Journeyscapes Presents: The Top 30 Albums of 2019

Here it is! Journeyscapes Radio’s special annual presentation where we reflect on some of the past year’s top releases spanning the ambient, electronic and atmospheric world music spheres. 2019 was arguably the most exciting year in music we’ve had so far, with a few veteran artists in the field releasing some of their best work in years alongside newer comers on the scene debuting equally phenomenal recordings. As always, our final list is by no means complete with regards to the sheer volume of amazing music that came our way last year. However, we’ve narrowed the selections down to 30 albums or EPs that were released prior to November 1st, 2019 (and charted on Journeyscapes before December 1st). Shaped by varying moods, tempos and mental imagery throughout, many ambient music substyles and hybrid styles have been presented here, resulting in an intuitive interconnectedness that compliments and harmonizes all musical selections with one another. One track from every featured release has been included in this episode, which consists of five continuously mixed sets. Clocking in at just over three hours, this entire uninterrupted program can be streamed below with the accompanying alphabetized list of recordings. On a final note, this episode was created entirely during time spent in the Sahara Desert region of Morocco, hence the inspiration for the program’s artwork selection. ~Candice Michelle

	Artist	Title	Listen & Buy
	ll nøthing ll	Artificial Nature	Bandcamp
	Alio Die & Lorenzo Montanà	The Threshold of Beauty	Amazon Bandcamp
	Byron Metcalf & Mark Seelig	Persistent Visions	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Chronotope Project	Lotus Rising	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Cryounit	Paradox	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Desert Dwellers	Breath	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Eguana	Invisible Civilization, Vol. 3	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Eguana	Synchronicity	Bandcamp Amazon
	Forrest Fang	The Fata Morgana Dream	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Fourth Dimension	Ubique	Amazon Bandcamp
	Germind	Absorbient	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Germind	Thoughtform	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Hibernation	Ambient Re:Works 01	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Jeff Pearce	Skies and Stars	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Jonathan E. Blake	The Fellowship of Jupiter	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Kaisaku	Aishū	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Le Voyage	Senses of a Magic Fairytale	Amazon
	Louigi Verona	Nocturnal Creatures	Bandcamp
	Mark Dorricott & Stan Dart	Seaside	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Mark Dwane	Astrology	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Mark Dwane	Martian Apparitions	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Massergy	Fire Opal	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Nicholas Gunn	Riding the Thermals	Amazon
	Off Land	Field Tangents	Bandcamp
	Rudy Adrian	Woodlands	Amazon  Bandcamp
	Shinpal	Seven Lives	Bandcamp
	Steve Roach	Atmosphere for Dreaming	Amazon Bandcamp
	Sverre Knut Johansen (with Robert Rich)	Precambrian	Amazon Bandcamp
	Thaneco	The Cretan Tapes	Bandcamp
	Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer	Sound Currents	Amazon Bandcamp

Album Review: temporal.Divergence by Peter Edwards Ambient

Peter Edwards, an ambient/dark ambient experimental soundsculptor based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, recording as Peter Edwards Ambient, landed on my radar screens only during the summer of 2018, shortly before releasing his third full-length CD album temporal.Divergence as the next chapter of dark ambient pentalogy. Available in digital formats since August 18th, 2018, the stunningly designed 6-panel digipak was released a few weeks later through Peter's own Caffeinated Monk Production label, the home of his previous two impressive CDs, suspended.Lucidity (May 2015) and binary.Abstractions (July 2017). To me, this was a huge discovery indeed!!!

