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CRANIUM FIZZ Richard Bone’s music has been entertaining me for more than a decade here at Ambient Visions and his talent to delve into a wide variety of styles continually amazes me as each new release seems to head off in a different direction. Some artists may end up being predictable and their music never varies all that much from album to album but I guarantee that this is not the case for Richard. From pure ambient to bossa nova flavored music to Latin tinged releases Richard has chosen to follow his own musical muse regardless of where it may lead him and I say go for it Richard! For those who may not know this Richard was the 3rd artist to be interviewed here on Ambient Visions and we have had a great friendship ever since that time. And of course we can’t forget to mention Marleen Kingsley who has been a loyal fan of Richard’s music since forever; webmistress for Richard and a supporter of Ambient Visions from the word go. I can’t seem to think about one of them without thinking about both of them. I started listening to Richard’s music back when he was releasing Electropica, Ascensionism and Coxa on his Quirkworks label and I fell in love with his delightful style and his ability to consistently turn out great music. His latest release is called Cranium Fizz and again Richard is leading us into new and interesting areas of his imagination. Richard has thrown an interesting twist into this release by putting it out on vinyl instead of CD. Of course if you buy the EP you will also receive the digital files of the four songs on this EP along with your vinyl copy. It has been 30 years since Richard has released a vinyl anything and according to a note that I got from him when he sent me the digital files for this release the pressing process hasn’t gotten any easier with time. I enjoyed the title of the EP right off the bat. Cranium Fizz. Richard’s music has always had an effervescence about it that seems to go right to your head, sort of like champagne, as you listen so the title is right on in that regards. A little aside here is that the digital files are labeled A1, A2, B1, B2 which hearkens back to when you designated songs as being either on Side A of the record or Side B of the record. This brought back a lot of memories of getting up to turn an album over to hear the other side when I finished the side I was listening to. Of course it has been claimed by sound purists that vinyl dynamic range is much greater than the clipped music that appears on CD and this is your chance to try out that theory for yourself with this new release. I normally would say in one of my reviews that I had a favorite song or two on any given album but on this EP with only four songs I will have to say that I like them all. As you might expect The Dream Lounge is the only song that I would deem to be quiet and definitely on the chill side of Richard’s repertoire but even chilled out such as it is it still provides the listener with a gentle beat and a peacefully rolling rhythm. Cranium Fizz is one of those songs that immediately takes me back to when I first heard Richard’s music as it is playful in nature and keeps your foot tapping throughout the entire song. The music of Cranium Fizz is bright, uplifting and swirls around you as you are instantly engaged by the captivating compositions that Richard has brought together for this EP. Richard is a highly talented individual and he manages to hit the target with each release that he sends out into the world. If there was anything that I would wish for in regards to Cranium Fizz is that I wish it would have been longer. Otherwise Cranium Fizz is a sonic delight and listening to it was like coming home to a familiar place after you have been away for a while. Great work Richard and I wait to see what you will do next. Reviewed by Michael Foster editor Ambient Visions |