A Produce & M Griffin
Altara
Wow. That's my initial reaction to Altara, the eagerly awaited collaboration between two great ambient artists, A Produce and M Griffin. The year isn't quite done yet, but I can state without reservation that this will make my "best of" list for 1999. Slow and patient, yet exhilarating and exciting, ‘Altara’ is a testament to what ambient music can and should be.

Starting with ‘Overground’, I am reminded of Steve Roach's ‘The Magnificent Void’. Like Roach's modern classic, this song strains the limits of the bass response of my speakers, even when listening on my PC. Sweet, simple drones float with the richest textures and timbres. The title track transports the listener into deep space, ambience that echoes the sci-fi feel of Griffin's work with David Tollefson on the Viridian Sun CD ‘Perihelion’. A Produce's influence is evident on ‘Diffusion’ which includes subtle percussive elements. The first time I heard this, I was laying down exactly centred between my living room speakers, and the effect was captivating. ‘Seek Nothing’, originally intended as the title track, matches the moody calm of the rest of ‘Altara’, but seems slightly brighter. Though every track is essentially formless masses of sound, the shapes seem a bit more solid here, ironic considering the title.

It is a perfectly placed momentary diversion, leading us to the pièce de résistance, ‘You Send Me the Message’. Exemplified by this 36 minutes of exquisite ambience, ‘Altara’ is the perfect balance between darkness and beauty. (PD)

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