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 Richard Gürtler

max — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Max Corbacho «Nocturnes II» CD

The beauty of magnificently immersing nocturnal landscapes of Aragón region in northeastern Spain is resurrected once more! Max Corbacho, the Spanish driftscaper par excellence has released the second chapter of «Nocturnes» series during April 2018 through his Silentsun imprint. «Nocturnes II» CD is packaged in an attractive glossy 4-panel digipak, featuring original cover photographs by Max Corbacho with additional layout work by Michael Rodriguez Pletz.

The opening «Celistia» track clocks over 23-minute mark and immediately takes the listener into awe-inspiring vastness, where undisputable, timelessly gliding and ebbing insignias of its sole purveyor meticulously coalesce with balmily glimmering nightly quietudes and inconspicuously permeating faunal symphonies. A journey through grandiosely barren horizons is fully unfolded, Max Corbacho again unlocks the gates to soulfully fascinating terra incognitas. Indeed, an epic listening experience awaits here! Shorter «Nocturnal Bloom» clandestinely soars into even more expansive grandness, a gracefully colossal realms owned by this Spaniard. It’s a pity not even a 4 minutes long ambrosial exploration is gone too fast. But no worries, almost 9-minute «Starlight Grace», as indicated by its title, steals the splendor with all its panoptically prodigious monumentality, free-floating spatial solitariness is exquisitely juxtaposed with surges of titillatingly mindscaping reverberations. Tenaciously monstrous, pure magic!!! «Heart Of The Night» is another rather ephemeral odyssey, yet intensely engrossing, where all hues of organic tapestries persistently amalgamate with voluminously undulating magmatic stratums. «Indigo Sphinxes In Dark Canyon», at 3:10 the shortest venture on the album, tightly keeps breathtaking tension of its predecessor, but an array of ear-bending piquant meridians steals the whole spectacle. I keep on delving deeply into staggeringly perplexing chasmal domains… «Timelapse» returns to relatively calmer terrains, but sonic metamorphosis seems to be unstoppable and surreptitiously nuanced scenario moves into a profoundly delightful monolithic vertex. Then through peaceful diminuendoing closing this spellbindingly transcendental circle. Big applaud, Maestro!!! 20-plus minutes long «Moon Apparition» delicately reveals the genius loci of these arid sceneries, where gracefully meandering panoramas of dronescapes precisely harmonize with genuinely shimmering nocturnal field recordings and transitorily trenchant climaxes. Tranquilly enveloping conclusion!

No matter if entering enthrallingly overwhelming skylines, nebulously extraterrestrial spheres, mysteriously labyrinthine inner zones, spectacularly subaqueous depths or majestically monumental architectural masterpieces, Max Corbacho always delivers the very best of his virtuosic soundcarving, a rewardingly abundant momentum of tremendously sophisticated wizardry in sculpting powerfully transporting opuses. With gem like 70-minute «Nocturnes II», but also with «Source Of Present», «Nocturnes» and most especially with recently released «Horizon Matrix» (out since November 30th, 2018), Max Corbacho is triumphantly chasing quintessential milestones such as «Ars Lucis» and «The Ocean Inside». Once again, bravo, Maestro!!!
Richard Gürtler (Jan 13, 2019, Bratislava, Slovakia)

SOURCE OF PRESENT – review by Richard Gürtler

max — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

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 – review by SonicImmersion.org

max — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Extreme weather conditions have been a source of inspiration through the years for various ambient composers, just think of Robert Rich («Calling down the Sky») or Steve Roach («Slow Heat», «Storm Warning»).

With «Arte Magnetica» Spanish sound sculptor Max Corbacho delivers his contribution to the subject painting an aural panorama of lush textural expansiveness along slow shapeshifting farscapes echoing the impact and tranquility of long hot summer days. These absorbing, gently morphing and embracing soundscapes travel into the deeper end visiting darker corners on «Monolith» and «Telluric» while starting to resurge into the light gradually from mysterious depths and clouds of dense spheres on the last two tracks of «Arte Magnetica».
Nice going Max!

Photo taken during the sessions of The Ocean Inside

max — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 07:30:12 +0000

This photograph was taken during the recording sessions of The Ocean Inside. Some of the equipment shown here have changed. They were very long sessions. You can listen and buy the album here: https://maxcorbacho.bandcamp.com/album/the-ocean-inside-double-album
Regards!

