SOMEWHERE THE MUSIC HAD BEEN PLAYED
Resting Bells 008 2007

To speak with Spiritualized: "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are floating in space" After two amazing releases ("The Night The Stars Flewì/Electrosound & "Into Vernadsky"/12rec), Astrowind come up with another great 7-track-EP. Deeply influenced by german krautrock, "Somewhere The Music Had Been Played" puts you in a warm blanket and let you float in time and space. This deep harmonic athmosphere guides you through the complete release. From the first track soft bubbling synth-patterns and soundscapes take you by the hand and let you forget time and space around you. And leave you after 35 minutes in a calm and peaceful condition. By the way: The whole EP was recorded during a live improvisation on soviet-era analog synth and desktop FX. An exciting example of creating music together spontaniously. - Christian Roth

INTO VERNADSKY
12REC 041 2007

While the debut was more like watching the stars on a windy night, "Into Vernadsky" has a rather oceanic feel. "Welcome to the Past" starts off with fat sonar-like bleeps while the harmonic synth- and organ-chords in the back seem to pass tons of salty water before they reach your ear. The second song, mysteriously entitled "Rusty Trumpet of Youth", has a similar feel. Squeaking synthesizers and a millions bubbles beneath. The "Connections of Everything"-trilogy afterwards marks the slow ascension from the bottom of the ocean to the bright and lovely shores atop. If you are a fan of the Herzog EP we released in May 2007, maybe you dig these tunes, too. Despite all the differences. The second half of "Into Vernadsky" EP begins with "Vernadsky Choice". Astrowind combine sweet organ-chords with a crackling and hissing synthesizer pulse. Check the Jean-Michel Jarre filter sweeps! At position seven, ìStarry Night Horseridingî takes on a slightly more resolute temper. Very dense, you can imagine the starlight landscape taking a flight before your eyes. "I'd Like to Return" is the last song before the EP fades out with the final tune "Blake". There is a strong atmosphere of menace in it, a certain kind of tensions haunting. Reminds me of German Krautrock pioneers Cluster - and that is the best I can give! - Sven Swift.

THE NIGHT THE STARS FLEW
Electrosound ES 26 2007


The title track from their latest EP is less complex and more sentimental. According to the band, the EP is inspired by watching shooting stars fly across a Baltic winter sky. Catching a shooting star by accident is one thing, but waiting for it is another. Minutes and hours can go by without activity. And so this track captures more of the feeling of waiting than the event itself, atmosphere more than action. Slow pulsing synths provide the out-of-focus twinkle. Then Astrowind imagine the shooting star itself as high-pitched sizzles and fades. There are swathes of inactivity between, and, like the downtime during a meteor shower, you squint, trying to see things that aren’t there. "The Night the Stars Flew" captures this sense of languid, dreamy anticipation, with occasional bursts of light. - JESSICA SUAREZ