STARGAZER-Album Review-By DACE

(ARTWORK)-(Front art)- Peter, just love tha artwork. Its on my desktop. The colors are so nice. The graphic work has alot of depth. So many ways to see it. And things to see IN it. Love that. Reminding me of some good old LP cover art. The font is great also. I like the placement of it, and that you use two different colors of font. It looks REAL killer BIG on my Desktop man!
(BACK Art)- i dont know about the black box...but i guess you wanted the font to show better. I think it would look better having it just over the art, or to the side. But its just the back.
(CD-Lable) WOW! Super cool invert....And the font work again is real good man! Placement and color are just perfect. I like the suprise of opening a CD up and seeing something awesome on the CD. Its the first thing i do.
(Whole-impression) Im very much liking the art Peter. Its SO important because it draws people to the music. Only small dis-like is the black-out-box on the back, but i understand why you did that. Is there any thing under the CD in the tray, or is it black. And what about the info-sheet inside the case?
I give you a 9 out of 10 on the artwork-job. Super cool Peter. Makes me want to hear the music. And thats the point of the stuff.
DACE>

(T-1)- (Beyond The Speed of Light) Opening intro keys are super vibey..Delay is perfect on them. Drums come in just in time. And they sound SO good, (real). Its a super beat Peter. The bass tone is very round and full, not to deep, and i like that. Its clear and filling the track out as it should. Then the keys that float around the headspace come in..WOW! that is awesome roto-panning work! This tune builds ever so slowly and perfectly. Its a masterful sounding tune, EPIC if you will.
When the guitars come in it just gives me chills and i started to pirk in my listening. There sitting just right in the mix, not over-riding the tune. Man they add SO much to the tune. I like that you put them in the back of the Mix, as i would keys. Thats the coolest thing for me here. You know what you do, and how to place things right for that. The lead guitar is some of the best iv heard in a while. Very good feel for the guitar you have. That comes from your keyboard work, you listen good while playing lead. I love the keyboard part right after the lead guitar ALOT MAN! that kind sums-up the guitar line..Real cool that! The production and mixing is the best! Thats yur strongest part. But i must say,you play REAL good guitar! Love this bass work also. Its just EPIC in every way. Man you should be proud of this. Did you EVER think when you started years ago, you would endup sounding this awesome?
Im super impressed Peter. Thats some great lead guitar, and one KIK tune!!!
CONGRATS!
DACE>

More later...

You know what....Im very proud to get to review music such as this.
Im really honored.

DACE>

Wow.....Thank you DACE....

That's a real knock out start of an album review.....it does not get much better than that.

Super Happy

There is no back tray insert because the album is packaged in a single jewel case.

I make the CD at home using an ink jet printer that prints on printable CDR's.....so I do the whole package. A small run is no problem and very cheap that way.....yes even cheaper than Kunaki.

If I was in the US I would probably use Kunaki but the carriage costs to the Uk make it just as expensive as some of the UK CD duplicators. In the end I decided to do it myself because I mainly sell mp3 downloads........although its nice to have CD's to sell too.

This album will be selling on I-Tunes, Amazon, Napster and lots of other sites as soon as it clears their systems.

Is it OK for me to post some of your reviews on my CD Baby page???

People do pay attention to them and it does help.

It really means an awful lot to me to hear you like my guitar work. You know that I have great respect for your playing so I feel honoured that you rate me as a guitarist DACE.

My Thanks again with Deep Respect

Yes, you can post my words Peter.

I do more soon. matter a fact, real soon..

DACE>

Your guitar work on this album is amazing Peter!

Huge Thanks Steve and DACE....This means so much to me.

Star4mation wrote:Your guitar work on this album is amazing Peter!

AS an Artist, how would review Peters Artwork Steve?
Like to hear it.

DACE>

(T-2)-(STARGAZER)- Its the perfect Title for this one. It IS space-rock. As it starts with a deep rumble sound and then swiling synth coming in, im IN space! Great bass part..Like the use of cymbals in this. Very cool snair-beat. All the synth work right brfore the guitar really makes the guitar stand out. And MAN! thats some great guitar playing. What gives your guitar playing its sytle is that your a keyboardist. You let the notes LIVE as with a keyboard line. That really sets you apart from the guitarist group. Im impressed with the CLASS you play with notes and bends. Its really cool to hear. Love your bent notes. The bass and drum are supporting SO well here, keeping the tune rolling and the guitar interesting. It forward playing Peter, and youknow i LOVE that. Yes, i hear Hendrix in your style, but its from the heart, not from learning out of a book kind of thing. The wha is giving that vibe to me also. This is a guitar-track really. You put the guitar up front and played forward. You see, its INTERESTING... you know what i mean when i say that..lol...Very classy man! Boy that bass line is perfect for this! Im setting here stealing licks from you.. hope ya dont mind. SO enjoyed this!
DACE>

DACE wrote:

Star4mation wrote:Your guitar work on this album is amazing Peter!