Perfectly described as "ambient music for time travellers", this thrillingly immersing odyssey is ignited by the shorter "Prelude", which immediately sets the spatially tenebrous atmosphere. The 6-plus minutes long title track "temporal.Divergence" is fueled by bouncing cyber-tech pulses juxtaposed by industrial outbursts, razor-sharp beats, and heavenly hissing solitariness. A truly jaw-dropping introduction to distinguishably transporting realms by Peter Edwards!!! "quantum.Flux" at 7:33, the longest ride on the album, amalgamates massive drone reverberations with transcendentally helixing meridians and ear-tickling glimmers. Another aural spectacle! "revolution.Induction" masterfully merges hypogeally enigmatic stratums with perpetually ascending galvanic beacons and eerily rumbling fractals. Sonorously mindblowing! "gravField.Theory" dives into gargantuan depths, which are persistently illuminated by eternally galloping oscillations and piercing sci-fi narrations by Randy Savage, who also contributed his voice on the opening "Prelude". "dark.Matter" sails through unfathomably breathtaking realms, where intangibly thundering, yet tenaciously ambiguous magnitudes, commingle with inconspicuously emanating desolations and transmogrifying resonant vertexes. Beyond the gates listening splendor continues also through "causal.Continuum", when mesmerizingly barren heavy-duty beats collide with remotely roaring perplexes. "tempo.Kinetix", as indicated by its title, shifts into a vigorously driven scenario, perforated here and there by outbursting strikes, while immensely panoptic layers are guarding above. "time.Machine" merges abysmally engulfing murmurs with translucently flickering fragments and clandestinely arising oracular ephemerons. On "The Quantum Mechanics Of Time Travel Through Post-Selected Teleportation", mysteriously nuanced drones are reinforced by the narrations of a "quantum mechanic" Seth Lloyd of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Short epilogue "Gate.22180818" closes the album, but hidden also is a 4-minute untitled bonus track, which remains in fascinatingly enveloping monochromatic cosmic zones, percolated by gossamery evanescent traceries and ear-bending numeration.

Peter Edwards Ambient is a truly staggering exploration, which shifts each listener into magnificently adventurous portals, uniquely sophisticated, meticulously crafted and intriguingly rewarding. His 64-minute temporal.Divergence album is an all-inclusive magnum opus, both sonic and visual (design by Savage Internet Media), with deeply focused content and superb presentation. A vast display of artistic brilliance, which is, unfortunately, still hidden to a larger audience within the ambient drone soundscaping. On the science note, this must be some kind of a call I received only several months after experiencing the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, a Radio Astronomy Observatory located on the Plains of San Agustin in central New Mexico. I really wish I knew this gifted sound designer when passing by Albuquerque. Grab your headphones and immerse yourself into this exquisitely monumental futuristic journeying!!!

Reviewed by Richard Gürtler (Oct 20, 2019, Bratislava, Slovakia)

PGM 250: Future Dreams 5

Another euphoric mix of chilled electronica to take us into the new year!

Artist Name / Track Title / Album Title
Paul Seling / Starlight / Aurora EP
Moonman / Galaxia (Solarsoul Remix) / [single]
OceanLab / Secret / Sirens of the Sea
ELEON (ft. Jeff Pearce) / Floating Just Above You / [single]
Schiller (ft. Moya Brennan) / Falling / Day and Night
Cinematic / Atmos (Romance Mix) / Winter Chillout Lounge 2019
Yahel Sherman (ft. Melanie) / Bomb Creator / Superset
Sine / Colour Shades / Cosmic Chill Lounge Vol. 8
Sean Hayman / Jupiter (Milky Way Cut) / Full Moon Chill Vol. 3
Artenovum / It’s Hard (Vocal Mix) / Best Sound of Chill & Lounge 2017
Frank Borell / Distance Voices (Over the Islands Mix) / Spring Lounge 2019
Silky Wave / Under My Skin / Cosmic Chill Lounge, Vol. 7
Eguana / Feel Happiness / Synchronicity

PGM 249: Divine Offerings 2

A mysteriously sacred soundscape featuring an ethereal mix of Gregorian chants and celestial choirs, immersed in haunting ambient atmospheres!

