sorts of nightmares at what could be out there coming to mind. Some pulsating detail is added as is a solar wind. A succession of strange noises and effects join the wind, some of them swathed in static, each one bringing with it a different 'picture'- not all of them pleasant. We continue our other worldly voyage with 'Tokai'. Deep drones ebb and flow. The odd little note flourish here and there pulls the attention momentarily this way then that. Its like being on a trip through some computerised brain.

The second disc contains just one long 72 minute track 'Hands of Light'. It starts quietly with the most magnificent deep space cosmic effects. We then get some louder bleeps and electronic machine sounds. High pitched waves of sound spew from the speakers. Its all extremely abstract. Things then become rather melodic, beautiful even- in a tranquil floating sort of way. Its so relaxing and calming it would be easy to fall asleep though it would be a shame to miss out on such exquisite space music. The sounds are just right, with just enough detail and change to stimulate the mind but not too much to spoil the serenity of the piece. A very gentle rhythm starts up in the background. It changes the feel of the piece rather than dominating it. Its as if there is more to see in this part of the cosmos but all is still tranquil.

A second restrained drum line is added and the underlying textures also start to change until the rhythm departs and we are left with gurgling swamp like animal noises and soft ethereal drones. We now return to the sounds of some large electronic machine out of which develops, in the context of this album, a much more forceful rhythm. Its as if the engines have momentarily been engaged. In no way could this be described as pounding however and they keep disappearing entirely. Our journey has become more purposeful, flowing this way and that as if searching for something.