I've begun this review with something of a downer, I know, but it serves my purpose to introduce the two albums of my review; two albums that are unrelated by artist and label, but share similar moods and intents. They also represent the converse of the above, perhaps imagined, 2004 trend--two excellent releases by new artists, each minimal and drifting, each memorable and representative in its own way. Perhaps 2004 hasn't been so bad for space music after all?

I'll begin with Oxana by UK newcomer Pete Kelly, aka Igneous Flame, whose previous album Tolmon I received when I started reviewing ambient here. That album was a near miss for me; professionally created, with all the hallmarks of great ambient, but lacking the cohesiveness and sheen to make it a truly memorable and original release. Any misgivings I might have had for this previous effort are blown away by Oxana, a completely fascinating, slowly shifting, collection of deep, though not dark, ambient tracks.

Kelly's ambience appears to be largely synth-created--apart from what might be processed guitar, I could detect no natural instruments, or at least none that haven't been heavily treated or tampered with in some way. Oxana begins with the aptly-titled Formless, something of a harbinger for the deep tones to come. Sonorous, gusty sonics evoke deep space vacuum, similar to the more minimalist tracks by Zero Ohms. "Glacia-Tor" sounds like an ice planet whirling gently around a distant sun, its revolving tones soothing and bassy. "Novar" manages to recall for me the bright ambience of both early VidnaObmana, Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project, and the interstellar strums of Jeff Pearce. "Isolder" continues this musical reminder, though this time the sounds are vaguely glitched-out and extended toward the horizon line. "Geiss" reminds me of Vir Unis's very fine ambient works, before he soared off into numerous beat-driven albums. "Prismatic" continues the similarities to both Jeff Pearce and Vir Unis, as though the two musicians combined in an imaginary collaboration. "Vapour Trace" darkens the mood considerably, recalling the deep space territories plumbed by Oöphoi and Tau Ceti, or Life Garden's creepy mysticism. This is one of Oxana's most powerful tracks; subterranean sounds, lovely synth backgrounds, an air of interstellar mystery. Very fine stuff. You can't get more descriptive than "Space," a softly ululating track that manages to portray claustrophobic dark space and vast, open solar vistas simultaneously. "Dark Material" sonically describes the cover art of Oxana--marvelous black space, punctuated by slashes of deep red lightbeams or gas trails. The final track, "Lost at Sea," is a foreboding drone-based composition, reminding me heavily of Rapoon's darker material, complete with long wave shipping forecast samples--always an alien, though strangely comforting, sonic source.

Kelly's Oxana is a very fine work, though not without flaws. Many of the tracks sound similar--while creating an album length mood, they do tend to blend over sixty-six minutes (and also make each track rather difficult to describe on its own terms). The sound of the album, production-wise, is murky, often limiting the range and effect of headphone listening. These points do not, however, prevent me from recommending this album highly, especially for those ambient listeners enamored by the Hypnos label, specifically Jeff Pearce's lovely, vast, guitar-created atmospheres or the seemingly limitless drift of Vir Unis's older albums on the Green House Music label. Oxana is a perfect disc for late-night stargazing into the heavens, or the sweet time as one drifts gently into a night's slumber. Indeed, Kelly's created a fine example of "night music" where the sounds of the record and your own imagination are the only light sources. Recommended.

The second album bucking the 2004 trend is also a debut on the already-impressive Databloem CD-R sublabel DataObscura. Jason Corder, recording as Off the Sky, submits Cold Distances, which I'll introduce by saying that it is one of the finest debuts I've ever had the pleasure to hear, and that it will be ranking high on my top ten list for 2004 (if not the top spot), and is perhaps one of the most impressive ambient debuts of the 2000s. If you are a fan of Biosphere's glacial driftworks, the strangely emotional computer-songs of Tim Hecker, or even Thomas Köner's inhospitably cold environments, Off the Sky's remarkable debut is a must-have.

Cold Distances appears to have been created solely on soft-synths. These synths sound largely alien, though still environmental, as though these imaginary instruments are the only true way to represent the feelings and textures of the overarching mood; a mood of, well, cold distances. Whether these distances are the arctic tundra or the infinities of deep space (the track titles seem to suggest the former), it's difficult not to be swept away by the evocative sounds and textures presented by Corder over nearly sixty-five minutes. "A Thousand Year Formation" combines crackling vinyl LP/fireplace noises with gusting winds, arctic and solar; bassy drones; and Biosphere-esque organic synth tones and inexplicable samples. It is at once soothing and mysterious, as though the listener is immediately clued into a microworld of sound that was previously undetectable. "Morning Thaw" is representative of the glitched-out, blissed-out sonics of Christopher Willits; chittering synths disintegrate into nothingness, an intriguing fifty seconds. "Beneath the Ice Shelf" is minimal and haunting--similar in feel to Tim Hecker's "Music for Tundra," while not as sonically overpowering. "Light Peaks" returns to the glitch-basis of track two, its constantly shifting tones chopped up in under forty seconds. "Polar Drift" is sure to satisfy Thomas Köner junkies, a strange beat underpinning--like a softly intoning buoy or the ticking of clocks--the cold synth ambience. Electronic crackle, like white noise, snowblinds us, and we attempt to press on through blizzard conditions, growing more and more sleepy, until the effortless drift threatens to pull us away forever. "Cold Distances to a Warm Place" is unquestionably my favorite track, carrying forth the tick-tock from its predecessor and shifting it into a heartbeat. This heartbeat brings us inside ourselves, and when the absolutely blissful synth sweeps glide down, it's chills-time of the highest order. Do you remember that Ray Bradbury story where the spacemen are blasted out of their rocket, to glide forever alone in space? Here's your soundtrack. I could listen to this for hours--perfect melancholy. "Winter's Torpid Flow" crackles cheerily, maintaining the heartbeat from the previous track. Down deep under the ice, something is melting briefly, shifting slowly, creating gorgeous ice formations that may never be viewed by human eyes. Ten more minutes of softly-propulsive sonic bliss, punctuated by fascinating machine noises generated by dreaming computers. "Maker's Folly" synth-tones toll for thee--hissing synths and gonging into infinity, up and out, or perhaps down and under, if the undersea feel of later in the track is any indication. Finally, "Solid Surface, Soft Center" closes the work with a reverent feel; soft, organic tones, mechanical chitters, tampered-with synth meandering. A gentle end to an understated, though terrifically powerful, work.

Cold Distances is a perfect album. It's modern, soothing, experimental, emotional, and captivating. It's the kind of album that reveals more detail with each listen, is more satisfying with every play, will reward you no matter what mood you might be in. I won’t mince words: this album is pure magic, don't miss it. My highest recommendation.

Igneous Flame's Oxana is available on Chillfactor 10 records.

Off the Sky's Cold Distances is out on Databloem's DataObscura sublabel.