Artist Name / Track Title / Album Title
Divine Works / Divine Works I / Soundtrack to the New Millennium
Aura Luna / Aqua Matrix / Explore Your Senses
Mystico / Opera Kyrie (Contemplative Mix) / Mystico (Deluxe Edition)
Jai / Veni Creator / Gregorian Journey
The Munros / Celtic Crosses / Rosslyn Chapel
Johan Agebjörn / A New Day Arrives / Mossebo
Deborah Martin & J. Arif Verner / Kyrie / Anno Domini
Enigma / Absolvo / The Fall of a Rebel Angel
Wychazel / Sweet Repose / Gregorian Retreat
Kamarius / Angels Choir / Enigmatic Traveler
Paul Avgerinos / The Mystery Telling / Phos Hilaron
Pilgrimage / Pilgrimage / 9 Songs of Ecstasy
Voxfire / Ondas / Fontis

PGM 248: Beyond Perception

A fantastical voyage through ambient psy-fi dimensions!

ARTIST NAME - TRACK TITLE - ALBUM TITLE
Ascendant – Elliptical Memory – Source Transmission
A Positive Life – Aquasonic – Two A.D.
Dfuse – Libra – Amberdelic Space
Alien Mutation – Dream Scape – Chill Out Trance Vol. 2
Aes Dana – Sub Morphing – Memory Shell
Optic Eye – Blue Dreamers – Feed Your Head
Dr Psychedelic – Let’s Try Some Energy – Ambient Odyssey
Transformer – 2 Virtual Cocoon (Processed Mix) – Barramundi: Dreamtime Planet
Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia – Obsidian (Deconstructure Edit) – Excursions in Ambience 1

EP Review: Merry Christmas by Giuseppe Dio

Giuseppe Dio is an Italian electronic music composer who’s explored everything from deep space to dream house on his previous recordings. This time around, he eases comfortably into the holiday spirit with a lovely 24-minute EP that’s simply titled Merry Christmas. Rendering six compositions on electronic synthesizers, Dio has selected a very fitting collection of songs that all beautifully complement one another.

Processional drums, soaring synths and celestial vocal tones majestically open “Adeste Fideles” (aka “O Come All ye Faithful”) which is eventually followed up by the much beloved “Auld Lang Syne”. Vividly conjuring images of decorated cathedral halls and colorful Christmas lights, Dio’s symphonic electronic arrangements pleasantly recalls much of Vangelis’ more cinematically oriented works.

I was most delighted to see a rendition of Franz Schubert’s iconic “Ave Maria” included here, as I’ve always found it to be one of the most beautiful pieces of religious music ever written. Dio puts an epically cosmic and wintery spin on the composition, all while perfectly preserving the sacred reverence of the original masterpiece.

Another highlight is the nocturnally peaceful “O Tannenbaum” (aka “Oh Christmas Tree”) which wraps the lead melody in spacious notes and twinkling stars, effectively conveying a cold winter’s night.

Call it “new age Christmas music” if you like. Either way, this fantastic little collection of cinematic cosmic carols is easily one of the most enjoyable holiday listens of the season! ~Candice Michelle


For more information, please visit the artist's website. This EP is also available on Amazon, iTunes and other retail and streaming platforms.

