MAX CORBACHO[Max Corbacho has been creating Ambient Atmospheric – Electronic Music for over two decades, combining spiraling, synth-driven drifting harmonies with breathing, timeless soundscapes.][Ambient Atmospheric – Electronic Music - Soundscapes - Space Music]

NOCTURNES II – review by Textura

max — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Only a few days ago, we described Dennis Huddleston as the «very model of consistency» for the regularity and consistently high quality of his 36 output. Much the same could be said of Max Corbacho, who’s been crafting ambient-electronic soundscapes since 1998. This second chapter in his projected Nocturnes trilogy certainly lives up to its title, its seventy minutes evocative of the unsettling stillness that sets in during the deepest hours of the night. Working with sequencers, synthesizers, samplers, and looping devices, the Barcelona-based producer spent three years bringing Nocturnes II to completion.

In the opening «Celistia,» one of two epics pushing past the twenty-minute mark, Corbacho couples drifting synthesizer washes with the quiet chirp of crickets to leave no doubt as to the time of day in question. Suggesting winds blowing across open fields, slow-motion whooshes accompany those washes to reinforce the image of a barren landscape, while the soft murmur of other creatures embroiders the crickets’ song with additional layers.

As much as the seven parts constitute an integrated whole, there are noticeable differences between them. «Starlight Grace» replicates the glacial unfurl of «Celistia,» though in this case the focus shifts from terra firma to the heavens, the move intimated by a greater emphasis on radiant textures that sparkle and shimmer in equal measure. «Heart of the Night» by comparison exudes the unsettling quality of a nightmare, if one more subtly disturbing than outright harrowing, while the second long-form soundscape, «Moon Apparition,» caps the release with one final deep space music plunge, even if the crickets’ return suggests the experience is originating from an earthly vantage point.

As he’s done on previous releases, Corbacho demonstrates here an undeniable talent for crafting expansive, luminous soundscapes. His music unfolds with patient deliberation, and the control he exercises in weaving his elements together is never less than impressive. Movements seem to generally slow down during the night hours, a phenomenon effectively conveyed by the recording’s serene, mystery-laden meditations.
June 2018

THE OCEAN INSIDE – Review by Hypnagogue.net

max — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 11:12:10 +0000

I happen to live not far from Geoff Small, a partner in the Relaxed Machinery label and an evangelical Max Corbacho fan. I had to drop something off at his house recently, and I mentioned that on my drive I was listening to Corbacho’s latest, The Ocean Inside. He asked me what I thought of it, and I could only reply, “It’s…big.” And so it is. Over the course of two discs and nearly two and a half hours, Corbacho creates immense and immensely calm spaces out of full, sighing synth pads. The tones are warm and welcoming, the movement is gentle and fluid, and it’s mere minutes before you are completely lost within the sound. Corbacho is looking to express “the analogy [of] the mind as an ocean, with constantly changing waves at the surface, and the inner stillness and silence at the depths.” Done. The constant motion is there in the shift and shape-change of the pads; the stillness is there in you as you go deeper into this lengthy excursion. The Ocean Inside is not a release that does anything particularly new with this brand of ambient, this massive, floating construct; it just manages to do it magnificently well. There are no jolts or mis-steps in the two-plus hours. Slight tonal shifts, more attitudinal than anything else, move you through its various phases without ever straying far from the disc’s hushed intentions. Track listings are a mere formality here, as each moment dovetails smoothly into the next. Once you’re inside it, you’re in for the full ride. This is a work that’s perfect for meditation and for true ambient listening. While there is an incredible depth of detail at work, even a passing listen, letting the sound quietly fill your space, is enough to engender a reaction–a deep and personal reaction. Putting either disc on loop is recommended; putting them both in one playlist and looping that for hours on end is even more highly recommended. Max Corbacho has been patiently improving his ambient craftsmanship for years, and The Ocean Inside finds him at perhaps his absolute best. This is a must-listen.