Carefully curated by Evan Bartholomew (aka Bluetech), the album remains cohesive from beginning to end, and is a spot-on tribute to early synthesizer music—firmly rooted in the Berlin-school and new-age / ambient styles.
Cohesive from beginning to end—a spot-on tribute to early synthesizer music
Featuring a highly acclaimed lineup of artists, California based Behind The Sky brings forward the label’s first compilation release—Portals (A Kosmische Journey Through Outer Worlds And Inner Space). The cover artwork hearkens back to 70’s-era science-fiction, giving the listener a great idea of what type of cosmic vibes to expect when playing the record. Carefully curated by Evan Bartholomew (aka Bluetech), the album remains cohesive from beginning to end, and is a spot-on tribute to early synthesizer music—firmly rooted in the Berlin-school and new-age / ambient styles.
Portals opens up with the calculated blips and bleeps of “Twilight Flights” by Tungsten Mountain (aka Johnny Woods), in which gentle melodies softly drift along. The following track is the frenzied yet also meditative “Rahmenerzählung” by Lisa Bella Donna, and clocks in at an epic 10 minutes in length. Cycling arpeggiations are heavily processed and one is reminded of Phaedra by Tangerine Dream, but with a mind-bending twist. Fellow Bluetech collaborator and DiN Label head Ian Boddy contributes the mythical synthwave ballad “Omicron” which is one of the highlights of the entire compilation. “Escher Sketch,” by legendary musician Steve Roach, could be compared to an audio labyrinth in which one would be just fine being lost inside of forever.
Never losing strength, the compilation continues with stellar contributions from Steve Moore, Nigel Mullaney, Pleasure Corporation, James Bernard, and In The Branches + Bluetech, respectively. If you are a fan of analog and modular synth music, Portals is something that you will enjoy. This beautiful release is available in black or 3-color splatter vinyl 2xLP, as well as in CD format.
Portals is available on Behind The Sky Music.
NIGEL MULLANEY – Kessel Run (Official Music Video by Julius Horsthuis) from Julius Horsthuis on Vimeo.