Top 25 Albums of November

No.	Artist	Title	Listen & Buy
01	Eguana	Synchronicity	Bandcamp iTunes
02	Germind	Thoughtform	Bandcamp iTunes
03	Louigi Verona	Nocturnal Creatures	Bandcamp iTunes
04	Kaisaku	Aishū	Amazon Bandcamp
05	Liam Thomas	Cosmos	Amazon Bandcamp
06	Mark Dwane	Martian Apparitions	Amazon Bandcamp
07	Jeff Pearce	Skies and Stars	Amazon Bandcamp
08	Paul Adams & Elizabeth Geyer	Deeper Imaginings	Amazon Bandcamp
09	Bart Hawkins	21 Pulse Eclipse	Amazon Bandcamp
10	Douglas Blue Feather	Ascension	Amazon iTunes
11	Rudy Adrian	Woodlands	Amazon Bandcamp
12	Noizefilter	Floating Consciousness	Amazon Bandcamp
13	Dlaivison	Aeon	Amazon iTunes
14	Motionfield	A Clear Horizon	Amazon Bandcamp
15	Kelly David	Meditation In Green	Amazon Bandcamp
16	Sherry Finzer & Will Clipman	The Space Between Breaths	Amazon Bandcamp
17	K. Markov	Interactivity	Amazon Bandcamp
18	Off Land	Field Tangents	Bandcamp
19	Drifting In Silence	Away	Amazon Bandcamp
20	Andy Pickford	Psymanteum	Bandcamp
21	Wychazel	Ashram	Amazon iTunes
22	La Estación Del Mar	Landscapes	Amazon iTunes
23	Cryounit	Paradox	Amazon Bandcamp
24	Various Artists	Autumn Breeze, Vol. 3	Amazon iTunes
25	Thomas Lemmer & Andreas Bach	Night Travellers Remixed	Amazon Bandcamp

PGM 247: Northern Lights 6

Another luminous soundscape inspired by the aerial majesty and ancient mythology of the aurora borealis!

ARTIST NAME - TRACK TITLE - ALBUM TITLE
Massergy – Cold White Smoke – Fire Opal
Erik Wøllo – Arrow of Time – Elevations
Boreal Taiga – Norðurland Vestra – Iceland
Motionfield – A Clear Horizon – A Clear Horizon
Bart Hawkins – Dream Meditation – 21 Pulse Eclipse
Rudy Adrian – Autumn in a Forest Glade – Woodlands
David Helpling – Isle in Half Light – RUNE

PGM 246: Lovers' Lane

An amorous mix for autumn full of passionate moods and sensual grooves!

ARTIST NAME - TRACK TITLE - ALBUM TITLE
Sean Hayman – Moments of Silence (Back in Time Mix) – Rhapsody in Chill
Eguana – Keep My Hands – Synchronicity
Polished Chrome – Weekend – Happiness
Frank Borell – Butterflys Stay with Me (The Green Cut) – Spring Lounge 2019
Liam Thomas – Sirius – Cosmos
Poolwave – Smile (Dream Delays Mix) – Beach Grooves Maretimo, Vol. 2
Jean Mare – Such a Lonely Time (Groovy Downbeat Mix) – Deep Space
Artenovum – Angel Eyes (Mystic Ethno Mix) – Mystic Voices
Vesky – Mermaid – Mermaid [single]
Kaisaku – Glossy Heart – Aishū
The Starseeds – Heavensairportcoffeeshoprestaurant (Future Loop Foundation Remix) – Heavensairportcoffeeshoprestaurant 
DJ Maretimo – Café Internacional (Jazzy James Junior Slowjam Mix) – Chill Sunset Maretimo, Vol. 1

PGM 246: LOVERS’ LANE

An amorous chillout mix of passionate moods & sensual grooves.

No. ARTIST – TRACK
01. Sean Hayman – Moments of Silence (Back in Time Mix)
02. Eguana – Keep My Hands
03. Polished Chrome – Weekend
04. Frank Borell – Butterflys Stay with Me (The Green Cut)
05. Liam Thomas – Sirius
06. Poolwave – Smile (Dream Delays Mix)
07. Jean Mare – Such a Lonely Time (Groovy Downbeat Mix)
08. Artenovum – Angel Eyes (Mystic Ethno Mix)
09. Vesky – Mermaid
10. Kaisaku – Glossy Heart
11. The Starseeds – Heavensairportcoffeeshoprestaurant (Future Loop Foundation Remix)
12. DJ Maretimo – Café Internacional (Jazzy James Junior Slowjam Mix)

PGM 245: Shamanic Visions 5

Another foreboding excursion into visionary tribal-ambient soundworlds!

