Combs Creek Haller CD “Singularity” Released on Earth Mantra

February 11th, 2010

My latest double CD “Singularity” w/ master musicians Jez Creek and Kevin Haller is released and available free:

From Earth Mantra Netlabel:

As we’ve written many times, one of the great pleasures of running a netlabel is to meet new artists and release their music. A related pleasure that is in many ways even cooler is to be able to release something for the first time by folks you already know and love. It is precisely that honor that we have today, with this majestic new release called Singularity. This magnificent two-disc album was recorded live the evening of November 6 and into the morning of November 7, 2009. It so happened that Jez Creek, who calls Nottingham in the United Kingdom home, was visiting in the Atlanta, Georgia area as part of his USA tour, in order to perform at the City Skies electronic music concert on November 7. Kevin Haller, whose house Jez was staying at, was also performing at the same concert. And Jim Combs, being the organizer and founder of the concert series, was of course going to be performing as well. So just for fun, the three decided to do a live concert on StillStream.com the night before the big show. And the results were so good that they decided to release the recordings as this album. Amazingly, given the quality of the pieces, the music was completely improvised. The musicians had never performed together as a group before this set and no preparations were done prior to the broadcast except for choosing keys and tempos. Somehow these three artists who had never played together at the same time, and had done almost nothing to prepare, immediately found a zone in which electronic ambient music of the highest order started pouring forth. Needless to say, the audience that night was blown away by the set, and we think that our listeners are going to be similarly impressed by what they hear in Singularity. For indeed, this is some of the most beautiful live ambient music we have heard in quite awhile. Earth Mantra has long been a fan of all three of the artists’ solo work, but we were dumbfounded by the synergy the three artists found so effortlessly as they sat down to play. Improvising live ambient music can be a challenging task, and to do it really well, with the right balance of patience and activity, is surprisingly hard. The fact that these three artists could hit such a bullseye, with zero preparation and without the benefit of knowing each other’s live playing styles, is in our eyes nothing short of miraculous. We could attempt to describe this music to you, but ultimately we would fail. Suffice it to say that it is beautiful, it is well constructed, very competently performed, and it just plain rocks. Better yet, why not download a copy of this album right now and give it a listen for yourself. We are certain that any fan of ambient music will be very happy they did.

http://earthmantra.com/cchsingularity

KKUP 91.5FM Selects Sensitive Chaos as Best Visionary Music of 2009

January 2nd, 2010

KKUP 91.5FM’s Eric Mystic, DJ for the Mystic Music radio show, has selected the Sensitive Chaos Emerging Transparency CD as one of the Best Visionary Music of 2009. The CD received airplay on the Visionary Music Marathon that ran from January 1 through January 3, 2010.

Sensitive Chaos was part of a select crowd that included:

Picks of the Year 2009

(or in some cases the year before, if not played on Mystic Music until 2009). The top 30, plus others, were played on the visionary marathon Jan.1, 2010, between Noon and 10 PM. Rankings are a fluid and approximate picture of my experience of these works, and subject to change later, but the number might help you remember a CD you liked that you heard on the marathon, and to find it on this list. Eric Mystic recommends all of these as the best visionary music I know of in 2009. Most are filed in our KKUP library. Those in bold may still be premiums available for a pledge of $40 or more (check DJ for availability); please call during the marathon, or our regular visionary programs, and pledge if you want one. Thanks very much for listening and supporting KKUP Peoples Radio.

1. Robert Carty – Starlight Volume 2
2. David Parsons – Jyoti
3. Steve Roach – Dynamic Stillness
4. Oliver Schroer – Camino
5. Cluster – Qua
6. Jeff Greinke – Virga
7. Steve Roach – Destination Beyond
8. Dan Pound – Rock Into Sand
9. Dan Pound – Esoterica
10. Robert Rich & Faryus – Zerkalo
11. The Tangent Project – Surface
12. Steve Roach – Afterlight
13. Craig Padilla, Zero Ohms & Skip Murphy – Beyond the Portal
14. Numina – Sound Symbols
15. Aes Dana – Leylines
16. Bruno Sanfilippo – Auralspace
17. Igneous Flame/Achromus – Flicker
18. Igneous Flame – Electra
19. Terra Ambient – Wanderlust
20. Bruno Sanfilippo – Piano Textures 2
21. Resonant Drift – The Call
22. Matthew Montfort – Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar
23. Mike Howe – Time Stands Still
24. H.U.V.A. Network – Ephemeris
25. Solar Fields – Movements
26. Igneous Flame/Disturbed Earth – Harmonium
27. Open Canvas – Travel by Sound
28. William Edge – Crucible
29. Sensitive Chaos – Emerging Transparency
30. Trance Love Airways – Ascension
31. Lea Longo – Zen Voyage
32. Max Corbacho – Ars Lucis
33. Deborah Martin/Erik Wollo – Between Worlds
34. Solar Fields – Reflective Frequencies
35. Michael Demaria – Ocean
36. Circular – Substans
37. Dan Pound – Living Planet
38. Observation Point – Behind the Sun
39. Aomusic – Twirl
40. Lawrence Blatt – The Color of Sunshine

