Amazonia

 

Five years ago, Jean-Michel Jarre's "Amazonia" was released (really? Has it really been five years already...?). An album that fascinated me, and above all, it wasn't something I had expected. After the Oxygene rave reviews of my early teens, Zoolook in the mid-eighties was the last truly great album, or at least that's how I saw it. For me, it was time to explore other musical territories. And then came "Amazonia."

And now, five years later, I'm traveling to Cologne to visit the wonderful exhibition by the late Sebastião Salgado. In my youth, I never went to an exhibition without my Walkman. Music always served to guide and regulate my sensations and feelings, to sharpen my senses and intensify the experience. A kind of natural drug.

At the Amazonia exhibition, a Walkman 3.0 isn't necessary. Jarre's sounds ensure that the jungle truly feels close. Highly recommended.

(Until mid-March at the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne).

„I have never been to the Amazon rainforest, yet I know it, those mighty lungs on which the planet, in which we, depend, that verdant El Dorado, the dominion of all fantasy, of all extremes, of Herzog's Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo. At once familiar and mysterious, tranquil and troubling, fearsome and fragile... A drug as addictive as it can be lethal. The forests of Sebastião Salgado.

A bird trills, wind whispers in the treetops, passing men sing and squabble, women bathe, a storm rumbles, a plane flies overhead, rain falls on stone: these serendipitous sounds, though unschooled by orchestration or any form of arrangement, create a global harmony: the music of the forest.

And deep in the Amazon rainforests there is a spirit of nomadism, the moving from place to place, from shadow into light, from quiet stillness to brooding menace, pressing on we leave reality behind and plunge into the potent force of rituals and reveries.“

( words from J.M.Jarre‘s Amazonia Double Vinyl)

Altered Zone

 

X.Y.R.'s "Altered Zone" was my favorite on last year's cassette compilation from the Slovenian label Zonned.

( „The result is a stunning journey through diverse sounds—whether rhythmic or beatless, droney, dreamy, or experimental—all unified by their deeply immersive quality.“). Naturally.

Vladimir Karpov has now largely removed the vocal samples from the nearly 10-minute piece and created a half-hour atmospheric meditation, full of flutey, flurrying, floating, and dreamy sounds. The field recordings ensure that we become part of this spectacle, and of course, a few birds make an appearance.

The mood is dreamy, and you have 30 minutes to briefly forget your worries and everyday life, which we should always, truly always, love and embrace. Because, in reality, there's always something going on, and that should still bring us joy.

Afterwards, you're reconciled with everything around you and with yourself for a short time. However, there's a strong temptation to press the repeat button again and again until the sun disappears over the horizon.

Oh, and let's listen to Les Halles again.

Written, Produced and Recorded by Vladimir Karpov at home studio in Alexandrovskaya, St. Petersburg, using synths: Korg M1, Maestro, Boss pedal effects, percussion and field recordings.

New Age for Old Worlds

In recent months, actually the entire last year, I've hardly posted any new music, for reasons that LIFE throws our way. But that doesn't mean there isn't still wonderful music out there. Wonderful music that often brings tears to my eyes with its beauty.

Tracks and pieces that I repeat over and over again…

Now, a whole album full of beautiful ambient/Balearic/New Age tracks has been released on the Portuguese label Secrets of Sound, and it makes the admittedly traditionally gray, cold (though not so traditional) month of January seem a little less gray. A perfect soundtrack for lying down and, if you like, wrapping yourself in a shag rug. An incense stick is also included with the album, setting the tone even before you've heard it. Having to flip the vinyl after four tracks might be a bit annoying if you're feeling really far away. But you can't have everything.

Great release!

feat. Jon Tye‘s Ocean Moon / Mark Barrott / Earthtones / Alex Albrecht / Lord of the Isles ….and and…

An antidote for chaotic times, this collection of ambient pieces gathers the masters of the genre for a journey designed for calm, clarity and consciousness. All corners of New Age are explored here with a spoken word intro from Jaroslav Kovaracek, host of long running ambient radio program “Dreamtime” that aired in Australia from the early 80s into the mid 90s.

credits

released January 19, 2026

Compiled, art / design by Kane Banner. All tracks mastered by Salz Music, Cologne Germany.

Spoken word intro/outro by Jaroslav Kovaricek — this album is dedicated to him and his radio program Dreamtime of ABC Australia.

All rights reserved : Secrets Of Sound, Lisboa, Portugal.

File under Ambient / New Age