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

«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!»