Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

Gorgeous and breathtaking, The Talisman is pure floating space music of the highest caliber. Delicate drifting soundscapes pass effortlessly by. From the opening passages of “Amnios,” there is a metallic shimmer to much of the sonic textures. Layers upon layers of soft sounds are gently weaved together, one sliding smoothly over the top of another. Soft brushes of percussion occasionally appear, maybe an electronic twitter here and there, but such moments are few and far between. “Reborn To Expansion” is softer still, and a shade brighter, although the disc retains a certain enjoyable darkness throughout. “Connected Spirits” Things mellow out even further, if that’s possible, on “Connected Spirits” and “Three Circles.” Low resonant drones rumble along in “Garden of Revealed Flame,” and I imagine a descent into a deep, dark cavern. Thunder-like undercurrents continue on “Ruby for the Sun,” churning restlessly though still quite soothing in their own way. The title track majestically enters, dramatic without being showy, powerful yet understated. “The Endless Knot” coolly mixes dark ambient with deep space; imagine if Steve Roach’s The Magnificent Void collided with “Moogetique” from Klaus Schulze, and it might sound something like this. Shimmering higher glassy timbres tinge “Wind’s Gallery.” Throughout The Talisman, melody and rhythm are virtually nonexistent, leaving only vestiges of music behind. The end result is velvety smooth and very good.

© 2006 Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

Rhys Philip Buckingaham from Nelson, New Zeland

«I discovered Max Corbacho’s rich atmospheric music by chance just as I had found Robert Scott Thompson’s masterpieces of computer generated ambience a year or so ago. Max is a Spaniard whose musical directions certainly are strongly influenced by RST, and also Steve Roach and Michael Stearns. But there is magic lurking in the textured landscapes of sound that Max Corbacho can deliver. There is a depth in his hypnotic layers of ambience that is rarely found anywhere in the world of new age music.And also a challenging variety of sounds as this exciting display of music moves though space and time. In the first three tracks Corbacho delivers a rhythm layed with soothing rich textures that simply fill one with calm and delight. The track ‘Night Caravan’ is one of the most magnificent pieces of ambient music I have ever heard.
Then the aural topography changes to almost tribal rhythms on ‘erosion’ that one can imagine in a remote and desolate desert.From which one then returns to more familiar slopes of ‘Quietness’ or succumb in Corbacho’s ‘Death Valley’. The work ends in triumph or despair in the climax of ‘Vestiges’ where silence becomes buried forever in a
catastrophic thundering finale. All up I rate the work with five stars but probably it should get a fraction less.
The first few tracks get 6 out of 5, but some of the later tracks sound a bit ordinary in comparison.
Buy it if you’re into this kind of music. Then I don’t think you will be disappointed!»