Rudy Adrian & Ron Boots Across the Silver River Play Sample:   56K Dialup   Broadband   Download Sample:   500K   1.5Mb (Excerpt from track(s) 'Night Sky Part 2')

As the sleeve notes make clear the Dutch EM Ron Boots has added his own musical flourishes to a work started by Rudy Adrian who lives in New Zealand, and the result is a CD of ambient music, that over its long listening time, is never anything less than interesting. This is, to the best of my knowledge their first collaborative effort, and I hope one day to hear another.

This sort of music is very difficult to produce without sounding like some wallpaperish "New Age" muzak that occasionally passes for ambient these days, but as each track flows into the next the overall effect is very impressive.

There is little point in reviewing each track, other than to remark that the opener is the only track to feature another musician – Nick Prosser on a Baroque Flute, which is a bit too prominent for my tastes. Fields in Evening Light – the third piece - starts with the gentle sounds of birds chirping and some laid back synth work before Ron's added drums and percussion kick in. It's a good deal better than it sounds on paper and for many I suspect it will be the highlight.

Even better still in my opinion are Dawn Across The Southern Ocean and Forgotten Islands Rediscovered, although they both sound like something Steve Roach might come up with. The former even has some weird frog like sounds on it, which wouldn't have been out of place on Possible Planet. The latter has some fantastic percussion work on it – but watch it – it will make you jump when it starts! This is my favourite track – just tremendous. The interplay between the two musicians here is wonderful. I'd pay some serious money to hear this live.

Night Sky (part 2) is just as impressive. It is the CD's longest track and again I am amazed by the way the two musicians have complimented each other. Ron's percussion in particular lifts this track considerably.