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]

Splendid Labyrinths out May 15. Now taking pre-orders

max — Mon, 11 May 2015 10:22:17 +0000

Dear friends and listeners,
I’m happy to present you Splendid Labyrinths. Following the release of Future Terrain last month, it is the time of the album in which I have worked over the last year and the first months of 2015. I continued my work in the pursuit of purely atmospheric expression, in an attempt to convey this vital experience that pushes us forward in one direction within the labyrinth of life, this way I call The Flowing Path. Splendid Labyrinths is a deep reflection on our journey through life, change, growth, discovery, movement and transformation at every step along the way.
Original cover image rendering, design and layout by Michael Rodríguez Pletz www.domestika.org/es/michaelrpletz.
Released as CD (factory pressed), as digital download through the usual stores (Bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes, etc), and through streaming services (Spotify, Rdio, etc). NOW you can pre-order your CD or Digital copy from my Bandcamp store: http://maxcorbacho.bandcamp.com/album/splendid-labyrinths
Official release day is next Friday May 15.

All the best,
Max Corbacho

THE OCEAN INSIDE – Review by Headphonaught

max — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:00:57 +0000

Loving… «The Ocean Inside» by Max Corbacho.
Music has a special place in my life. It has the power to inspire … the power to encourage and build up in ways the other arts cannot. It is accessible. I can experience poignant moments of joy and beauty in the most unlikely of places … all I need is a pair of headphones, a music-player and the right music.

It has to be right. If the wrong song were to be played, my inspiration will be taken to places I do not want it to go or am ill prepared for at that moment in time.

This is why I love ambient electronic music so much. It consistently takes me to a place of inspiration … a place of rest and relaxation … a place of peace and of beauty.

I’m not decrying other styles of music. Cacophonous sounds have there place … Bolt Thrower have their place in my life and on my music-player. But their style takes me to a different place – a place of energy and movement – rather than a place of peace.

I say all this because I am currently in a place of peace. I am writing this in a very busy Starbucks in Glasgow with the music of «the ocean inside» by Max Corbacho playing on my headphones.

The coffeehouse is teeming with life. Italian Juventus fans are passionately debating their victor over Glasgow Celtic the night before. The bustle is intoxicating and yet I am at peace – inspired by the utterly delightful and deeply immersive soundscapes from Corbacho.

This demonstrates the power of the music presented by Corbacho – layers of synths that lap around the listener like waves of the sea … waves of sound that enthral me … waves that remind me of the simple pleasure of standing barefoot at the edge of the sea … the water lapping at my toes. There is nothing quite like that feeling … and Corbacho has expertly crafted his music to remind us of it.

This is music for the head … music that creates a mental sanctuary from all the busyness that life represents. It affords a time-out that only the best soundscapes can … one that fully immerses and engages the listener … allowing them to let go.

The tracks are expertly blended so that «the ocean inside» feels more like a longform drone rather than a set of disparate tracks. For many this is the best of both worlds … cohesion without the commitment of a single sitting.

Even so, some of the tracks are meatier than others – «towards the bottom of the ocean» (track 8 of the 1st CD) weighs in at 29:31 and «deeper into the ocean» (track 6 of the 2nd CD) comes close at 24:08. The whole recording clocks in at 148 minutes. I find this is remarkable.

In fact, I find the whole release remarkable. It stands out from the ambient set in terms of duration, quality and melody. As such, I would heartily recommend it.
http://www.headphonaught.co.uk/2013/02/loving-ocean-inside-by-max-corbacho.html

