Ambient means many things to many people. Releases by Steffie Moonlady and Dennis Haklar, and Hans Joachim Rodelius and Dallas Acid demonstrate some of the variety of the genre.
To the Universe by Steffie Moonlady and Dennis Haklar is described as “an ethereal odyssey taking you to spiritually charged spaces.” Well, all righty then. It showcases voice by Moonlady and Haklar playing a variety of stringed instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, sitar, even cittern, along with synthesizers. Both participants add percussion.
The vocals add to the sound but they are typically difficult to decipher. Whether that’s deliberate or not, it adds to the mysterious atmosphere the participants seem inclined to create. Musically, the sound is sometimes imbued with exotic strains recalling Eastern or other sounds. Then along comes “Tamparawa,” with its wah-wah electric guitars. Overall To the Universe is an interesting journey – intoxicating for some, disjointed for others.
Meanwhile, Hans-Joachim Roedelius is one of the godfathers of the genre, through both his own efforts and those with his occasional partner Dieter Mobius in Cluster. On Mind Cinema, he has teamed up with the Austin-based Dallas Acid, a synth-based trio influenced by the music of Cluster and other German and French electronic music of the ’70s.
So, it’s no surprise the two meld easily. From the opening vibraphone-like notes of the title track to the gentle cacophony that fades to nothingness on the concluding “Stip Island,” Hans Joachim Rodelius and Dallas Acid’s Mind Cinema is a gently morphing soundtrack for a daydream, with its washes of sound.
“Legende 130” features piano against a backdrop of orchestral synthesizers, while “Lovely Morning” recalls such trailblazing predecessors as Robert Fripp and Brian Eno’s Evening Star or Eno’s own Music for Airports – until Linda Beecroft’s vocals come in. But they’re not intrusive, and are in fact unintelligible, merely another component of the sound.
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