The Spanish Maestro of deepest sonic meditations is back again with his latest aural cathedral entitled «Source Of Present». As a reviewer, even if it’s just my free time hobby and passion, I should maybe stay more objective, however, many of you might have known and it’s no secret that I have been always utterly fascinated by Max Corbacho’s soundworlds. I am simply unable to hide this and when a new album by Max is announced, every time I am looking forward to it just like a small kid for his fave candy. Of course «Source Of Present» CD, created during 2015-2017 and released at November 10th on Max Corbacho’s own Silentsun label, was no exception. How could it be? The album comes as a 4-panel digipak with glossy cover image created by the artist himself, while the layout duties are handled, as usual, by Michael Rodriguez Pletz.

«The Beginning Of Remembering» is not only the opening, 24 minutes long opus, but to be straight, also one of the most monumental epics Max has ever carved and undoubtedly one of the most jaw-dropping compositions since his ultimate milestone «The Ocean Inside» released at the end of 2012. How can I resist when such gargantuan driftscape invades my listening room? Ultra tenebrous and voluminously humming, yet gracefully multidimensional stratums swiftly steal the whole, breathtakingly immersing scenario. However, warmly spellbinding vistas clandestinely permeate as well and persistently juxtapose with tiding ear-blowing transcendental meridians. I am loosely gliding across the unfathomably subterranean Eden, enter now and experience this pure magic!!! «Soul Of The World», clocking to 7-plus minutes mark, maintains its monstrously engrossing splendor, but this time more illuminating as the sweeping vastness is insistently amalgamated with flamboyant range of sheets, both intricately mindscaping and balmily titillating. «Echoing Shade» promptly dives into magnificently expansive deserted solitudes, holding the unmistakable southwest signatures of no one else but Max Corbacho’s iconic guide. Panoptic serenity at its most majestic!!! «Transparent Phenomena», at 4:17 the shortest piece on «Source Of Present», rides on the wings of abundantly scenic and thrillingly overwhelming immenseness, where colossal drone layers continuously resonate, counterpoint and dazzle with ear-tickling glimmers. Nearly 19 minutes long title composition «Source Of Present» unfolds in absolute stillness and then calmly extends into an awe-inspiring panoramas of sheer atmospheric delight, incorporating own myriad of floating, reverberating, twinkling, glimpsing and crescendoing insignias masterfully reinforced by superiorly prodigious flickering mirages reminiscent of the master. A huge dose of sonic ambrosia is offered here!!! The closing 13-minute track «On This Journey» ceaselessly reveals and tightly keeps on the path of incredibly sublime sceneries, perpetually magnified by sweeping and ebbing vertexes, eternally enrapturing and staggeringly transporting. Evanescing tranquil horizons inconspicuously sneak in and are as much spectacular and soulfully exquisite as its quintessentially billowing and tenaciously monolithic companions. Gorgeously enigmatic finale!

Although the amount of influential earmarks is to my taste a bit stronger at some stages, Max Corbacho returns with almost 74-minute «Source Of Present» masterwork, as well as with the previous «Nocturnes» album, to the ultimate pedestal celebrating all geniuses of powerfully engulfing atmospheric soundforging. That’s the place where he has already stood after sculpting unquestionable magnum opuses such as «Ars Lucis» and «The Ocean Inside». And this position fits to him more than perfectly! Bravo, Max, you fully deserve this!!!!

Richard Gürtler (Jan 01, 2018, Bratislava, Slovakia)

«Arte  Magnetica» is available now as a SPECIAL OFFER for all my followers, under the option «NAME YOUR PRICE», that is, from zero to whatever you want!!. 

During these last months, the activity in the studio has been intense, with the completion of the details for the next album «Source Of Present» scheduled for September or first weeks of October and the creation of this six pieces for «Arte Magnetica». This current edition is only available for now in digital format and is not expected a physical edition. Download here your digital copy now!!.

