| Artist: Steve Moore Album: Pangaea Ultima Released: 7 January 2014 |   |
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Trends live and succeed in the time they were born into, but fade as the forces that back them die off. In the decade of 1970 it was synthesizer apparatus (the holy relics) which artists used to create the most meaningful audio symbols of the time. These Spacemusic originators were not quite able to comprehend the larger meaning of their work, and seem to have left it up to their descendants to do that. Steve Moore has been lent a certain confidence from this era that allows him to imagine, which is what this music is all about. His Pangaea Ultima (58'15") pushes Spacemusic down to its minimalist limits. Seeming like music of the near future Moore's immersive colorful style makes every moment of the journey worthwhile. Nine swift and absorbing tracks present the low moods on the pulse of night and stunning insights into what tomorrow may hold. Intersecting rhythm cycles blip through trails of echo as string synth chords play ever louder in dramatic progression. Bass notes and glittery modulations cool the heated proceedings. Further into Pangaea Ultima electronic drums add a raw emotive power to the stilted tempo of synthetic patterns. Time markers click and ring as strange metallic sound clouds vent in the background. Moore also provides a few realizations of sheer stillness meant for the listener to fill in with their own thoughts and ideas. With sustaining notes holding dark tones higher up fluttering effects enliven the atmosphere. The music on Pangaea Ultima may have been undertaken to reawaken our sense of wonder at our old synthesizers, or to ruminate on the emptiness of modern life - each listener will make their own meaning. Spacemusic tells us something new, and we are drawn to this music for what it inspires us to think about through the world it creates.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 19 June 2014 | |
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