ZEIT

Right off the bat, I've got to say that the fact that this album was released in 1972 is absolutely mind blowing to me, the freeform structure, the lack of any traditional melody or musical qualities almost entirely, how deeply atmospheric it all is, everything about it is just amazing to me. I'm not going to say that it's an album that I'll often listen to, given that it's some of the least eventful music I've ever heard, including all the ambient I've listened to, but I can't deny that it's one of the single most immersive listening experiences I've ever undertaken. While the band as whole seems to create mainly space themed music, I personally feel like the vast emptiness of outer space is encapsulated most perfectly here, such minimalistic sounds managing to create a feeling of being alone and staring out into the immense void of the cosmos, managing to be both incredibly understated while also majestic in its own strange way.

Despite being a primarily electronic band, the first track, Birth of Liquid Plejades starts off with multiple cellos, all of which are only playing a couple of sustained notes, the variation merely coming in through the altering of their volume, those that carry somewhat more melody especially phasing in and out, bringing forth swathes of beauty in amongst the endless droning, overtime introducing some more of the futuristic sounding electronic elements that make this album so great. This is by far the most organic and 'human' sounding track of the four due to not entirely focusing on these electronic elements, and having a consistently fuller sound, as even once the cellos are entirely phased out, the warm, droning low notes of the organ are a constant presence, and definitely aid in the creation of the track's immersion. Nebulous Dawn is downright eerie in a lot of respects, bringing forth a much more sparse, desolate soundscape, this time having no sort of warmth to it, everything being electronic. The low droning in the background phases in and out, leaving complete silence, adding to how large everything feels here. To add to this, once in a while, subtle noises that evoke imagery of small skittering beings is added to disrupt what can almost be considered tranquility, further putting the listener in a state of constant unease.

Other than some slight use of guitar at the start of it, Origin of Supernatural Probabilities follows a very similar format to the previous track, but this time instead of sounding unsettling and all around creepy, the approach taken is one to make it feel unnatural and alien, highlighted by the constant pulsating sound in the background. This pulsating also is a major reason why this track works so well, as it makes this an even more hypnotic track than previous ones, as the sounds fade in and out, they continue to further worm their way into the listener's head, invoking a near trancelike state that I can't think of something that matches it. The title track takes a lot of elements from previous track and then makes them far more understated, the high pitched wails in the background, the creepy tone due to sparseness, an overall alien sound etc. This creates an extremely calm, meditative soundscape that once again seems to create imagery that stretches on forever, there is very little progression, there is no melody, there is just the endless expanse of the cosmos.

Despite being so minimalistic in a lot of ways, I definitely believe that this album works best when it's being actively listened to, when you can better immerse yourself in all the imagery, feel both calm and uneasy while listening, fully unravel the absolutely incredible atmosphere present here. I'll say that you need to be in the right mood for this, an have a lot of patience, otherwise you'll almost undoubtedly feel bored by this album, as this is not particularly accessible by any margin and will most likely sound like a bunch of meaningless sounds the first couple of times. Despite this, I love so much of what's being done on this album, especially when considering how ahead of its time it was. If you're looking for conventional, traditional sounding music in any way, shape or form, then you won't find it here, but if you're looking for an incredibly immersive, atmospheric listening experience, then I strongly recommend this album.

Verdict: Despite enjoying a couple of other TD albums more than this, I believe that this is the band's peak in terms of capturing the essence of space in all its majesty and desolation. Strongly recommended to people who enjoy very minimalistic music along the lines of ambient, but definitely not the place to start for newcomers to the band, that would be Phaedra.