Queen Christina of Sweden was a lavish patron of music in her own kingdom - initially she mainly extended her patronage to French musicians but from 1652 it was largely Italian musicians whom she brought to her court in Stockholm. Having secretly converted to Catholicism, Christina abdicated in June of 1654 and almost immediately left Sweden - most of her valuable library had been smuggled out earlier - and made her way to Rome, her journey there seeming at times to be effectively a series of triumphal processions; there’s a fine account of all these events in Veronica Buckley’s Christina. Once established in Rome - where her arrival was greeted by special musical performances in the Palazzo Barberini, the Palazzo Pamphili and elsewhere - she soon became one of the city’s most active patrons of literature and music.
When Swedish artist Solar Fields (Magnus Birgersson) meets French artist Aes Dana (Vincent Villuis)… the outcome is H.U.V.A. Network, a downtempo project where North and South regions mix and jumble together in a fluid manner. The pair of sound architects explore ambient-electronica landscapes and their multiple layouts. Their works are thought out and composed in two studios: Studio Jupiter (Göteborg, Sweden) and Ultimae Studio (Lyon, France). Musical works and ideas are conceived in these two creation poles via a few travels and a high speed internet network connection, thus breaking "Distances" (2004) which separate the two composers…
Pete Namlook was one of the most influential protagonists of ambient music during the 1990s. Inspired by Oskar Sala, one of the pioneers of electronic music, Namlook focused on the untapped potential of analogue synthesizers, often developed or extended in his laboratory.
David Moufang is a German ambient techno musician. He records with his partner, Jonas Grossmann as Deep Space Network project and his solo releases as Move D.
Brain-State-In-A-Box was Neural Network's debut album, released in April 1994. Its style can best be described as "Electronic Listening Music", ranging from Ambient to more upbeat style, yet never coming close to dance/DJ material. The album received favorable reviews in the Norwegian music magazine "Puls" and in the Norwegian newspaper "Klassekampen". It was mastered entirely in Brain-State-Of-The-Arts Studios by the three members of the project; Jostein Dahl Gjelsvik, Lars Kristian Sande and Oddgeir Hvidsten.
The two albums I.F. and I.F. 2 (short for Intergalactic Federation) Deep Space Network made with fellow German artist Dr Atmo for Fax Records feature longer tracks, offering a bigger canvas for Moufang and Grossmann to work on. These are true collaborations with Atmo - a lover of shadowy, cosmic Eastern melodies and percussion - where the whole ends up greater than the sum of the parts.
The two albums I.F. and I.F. 2 (short for Intergalactic Federation) Deep Space Network made with fellow German artist Dr Atmo for Fax Records feature longer tracks, offering a bigger canvas for Moufang and Grossmann to work on. These are true collaborations with Atmo - a lover of shadowy, cosmic Eastern melodies and percussion - where the whole ends up greater than the sum of the parts. I.F. contains the extraordinary "Ten Waves", a 25 minute psychedelic blissfest of bleeps, radio & TV samples and spacey melodies driven by a tabla drums and a steady, almost jazzy two-chord progression. This stoned masterpiece was a staple in dance party chill spaces in the 90's and stands up brilliantly today, every bit the equal of other extended chillout classics of the era.
Ambient Diary. One (1997). Elektrolux presents: "It's well known that Elektrolux is one of the global top address for ambient music. With our Ambient Diary.One Compilation we proudly present a fine selection of well chosen ambient tracks by a handful of Elektrolux artists. The Double-CD format invites you to extensive Chill Out sessions with tracks by artists such as Babel, Insect Jazz, Dr. Scissors, Fresh Moods, The Saafi Bros., Cold (Rmxs by Sven Väth, Ralf Hildenbeutel and Flow.Machine), Aural Float, Taklamakan, Ajax, Bix, Fortunato & Montresor, Flow.Machine and Full Moon Fashions. Enchanting, mesmerizing and hypnotic, with the handy selection of the "Ambient Diary.One" you'll have the ideal soundtrack to deeply relax from the burdens of life"…
Ambient Systems (1995). Ambient Systems is a compilation of Instinct's most talked about discoveries, an Underground Ambient epic of sorts exhibiting the talents of NY pioneer Terre Thaemlitz, the nationally acclaimed and officially supported SETI project, the brilliantly provocative Human Mesh Dance, and European ambient master Dominic Woosey as Mysteries of Science. Ambient Systems also features works from the captivating and ingenious Omicron, as well as the red-hot Sub Dub, Evolve Now, Adam Shaikh and Deep Space Network. Ambient Systems is pleased to introduce Facil, a collaboration between Tension Record's Abe Duque and P909's Dietrich Schoeneman. All artists are represented with compilation-only, exclusive tracks not to be found on their full-length releases…
The most basic compilation for American audiences interested in Pete Namlook's Fax Records is a two-disc set including tracks from Namlook guises Air, the Putney, 4Voice and Shades of Orion. A host of other Fax favorites make appearances: Plastikman's Richie Hawtin on the epic From Within track "Sad Alliance," Deep Space Network and Dr. Atmo on I.F.'s "Kisy Loa," Atom Heart and Tetsu Inoue on their Datacide track "Data Haku." Fax is easily the most traditional-sounding ambient label, and the music would make an equally strong impression on fans of Hearts of Space and Basic Channel.