THE OCEAN INSIDE – Review by Sonicimmersion.org

max — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

After quite a quite a long hiatus, Spanish ambient composer Max Corbacho is back with double album of expertly crafted atmospheric ambient pieces, clocking over 140 minutes.

Bearing the subtitle «slow movements from the depths», Mr Corbacho takes his listeners on an epic and stellar soundscape journey with a vast range of extensive, highly immersive flows and currents.

There’s a beautiful ebb and flow shifting through the emotive and profound ethereal sound paintings, taking the listener out into the spectacular of wide open, constantly shifting spaces which lack any melody.

This uninterrupted smooth alchemy of ambient/space sound architecture connects with the massive sound worlds Mr Roach was known for many years. This accomplished Spanish musician jumped on the power trail of drift music where Steve seems to have lost quite a bit of his magic in recent years, ending each disc with a long dreamy track.

All in all, the long form and beatless «The Ocean Inside» is gently evolving, pure atmospheric bliss evoking a beautiful sense of wonder and awe. This excellently produced and mastered ascent into the deep blue depth is highly recommended.

http://www.sonicimmersion.org/review.php?letter=C&review=72591

THE OCEAN INSIDE – Review by Landscape Music

max — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 08:09:51 +0000

The Ocean Inside is the long awaited new album of Max Corbacho presents an immersive flow of emotional soundworlds and harmonic structures that bring us to the depths of the inner ocean.
Max Corbacho returns with a new work, this time as a long awaited double album, which again immerse ourselves into touching atmospheric ambient realms of pure beauty. The Ocean Inside is a paradise of lush, cascading long chords, as oceanic waves, back and forth, in an eternal flow of shifting tones and spiraling harmonies. This is music aimed at energy, emotional and mental levels, for listeners who love deep, meditative ambient music.

With this awesome album Corbacho portrays a very personal and introspective journey divided in two parts: one in his now classical melodic and cosmic style full of beauty and dreams and the other one introducing a deeper and a bit darker scenario surrounded by massive amounts of pads and drones that takes us to the dephts of serenity, like laying in the ground of an infinite ocean. In the end, this album is just an acurated soundtrack of every human soul.

More than two years ago I started this project from a Eastern concept that has always been present in my work: the analogy that exists between the mind as an ocean, with constantly changing waves at the surface, and the inner stillness and silence at the depths. It is from this seed that brings me to the concept of «Oceanic», the word from which I have been developed each of the parts that make up the album. During the creation of these pieces, I tried to go as deep as I could into this bottomless ocean depths. The Ocean Inside is the record of that dive into the depths, the witness that what matters is not how deep you can go, if not the experience of that moment.

The Ocean Inside is a double album and is now available in ad21 store in 2-CD Digipack format and in Altera Orbe both FLAC and MP3 digital formats. Don’t miss it!!

THE TALISMAN – review by eTripper

max — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A journery across astral realms, and thru magical portals.

by eTripper

«Talisman» conjures-up magical realms, and journeys to alternate realities on this CD. Where the ‘fantastic’ is «always nearer than the nearest heartbeat, and never farther away, than the furthest star». This music shimmers along within the ‘purgatory’ of an endless limbo, with a destination to higher-planes of strange existence, or into realms only whispered about in arcane tongues. Corbacho is a ‘master-craftsman’ who builds upon his layered-synths carefully, and with great deliberance. The result, bestows a breath-taking depth to the moods he wishes to convey. For example, ‘The Endless Knot’ is it just an interesting, perplexing-puzzle; or something, much more than it seems? Which pretty much sums-up Corbacho’s approach to ambient music. If your into electronic other electronic artists like: Thom Brennan, Between Interval, Rudy Adrian, and Meg Bowles. Then this will be another ‘obvious’ download for your electronica library. Check-out Max’s newer offerings too; like «Breathstream» and «Lost Links». Recommended.

DEEP TIME – review by SONIC CURIOSITY

max — Sun, 15 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This release from 2011 offers 74 minutes of sparkling ambience.

Three tracks comprise this release, and they are long, really long, allowing the songs to gradually evolve and excellently establish a mood of cosmic infinity.

Atmospheric tones dominate the first piece, creating a panorama of limitless scope that suits the tenuous music’s sparse definition. Scattered throughout this void are fragile electronics that twinkle like remote stars, tantalizing the flow with their cosmic expressions. Deeper tones slowly enter the mix, establishing a foundation that is elusive and not really a foundation at all, but simply another stage in the constant accretion of sounds that muster to coalesce into these ambient soundscapes. The twinkling diodes persist in resurging, each time bringing with them another taste of infinity. The flow remains harmonic, never achieving any discernible melody, but the structure is rich with vaporous potency. Spoken voice wanders into the mix, whispered at the edge of forever and heralding the advent of a universe to come.

