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Electronics: Robert Fox, Jeffrey Koepper, Parallel Worlds

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ROBERT FOX: Evergreen (CD on AD Music)

This release from 2008 offers 65 minutes of elegant electronic tuneage.

Delicate electronics and stately keyboards generate a selection of regal tuneage flavored with understated rhythms.

Atmospheric textures provide a heavenly backdrop for noble electronics that express a stable emotion of gentile fascination. The electronics are crisp and often angelic, a combination that conveys an amiable reverence for man's place in nature.

While tonalities establish haunting pastiches, the melodies are defined by elegant keyboards (with emphasis on piano). Chords twinkle as if made of starlight. With piano generate a classical disposition, the additional keyboards, sparkling with endearing aptitude, serve to maintain a modern flair which remains wholly subservient to the overall pleasantness of the tuneage. Hints of bagpipes make frequent elusive appearances throughout the music.

Percussion is utilized, but often in subdued manner, humbly lurking in the mix instead of functioning as a driving force. One piece even employs wet splashes as a rhythmic element.

Two tracks feature female vocals which serve to bestow the songs with mystical airs.

In the liner notes, Fox reveals that many of his albums stem from geographic inspirations, and Evergreen is dedicated to his British homeland. The compositions succeed in capturing rolling hills and thatched cottages and breathtaking seaside cliffs--all delineated with a pastoral sensibility. These regal melodies embody a uplifting mood tinged with sentimental awe.

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JEFFREY KOEPPER: Radiate (CD on Ricochet Dream)

This release from 2009 offers 71 minutes of dreamy electronic tuneage recorded live at the Gatherings concert series in Philadelphia on April 14, 2008.

Luxurious harmonic threads ripple in the air like expanding banners, twirling around each other to form an exquisite helix of pulsating electronic sound. Each sonic strand embodies a glistening riff, some ephemeral, others comprised of keyboard loops. As the music unfolds, the tendrils meld into wondrous interaction and merge to create complex patterns of delicate melodic beauty.

As the concert progresses, the pace increases. The notes flash faster as if engaged in a personal race with each other. More demonstrative chords surface, mirroring the escalation. Rhythmics briefly enter the mix. A dramatic tension is achieved.

This level of activity follows a syne curve through the concert, rising to briskly animated passages, then plunging into stretches of slow-burning ambience, consecutively giving birth to new melodic coils and perpetuating the continuance.

Each surging rise and ethereal interlude display fresh substance, yet evoke a common mood of effulgent dreaminess. The stamina found in the livelier pieces maintains a gentle fluidity. A relentless flow is achieved as cyclic sequences combine to form engaging electronic assemblies.

The compositions are poignantly retro in style. Vaporous moods coalesce, evolving into multilayered tunes that flaunt a crystalline demeanor. The music seduces the audience into an astral trance tastily laced with sprightly passages.

The bulk of this live performance features material from Koepper's Sequentaria album.

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PARALLEL WORLDS: Shade (CD on DiN)

This release from 2009 offers 63 minutes of sinuous electronic music.

Parallel Worlds is Bakis Sirros (with help from John Sirros).

While keyboards play a vital role here, a majority of the music's charm lies in the inventive use of effects and pulsating tones (both in forefront and foundational application).

The electronics display a remarkable flow, generating lavish streams that defy gravity and indulge in a form of dynamics akin to oil in water. Bewitching sounds spill with adroit abandon, establishing sultry riffs that shimmer like electrified honey. Textural elements peer through as a vaporous foundation that excellently matches the overall temperament of the music's thematic nucleus.

The keyboard-driven chords adhere things together, conjoining harmonic oscillations with more melodic pulsations. This gentle union possesses a distinct gentility that borders on astral mesmerization while retaining an oomph that captivates the listener.

Rhythms abound, but they are usually of electronic origin, tempos born of looped non-impact sounds. This percussive definition tends to ooze through the mix instead of pounding with demonstrative residence.

The compositions make ample use of the alluring conjunction of novel sounds, all propelled by sinuous keyboards and nickering rhythmics. Sirros has found a way to harness ilbient elements and apply them in a graceful fashion that produces melodies of rippling appeal. The result is highly gregarious and extremely tantalizing.

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