Protogonos - Strange Geographie

A little-known ambient electronic album by duo Stefan Bojczuk and Matt Shaw, released on the DiN label in the UK. It's a series of abstract atmospheric wanderings, not so much a journey as a slideshow of loosely-related scenes. It begins quite accessibly, with some sweepingly romantic synth in the style of Oxygene-era Jean-Michel Jarre. This soon fades away into a soup of abstract bubbling, which eventually dissolves to a plaintive closing section of cloudy pads. "Lixvium" is much the same, all bubbles and atmospheres, with bits of melody threatening to appear but never quite managing it. The finale "Amaranthine" gains purpose about six minutes in with a broad sustained chord, which forms a root for the fragments of warm melody that branch from it. It reminds me of some of Tangerine Dream's prodigious post-1975 output, a lot of nice sounds, but not much structure.

June 17, 2008

5 out of 10

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