Roberto Musci – Debris Of A Loa (1998, CD, Italy)

Tracklist:
1 The Way Of Discreet Zen
2 Woman Of Water And Music
3 Claudia, Wilhem R. And Me
4 Shadow Player
5 The Sneerer (Mr G.C.)
6 Improbably Music
7 Loa Song
8 Night Music
9 Dalang's Dream
10 Lidia, After The Snow
11 Drums On Chambri Lake
12 Katak Dance For H. Partch
13 Debris Of A Loa
14 Wayang
15 Blue Garden
16 High Density Snake
17 The Fragility Of The Oscillation
18 Enahrmonic Horse

Musicians:
Composed By, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Sampler, Tape – Claudio Gabbiani (13 to 18)
Composed By, Recorded By, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Sampler, Tape, Percussion [Indian & African], Flute, Keyboards, Tambura, Cover, Painting – Roberto Musci

1-12: "The Loa Of Music" Raw Material 1983
13-18: "Umi - The Sea" 1983 - 1997

Akira Ito = 伊藤詳 - Bosatu & Mugen = 菩薩と無限 (1979, LP, Japan)

Tracklist:
A1 Bosatu 7:42
A2 Me-Za-Me 4:18
A3 Kokoro & Karada 4:32
A4 Mitu 5:36
B1 意識 2:34
B2 止觀 7:33
B3 夢幻 4:13
B4 無限 4:51

Musicians:
Bass – Kei Ishikawa
Drums – Shizuo Takasaki
Guitar – Chitose Shibata
Percussion [Narimono] – Kiyohiko Senba
Shakuhachi – Masashi Kikuchi
Synthesizer, Keyboards – Akira Ito

Fabio Liberatori – The Asimov Assembly - A Tribute To Isaac Asimov (2002, CD, Italy)

Tracklist:
1 Eyes Do More Than See 4:21
2 Strikebreaker 7:25
3 Nightfall 4:18
4 Nobody Here But... 5:01
5 The Machine That Won The War 5:03
6 The Galaxy Stock Exchange 4:21
7 My Son, The Physicist 3:38
8 Insert Knob A In Hole B 4:49
9 The Up- To -Date Sorcerer 5:33
10 Nightfall - Reprise 1:14

Musicians:

Fabio Liberatori/ Keyboards and Sonic Treatments

Sonja Kristina/ Vocals (1,3)

Arturo Stalteri/ Piano, Keyboards (3,5,7)

Anthony Drago/ Vocals (6)

Kitaro = 喜多郎 – 大地 = From The Full Moon Story (1979, CD, Japan)

Trembling Strain – Four Pictures ～四つの弔歌～(1995, CD, Japan)

Tracklist:
1. 埋葬歌 - Maisōka [Music for Burial] 10:59
2. 印 I - Shirushi I [Sigil I] 1:57
3. 火葬歌 - Kasōka [Music for Cremation] 8:31
4. 印 II - Shirushi II [Sigil II] 2:28
5. 嘆きの川辺 - Nageki no Kawabe [Kokytus] 12:46
6. 印 III - Shirushi III [Sigil III] 2:20
7. 鳥葬歌 - Chōsōka [Music for Aerial Sepulcher] 7:40
8. 印 IV - Shirushi IV [Sigil IV] 2:41

9. 水葬歌 - Suisōka [Music for Burial in Water] 10:38

In the mid-1990s, electronic and new age music composer Pneuma (Satoru Takazawa) unexpectedly shifted gears, leaving a series of tasteful recordings drenched in funereal mysticism, astrology, medievalism and pictorial symbolism. Supported by Akira, Shin Yamazaki (ex-Lacrymosa) and Yuko Suzuki, the formation adopted the unlikely name: Trembling Strain. With the help from other like-minded musicians, Pneuma & Co indulged in exotic exercises of color and space. Their appetite for trans-cultural combinations collated luscious mirages with Asian, Middle Eastern, African, medieval and Brazilian instruments. The results of this concoction are usually more than the sum of the parts and occasionally Trembling Strain added to the shortlist of the most accomplished ethnic atmospherics.

Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Harry illiamson – Stroking The Tail Of The Bird (1990, CD, England)

Tracklist:
1 Stroking The Tail Of The Bird Part 1 10:01
2 Stroking The Tail Of The Bird Part 2 15:50
3 Moonpeople Gliss 10:25
4 Deep Sea 12:59
5 Rainbow Meditation 9:57

Musicians:
Electric Guitar [Glissando Electric Guitar] – Daevid Allen
Keyboards, Recorded By [Recording], Mixed By [Mixing] – Harry Williamson
Voice [Space Whisper] – Gilli Smyth
Written-By – Allen* (tracce: 1 to 4), Smyth* (tracce: 1, 2), Williamson* (tracce: 1, 2, 5)

Note:
1, 2 & 3 recorded at Spring Studio 1987
4 recorded at Banana Moon Observatory, Deya 1976
5 recorded 1998

Compiling recordings that span the 70s through the 90s, 'Stroking The Tail Of The Bird' compiles highlights of the Gong co-founders Allen and Smyth, along with Mother Gong alumnus Williamson, at their enigmatic best. Glissando guitars and meditative synths deliver timeless etheral psychedelia.

Alquimia – "Coatlicue" Goddess Of The Earth (1992, CD, Mexico)

An independent artist, composer, synthesist, percussionist, and vocalist, Alquimia is known mostly in new-age and fourth-world music circles, though her work truly transcends any form of categorization. Now living in London, her primary influence continues to be the pre-hispanic culture of her native Mexico. Her collaboration with J.L. Fernandez Ledesma on the album Dead Tongues (review in issue #10) piqued this writer's interest, beckoning further exploration. The music herein is primarily an expressive mix of pre-hispanic percussion, ambient droning synthesizer work, electronic effects, and ethereal multi-layered vocal work (no lyrics), with occasional flute and guests contributing guitar, violin, and more percussion to the odd track — but for the most part all instruments are played by Alquimia. Someone looking for comparisons might consider her music as a meeting of the ethnic percussive based work of people like Jorge Reyes, and the vocalizations of folks like Enya, sprinkled with a healthy dose of experimentalism. The earlier album is the most experimental and traditionally ethnic of the two, with its lengthy multi-part title suite. The '95 album is perhaps the more spacy and dreamy of the two, and a bit more vocal as well (many of the sounds which one might be believe to be synths are, on closer scrutiny, actually voices). Either disc is outstanding, though the more recent album is probably a better starting point for most. (Exposé)

Franco Nanni ‎– Elicoide (1987, LP, Italy)

Franco Nanni’s ‘Elicoide’ is a lost gem previously released in 1987 only in few copies. The Italian musician has developed (with the assistance from Paolo Grandi on double bass) a minimalistic and repetitive structure expressed into five long compositions ranging from jazz, avantgarde and of­ course ambient music­, each one with its own precise character.
It is an album that showcases his idea of ­ “Ascetic Trance” by referring to the music of John Cage, Arvo Pärt and the Mediterranean Organic scene.
‘Elicoide’ was performed live in a rare exhibition during the summer of 1987 by an ensemble with Franco Nanni himself, Paolo Grandi, Leo Croatto and Marcela Pérez Silva. During the performance, a special version of “Poesia” was presented for the first time, a song written by peruvian composer Daniel “Kiri” Escobar and re-arranged by Franco Nanni.