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]

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.

NOCTURNAL EMANATIONS – review by Stéphan Geschiere. Holland journalist

max — Sat, 29 May 2004 00:00:00 +0000

«Max Corbacho, the spanish artist who lives in Barcelona have been quietly working on a new release named «Nocturnal Emanations». well I can tell after some deep listening what a ‘great’ effort this is. A few years ago he surprised us with his strong debut ‘Vestiges’, followed by the glacial, massive and deep atmospherics on ‘Beyond the Immobile Point’ to the long outstretched simmering waves on ‘The Resonant Memory of Earth’, and now he just came around the corner with new inviting deep explorations which draws us back to what he has called ‘the Earthcall’. Always been fascinated and inspired by books, poetry (referring to the intriging lines in the booklet) and of course the beautiful Catalan landscapes of north Spain which has been also greatly influenced Salvador Dali’s works, he makes tremendously mature/mayor efforts on his 4 releases of which ‘Nocturnal Emanations’ is clearly his biggest leap forward. And I was so fortunate to have the first glimp on this very impressive release.

The opening piece ‘A spark of deity’ witnesses us, surrounded by beautiful and intriging use of field recordings, that something is about to come. Slowly from a far distance, thick swelling underground clouds are getting closer and growing bigger, obviously we just have passed our point of no-return.and the adventure starts. The title piece is bringing us to a safer and more comfortable place but we still have to look back over our shoulder. Slowly a pulsing tribal cyber groove gets through, dusty clouds bright twinkling light streams are reaching us and in the meanwhile the groove gets deeper and more powerful into the sublime space of ‘Abandoned wind’ hovering and floating gently around, a feeling of enlightning is reaching us.

Worth to mention again is Max’ use of (processed) fieldrecording, carefully blended with his atmospheres, contributes a rich openness and freshness -I would say- rarely heard. The 5th piece ‘Along the moonlight rift’ starts right off with a fantastic, incredible deep groove, more and more gliding layers of sound are coming in and set course to a powerful setting, the powerful meets the emotional, I guess a favorite space of many. Here, Max clearly shows what he’s capable of. This piece -like the title already suggests- has really the feeling of walking along a giant moonlit ‘rift’ under a huge clear starry night sky. very visceral indeed. From bright skys we step into a morphing and dusty space where -if we want to- ancient singing winds and erosions can be heard and felt, the rhythm here is slow but very intense, like it’s guiding your bloodflow. Speaking about fractal rhythms patterns, on the 7th piece, an elastic groove seems to dance it’s own way through thick fog banks, playing this one loud is an experience on it’s own. The last and probably my most favorite piece ‘Birthplace of the occult fire’ is leaving us in a place where life floats forever. just beautiful.

It’s obvious that Max has a perfect grasp on his machines and knows very well how to set his tone colours through the various stages. After many listening, still new structures and layers can be heard, the repeat mode is definitely a must here to feel Max’ -deep- shifting rides. Each of his disks has a distinct sound and feeling with strong desire and I feel that ‘Nocturnal Emanations’ is topping that. It has been some time ago that a record had such grip on me. I’m very sure that this disk will appeal to many of us. All I can say is; well, well done Max!»

MARGEN MAGAZINE

max — Thu, 27 Nov 2003 00:00:00 +0000

MARGEN Magazine # 27 Nov. 2003 Spain by Rafa Dorado. Interview with Max Corbacho & Bruno Sanfilippo

– How did this collaboration between two musicians that on paper develop, if not antagonistic, at least different styles arise?

Max: Our first personal encounter was through Free Records, label where I edited my first CD Vestiges. When Bruno arrived to Spain they told him there was this crazy man who also made ‘special’ music for their label. We met and, personally, when I heard Bruno’s music and we talked about our passion for it, I knew we were soul mates. In the summer 2002 we made a trip to the south of Spain, to the supernatural and silent Natural Park of Cabo de Gata, in Almeria to be precise.

Bruno: We loved the place with its weird landscapes and all. We took pictures and audio samples of bugs and other curious things. Being marvelled with this place, we decided to create music that reflected how this place made us feel. The result was Indalo. It was an interesting fusion where we both moved away a little from our usual style, and that turned out to be a good thing, even nourishing!

– Listening to the song you include in MDEA vol. 8, under which lines did you decide to work together? Was there any previous planning or it came up improvising?

Max: There had been some improvising sessions and also an exchange of tracks that later on were treated and processed by each in his studio.