Climbers, runners-up, and works I don’t have access to but heard on Neptune Currents or elsewhere (not necessarily in order):

Alpha Wave Movement – Cosmic Mandala (EP)
Derek Jones – Sun Down Moon Up
William Edge – Moth and the Fire Dragon
Chris Bocast/M.J. Catalin – Stratagem
Sky – Love in Grace
Eucalyptus Dream – Ear of the Beholder
Timothy Cooper – East Wind
Jonn Serrie/Gary Stroutsos – Hidden World Beyond
Saul Stokes – Metacollage
National Debt – Third Eye Opener
The Beyman Bros. – Memories of Summer as a Child
Paul Avgerinos/Kevin Braheny – Love
Michael Stribling – The Promise
Cybervixen – Venus
Psychodreamics – Fantasynth

Top compilations, re-releases, etc.

Steve Roach/Vidna Obmana – Spirit Dome/Live Archive
Deuter – Eternity

Some Oldies played in 2009 (in approximate order of airplay)

David Parsons – Earthlight
Robert Carty – Starlight Volume 1
Max Corbacho – Breath Stream
Steve Roach/Erik Wollo – Stream of Thought
Robert Rich/Ian Boddy – React
Rudy Adrian – Desert Realms
Craig Padilla – Below the Mountain
Divine Oracle/Michael Hammer – Touched by the Light
David Parsons – Surya
Dan Pound – Night Watch
Alpha Wave Movement – Terra (available as DVD premium)
various artists incl. Tim Story – In Search of Angels
David Helpling/Jon Jenkins – Treasure
Al Conti – Scheherazade
Kevin Keller – Pendulum
Richard Warner – Quiet Heart/Spirit Wind
Bruno Sanfilippo & Matthias Grassow – Ambessence
Evan Bartholomew – Caverns of Time
Robert Rich – Bestiary
Robert Carty – Timeless
Robert Carty – Darklight
Constance Demby – Novus Magnificat
Loreena McKennitt – An Ancient Muse

Hearts Of Space features Sensitive Chaos on first show of 2010

January 2nd, 2010

Hearts Of Space is considered by most electronic or space musicians as the penultimate radio show for our genre of music. Hearts Of Space is currently running on over 200 NPR affiliates and XM Satellite Radio, and features absolutely the best and most beautifully produced music from around the globe. It is hard to express the emotion and honor of being selected for inclusion on the show. While many analogies abound, suffice to say Hearts Of Space is the “big leagues” for us.

So, it was with great excitement when I discovered that the Sensitive Chaos track “Fifty Light Years From Home” from the Emerging Transparency CD was selected to be the lead off song for Hearts Of Space’s first show of 2010, Program # 897 called “Perigee”:

0897

Happy New Year, Spacefans!

Here’s one of life’s imponderables: while our culture reaches some kind of high point during the end-of-the-year holiday celebrations, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere the natural world is at the low point, or perigee in its yearly cycle.

Beneath all the celebration, in the short, chilled days that follow the winter solstice,? we find a quiet passage on the long journey to spring. We reflect on the year just past, ?and make plans and resolutions for the one to come. It’s a period of active reflection, ?a time for looking both inward and outward…at once.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we aim to help that reflection, with a wintry electro-ambient journey called PERIGEE. Music is by SENSITIVE CHAOS, BLUETECH, PAN ELECTRIC & ISHQ, RICHARD BONE, GLEN TARACHOW, GLEN DARCEY, BETWEEEN INTERVAL, GULAN, REMKO ARENTZ, and KLAUS SCHULZE.

