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!

Ambient Soundscapes from Spain: an interview with Max Corbacho

Max, what were your first steps in music…. how did you get involved in electronic music?

During a long time, my first favorite groups were the big dinosaurs of the symphonic rock, Pink Floyd, Yes, Kansas, Genesis… and kindred bands. Besides, I felt a growing need to do this music myself. I bought my first instrument in those days, a Spanish guitar, which was followed by an acoustic guitar and then an electric one. For some years I played the electric guitar in several rock bands. Little by little, my love for the guitar began to calm down as my interest moved to other types of music, especially the ancient music, baroque in particular. I also began to listen to the classic artists of EM such as Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and some Americans like Richard Burmer. One night as I was visiting the house of a couple of friends, I found a cd with a beautiful photography of the American desert among their discs. I’d always liked those places, I usually visit them in Spain. I played the disc and in seconds I felt like «this is what I’ve always looked for and I’ve just found it». That was the first time I heard the music Steve Roach, Michael Stearns and Kevin Braheny and the cd «Desert Solitaire». To me it was my start in the electronic music…

How would you describe your music? Some called you «the Spanish Steve Roach» after they heard you first album….

I think that my music rises out of a desire to recreate what happens in nature, the endless source of visual and sonic richness. I try to figure out the mystery that makes us admire the beauty of natural surroundings, its simplicity, mystery of repetition etc.

I try «to amplify» the sounds, the textures of natural environments in the space and in the imagination, to discover zones that though they exist, they are not evident at first.

Thus, I don’t try to imitate real sound landscapes, my intention is rather to produce events, textures and phrases that are analogous in the richness of possibilities and variety of shades. I also intend to transmit that organic richness, the same emotion, reverence and passion that I feel for life, the world, the people…

Yes, some people call me the Spanish Steve Roach, but I honestly believe that Roach’s quality is so big and unique, of such impact in the music of our days, that any comparison is useless. His influence is evident in my music and in that of thousands of artists in the whole world. I hope to continue learning from him for many more years.

Can you tell us something about each of you albums, how they were made, what concepts you had in mind…

I made my debut «Vestiges», with few resources but a lot of patience. As a declaration of principles, I formed my musical direction with it: atmospheric environmental sounds with driving electronic percussion.

It was privately produced and stayed unnoticed for more than a year, until Cliff Tuell (Steve Roach’s webmaster) accidentally entered my web site and listened to the audio clips. From there on, and due to the positive comments of fans in the US I began selling my cds. My second album, «Far Beyond The Immobile Point», was an attempt to find another occult face of my music. It would have been easier to do compose another «Vestiges», which would have sold even better for sure, but I decided the new album should be something completely different. «Far Beyond … » was inspired by the first chapter of Umberto Eco’s novel «Foucault’s Pendulum». Eco’s poetical vision of the universe presented in his work inspired me to do a much more introspective and contemplative work. The music breaths far more abstraction and the lack of rhythm and percussion reinforced my vision of remoteness in the universe.

With «The Resonant Memory of Earth», I returned to the basics of «Vestiges». My passion for natural, desolate and remote places always inspired me. With a succession of quiet sounds and harmonies I recreated my feelings on these environments. It was a very emotive work for me, it coincided with a journey to the Sahara desert in Morocco where I explored the corners of my mind in search of answers.

«Nocturnal Emanations» was a new exploration of dark and desolate territories. Here, the magic mutation of the natural forms inspired my synthesizer grooves and sequences It was a new form of composition that I had never tried and that I’m still exploring. I began to generate a series of sounds obtained from field recordings, samples, etc. From then on, I started to morph all the sounds that, as seeds, were growing and transforming into something totally different, though preserving the characteristics of the initial seed. The grooves were treated in the same way.

«Indalo» was the first work with my friend Bruno Sanfilippo. He had just come from Argentina and that was the moment we met. We traveled together to Almeria, the desert south of Spain. The place astonished us and we decided to do something to reflect its nude beauty. I believe this disc is probably the darkest of my career, but it has a supernatural beauty.

And finally there’s my last work «Moontribe», a collection of both new and past pieces. Perhaps it’s here where I have developed more deeply my passion for morphing groovescapes and the surrounding atmospheres. It has coincided with the arrival of new equipment into, and it can be considered as a disc of transition, probably of what is forthcoming.