The second track possesses a darker temperament to its minimal definition. The notes strive to inject more density into the gaseous stream, an impending mass that is seasoned by the persistence of those twinkling electronics. As the track progresses, the sparkling embellishments grow more expressive, producing a zone of transition that illuminates the inner mind with their portentous glitter. After a period of recession, the flow reestablishes itself with renewed vigor, smoldering with chilly resonance.

The last track continues in the same vein: peppering remote texturals with twinkling electronics which serve to banish the dark and provide understated effulgence whose distant origins only increase their appeal. The twinkling rise and ebbs, teasing the listener’s psyche with this wandering definition.

Taken as a whole, this album is a wonderful journey deep into realms where substance has no meaning. The compositions urge the listener to cast off their mortal trappings and immerse themselves in an environment devoid of distractions, while the twinkling continues to provide a lifeline that also serves to tickle the psyche into introspection and serenity.

Matt Howarth – SONIC CURIOSITY

www.soniccuriosity.com

DEEP TIME – review by Hypnagogue

max — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Having most recently lifted listeners upward with the celestial/sacred drifts of Ars Lucis, Max Corbacho turns the sound around and heads downward in the penumbral, primal and purposely murky spaces of Deep Time. For people who’ve listened to Corbacho in the past, this new release is a distinct departure, a strictly atmospheric work of formless drifts, painted with cave echoes and rumbling drones with smatterings of disembodied voices rising out of the gloom. It’s not dark ambient per se; it never ventures into anything quite that dense or heavy. Rather, let’s call it grey ambient–it’s dark in a way that leads us to the edge of that shadowy space inside ourselves and then lets our head take over as the sound moves forward. Slight touches of dissonance up the subtle anxiety, from not-quite-in-tune chimes clanging in a phantom wind to anguished curls of sound that rise and fade to mist. Corbacho’s pacing mixes contemplation and suspense, points where the breathing eases to the beatless cadence paired off with sections where some edgy thing in the flow constricts the breath. Entire passages move through, bending time as they go. Deep Time is constructed in three long parts, the shortest coming in at 17 1/2 minutes. Each is a solid long-form piece in itself, sharing a sense of character and theme but still richly individual. Taken together, it’s an hour of mood- and mind-altering ambient.

Corbacho goes all out on Deep Time to sculpt this trio of worlds, daring to take an unfamiliar path and, in the long run, making it distinctly his. It’s a disc that needs to be listened to closely. Each moment is loaded with motion and dimension, Corbacho’s sounds unlocking primal sensations and spinning them off into an isolated mindspace for us to chase after and examine. Spend time in Deep Time–who knows what you might find in there?

THE TALISMAN – review by Colin Lynch

max — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Max Corbacho composed The Talisman between 2004 and 2006 which is essentially made up of a series of beautifully arranged, atemporal, and ocassionaly improvised ambient recordings that all share the artist’s passion for creating atmospheric and deeply contemplative sounds and textures.

Armed with his undeniably perceptive inspirations and imaginings, Max worked tirelessly (particularly with his Korg Triton and Z1) to produce a magnificent album that ranks very highly in the league of major post-2000 contributions to the genre.

» In the planning stage, I have developed an intense activity in deeply programming new sounds in my habitual equipment, my beloved Korg Triton & Korg Z1, and sound processing outboard expansion units such Reverbs and Delays, as well some other esoteric gear. I have tried to create all the songs of this work «inside» my synthesizers exclusively, inside this deeply isolated world, an amniotic-like innerspace that develops in the synth and multieffects circuits, without insert any «external» element except for the voices in the first song. Also, I have experimented more and more with long, spacious reverbs and looping treatments «.

There isn’t one track on this album that I don’t like; all of which, have been carefully crafted with a sense of passion and appreciation that Max has managed to interpret and transform into the kind of waves and peaks we love. Watch out for the incredibly effective use of delay and loops that are blended subtely with some truly enjoyable pads and sweeps.

The Talisman Max Corbacho’s sense of what’s vital in creating and inspiring moods based on a love of life and it’s very important that you share that sense immediately.

Colin Lynch