ARTIST NAME - TRACK TITLE - ALBUM TITLE
Louigi Verona – Darkening – Nocturnal Creatures
Frore & Shane Morris – Anima – Eclipse
Stephan Baer – Mwari (Initiation) – The Dark Frontier
Suspended Memories – Snake Song – Forgotten Gods
Forrest Fang – A River in Retrograde – Following the Either Sun
Byron Metcalf & Steve Roach – Big Medicine – The Serpent’s Lair
Kelly David – A Bend in the River – Meditation in Green
Steve Roach – Birthpulse – Trance Archaeology

PGM 244: Hypnotic Voyage 5

Another mind-bending excursion into cosmic psybient groove!

ARTIST – TRACK TITLE – ALBUM TITLE
Side Liner – Cosmos Heartbeat – Cosmos Heartbeat
J.P.illusion – Underwater – Bare Trees
Cryounit – First Born – Paradox
Andy Pickford – Psymanteum Part 9 – Psymanteum
Germind – Thoughtform – Thoughtform
Rising Galaxy – Forgiveness Moves in Waves (Gregory Paul Mineeff Remix) – A Concept, Vol. 2
Sinius & Atmospheric Research – Hypnotic Gestures (ft. Ulrich Schnauss) – Hypnotic Gestures
Jonathan E. Blake – I Am Nr 5 – The Fellowship of Jupiter
Fourth Dimension – Mira’s Tail – Ubique

Top 25 Albums of October

No.	Artist	Title	Listen & Buy
01	Shinpal	Seven Lives	Bandcamp
02	Kaisaku	Aishū	Amazon Bandcamp
03	Jeff Pearce	Skies and Stars	Amazon Bandcamp
04	Mark Dwane	Martian Apparitions	Amazon Bandcamp
05	OSLEE	Elevate	Amazon iTunes
06	Kelly David	Meditation In Green	Amazon Bandcamp
07	Sherry Finzer & Will Clipman	The Space Between Breaths	Amazon Bandcamp
08	Off Land	Field Tangents	Bandcamp
09	Drifting In Silence	Away	Amazon Bandcamp
10	Eguana	Synchronicity	Bandcamp iTunes
11	Liam Thomas	Cosmos	Amazon Bandcamp
12	Noizefilter	Floating Consciousness	Amazon Bandcamp
13	La Estación Del Mar	Landscapes	Amazon iTunes
14	Cryounit	Paradox	Amazon Bandcamp
15	Robert Rich	Tactile Ground	Amazon Bandcamp
16	Steve Roach	Bloom Ascension	Amazon Bandcamp
17	Dlaivison	Aeon	Amazon iTunes
18	Kamarius	The Flow of Life	Amazon Bandcamp
19	Obsqure	Oriental Banquet	Amazon Bandcamp
20	Bart Hawkins	21 Pulse Eclipse	Amazon Bandcamp
21	Polly Fae	Dreamwalkers	Amazon Bandcamp
22	Germind	Absorbient, Vol. 2	Amazon Bandcamp
23	Glint	Estival Arvo	Amazon Bandcamp
24	Oliva	Departure to the Stars	Amazon iTunes
25	Motionfield	A Clear Horizon	Amazon Bandcamp

PGM 243: Mythic Twilight 4

An ethereal autumn mix inspired by magic, myth and fantasy!

ARTIST – TRACK TITLE – ALBUM TITLE
Blue Stone – Confession – Breathe
Mythos – Allure – Eros
Sofa Sweeper – Romeo Is Dreaming (Slow Motion Mix) – Autumn Breeze, Vol. 3
Douglas Blue Feather – Shaman’s Blessing – Ascension
Amethystium – Dreamdance – Odonata
Rémi Orts Project – Reign of the Forest – Peaceful Moments: Reign of the Forest
Llewellyn – The White Lady – Ghosts
Giuseppe Dio – The Woodland – Imaginary Flights
Guy Sweens – Full Moon – Moon Magic
2002 – Finding You – A World Away
Chris Conway – Fly On Forever – Flute Dreamer