In this work I basically present a few compositions that were intended for collaborations. These collaborations were not produced due to different reasons, but one day, revising my tracks, I decided to use them in my new project. Fortunately everything began to take form and I completed it with adding three new pieces. I am very satisfied with the final result, especially its variety and richness.

Do you set yourself certain goals when composing new music or putting together an album?

Yes, I always try to improve and explore new ways in every new work. The artistic creation is a mental state that makes us feel life in all its intensity, but to come to this mental state everything must flow calmly. I practically try to revive all my experiences lived up to the moment, the ideas then flow and the mystery of the creation takes place.

How did you meet Bruno Sanfilippo?

When Bruno arrived at Spain, he contacted a record company in Barcelona to distribute his music in Spain. There he heard about me as it was the label where I had edited «Vestiges». We met each other and we decided to join our efforts in the diffusion of our respective careers. A great friendship was born out of this professional relationship.

What made you both decide to start your own record company ad21 music? How’s the company doing so far?

Releasing not dance-oriented electronic music is really complex nowadays. The distribution channels are rather complicated and sometimes you lose the control on what you do because there are few economic resources. The big record companies do not have this problem (though they have others), they count with a great structure and they work as refined companies where everything, even the smallest detail, is under control. This is not what generally happens in the small record companies, where the artist is inevitable damaged in the end. Today, private release seems to be one of the few alternatives that’s left for us. Furthermore, the internet and the piracy have changed the concept of releasing and selling music. We are in a deep moment of change and a classic conception of a record company does not work in these days. However, Bruno and I decide to start this venture; it is not easy due to the infinite details one must bear in mind. We’ve edited «Indalo», Bruno´s «Ad Libitum» and my own album «Moontribe» under our record label «ad21music». In all it was quiet exhausting since the three cds appeared at the same time. But, looking back on it, it’s an experience that was worth the effort. We will try to continue releasing our music through our label, but we will also consider releasing music of other musicians. The contact is always interesting and besides, every company record has its particular network that provides a general idea of the market.

What contacts do you have with other e-musicians? Is there anyone you’d like to work together sometime?

I usually contact many artists to exchange opinions and trade our cds. I remember one of the first was Jeff Pearce; I had edited «Vestiges» and he kindly commented the curious coincidence that the name of one of his disks was also «Vestiges». We exchanged our same titled cds and I discovered a great artist. Until then, I had never heard about him or his music. There were many other artists after him. We have even started a collaboration with Amir Baghiri; it’s on hold for the moment but it will probably come out some day.

I also have close contacts with musicians of the Barcelona scene, such as Dom F. Scab, John Lakveet, Odracir Lavid, Sergio Koval, etc. No doubt I’d like to work with many other artists, especially with the followers of the «Californian» school that I feel stylistically closer to.

Max, what’s your opinion about today’s electronic ambient music, how do you think it will develop?

There are two questions to analyze here: the artistic and the commercial one. Artistically, we are living a great moment, there are loads of artists doing big works and this is a good thing. The genre is evolving towards new forms and new ideas are born every day. Certainly, the technology encourages this bloom.

The other issue, the commercial one, seems to move in the opposite direction. The enormous amount of new music, ambient, space, electronic, etc. and the almost total oblivion of big means of diffusion of this genre make it very difficult to survive to it. I visualize this as two big waves, two big cycles evolving very slowly and, in any moment, maybe will coincide in a point, since everything is a cycle. I believe we must be ready for the moment we might benefit from the cycle.

What musical plans do you have in mind for the near future?

Right now I’m working on two new works. One continues the Techno-Tribal wave of «Moontribe», with new grooves and soundworlds.

The second one is a project that is called «The Talisman». I have been working on it for two years and it will probably take its definitive form somewhere this year. There will be no percussion on this disc and it will be my more atmospheric work until now. Part of this material was heard at my recent concert in Barcelona with Bruno Sanfilippo. For that occasion the pieces were accompanied by grooves, but in their final version they will be purely atmospheric.

You just mentioned the recent concert with Bruno Sanfilippo last February. Was this your first live-concert, how did things work out? Did you make any recordings of it?

Actually I had performed live before and I knew the pressure and the nerves before a performance. This was my first performance as an electronic musician and I’m quite satisfied with the outcome. Part of the success was due to having shared the work with my friend Bruno Sanfilippo.

In addition to this, we have relied on the collaboration of an excellent team of technical personnel, especially our visual effects technician did a great job.

