THE OCEAN INSIDE – Review by Hypnagogue.net

max — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 11:12:10 +0000

I happen to live not far from Geoff Small, a partner in the Relaxed Machinery label and an evangelical Max Corbacho fan. I had to drop something off at his house recently, and I mentioned that on my drive I was listening to Corbacho’s latest, The Ocean Inside. He asked me what I thought of it, and I could only reply, “It’s…big.” And so it is. Over the course of two discs and nearly two and a half hours, Corbacho creates immense and immensely calm spaces out of full, sighing synth pads. The tones are warm and welcoming, the movement is gentle and fluid, and it’s mere minutes before you are completely lost within the sound. Corbacho is looking to express “the analogy [of] the mind as an ocean, with constantly changing waves at the surface, and the inner stillness and silence at the depths.” Done. The constant motion is there in the shift and shape-change of the pads; the stillness is there in you as you go deeper into this lengthy excursion. The Ocean Inside is not a release that does anything particularly new with this brand of ambient, this massive, floating construct; it just manages to do it magnificently well. There are no jolts or mis-steps in the two-plus hours. Slight tonal shifts, more attitudinal than anything else, move you through its various phases without ever straying far from the disc’s hushed intentions. Track listings are a mere formality here, as each moment dovetails smoothly into the next. Once you’re inside it, you’re in for the full ride. This is a work that’s perfect for meditation and for true ambient listening. While there is an incredible depth of detail at work, even a passing listen, letting the sound quietly fill your space, is enough to engender a reaction–a deep and personal reaction. Putting either disc on loop is recommended; putting them both in one playlist and looping that for hours on end is even more highly recommended. Max Corbacho has been patiently improving his ambient craftsmanship for years, and The Ocean Inside finds him at perhaps his absolute best. This is a must-listen.

ARS LUCIS – review by Phil Derby, Electroambient Space

max — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

Max Corbacho’s music is getting increasingly ambient with each new release. If he gets any more relaxed than Ars Lucis, by the time his next album comes out I will only make it through the first two minutes before I drift off into blissful slumber. Corbacho truly is “in the zone” lately, the pure float zone. This is formless, non-melodic music that nonetheless has depth and warmth in abundance. Variances between tracks are subtle yet distinct. For example, “Narthex” has a particularly bright, shimmering tone to it, whereas “Light-Matrix Portal” has a richer, more expansive sound. Still, the basic principle is the same throughout – take a few delicate layers of sound, blend them subtly and smoothly together, and maintain the mood for several minutes with gradual changes. Corbacho does an excellent job of blending lighter and darker elements together, such that the end result should please both dark ambient and new age listeners, although it may not be “pretty” enough for the latter. For true ambient fans, this is as good as it gets.

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 Hypnagogue.net

ARS LUCIS – review by Phil Derby, Electroambient Space

Phil Derby / Electroambient Space