I assumed that the “A New Age Mystical Music Experience” CDs all were by the same person, whoever that is, but I now think there might be more than 1 artist involved. The reason is that this “Temple of Venus”, the 7th I have acquired of the 10 in the series, is so much extremely different and more “dynamic” than the rest. It is a sexually charged album and this track “Eros & Sexus” is my favorite of the whole series I have heard thus far.
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Dr. Jeffrey Thompson conducting research in his sound laboratory.
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Sometimes new age style sounds will show up in the places you least expect them to, such as in the Miami techno-bass of Techmaster P.E.B. A new age purist would say its probably not new age but close enough I say. “DSTM 2” from “It Came From Outer Bass II” is basically a extended remix of “Don’t Stop the Music” from a earlier Techmaster P.E.B. album called “Bass Computer”.
CAUTION: ULTRA LOW BASS MAY DAMAGE SPEAKERS
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Steve Haun seems like a wanna be John Tesh, because they both make new age music for sports and TV and TV sports shows. But he has some cool tracks hidden within his romantic piano and smooth jazz saxophone songs. Ironically this song from his 1989 album “Midnight Echoes” has them both, sax and piano but still it is cool.
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Laserdance is most known for their italo disco/space synth music but in 1991 they must’ve saw the opportunity to capitalize on either the new age or ambient techno crazes or both. Either way the album which came out sounds extremely new age (thinking Tangerine Dream of around the same era), but produced with Laserdance’s own distinct sounds especially in the drum sections.
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A few days ago I posted on the artist G.E.N.E. and said some of their albums were made by a guy named Suppi Huhn so I decided to track down some others of his works and found “In the Jungle” which was made under his name “Amao”. The album used many of the same sounds and moods I heard on his G.E.N.E. albums but with more upbeat and (sometime) jazzy style. This title track has a true “jungle” vibe with animal sounds even.
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Cool cover of the 1983 album of Synchestra and David Blonski “Timeless Flight”. Nice colors in the painting and combined with the text it almost emits a 70’s Tangerine Dream vibe. (Actually the typeface is the same as used on the Force Majeure cover!) Painting by Michael Marsh.
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One of the weirdest things about new age music is the series of albums released by generic budget labels by artists no one ever heard of. Sometimes, such as the case of Canadian label Madacy’s “A New Age Mystical Music Experience” series they don’t even tell you who the artist is. They released 10 of these albums plus a CD sampler in 1994 and so far I didn’t find anybody who knows who it is. If I made my own guess I would say Philippe de Canck, who made some other new age synth albums on Madacy during the same time.
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In 1992 Alex Otterlei released his album “Battlethemes: Aeons of Warfare” which he claims is the first music release of music made specifically for playing during a role playing game like Dungeons & Dragons. Its themes include both sci-fi and fantasy. Also included in the CD booklet there are short stories by Peter T’Sas which go with each song. I copied here the story for “Moving On”.
Desert. Burning heat. Shadowless land. And far away there is a tiny black spot. Motionless but moving. Patches of sand whirling up.
“O.K., guys, we’ll have a rest near those rocks over there”, says a voice on the radio, “Stretch your legs, smoke a cigarette if the heat lets you. Last halt before moving straight down to Seattle.”
The man at the controlpanel of the desert-truck has got long brown, curly hair, dirty with sweat and sand. Next to him is a young woman. She looks bored. The tasteless piece of chewing gum in her mouth was her last. It tastes like rubber, but she won’t spit it out. Not yet. There is a third passenger: he is wearing a dark cloak, covering his face as well; he has not moved or spoken and hides his hands in his sleeves.
There we are. The hissing sounds when suspension generators are turned off almost sound like sighs of relief. But nobody hears them. The men are tired. As they urge themselves to the protecting shadow of the rocks, their shirts are already soaked with sweat. The heat is unbearable. There is little conversation. The woman seems to have awoken from lethargy. She’s got rid of her chewing gum. Now she is pouring coffee in plastic cups and starts passing them around. They all get one sandwich, too. One hairy hand appears from under a cloak and takes a sandwich. No one looks at the sticky substance between the slices of bread. They know it contains all the vitamins, proteins and minerals to replace a three-course meal. They know it’s disgusting, too. Silence is interrupted by a mechanic cough, a message radioed through their minuscule headphones.
“It’s Wes here. Are you reading me, Jake?” - He knows he does. Jake does not answer - “I’m five miles north at 78 from your spot. I’ve spotted them. They’re maneaters, allright. Not too many. Shall we go for them?”
Jake takes his time, but the men know what he is going to say.
“Roger, Wes, we’re on our way. Rendez-vous at…”
There is a stain of coffee on one of the rocks. It won’t last very long. The sun is still high, but soon they will have their own shadow to follow.
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G.E.N.E. (Grooving Electronic Natural Environments) is a mysterious project purportedly led by “Cléo de Mallio” but actually the man behind that fictitious name is Michael Weisser of Software, who also has other people work on the project sometimes. Basically the music is cheerful and relaxed mixed with sounds of nature from various places in the world… many of the albums are named from the place where the samples are from. On the album Mediterranean Mood most of it was written not by Weisser but a less known guy named Suppi Huhn.