Bruno: Yes, both things have happened. I had never worked in this way. You brainstorm the ideas, like ‘splashing a canvas’, until, little by little, the work begins to shape up. When various ideas are presented we choose our next step. The truth is that you have a good time doing it and we enjoy the outcome. We like to think Indalo has elements from both of us

– Each of you are about t release new albums, in both of them you can clearly see an evolution in the sounds. Bruno’s music in Visualia is more and more luminous and environmental (except for the intro in part 5 that connects mysteriously and anthropologically with the Mexican Jorge Reyes or the American Steve Roach for example), while Max’s, in Nocturnal Emanations, deepens more in the cave like and earthly sounds. Lets just say that while Bruno is looking at the sky Max is looking at the depths of the planet and the thickest cosmos. I’d like you to comment, separately, on the motivations and changes in these new works, and insist on the fact of how you joined your strength in the same direction.

Max: I believe that these two works, Visualia and Nocturnal Emanations, are closer than between Bruno’s Suite Patagonia and my The Resonant Memory of Earth. Anyway, notice how in these two we talk about nature as the argumental base of the albums. In the new records, the approach is given by the use of the atmospheres and textures, we both bet closer to the ‘ambient’ concept. It is true that Bruno’s music has a ‘sacred’ component that invites us to look up to the sky –your appreciation seems accurate to me. And my music also tends to be cave like and earthly landscapes. But you should never forget there’s no earth without sky.

Bruno: I agree with Max. Besides, the album Indalo is our musical version of the volcanic atmosphere of Cape Gata and its strange beauty. It is also true that the colour of the sound changed but it is quite possible that every musician composes a work in relation to what he is living at that moment. It also lies in the huge ocean of its own memory. It seems to me that there’s nothing static, even less in our restless minds. As you can see, Max’s sound has evolved too. But anyway, there are artists who like to linger on known places.

– Bruno, Visualia is a very different to Suite Patagonia. The expansive character, almost movie-like, and the musical production of Suite Patagonia turns into a much more introspective record in Visualia, it’s less melodious and much more armonic with a minimalist character.

Bruno: It is pretty clear, basically, Suite Patagonia is more symphonic and poetical. On the other hand, in Viusalia I see the slow swirling ambience, it has other kind of depth. Let me see… I would say it’s an introspective CD, in a way I try to make the music awake those images that are hidden in our memory as if they were unconscious whispers. At least that’s from where I wrote it. But I still don’t know how people is going to react, it’s too new. The work may invite us to move to a timeless inner dimension, promoting the imagination and fantasy, I hope.

– There are great creations in Visualia, Visualia III for example. We are facing a visual, touchable and descriptive music. How do you develop that capacity to describe images, which are different for each listener, with music?

Bruno: Honestly, I’m really happy that you liked the album. Well, at least Visualia III looks like it. Thanks!

Each composition in the album is represented by an image by Janet Parke, an US artist that makes some drawings with very inspiring fractals. We sensed with Janet a very strong aesthetic bond between our works. But as you said, each listener makes his own visual trip. I don’t know how it happens. Of course, every artist is interested in the effect of their work, that his art provokes a certain emotional effect. Visualia contains interwoven pieces of a continual but almost imperceptible transformation. They appear, in different planes, countless sounds of organic texture that may create reminiscences of the earth and its inhabitants. I believe Visualia isn’t hard on the ears but I don’t believe it’s for listening it in the kitchen while you are making macaroons either.

-Max, you’ve always been labelled as the follower of advanced student of Steve Roach. Anyway, throughout your recordings you can clearly see your personal contributions to that sound that evolved form the American space to what it is today. From my point of view, your music is more lyric and organic than the one from the American master. They are very personal and hard to explain details but how would you explain your musical evolution from the arrogant Vestiges up to today?

Max: First of all, I’d like to thank the great American masters like Rich, Roach, etc because they showed to a whole new generation the way to the unexpected moment.

As regards my evolution, you can analyse it basically through two aspects. First, my personal, psychic growing as an individual evolution, and continual discovery of the surrounding world (trips, personal experiences, etc). I think this conditions me extraordinarily, and the growth and enrichment is translated into the music. Secondly, as son of the time I had to live in, technology pushes me to experiment and search for new roads and new frontiers to explore every day. I often have the feeling – I talk about this in Nocturnal Emanations script – that my music shifts as a live organism and, at this point, this evolution points to a greater abstraction, as if the elements of which it was made of at the beginning , as in Vestiges, were dissolving little by little, mixing and flowing really slowly, creating new structures and textures in an eternal mutation.

– Max, where would you say your music stands in a physical plane? In the cosmos, the depths of the earth, half way?