Quando Brian Eno ebbe l’intuizione dell’ambient music, le idee si indirizzarono dapprima verso gli spazi definiti (aeroporti, stazioni, etc.) ma furono probabilmente i musicisti ambient statunitensi ad espandere il concetto dello spazio da «ricoprire» facendolo passare da uno ampio ma comunque con dei confini, ad uno vastissimo che non poteva non riguardare gli elementi fondamentali della nostra natura. L’oceano era uno di quegli spazi che pur non avendo il requisito infinitesimo del cosmo, era comunque una delle forze più espanse della terra. Su quest’argomento la musica ha sempre avuto un riferimento, ma solo l’ambient music si prestava ad una descrizione sensitiva più verosimile della realtà sonora: al di là dello sfruttamento ricevuto come musica di riflessione e relax e dell’ambiguità suscitata dall’argomento, versioni «serie» che poggiassero sulla considerazione che si potesse simulare un’esplorazione delle profondità oceaniche non ne vennero fatte poi molte. Uno dei tentativi più riusciti che io ricordo di entrare nella imprescrutabilità delle acque profonde è stato quello profuso da Robert Carty in «Oceanic Space» che strutturò un’intero album dedicato all’argomento (con una lunga traccia «concreta» in cui si raccolgono suoni marini), ma è indubbio che moltissimi musicisti, anche fuori dal genere ambient, si siano avvicinati al tema (in forma non organizzata) conservando la loro prospettiva stilistica. La recentissima pubblicazione di Max Corbacho rientra in quello sforzo musicale teso ad una completa compenetrazione dell’ambiente di viaggio sotto il mare che mira non solo ad una semplice simulazione sonora che faccia godere l’ascoltatore di momenti rilassati di benessere ricostruiti con un «drone» sintetico, ma che faccia rivivere un nuovo senso del viaggio sottomarino, che cerca di catturare l’animo «biologico» delle acque e dei suoi abissi, risultato ottenuto attraverso un lavoro musicale pazientoso tendente all’abbinamento delle due preposizioni «increspature dell’oceano»/»sfaccettature del suono». «The ocean inside» ci fa perdere la memoria del tempo come in un buon film di fantascienza, e attraverso le sue minime e calcolate variazioni, è un colossal sugli effetti pseudo-psicologici provocati da un attento ascolto delle turbe marine: correnti che suscitano idee, spazi di mare inperlustrati che evocano ricordi; sembra di assistere ad un documentario in cui chi prende la parola è il soggetto che si racconta, che sembra allontanare il desiderio di spiegare abusi e soprusi degli uomini e dichiara la propria funzione, ne riconosce la propria importanza e lancia messaggi di spiritualità. E’ incredibile come tutto questo possa essere fatto da un uomo con un semplice sintetizzatore.

Jan Beneš, czech multiculture webzine www.nekultura.cz

max — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

How are you? Who is Max Corbacho? How did you become an ambient artist?

Max Corbacho is simply a human being. The question of who I am is the fundamental question of our life. We are here to remember who we are. So, I’m on it! My relationship with ambient music, began when I heard the great pioneers in the genre such as Steve Roach, Robert Rich and Vidna Obmana., among others.

How is music important in your life?

Music is a form of expression closer to me. In fact any artistic expression, it is. However, the music contains the essence of all and above all, has the ability to introduce us to the great and ineffable mystery of our existence as any other.

Your music induces very spiritual experiences. What emotions do you want to share with your music?

I would like to convey the feeling that everything is within us. The entire universe is hidden deep in there. Often we spend our lives complaining about everything that happens in the world but nobody want to change anything in ourselves. Is the approach we have followed since man is man. Changing everything around us. But we continue like 40,000 years ago. We have gone through thousands of revolutions, wars and conflicts. But we continue like 40,000 years ago. Change, first, ourselves. It is the key. If you change, the world changes. There is only one revolution possible, the Individual Revolution. The world is a reflection of ourselves.

I hope in the emergence of a new global consciousness from the belief that all, are one. Everything is connected.

Where do you get inspiration? Which artists did influence your music?

The inspiration is so volatile that it is difficult to answer this question. Sometimes you must, stay one night in the desert to find it, climb a mountain, and others, comes as you wash the dishes. The question is, why come to us when we are in the desert one night? Well, because at that time, we are ourselves, with nothing, free from the tyranny of our thoughts (which, coincidentally, always refer to past or future, ever, to present). It is in the absence of such a tyranny that we are ourselves. And we are free to create. We must remain at the present moment, minute by minute. The inspiration will be with us. Climbing a mountain or doing the dishes.

