Simon Lomax returns with one of the must listen to albums of 2005. Check it out?

Maitreya - 74

Simon Lomax has finally returned after a year’s absence from recording as Maitreya but what a year it was, his label has flourished, he has done some live gigs and got more press about his work. Simon Lomax if you didn't know, runs the much respected Council of Nine label based in the UK. His partner in crime aka Kama Glover is back as well, not only doing the brilliant artwork for this album but all the visuals for his live gigs and even the website. The label packaging is what grabs you from the beginning because the front cover is just competely immense with having a lighthouse in the background but so cutting edge that is hurts. This is certainly a different style album and the art work gives it that extra bonus that already makes this more appealing than other CDs.

Maitreya - 74 (Council of Nine)

1.Escent
2. Azure
3. Pulse and Beat
4. Insula
5. Sere
6. Isolat
7. St. Michael's Tower
8. Aurora

1. Escent

It starts with some very powerful riff work, you sense that you are in another world. The harmony that it is created by everything, is just out of this world. I love the fact that this is a slow moving song and the fact that the music is pure ambient is another joy, especially after having to review CD and CD that don't have this surgical like precision that Maitreya tends to push in his albums. You see why Simon Lomax took a year to create this sonic journey of an album. I'm not terribly sure how an Ambient producers approach making the music but this is just cutting edge.

2. Azure

Song two brings us the slow pressure cooker called Azure, or maybe could be while I am writing this, I'm sitting with my better half, baking a cake and food is
on my mind. Anyway it is almost haunting at times, it feels that I'm near a mountain with some beautiful landscape. The song has a few silent breaks, which give it more force. You can also tell that Maitreya put his soul and mind into this, the raw emotional state of this music is just something else. You can feel the artist's heart as you hear this sonic marvel start and with the filtered sounds, it just sends me into orbit. I’m reminded here of Biosphere’s careful work in Lomax’s productions, the careful painstaking creative stage is probably similar.

3.Pulse and Beat

As soon as this starts, it sounds like you are stuck in a deep underwater cave. I’m not sure how Lomax added the sound effects to give it the deep underwater feeling but this is the slowest moving tune of all of them. The brilliant crafted song is probably the best of the CD and it does the most good for the senses. It is very difficult to describe, just like most of Lomax’s work but it is well worth tracking down.

4.Insula

It has an easy start and it is a slow builder with some tremendous harmonic qualities. It has that deep sea feeling, like being stuck under water. I’m not even sure how he did it but it is cool. The track has simplicity and complexity in the same mold, the track has depth but it uses a simplistic formula. It has some cool filtered sound effects that really add to the overall depth of the track. The deepness is almost unexplainable at times but that’s what Ambient is supposed to be, deepness and the producer’s vision.

5.Sere

It starts with waves then pauses then waves again, you think the CD is skipping but turns out that this was deliberate. The song is deeply eerie, which describes most of this CD and that is also a departure from the last CD that Lomax made. The best part of this track follows the unusual start, which are bells that are echoed as well and they are pushed near the middle, not in your face in the front nor at the back and out of the way. I think Lomax strikes a good balance here. The song then builds for a little while and then an old artist trick is used to gain your attention, everything drops out of the track and you hear dead silence but as you listen to this, it gains your immediate attention. The silence only lasts for a little while and then everything rolls back in. What a nice way to grab your attention!

6.Isolat

As this track begins, you feel you are on a boat by yourself with fog around and you are fishing. They always said that Ambient works take the mind to new places and they are probably right, whoever stated that. Isolat is like the previous five tracks here, it is a slow mover and slowly uses some well placed harmonic parts. It seems that Lomax’s work on this album contains two features, harmonically placed instruments that just fit in and the fact that they are all slow moving songs is very good and the fact that he patiently moves out is also good. The track here is also wonderfully complex at times because of all the features that he incorporates into. The best part is the subtle bass stabs that are added about midway through the song, they kick as well but it has to be a first for me because I’ve never heard Ambient works to incorporate such that style bass stabs. Lomax carefully twists, tweaks everything into place like a big jigsaw puzzle and eventually comes together as one and that’s why this CD sounds so mind blowing. The CD may wear a bit for those who are just people who like the odd ambient stuff. This is for people who appreciate Ambient music like Biosphere and Pete Namlook.

7.St.Michael’s Tower

This is the shortest tune on the CD and here Maitreya makes careful use of sound effects that are carefully built then quickly expanded on. The backline riffs add that icing on top of the cake that adds that little extra to an already finely created tune. I do add an element of caution here because I think that this might be too deep for some but for me, you can never get too deep with Ambient works. The creative vision for this work is extraordinary and the song does not change that much besides that.

8.Aurora

This is the last song on an album that took ages to complete but it is all worthwhile here. Aurora follows the framework of the previous tunes with slow building, carefully crafted melodies and just that forward thinking ideology that I like so much.

Conclusion:
This might be too deep for some but I like it, the only thing that I dislike about this album is that the songs were more similar, and not as wide ranging as the last album. This is ambient music for the music lovers that appreciate it, if you liked Biosphere, Pete Namlook or Higher Intelligence Agency then this is for you. Lomax finely crafts each song and painstakingly tries to take your mind away into another world. He succeeds and check out the label’s website, it has to be one of the better sites and labels around because everything is done in house, so they keep creative control. I just hope that Lomax comes out with a CD quicker next time but that they say is wishful thinking.