Max: In «Far Beyond the Immobile Point» I tried to recreate the poetical universe in which Umberto Eco situated his pendulum, in the remotest place of cosmos. Up to now that was my only incursion to ‘the space’. Now I stay half way. I’m interested in the earth as the scenery of my music. I have the constant need of escaping from the city and feel that surface. I prefer lonely places where the man doesn’t disturb the silence. Perhaps this is an echo from my early years which took place in a lonely farmhouse in Badajoz province. A place where time goes by slowly, where the view gets lost in the horizon and the word ‘space’ makes sense.

– You both are musicians that have always shown interest in the ethnic and tribal things. Bruno made that pretty clear in the master piece Suite Patagonia. And Max has always incorporated in his sounds chamanic percussion. Up to what point do you feel incorporated to the ethnical musical world?

Max: I’ve always felt an absolute fascination for the ancestral cultures and, of course, by its music. In Vestiges, as a declaration of principles, the first piece, Desolada, already presents those powerful ethnical percussion. I’m still investigating into that kind of music so as to enrich myself with all that wisdom and magic in involves. Now, I’m fascinated with the Bereber music. Recently, I was able to hear it live on a trip to Morocco. I was so impressed by it that I now have a fusion project with some of its elements. Due to the evolving process of evolution I was talking about earlier, that is the dissolution of the basic element that make up my music, also the percussion are more abstract every time. For example, the ones in Nocturnal Emanations are basically tribal grooves that have been conveniently treated so as to acquire a synthetic quality but keeping the root and ethnical character.

Bruno: I’m attracted by the idea of composing incorporating sounds of different cultures. I believe that the purity of its fragrance contributes with a strong emotional content. I also believe that part of its ‘visual’ things in my music has to do with that evoking to the sonorous origin of the man. I also use the timbric of the synthesiser trying to create an ocean of latent images. I’m convinced that the ‘sonoric psico-ambients’, so to name them, will be more developed in the future music.

– Is there something you would like to say apart from all the things I would have liked to ask but I didn’t have time to?

Max & Bruno: We just wanted to thank your interest in our music. Your questions have been interesting and pleasant to answer. I hope we can enjoy, for a long time, your prestigious magazine and its CDs.

AMAZING SOUNDS

max — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Interview with Max Corbacho, Conducted by Egdar Kogler

Max Corbacho started a solo career in the Ambient scene of the nineties. His amazing music soon attracted a remarkable attention. His albums are full of daring ideas.

How and when did your interest in music and your vocation as a composer begin?

«I began to get interested in music since I was very young, but it was listening to old records by bands from the 1970’s when I felt the need to create. On the whole, all the artists in that era fascinated me, from the legendary Pink Floyd to the most metallic Led Zeppelyn of their first years. I started in Rock bands as a guitarist… till in the early 1990’s I abandoned everything so as to create electronic music.»

Which is the process you usually follow to create a musical piece?

«I don’t have a definite «method», yet I certainly have experienced an evolution. Nowadays I use the sequencer less than I used to, I intend my themes to become freer with respect to their rhythm and tempo. Right now I divide my time into creating acoustic loops from outdoor recordings and in the studio, and the creation of rhythmic computer-generated grooves, and I then coverall that with layers of synthesizers and it receives the final treatment.»

Do you consider yourself to be linked to a given musical label in particular? Do you feel or have you ever felt influenced by other musicians in your artistic task?

«Certainly, yet I rather feel I am related to a current, rather than to a given label. Obviously, the influence of such musicians as Vidna Obmana, Robert Rich or Steve Roach is undeniable in my work, and therefore I feel quite close to all the American ambient space scenery,as well as its European representation with such people as Alio Die, Mattias Grassow, Amir Baghiri, Temps Perdu, etc.»

Which are your sources for inspiration when composing?

«Basically my travels, outings and excursions to places where I feel myself far from civilization: I was born and spent the early years of my childhood in a small «cortijo», a typical country household, in the province of Badajoz, and later I spent every summer there during the following years. Somehow my subconscious always wants to return to that place, and I continuously look for places far away from noise to spend my free time, to photograph them and somehow capture threir atmosphere.»

Can you comment on what role Umberto Eco’s literature played in your album «Far Beyond The Immobile Point»? What did you want to express in this album?

«It was the first chapter what wholly captivated me. The poetic vision of the universe Eco describes,

and the vision of the pendulum the main character has, as he imagines how strings hold it stretching into infinity, up to a remote place the imagines as the «immobile point», the place where it is anchored, and around which the entire universe revolves, inspired me profoundly.»

What led you to compose «The Resonant Memory of Earth»? Did you propose to create a work related to Earth from the beginning?