AS an Artist, how would review Peters Artwork Steve?
Like to hear it.

DACE>

Very well designed indeed! The central fractal looks both like a futuristic mask and a Neolithic flint arrowhead, but also like a spaceship viewed from above. It just shouts out Spacey and Trippy Sounds to me!! The fractal's ability to portray everyones favorite leaf as a repeating patten just lends itself to this musical genre!
Would still look good as a proper LP cover (12 inches)

(3)-(EPSILON ERIDANI)- Great swirling-intro-synth. These drums have a (nigel potter) sound and feel to them, the rolls and all. I like the tone of the guitar, its clean but still heavy..has some "hair" on it. Very nice tone. Very driving rock tune here. The drums are giving it that. You play alot of guitar on this one. Like a jam tune kinda. I mean that in the classic way of the 70s rock stuff. I feel what helps this tune the most is the tone of the guitar. Pretty much this is a guitar tune, so the tone of the lead must be interesting, as this is. Drums really KIK! Nice simple bass-lime under the mix. OK...You rock Peter...You show that you can ROCK here. This is good work because it shows another side of your style.
DACE>

(T-4)-(MOONSURFING)- O MY! My FAVE so far on the Album. Im finding it very hard to put into words. Everything is just perrfect to my ears..WONDERFUL bass! Synth is SO PURE-CLEAN-WIDE-WARM-SMOOTH-, the panning is perfect! Then the guitar comes in with a synth-like tone..HOW DID YOU GET THAT TONE?? Wow! its amazing man! Drums are so grooveyyyyyyyy, driving the tune great! Love that bass-line and tone. Im amazed at this guitar! Tone-wise and playing. MAN! blown away! The blend here is near GODLIKE! I must say this is one the most interesting tunes iv heard in years! Its melting together...AMAZING PETER! Its allmost TO MUCH man! im MORE than impressed with this tune...Im sure study'n it hard. very very VERY GOOD! I really will have to listen more and get back to you. its MAGIC sounds man! I dont know if there ARE any words to use for this, ones i know anyway. MAN! IMPRESSED! Very much so!
GOD-LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUDE! what the (F)! how did you do this???? amazing man.
Geeezzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HEY! CHECK OUT (MY) FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This one got me good Peter. Blown away man! really am!
I never in my life! TOP TOP TOP MUSIC!
DUDE!
DACE>

DACE wrote:(T-4)-(MOONSURFING)- O MY! My FAVE so far on the Album. Im finding it very hard to put into words. Everything is just perrfect to my ears..WONDERFUL bass! Synth is SO PURE-CLEAN-WIDE-WARM-SMOOTH-, the panning is perfect! Then the guitar comes in with a synth-like tone..HOW DID YOU GET THAT TONE?? Wow! its amazing man! Drums are so grooveyyyyyyyy, driving the tune great! Love that bass-line and tone. Im amazed at this guitar! Tone-wise and playing. MAN! blown away! The blend here is near GODLIKE! I must say this is one the most interesting tunes iv heard in years! Its melting together...AMAZING PETER! Its allmost TO MUCH man! im MORE than impressed with this tune...Im sure study'n it hard. very very VERY GOOD! I really will have to listen more and get back to you. its MAGIC sounds man! I dont know if there ARE any words to use for this, ones i know anyway. MAN! IMPRESSED! Very much so!
GOD-LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUDE! what the (F)! how did you do this???? amazing man.
Geeezzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HEY! CHECK OUT (MY) FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This one got me good Peter. Blown away man! really am!
I never in my life! TOP TOP TOP MUSIC!
DUDE!
DACE>

DACE....Thanks a lot man. Its very sharp of you to detect those little pieces of Hendrix style I put into Stargazer but I thought they would fit so well and it just came out when I played.
All my guitar parts are always improvised live so if I feel something then I play it....if I can.

Moonsurfing.....I nearly didn't include this one I like it now but I wasn't too sure at first.
The Guitar was played with a 5th harmony on the pitchshifter so its like two harmonising guitars and enhanced with delays.
The track originally started life as possibly having a dub style rhythm so that is where the bassline came from.

