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ASCENSIONISM Electronica artist Richard Bone has crafted another fine ambient-tinged album here. For ASCENSIONISM he draws on jazz, traditional Eastern music, soundscape electronica, and contemporary DJ culture to bring heady melodies together with smooth, spacey grooves. Unlike his more abstract work, however, ASCENSIONISM is primarily beat-based (the least head-bobbing track here is the gently swaying final cut, "The Continuing Adventures of Jet Swami"), as the swinging, sprightly gait of songs like "Walkin' with the Dharma Bums" proves.As per usual with Bone's work, it is sometimes difficult to believe that the sounds on the album are generated electronically. "Kavvannah," for example, resembles a performance by an ensemble of guitar, cello, drums, and bamboo flutes in the middle of the rain forest (the sound of chirping birds completes the picture). But this illusion is part of Bone's magic-- his keyboard and sample-generated aesthetic is as earthy and organic as it is futuristic. ASCENSIONISM is another strong entry to the artist's fine catalogue. 2001 Muze Inc. |