All the pieces played at the concert were performed for the first time. Some of them are destined for new projects, others will be processed again to create new forms. Bruno and I first recreated the essence of «Indalo», our collaborative cd. Then each one has done a solo part with new tracks. We are planning to publish sound clips, video clips and photos of this event on our own web pages.

Website: www.maxcorbacho.com

Paul Rijkens, Dutch progressive rockmagazine iO Pages

On his records, Spaniard Max Corbacho follows the footsteps of the groundbreaking American ambientcomposer Steve Roach. He does this solo and in collaboration with somebody like Bruno Sanfilippo on the CD Indalo (look in iO Pages 54 for a review). The on CDR released Moontribe contains four tracks from the period 2000-2001 that not have seen the light earlier and two new pieces from 2003. Corbacho’s music is high-grade, intense and very relaxing. The tribal rhythms that know so well from Roach are present regularly, just as the most fantastic ambientsounds that are created with much care. These sounds form a warm bed as cover for the special rhythms. Unknown Radiance is a great example of this. Corbacho’s music is really of the biggest quality. Actually he goes further there where the music of Roach has become a little less good the last years. The unbelievable great and intriguing atmosphere of tracks like Across The Spectrum and the titletrack are of an unprecedented beauty that I consider masterpieces. In the genre this is the absolute top.

© 2004 – Paul Rijkens, Dutch progressive rockmagazine iO Pages.

Bert Strolenberg, Journalist & Senior editor E-dition Magazine

“Indalo” is the first full-length collaborative effort of these 2 musicians, who made their own music-business by starting ad21 Music. The concept-album is named after an old Andalusian symbol which still can be found in nowadays Spain. In 2001 Corbacho & Sanfilippo made a journey to a natural park in the south of Spain, where they were overwhelmed by strong impressions & strange beauty of the landscape. Later on they decided to transform them into ambient music. Well, the two have done an excellent job: “Indalo” offers a tremendous atmosphere in which vast textures carry the listener away, accompanied at times by sophisticated tribal percussion. It’s equal to Steve Roach in his best days, where the same beauty lies deep within the carefully crafted soundscapes. Both the darker and lighter shades of life seem to meet in this ongoing journey, ranging from cosmic territory before spiralling down to earth again. This is magnificent stuff, one that deserves a high recommendation.

Bert Strolenberg  E-dition magazine

Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

I only became aware of Bruno Sanfilippo this year, as he sent me a couple of his solo works, richly complex music that defies easy categorization as ambient, new age, or something else. On this release, he teams up with a familiar favorite, Max Corbacho. We get started right away with the centerpiece, the 20-minute “Indalo.” Bright feather-light metallic shimmers surround a strange swirling siren song. Melancholy strings meld into the mix, as does lightly shuffling percussion that gradually grows until it is front and center. Allowed to dominate briefly, the beat then fades entirely from view, leaving the smoothly spiraling drones in its wake. Birds add a nice touch at the end. Gently lapping waves mark the seamless transition to track two, a subtly shifting slice of ambience. In the running for my favorite ambient song title is “Lava Atmospheres,” an expansive piece with deep echoes and just the right degree of graininess and grit. Even more reverberant is “Cabo de Gata,” firmly in the realms of Steve Roach’s The Magnificent Void. I always gravitate toward Roach as a reference point when discussing Max’s work, and this collaboration with Bruno is no exception. But I never mean it as anything but a compliment. There is plenty of room for Roach and Corbacho in the genre, and Sanfilippo is certainly welcome too, given the fine results here.

© 2004 Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

Although he has explored darker ambient before, as on the excellent Resonant Memory Of Earth, this time Spaniard Max Corbacho truly delves right into the source of things that go bump in the night – or in this case, drones that echo resonantly into caverns of infinity.

“A Spark of Deity” has crickets, low rumbles, restless churning, and all sorts of wondrous textures that reach out into the darkness. There is an undercurrent like slowly moving water, hints of noise that vaguely resemble percussion, otherwordly stuff. After this auspicious start comes the title track, bringing more remnants of dark memories, strands of dreams, images of caverns and precipices. This one floats a bit more, though dripping water or a shifting pebble occasionally become audible.

“The Slow and Wandering Dust” glides into sounds similar to Steve Roach’s fractal grooves – and a great groove it is. Bright shimmering synths float over the top, reminiscent of older Roach like Dreamtime Return perhaps. It rides the groove out for several minutes before settling down just a bit, though some semblance of rhythm continues to the end. The delicate floater “Abandoned Wind” is a beautiful counterpoint to those rhythms.