«Now available a new collection of sound spaces created under the influence of the extreme atmospheric conditions of these last weeks. This set of sound waves molded in chords and soft complex textures creates a feeling of constant flow, mutating into different sound pieces. These six pieces are created to be reproduced in continuous succession in the order that the artist has created them. Max excavates in each of the six tracks a new sonic sculpture, influenced by the quiet atmosphere of the long hot summer days, where nature falls asleep to the song of the cicadas. This music reflects the power of the earth, its influence on us and the way it molds us, gently and in multiple layers of sounds and waves that project us into a new, deeper stillness. The pieces have been developed in the studio throughout the month of July and the first week of August, in an intimate experience, aligned with the telluric forces emanating from this our beloved planet. The different tracks range from the extreme darkness of Monolith to the evocative, mystical force and serenity of Transcircle. «

Enjoy these new soundscapes directly from my personal store in Bandcamp, here:
http://maxcorbacho.bandcamp.com/album/arte-magnetica 

As always, infinite thanks for accompanying me on this fascinating journey called life, and for supporting my work as an artist. Without you, this music would not exist. All the best, 
Max Corbacho 
www.maxcorbacho.com

Greetings to all. Indalo is here again!!  Waiting for all the new music to be revealed, and for those who have asked for the relaunch of Indalo for a long time, the digital edition is now available here in my Bandcamp store. In the coming days, it will be launched on all digital portals, Spotify, and all other Streaming services.
Indalo is a record taken from an old collaboration with my friend and composer Bruno Sanfilippo. Released in 2003 as a CD, for several years this work has been unavailable in any format, both digital and physical, in spite of being habitual in the schedules of radio stations like Heart of Space, Star’s End and others. After continuing receiving many requests from fans during all this time, and in response to this demand, Indalo will be available as a digital release through maxcorbacho.com. To further improve the experience and rediscovery of this work, two unreleased tracks have been  added to the original seven in the Bandcamp download. These two tracks were created during the year 2002 and presented as candidates to appear on the album. In the end, they were not selected and have remained hidden all these years. Today, I think the addition of these two forgotten tracks add interest to a work that many of my new followers do not know, but I think they will like it. The album, by express wish of Bruno, is credited only and definitely as a solo album by Max Corbacho in a new and redesigned cover art. Hope all you enjoy this music. Order the Digital Download direct from Bandcamp.
This is all for now, please keep in touch, I hope to send you more news soon!

All the best,
Max Corbacho

Morpheus Music & The Mall Magazine

STYLE

Expansive beatless spacey ambience created by the establishing of immense translucent zones of overlapping tonal masses. These swelling multiple layers are lustrous and dense like massive backlit clouds drifting in darkness. A warmth breathes into some pieces, still panoramic and open, but with waves and undulations of harmony and serenity. In other places the sound drops away into unfathomable depths where fractal lights play lazily on the surface of the abyss. The density of the music almost impenetrable at times – suggestive of enormity and endlessness. Amnios contains whispering voices, echoing sussurations, a hint of humanity adrift on meandering tides. Ruby For The Sun builds on a rumbling weight of sound, the glisten and shimmer of gossamer membranes unfolding their colour above – electronic washes bathing everything in gliding radiance. Cellular Memory contains near percussive flashes of white noise and trickles of glassy synthesiser, liquid clear amid the oceanic swell and pull of steady drones – the track fading almost imperceptibly, slowly, off into infinite distance …

MOOD

The Talisman engenders a definite sense of awe and wonder – a feeling of universal enormity pervades the whole album shot through with delicate filaments of light and colour. In general the mood is one of ponderous, harmonious drama, the occasional dissonant tones and grumbling clouds usually brightened by shifting unseen luminaries. Rather like a series of aural nebulae – each track has its own distinct personality but all clearly share a common structural nature.

ARTWORK

The imagery on this album is very beautiful – fractal swirls and organic loops and skins laid out one on top of another – all in luscious hues of green, olive and pale yellow. The designs were apparently created using Apophysis 2.04 beta – a neat piece of software ideally suited to producing abstract graphics. Subtle olive lettering disturbs the visual impact as little as possible – tidy and tasteful. Internal panels make use of black and white versions of similar images – with an explanation of the project, recording details and contact information laid out in a simple white font.

OVERALL

Max Corbacho seems to be growing in stature with each release – this is a very ambitious sound presented with a high degree of polish and attention to detail. There are eleven compositions on the album, each created sometime between 2004 and 2006. Max’s promotional material explains that «most of these songs were composed during various, long, deep meditative improvisation sessions». Equipment used for the project included «my beloved Korg Triton & Korg Z1, and sound processing outboard expansion units such Reverbs and Delays, as well some other esoteric gear». The results are timeless, placeless, progression free infusions of harmony, floating as if suspended in the vastness of eternity. The Talisman is released via ad21 Music – a label set up in 1998 by Max and fellow musician Bruno Sanfilippo to showcase their own ambient and contemporary electronic music releases.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM

If you like Steve Roach’s work, The Talisman might well be right up your street. Professionally produced ambient grandeur – free of beats and melodies, but thick with tenebrous drones and glowing textural density.