Justin Vanderberg - In Waking Moments
Artist: Justin Vanderberg
Title: In Waking Moments
Label: Hypnos Secret Sounds
hss12, limited cdr edition of 300
In Waking Moments is the CD debut of a fresh new talent, Justin
Vanderberg, whose work undoubtedly will remind listeners of the lush and
smooth space/ambient sound of both Numina and Steve Roach. In fact,
the album was recorded by Roach, and the ambient sound master's
"touch" is definitely in evidence here.
Track listing (with mp3 sample clips):
1. Negative Space (7.46)
2. A Peaceful Disturbance (10.34)
3. Controlled Bleeding (6.51)
4. Temporal Extraction (13.01)
5. Tracing the Inner Circle (9.14)
6. Deconstructing Me (6.10)
7. Shifting Currents (12.40)
8. In Waking Moments (6.21)
Of In Waking Moments, Justin said:
In Waking Moments will be my first full length release. Composed of music recorded from 2002
through 2004, it is a distinctly ambient musical journey created in the idea of capturing the spaces
between sleeping, dreaming, and waking. I was very humbled that my musical "idol" Steve Roach took my
project under his wings in late 2004. Adding his decades of experience and refined artistic ear, he
and I labored week after week, going back and forth while he was assembling, mastering, and tweaking
the master disc.
The album itself is designed to be sort of meditative and introspective. It is put together in three
individual yet interconnected parts. Part One is "drifting into sleep". Part Two is "dreams & memories".
The Third part is what Steve and I referred to as the "waking moments" part... hence the title.
Purchase direct for $9.99
Reviews
"Some great new albums from Hypnos this month. I'm so glad to see them releasing wonderful ambient music again. Justin Vanderberg is a newcomer, but sounds very polished. Great spacy ambient sound."--Scott Raymond, WVKR radio
.
"deep, well-crafted and perfect on repeat."
--Reviewed by John Shanahan on the Hypnos Forum
.
"As you put Justin Vanderberg's In Waking Moments into your CD player or start it up on your iPod, be sure to set either device for repeat play. Then breathe deeply and prepare to live within the sound. This is a gentle, meditative journey that courses unhurriedly through areas of light and shadow in equal parts. Vanderberg layers long, slow-exhaling chords, each placed in perfect complement to those both before and after, crafting solid ambient-music constructs. Along the way, soft bells, hints of a drumbeat or a repeated melodic phrase infrequently anchor the dreaming listener to the corporeal world. This is a full-immersion disk that works for both attentive listening and as a soothing backdrop. I literally spent an entire workday with In Waking Moments in my headphones on constant repeat. There was no sense of hearing it again, no urge to stop or to move ahead to something else. The only thought was to just be. To be there within the sound, letting my attentiveness rise and fall as the day dictated, becoming mindful of the music in places, slowly soaking in the superb beauty of Vanderberg's compositions. And that's the earmark of a genuinely good ambient CD—its ability to allow you to exist within it without question or interruption. Warm, engaging, and quite simply genuinely pleasant, In Waking Moments is a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended CD."
--Reviewed in Hypnagogue, hypnagogue.netfirms.com