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From the digital valley to the analogue mountain the Electronic Musician Hollan Holmes has experienced many years of breakthroughs, discoveries and advancements. His CD Milestones (65'05") notes this artist's progress, yet also advances ahead of it. Producing music in storm as well as calm, through deep listening the 10 tracks will gain a magical release for our thoughts. With its deep purple tones and plush sonic reverie, his sound can be as companionable as a meteor burning its way through the atmosphere, or as lonely as the distances through which this object has traveled. Sequencer tracks, as open as they are forceful, advance in wild tumult - and lend strength to the already muscular compositions. As the soundscape darkens, dulcet melodies glide gracefully atop small waiting forms - stilled in the long cold between stars. Further in, the sense of receding space dissipates and Milestones becomes pleasant, soothing and restorative. The intelligent arrangement of intersecting aural planes further intensifies each composition. From an unsettling remoteness up to a stirring enchantment, the whirling force of texture and motion attracts the ear and triggers the spirit. Slowly unfolding in the dreamy brilliance of harmonic climaxes we hear a fully and effectively imagined work. Listening to Milestones beneath the dark arch of the sky above we can imagine escaping the limitations of our human sized scale. Although the Spacemusic genre is now quite mature, thanks to the practices of musicians such as Hollan Holmes it remains ever new. Through a gift for opening disused channels of thought in the listener, we may find a path back to the underlying sources of our strength - and reconnect with the sense of wonder meant to last our lifetimes.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 5 March 2020 |
