Various Artists - Swarm of Drones (20 tracks) +Album Reviews

Great set, if you can get it to play

Robert Sherwood | 01/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A previous reviewer noted the issue with disc 2, and I thought I'd comment on it. The two discs of this set feature tracks numbered 1-20, with track 1-10 on disc 1, and 11-20 on disc 2. Literally, if you insert this disc into a drive that can handle it, you'll see that the first track on disc 2 is displayed as "11". This is compliant with the red book standard, but many CD players have trouble playing disc 2. Computer drives seem to be the worst offenders. This otherwise excellent compilation loses a point because of this excessive cleverness."

GREAT MUSIC! 2nd CD DOES NOT PLAY OR READ!

Robert Sherwood | 12/23/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is very interesting and impressive music comprised of many different new age and space music talents! The texture, depth, and overall feeling in the music is outstanding! Well, on CD # 1 that is. The 2nd CD of this 2 CD set WILL NOT PLAY OR READ! I have bought *two* Swarm of Drones CD sets this year. The first one was used, so I figured the 2nd CD was just damaged somehow (even thought I can promise you it wasn't scratched or anything - I checked). Well, a few months later I bought a brand new Swarm of Drones. Guess what? 2nd CD does NOT work again! It just causes any CD player you stick it in to sit there and spin and spin and try to read it.Great music, however, 1 star because I got ripped off due to a production error at Sombient music (who made this). Anyone know anything about this little "problem"? Don't try to contact Sombient, they are out of business. And anyone else I've tried to contact about this doesn't seem to care."

Simply great compositions with unsurpassed complexity.

08/08/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very intense cd set. The music composed and compiled in the set was made by some of the hard core new age artists i.e Robert Fripp, Steve Roach and some others that are equally good but not as well known. It is always new sound regardless of how many times you listen to it. It is mood music. Eventhough some of it sounds "dark", it inspires a sense of awe in listener. It will envelope itself around your being. It is music to listen to with the ears of your soul. It is like a story of the modern day living in a dark society. It has remained one of my favorite music no matter what else came my way. I Do recommend it. But, it not for everyone. You have to listen to this and absorb it thoroughly before you can get it's full effect.Great music for creative work. Meditate with the dark side but become enlightened!"

Another sampling of (very) Sound Traffic Control

Steve Benner | Lancaster, UK | 01/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Swarm of Drones" is the second volume of Asphodel Records' "Drones" trilogy. It does an excellent job of bridging the transition from the dark sombient music of the preceding "The Throne of Drones" to the more adventurous acousmatic material of the final volume, "Storm of Drones".A quick glance at the contributors to this 2-CD set gives some indication of the eclectic nature of the compilation. The Sound Traffic Control regulars - Xopher Davidson, Gregory Lenczycki, Naut Homun and the Iso Ambient Orchestra - are as heavily in evidence as one would expect. As, indeed, are sombient specialists of the likes of Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Robert Fripp, Maryanne Amacher. Amongst them, though, are such acousmatic luminaries as Michel Redolfi and Ned Bouhalassa, as well as artists for whom it is impossible (and equally pointless) to even attempt to pigeon-hole, such as Janis Mattox and James Plotkin.The music in this compilation is all of such a stunningly high standard (and the collection so well presented) that it is hard to point out any favourite moments from amongst it all. Steve Roach is as brilliant as ever, of course. If I had to pick, though, I think I'd point to Michel Redolfi's "Palm Canyon" (a single movement from a larger work, "Desert Tracks") with its seamless segue into Robert Rich's "Buoyant on Motionless Deluge" as presenting the best offering on Disc 1. Although "Calming Sorrow" from Insect Funeral and "Soli Deo Gloria" by Janis Mattox are definitely not to be missed, either.The second CD of the set contains the heavier weight material of the collection, although once again it is all of such a consistently high standard that it is hard to nominate favourites. Gregory Lenczycki's "Variable State Optical Amplifier" is perhaps the apex here, while Maryanne Amacher provides the moments of the greatest intensity.As with all of the other volumes in this series, this set of disc provides some of the very best examples of music from the subterranean sound world of the sombre ambient drone. A highly recommended 145-minutes worth."

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