EOLIAN REFLECTIONS

Alpha Wave Movement's Gregory Kyryluk is already establishing himself as one of the modern prog-electronic masters with a large back catalogue of superb and atmospheric titles of great variety. Some perfectly fuse vintage Berlin School mystery with modern deep-space ambience like the classic `Architexture of Silence' from 2013, `Yasumu' and `Harmonic Currents' are deeply meditative and others are more obviously melodic such as `Horizons' or the recent `Kinetic'. Then there's 2014's `Eolian Reflections' that blends many of those styles into one exquisite work, containing six unhurried electronic pieces that rarely drifts into more static drone territory, instead offering endless subtle graceful movement, sometimes with just the lightest of grounded earthy tribal elements and never actually resembling `cosmic' music for even a second.

A gentle twinkling melody flits around opener `Canyon Reverie's dreamy and placid sighing ambient washes, the most subtle of didgeridoo groans quietly beside Kitaro-like electronic breezes and permeating exotic ethnic flavours throughout the quietly dramatic `Cliff Dwellers Dominion', and the low-key `Dune Reflections' comes the closest to a Steve Roach-like piece with its pristine and sustaining fuzzy hum that continually approaches and falls away. The shorter `Full Moon At Window Arch's languid shimmerings are teeming with life and wonder, `Natural Geometry's eerie ripples drowsy float over a subtle variety of percussive elements and acoustic guitar-like chimes, and luxurious pools of heavenly electronic caresses glisten throughout closer `The Crossroads Of Time & Silence'.

`Eolian Reflections' is a beautiful progressive-electronic work that just might be one of Gregory's most quietly defining Alpha Wave Movement releases to date. It retains a very warm humanity, something that's not easy to achieve when solely utilising electronics, and is ideal for newcomers who want a good representation of intelligent ambient/prog-electronic music that remains colourful, inviting and artful from a smart and varied modern composer.

Four stars.