â. . . a summer vacation in a CD, filled with warmth and charm.â âAmbient Visions

9 MP3 Songs
WORLD: World Fusion, ELECTRONIC: Ambient



Details:
â. . . a summer vacation in a CD, filled with warmth and charm.â âAmbient Visions

CREDITS
Kit Watkins: VL1 virtual acoustic synthesizer, samples, keyboards, percussion.

REVIEWS
âThis sparkling album by longtime ambient/jazz composer Kit Watkins is a summer vacation in a CD, filled with warmth and charm. Watkins plays a wide variety of instruments, acoustic, electronically synthesized, and everywhere in between, and gives us an equally wide variety of pieces in this album. Though itâs dated 2000, this work is actually mostly from the mid-90s, with one earlier piece, âKaleidoscopesâ from 1985. There are many fine moments in The Unseen, for instance a somber and rather Roach-like passage of ambient drift at the end of track 3, âLogarhythm,â and a pseudo-Miles Davis âtrumpetâ solo in âVeil of Cool,â played by Watkins on an electronic sampling instrument which has more range than any trumpet. Other tracks, such as âWindchimesâ (track 7) or âEvening Mothraâ (track 9) are austere, gentle, and contemplative, leaving the hot rhythms behind in the virtual city for a sound which is as refreshing as a clear pool of shining water.â âHannah M.G. Shapero, All About Jazz

âIt has been a while since Watkinsâ last one, but well worth the wait. Traces of ethnic influences, mostly via percussive technique (programmed/sampled, but in many cases sounds so real itâs scary) can be heard on several tracks, with the eight-minute âLogarhythmâ being the standout. The opener âMorning Mothraâ and closer âEvening Mothraâ deserve special note, both gently shimmering and reflective melodic pieces sans-percussion that are perhaps two of his best pieces ever. Highly recommended.â âPeter Thelen, Exposé