Category: Reviews & Commentary

Echo Location: Steve Roach and Erik Wollo

http://media.blubrry.com/echoespodcast/www.xpn.org/podcasts/echoes/echoes20090318.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSSSteve Roach & Erik Wollo: A Norwegian ambient artist descends in the Arizona Desert. You can hear an audio version of this blog, with music. Steve Roach lives on a horse ranch in Arizona, surrounded by saguaro cactus and 100 degree plus heat.  Erik Wollo lives in Norway…

Echo Location: Roger O’Donnell Finds the Voyager Cure

http://media.blubrry.com/echoespodcast/www.xpn.org/podcasts/echoes/echoes20090311.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS Echoes plugs in ex-Cure keyboardist, Roger O’Donnell You can hear an audio version of this blog, with music. In his London apartment, Roger O’Donnell only has one keyboard, the Mini-Moog Voyager that he’s playing as we speak. For the last few years, the Voyager has been pretty…

Andreas Vollenweider Announces New CD: AIR

After an absence of a couple of years, Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider has announced his return with a new CD call Air. Not much info yet on release dates. But Andreas has a very charming video up on his site. Here’s the press release: We are very exited to present to you AIR, a very…

Echo Location: David Darling’s Ambient Cello

http://media.blubrry.com/echoespodcast/www.xpn.org/podcasts/echoes/echoes20090225.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSSCellist David Darling, the avatar of ambient chamber music returns with Prayer for Compassion, Echoes March CD of the Month. You can hear an audio version of this blog with music. David Darling is the Lord of Largo, the Maestro of Melancholy. Classically trained and jazz converted, he…

Vangelis Documentary

News is afoot that a documentary on Greek synthesist, Vangelis, has been produced by British cultural documentarian Tony Palmer.  Knowing a little about the culture surrounding the acclaimed, Academy Award-winning composer, I’m not sure if it will be more than a puff piece, but the list of commentators is pretty impressive, including all the film…

Mellotron from Lawrence Welk to King Crimson

There’s a new movie out called Mellodrama: The Story of the Mellotron that documents the history of the Mellotron and it’s forerunner, the Chamberlain. I haven’t seen the documentary, which just opened at a film festical, but some interesting tidbits are gleaned from the trailer and an interview with the director, Dianna Dillworth. Who’d have…

A Shaman Enters the Next World: Jorge Reyes’ Last Rattle

https://media.blubrry.com/echoespodcast/echoes.org/audio/JorgeReyesEchoesInterview1995.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSSIt’s been a while since we’ve played any music by Jorge Reyes on Echoes.  Something I now regret upon hearing of his passing this past Saturday, February 7, 2009 from an apparent heart attack.  He was 57. There is an obit on-line. Jorge was a big part of…

Grammy Goof: New Age and Polka Dots

I skipped watching the Grammys Sunday night to catch a live performance by Jon Hassell that took a deep diving expedition guided by fourth world semaphores and jazz signposts.  (See earlier blog.) But after I got home, as I booted up my DVR to catch the awards show, I opened an email from Will Ackerman…

51st Grammys: Echoes at the Edges

The 51st Annual Grammy will be broadcast this Sunday, February 8 and as usual, don’t expect to see any Echoes artists on it. Not that there aren’t some cool artists nominated in major categories, among them Coldplay, Radiohead, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and Beck. But you’ll find Echoes artists turning up in unusual categories…