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ETHER DOME "In the very short time that has passed since its foundation, the Hypnos label has succeeded in gathering almost all of the current major purveyors of classical ambient under one umbrella - Vidna Obmana, Jeff Greinke, Robert Rich and many more essential names now regularly release recordings under its imprint. Another, undeservedly lesser-known name is that of Richard Bone, in my ears one of the more entertaining electronic musicians in the States today. "Entertaining" because of his playfulness and ambition to flex his creative muscles in different genres. Electropica took on bossa-nova to fine effect, while his first release on Hypnos, The Spectral Ships, was a brilliant thematic effort at dark ambient. With Ether Dome, Bone turns to somewhat lighter atmospheres. "Meant to reflect moods that occur as consciousness slips away", this latest CD harks back to his first excursions in ambient with Ambiento and The Eternal Now. In contrast with the "typical" ambient template, Bone simply cannot resist a good tune, and all the pieces here feature beguiling melodies drifting among the sythesizer sweeps, significantly enhancing the pleasure principle. Spacey, soothing, suggestive." |