ALBUM REVIEWS

Trinity
MUSIC FOR ANGELS
David Wright
THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT
Steve Orchard
RIVERBOAT
AD MUSIC Out now
@www.vanguard-online.co.uk


This trio of releases are part of AD Music’s consolidation of its place in the New Age music market. That sentence makes me a little uncomfortable but musicians need to make a living and the fanbase for electronic music of the sort Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, etc made has been a niche one for many years, whereas crystal healing, spirit channelling and angel watching seems to attract plenty of folks eager to be parted from their money. And why not spend that money on some decent music instead of another book on talking to spirit guides?

These may be purpose made, market-led albums but they mostly carry the core qualities of the label and have moved on from some of the overly- decorative releases they first ventured out into the genre with. The label New Age covers a multitude of sins, starting with Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells (not New Age at all but Programme Music) to ambient sounds like Brian Eno, past faux-ethnic chanting CDs from gift shops to purpose made music for massage spas. The core aim is to make something that fills the ears without occupying the mind, allowing it to meditate. To me, the idea of music you can ignore is a strange one – music can inspire meditation by being cyclic or repetitive (think of some dance music) or when a live band responds to an audience in just the right way (think of The Grateful Dead) or through mathematics (think of Bach’s fugues) but filling the ears can hardly help empty the mind. Nevertheless, these releases make for soothing sounds and Steve Orchard’s album calmed a teething baby, proving its worth.

Trinity is label-boss David Wright, a lynchpin of the British electronic underground for decades, Neil Fellowes and Nigel Turner-Heffer. They have previously been Code Indigo – a progressive synth band and teamed up in other combinations. Here they go for the calm. On the opening track floating synth, stumming acoustic guitar and the sound of a wind instrument make for a constant melodic progression without getting you physically involved. The second has repeated sequencer patterns and woodwind effects alongside a tinkly effect. A lovely bubbly deep guitar sound, a bit like Grant Green, burbles the whole along nicely for half an hour. The final track, another half hour, is very still, drifting slightly with vox celeste. There is almost no pulse and a woodblock sound decorates before a brightness arrives with lifting and cheery flute patterns. It fades slowly out to be replaced with rain / water sounds. If you ignore the terrible Angels concept, this is a very relaxing set with real value.

David Wright has a compilation called Spirit Of Light. The last thing I heard from him was a compilation - Sines Of Life (groan…) – and this one is chosen to be more New Age – ie less propulsive, sweeter and segued. The first track is very typical David Wright but sweeter. The second has some Chinese sounds and is romantic, a little spacey and quite filmic. Lazy Heaven is half and hour of gentle floating keyboard noodles – basically like the Trinity record without guitar. The fourth is very sweet. David is proud of the fifth, Illusions, from a 1992 CD – very chilled, determinedly static, like a sonic sculpture and interspersed with water sounds.

I’ve not come across Steve Orchard before. His Riverboat disc has a twee sleeve and is full of water, birdsong and nature sounds. So far, so off-putting….. However, there is lots of acoustic guitar and the percussive instrument makes for a real and involving sound. There are gentle melodies and harmonic frills with a faster pulse than the other albums here. It’s all very pleasant and very background but, as I said, I owe it a debt for calming an infant…..

A mixed bag from AD Music and one far removed from the experience of many of our readers. It’s interesting to think of music as a spiritual technology rather than something to emotionally or physically respond to. I’ll be looking forward to more spacey music from Mr Wright & co in the future but I suspect this venture will go down quite well for him.

Ross McGibbon

www.admusiconline.com