SENSITIVE CHAOS
Fifty Light Years from Home < 0:0->3:09>
EMERGING TRANSPARENCY ; Subsequent SR002-02; 2009
: Info: www.sensitivechaos.com

BLUETECH
My Dear Friend Kronos < 03:09->9:20>
PHOENIX RISING ; Somnia 007; 2008
: Info: www.somniasound.com

PAN ELECTRIC & ISHQ
Being There (Part 1) < 09:20->12:24>
Being There (Part 2) < 12:24->13:30>
ABOUT TIME ; AbsoluteAmbient.com AACD0004; 2008
: Info: www.absoluteambient.com

RICHARD BONE
Benevolence is Relative < 13:30->17:59>
CONNECTION FAILED ; Quirkworks QRK0138; 2008
: Info: www.richardbone.com

GLEN TARACHOW
Ascend < 17:59->22:27>
WATERCLOCK ; Burning Water Rebellion BWR 91007; 2003

GLEN DARCEY
The Garden < 22:27->26:29>
AMBIATA ; Glen Darcey Music 2008
: Info: www.myspace.com/glendarcey

BETWEEN INTERVAL
Delta Capricorni < 26:29->30:54>
THE EDGE OF A FAIRYTALE ; Spotted Peccary SPM-1604; 2009
: Info: www.spottedpeccary.com

GULAN
Sphere < 30:54->36:28>
SPHERE ; Gulan Music 2005
: Info: www.gulan.us

REMKO ARENTZ
No Time < 36:28->45:15>
: TRANCE 2008

KLAUS SCHULZE
The Lonely Dead of Midnight < 45:15->54:17>
: CONTEMPORARY WORKS 2 ; Rainhorse/Manikin RHMR 200014; 2002

GLEN TARACHOW
Dissolve < 54:17->58:59>
WATERCLOCK ; Burning Water Rebellion BWR 91007; 2003

PRODUCED BY : Steve Davis and Stephen Hill

BAY AREA WEATHER : refueling for innovation

BeATLanta Interview & Nophest photos

November 26th, 2009

I found my BeATLanta interview and Nophest photos:

http://www.beatlanta.com/beatlanta/2009/9/10/sensitive-chaos-interview-and-pics-from-nophest.html

Sensitive Chaos at Nophest 2009

Sensitive Chaos at Nophest 2009

QRO Magazine Review of Sensitive Chaos’ Nophest Performance

October 8th, 2009

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QRO Magazine writer Mic Mell reviewed last month’s Nophest Music Festival and gave my Sensitive Chaos performance a nice mention. Read the whole review here.

My mention is here:

The music itself passed the spectrum from afternoon ambient electronica to full on blaring rock ‘n’ roll at night. Each band that played had their own identity, their own image, and their own talent. There was not a dud in the bunch. Nophest is not musically genre based, and each passing hour continued to showcase electronic, rock, indie, and punk bands, all spanning the extensive and eclectic of Garcia, and the community at large. Friday night included the hard electronic and multimedia presentation of Larvae, and the experimental and lively Jungol. This Piano Plays Itself brought a lush, raw, and well arranged mix of rock and pop. Saturday was a very rock oriented, and the parking lot and stage area were jam packed for the full Renaissance regalia and steampunk sensibility of Extraordinary Contraption, and the blazing guitar and soulful vocals of Garcia’s own indie band Nerd Parade. By Sunday, the crowds were sparse, partly due to the endless rain, as well as the unrelenting hangovers. Halfway through the day, Sensitive Chaos summed up the mood perfectly, with a low-key set of electronics that massaged the brain, and soothed the heart. While the music played on, the other major event of Sunday was a large gathering of folks in the parking lot playing six degrees of Kevin Bacon, complete with notes and a map for quick reference.

Sensitive Chaos Gets Runner-Up Nod in Creative Loafing Best Of ATL 2009

October 8th, 2009

Sensitive Chaos, was voted the runner-up to category winner (and Best of ATL 2008 winner) Judi Chicago in the Creative Loafing Best of 2009 in the Reader’s Pick for Best Local Electronic Act.

Sensitive Chaos won the category in 2007 and I also won the category in 2005 as half of the duo TouchXtone with Michael Thomas Roe.

Thanks again to all the voters!