There are many artists that influence my music. But fundamentally, on the classical side, Bach, Debussy, Stravinsky and all symphonists of the 20th century.

In the field of jazz, of course Miles Davis, and all masters of the genre.

In electronic music, the great German pioneers, Klaus Shulze, Tangerine Dream, and in the ambient – space music, Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Vidna Obmana and Michael Stearns.

Let´s take a look on your music. You´ve released 9 albums. Which one do you like most? Which one is most important for you and why?

Well, to be honest, I think the work that has made me reach a large number of fans, is «The Talisman». I think not because it is better or worse than others but because, somehow, was an album that all my listeners were waiting, and hit an incredible way with the public.

Recently, your new album Ars Lucis was released. Together with it, your two older albums The Resonant Memory Of Earth and BreathStream were rereleased on CD. Can you tell us shortly about each one of your re-release?

Yes, BreathStream first was released as a digital download-only delivery, at full CD quality through Musiczeit. But during one year, I received many emails from listeners who, I confess, like me, love the physical format, and complaining about the inability to achieve BreathStream on CD. That claim made me decide to edit them in CD format.

And on «The Resonant Memory of Earth», is one of my old works in Space for Music and out of stock. He continued to have high demand, so, too, have made a reissue on our label, ad21music. This time, remastered in 24 bit and with some changes to the artwork.

What is your relationship to eastern spiritual techniques like yoga or meditation in it´s many variants?

Yes, for years I practice yoga and meditation. Thousands of years ago that this knowledge is there, as the only way to free ourselves from our ego, and get to be ourselves. I am an avid reader of Eastern philosophies, but do not stay in the simple reading, because they are only the finger pointing to the moon, not the moon. To make this wisdom, penetrate within, we must practice.

Which synthetizers do you prefer? Do you like pure analog sound, or do you use also digital and software tools and instruments?

I confess that I never had an analog synthesizer. But yes, I have one of that called Analog Modeling, for example, my Korg Z1. I’ve never been an analog purist, I do not like fundamentalism. Surely if ever falls into my hands on a Yamaha CS80 will not say No! I love them! but has not given the opportunity and, frankly, I know friends who have sold them because they are not easy to maintain. My current setup consists of:

– Korg Triton Extreme
– Korg Triton (Classic)
– Korg Z1 expanded
– Novation Supernova
– Soundcraft Mixer
– Lexicon PCM 80 reverb

And an assortment of software sequencers and plug-ins. Most of my music is based on my hardware synths. Although I’ve tried, I could not get comfortable with software synthesizers. I’m an old man!

What are your future plans?

Always continue creating music. It is my vehicle of life. I hope to have this opportunity for very long time. Currently collects new techniques in composition, harmony, and at the level of editing sounds on synthesizers, samplers, etc. Always investigate before starting a new project. I like to offer new things, but always in my style.

ARS LUCIS / Bert Strolember, Sonicimmersion

max — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Bert Strolember, Sonicimmersion

After the gentle ambience of his 2008-release «BreathStream», Max Corbacho takes us to ambient heaven with his release «Ars Lucis». Those familiar with his work know what he’s capable of, spending lots of time in his studio sculpturing and harmonizing a continuous flow of expansive textures, which now have ended up in deep, captivating meditative realms. As Max explains, a main theme runs smoothly through all tracks of the album in a subtle way, «spreading mystical, delicate scents through labyrinthine passages ascending and spiralling to the vaults».

The contemplative, dreamy sphere (with a touch of Steve Roach) created by this long form, highly atmospheric music is a welcome counterpoint for nowadays fast and hectic life. The almost 74–minute outcome on “Ars Lucis” is velvet, celestial music that drift along in multiple colours and through subsequent different sonic zones around its beautiful core. This grand and spacious music reaches for expansive worlds of splendour, of which the mood is already set by the great photography of a French cathedral on the cd-cover.

Nice going, Max!