«Yes, in «The Resonant…..» I finish some paths I started in «Vestiges», and plan it as an analysis of my feelings, my sensations at the moment of finding myself in some lost place in the midsrt of nature. Actually, it is a question I meditate on, wondering why many people like myself pick this call, poetically referred to as «the resonating memory of Earth·, whereas others never have this need in all of their lives. I also need to contribute somehow to making many people aware as they do not realise the harm they do to the natural environment.»

Tell us about your relationship with Bruno Sanfilippo. Are you planning to release an album together? What do you think of his musical style?

«Bruno and I are preparing a CD together, that’s right. We have connected very well at a personal level, and we have just had a vacation together with our respective wives in the south of Spain. We have the project of giving concerts jointly in the near future and it even is possible that we create our own label. With respect to his musical style, I believe there are several surprises in store for his fans, and some of the traits that were suggested in «Suite Patagonia», such as the taste for ambiences and atmospheric music, are going to get a thoroughly important role in his future works.»

Can you comment something about the projects you are working on and your plans for the immediate future?

«Yes, basically, I am currently working on two new projects , one being on a «techno-tribal» wave, based on rhythms generated via computer, and another maybe somewhat darker, without percussion and in a way following in the wake of «Far Beyond The Immobile Point». Also, there is my collaboration with Bruno Sanfilippo, as well as another two projects, one with Amir Baghiri and the other with Ran Kirlian, a young musician from Valencia who appears to be very promising indeed, having several surprises in store, in the near future.»

INDALO / Chuck van Zyl, «Star´s End

max — Wed, 19 Mar 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Chuck van Zyl, Host of «Star´s End

On Indalo (70’50»), Max Corbacho and Bruno Sanfilippo collaborate to produce a musical crosscurrent of directions and influences. This work tells of a shared spiritual imagination and of the steps each artist has taken toward enlightenment. Their detailed harmonic soundscapes portray the vast expanse of a timeless panorama. Travelers through this dark sonic landscape become part of the view – as are the composers, seen hovering around their musical themes. Elsewhere, lost within atonal washes, we peer into darkness. In these passages, the sustained ambiguity of this work converges with a profound stillness, and the strange rush of your own blood. Indalo is a ceremonial work based on the power of an inspirited place. Of all artforms, music has the unique ability to depict more than simply one moment frozen in space – and just as reality evolves over time, so does this album. It is a transportive listening experience and a fulfilling distraction to the psychological disquiet of the modern world.

THE RESONANT / Stéphan Geschiere

max — Wed, 06 Nov 2002 00:00:00 +0000

Stéphan Geschiere, independent reviewer, Holland

«Wow, what a impressive release Max did! It was really worth waiting for. Knowing Max’s other well received releases ‘Vestiges’ and ‘Far beyond the Immobile Point’, this one is ‘even’ more overwhelming to me.. The 4 pieces takes you into new ‘enlightning’ places… The opening piece ‘Remote Sensing’ starts with long stretched breathing sounds and .. then after 10 minutes it changes into a some darker -incredible- powerfull space (but which is never forced). It sounds / feels like a approaching desert storm of an unknown

measure & power. I haven’t heard such an endearing sound in some time…wow..

After this giant storm we gather into a cristal-clear, serene and very silent out-stretched place. A place of loneliness as well as a place where a feeling of warmth embraced you. Quite ‘visceral’ to me! Remarkable, but while writing this review and hearing those pieces at

the same time, I realize how well the titles describe those ‘images’. ‘Magenta beauty’ has a similar feeling. I really like those metallic-like floating sounds. The final piece, continues the beautiful shimmering warm waves of sound with an excellent, entrancing rhythm-pattern, into -I wish- a never ending place… Definitely a ‘very’ inspired, oh so..subtle album which give each listen something new… Max’s travels to such -quiet- places as the African Sahara Desert, los Monegros in Aragon, province Lleida and Cap de Creus (which was also a inspiring / inviting place to Salvador Dali) in Catalonia brings him to new levels of psychically awareness, so to be heard. Highly recommended..

VESTIGES / Eclectic Earwig Reviews

max — Wed, 01 Mar 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Eclectic Earwig Reviews: JazzFusion, Progressive Rock, and Beyond / Hannah M.G.Shapero www.geocities.com/trogotagel

«The mood of Vestiges is consistently contemplative and serene, the tempo always slow-moving. It is perfect music for dreaming and relaxation, for taking inner journeys to that beautiful, windswept uncrowded place which only exists within our minds. There is none of the angst of the «dark-ambient» type here, but it isn’t over-sweet either. I find myself listening to it again and again, finding a bit of serenity each time».