Fata Viam Invenient ad Astra

Over the course of seventeen solo albums and three-plus decades, Bay-area ambient/electronic musician Forrest Fang has cultivated his surrealist blend of electronically-transformed ethnic instruments and minimalist aural environments. Fang’s pieces reflect his uniquely personal universe of influences, mysterious objects and undefined phenomena. Gently layered drones combine with slow-moving piano themes, violin, as well as subtle Eastern string, wind, and percussive elements. A ‘Fata Morgana’ is a special form of mirage that makes objects appear to float in air. On Fang’s latest Projekt album, The Fata Morgana Dream, his sonic world suspends time with accents and undertones that seemingly emerge from the subconscious.

Astra is the third studio album by British rock band Asia, released in late 1985. It was the final studio album to feature original member John Wetton until 2008's reunion album Phoenix. The recording of the album took place at several studios in London during 1984-85. It reached #67 in the US on the Billboard 200 chart and #68 in the UK Albums Chart. Strangely, although Astra itself didn't make the top 50, two songs charted well on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, receiving radio airplay in various markets: "Go" (#7) and "Too Late" (#30), and the video of "Go" (based on the futuristic heroine on the album cover) received airplay on MTV. Allmusic critic Matt Collar gave Astra a three-star rating in a review full of praise. He called the album "a solid prog rock outing", "a truly underrated '80s rock album and a must-hear for fans".

Over its first three albums (if you include the "remix" disc Disguised Masters), Arcturus established a pattern of radically changing its sound each time, a trend that continues with The Sham Mirrors, the band's third "official" studio album. The constant thread throughout all the group's work, and again here, comes from keyboardist/songwriter Steiner "Sverd" Johnsen, whose sinister, often carnival-esque harmonies and dramatic synth arrangements have a pretty clear stamp by now. Beyond that, though, comparisons to other Arcturus albums are difficult. For one thing, the drums and guitars are heavier and more forceful than ever before, and there is more of a traditional metal foundation on this album than on its predecessor, the bizarre, operatic La Masquerade Infernale…

Astra is the third studio album by British rock band Asia, released in late 1985. It was the final studio album to feature original member John Wetton until 2008's reunion album Phoenix. The recording of the album took place at several studios in London during 1984-85. It reached #67 in the US on the Billboard 200 chart and #68 in the UK Albums Chart. Strangely, although Astra itself didn't make the top 50, two songs charted well on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, receiving radio airplay in various markets: "Go" (#7) and "Too Late" (#30), and the video of "Go" (based on the futuristic heroine on the album cover) received airplay on MTV. Allmusic critic Matt Collar gave Astra a three-star rating in a review full of praise. He called the album "a solid prog rock outing", "a truly underrated '80s rock album and a must-hear for fans".