The deeply tribal “Along the Moonlit Rift” is another high point. “Deep, Ancient” says as it does, a sparse abstract selection that is yet another winner.
Dark ambient fans rejoice.

© 2004 Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

Phil Derby / Exposé Magazine

«mp3.com’s loss is Tony Gerber’s gain. As musicians leave mp3.com in droves following its restructuring in 2001, Gerber’s SpaceForMusic.com label is grabbing up a fair number of them. Gerber does a fair job of separating the wheat from the chaff with artists like Craig Padilla and Max Corbacho now in the fold.

Corbacho continues in the musical direction he forged on Vestiges and Far Beyond The Immobile Point, moving ever outward into the reaches of deep space music. Whereas Vestiges had some tribal elements, his next release was more expansive, and this CD continues that trend even further. Though technically four tracks, there is a continuous flow of 73 minutes of surreal soundscapes. Long slow synth pads, lush and thick, draw the listener in, with plenty of atmospheric touches and effects. «Remote Sensing» does nothing to dispel the notion that Corbacho is the «Spanish Steve Roach,» as this compares favorably with notable Roach works like The Dream Circle and The Magnificent Void.

Bright shimmering sounds meld with dark churning drones to great effect. The rich metallic character reaches its peak in «Magenta Beauty,» as the music conjures up vivid mental pictures. The 38-minute title track closes the disc out in dreamy style. The entire disc will send you into a deep reverie you

won’t soon want to leave.

]]> 357 https://maxcorbacho.com/vestiges-phil-derby-expose-magazine/ Mon, 18 Dec 2000 00:00:00 +0000 https://maxcorbacho.com/vestiges-phil-derby-expose-magazine/ Leer más]]>

Phil Derby / Exposé Magazine

«Vestiges is a great ambient expanse of soundscapes much in the style of Roach, but with a Spanish flair, particularly in the percussion that is added. This is immediately evident on the first track, «Desolada.» Despite a healthy dose of drums, the sweeping synthesizer textures that surround them convey a sense of calm. Like much of Roach’s more organic works, the music lives and breathes. «Night Caravan» continues the feeling of spaciousness, as the ambient sounds envelope the very pleasant drumming. Slightly more active at first is «First Rain,» but the relaxing ebb and flow continues thoughout. In fact, the drums disappear for the first time over the latter half of this track. The drumming returns, slightly more tribal, on «Erosion.» Throughout, one is reminded of classic Steve Roach discs like Dreamtime Return, or Desert Solitaire.

Titles like «Death Valley» draw such comparisons even closer. This is the sparsest piece,though each of the last three tracks is very free flowing, very ambient, with little or no percussion. The title track has some brighter tones mixed in, and reminds me somewhat of American space music artist Glenn Deardorff. It makes a perfect closer to an extremely relaxing and very enjoyable CD.

Phil Derby / Sequences Magazine

«Drawing on influences of the best of floating ambience, from Steve Roach to Robert Scott Thompson, Spaniard Max Corbacho places his own stamp on the genre with his second CD, a solid follow-up to his very good «Vestiges» CD. The tribal elements have been stripped away this time around, leaving a sparser, sometimes darker sonic landscape. From the high soft shimmers of «Primigenial Frontier» to the low rumblings of «Predawn Darkness,» the mood throughout is haunting and dramatic, yet serene and beautiful. «Predawn Darkness» in particular walks the tightrope between darkness and beauty quite admirably. Roach fans will at once think back to his epic, «The Magnificent Void.» The deep, low drones are first rate, and the feeling of expansiveness is palpable. «The Threshold» has a metallic character, almost but not quite shrill, with rich tonal qualities. An undercurrent of strange percolating noises really enhances the atmosphere. Not all is darkness and crevasses, however. «Invisible Jewell» has elegance and warmth, though it is still rooted firmly in ambient rather than new age realms. This is perfectly soothing, comparing favourably with Thompson’s excellent work, «The Silent Shore.» «The Great Sparkling Dome» is also a bit brighter in parts, but still tends toward minimal broad strokes of sound, becoming almost silent here and there. It is very calming and relaxing with just the right tinges of darkness. «Soundless Sign» is, as it implies, the quietest track, approaching soft stillness. Finally, the 20-minute title track wraps things up perfectly, slowly shifting and drifting to a sparkling, spacious conclusion.»

(2000 © Phil Derby / Sequences Magazine)

(2000 © Phil Derby / Sequences Magazine)