Blame me to be an anachronistic fool. Call me old-fashioned. Still I got to let you know: an analogue synthesizer sounds better than a digital one. It may act like a diva (detunes randomly, hisses like hell) but eventually you get a sound that has soul and a physical form. The Latvian duo Astrowind took the hard road and conquered their machines.

Astrowind are Kriipis Tulo and Mahi Bukimi. I follow them since their first releases at long-gone ElektroSound Netlabel and their retro-style synthesizer Ambient always made a little bell ring in my head. After two record that did not get me too much, this one is just right again. “Fresh Wind in the Valley of Dreams” is released on the young Moldavian Netlabel Silent Flow.

Astrowind play old Russian synthesizer, record their jams live on tape (!) to carefully rework them at home (I love the idea they do it with a cutting knife and Scotch tape but I guess on this account they do NOT do analogue). Outcome is multicoloured streams of dense synthesizer Ambient, enhanced by extensive pedal processing and vocal samples from Soviet cosmonautics (In particular, “Fresh Wind in the Valley of Dreams” is dedicated to A. A. Leonov).

Astrowind music flows like water. And like water can vary from runlet to tsunami, Tulo and Bukimi play with dynamics as well. Modus operandi changes from lovely to destructive, from contemplative to rude health - but the overall mood is august mellifluence. The cosmonautics reference works beautifully as well and given this, the link to 70’s German Kosmische Musik ain’t too far-fetched. Lovin’ it.

Ambient Experimental MP3 Music Download

Download "Fresh Wind In The Valley Of Dreams"
Release // "Fresh Wind In The Valley Of Dreams"
Netlabel // http://www.astrowind.net/