I really appreciate you doing these reviews and I am copying and pasting them into a document to keep because they do mean a lot to me. Nobody has ever bothered to take the time to do this kind of review for me before and they give me a great insight into how somebody else hears my music.

Could I ask one further small favour?

When you get to the end could you please write me a small review of the album as a whole.
I need something to post that is like a summary as whats here will be too long to use elsewhere.

I really really appreciate this DACE....you have gone into great detail and its a great review so far.

Peter..I DO understamd....I really am not liking all the short one line comments im getting on my music. I understand some dont do long comments, but it kinda offends the music. I get those alot. Mix thats ALL you get, thats about all i give back there.
Its like there just rushing or dont have time. If thats the case, one should just listen and not comment. And that happens alot..I get many plays, and few one liners.
I wish people would take some time and give some feedback..But they just cant or wont do that.
Your very Welcome Peter. And yes, ill do an Album on the whole review also.
Thanks for the Album. Its means alot you gave it to me. SO, another reason i should give you some words on it. Mostly tho, because its awesome music i love!
DACE>

DACE wrote:Peter..I DO understamd....I really am not liking all the short one line comments im getting on my music. I understand some dont do long comments, but it kinda offends the music. I get those alot. Mix thats ALL you get, thats about all i give back there.
Its like there just rushing or dont have time. If thats the case, one should just listen and not comment. And that happens alot..I get many plays, and few one liners.
I wish people would take some time and give some feedback..But they just cant or wont do that.
Your very Welcome Peter. And yes, ill do an Album on the whole review also.
Thanks for the Album. Its means alot you gave it to me. SO, another reason i should give you some words on it. Mostly tho, because its awesome music i love!
DACE>

Thanks Dace.....

I believe that doing one liners is something that originated from the OMD's and the original Mix was especially guilty.
I liked the old site in many ways but people were encouraged to give and receive reviews to help them get better Chart results. So they soon cottoned on that if you gave 20 x oneliners and got a load back it moved them up. This degraded the whole system and defeated the reason to review. Lots of other sites are exactly the same.
This is one of the major reasons why I don't bother with OMD's any more.
The charts on an OMD are completly meaningless to those who are not on the site....and as the sites consist of mainly other artists who all want to just promote themselves its one huge merry go round with no winners.
Far better to come here because your music will be listened to by people who appreciate your efforts and are truly interested in your music.....and because you know that it equally becomes a pleasure to listen to their music and give back something to them.

Its a community thing and the rewards are much better than topping some meaningless chart......which is quite often fixed in someones favour anyway.

You....and the rest of us at FOS...have the right attitude to music and reviews......we do it because we love it.

Finally getting to it.....
Going to listen and write without reading Dace's reviews first:


1. I really like the eastern asian vibe of this one. Production is excellent. Things are panned
just right to fit in the mix. Very nice fills and variation on the percussion tracks. Nice layers
on top that swirl from side to side and swell in amplitude. They make the track breathe.
Bass groove is funky, and it fits well with the drums which are reverbed just right. Nice jazz kit sound.
It's kind of like Kitaro meets Tangerine Dream with extra funk.

2. This one starts with an eastern flair as well. The echo/delay gives it a lot of depth, and then when
the sub-bass comes in, it anchors the vibe deeply. The layers of sound build up slowly and effortlessly.
The combination of guitar chords and synth line works great. Again the mix sounds very pro. Lots of
complexity here. This one reminds me a little of Tubular Bells, but more complex.

3. Another well done rhythmic groove builds a foundation for a great guitar flow and tone. Big room fuzzy
guitar floats above everything while the synth lines form a counterpoint. The widely panned hats and
delayed percussion hits are very effective. Use of reverb and echo is very well done and gives the track
a lot of depth. The star is the guitar. Well played. Bass sounds nice too.

4. Right from the start the Hawkwindian vibe grabs me. But the synth is fatter and the style is more
eastern-influenced. I like how the percussion uses different kits and sounds. Somewhat of a rock kit
combined with asian cymbals. Very fat analog synth lines swirl slowly from side to side while heavy
modulations scream like the winds of space. Guitar sounds fantastic in this. Thick fat tone, with a touch
of wah. Another excellent mix. Space rock at its very best.

5. More of a dance feel to this one. Again the percussion is very well done, and the low low bass keeps
it moving. lots of cool synth lines and layers weave together to form a soundscape. A little funky and
a little trancey. It all works quite well.

6. wide percussion sound, and fat low bass groove. This one has a kind of Vangelis/Tangerine Dream feel,
but yet done in Global Trancemission's style. This feels like it would be a great track to drive too fast to.
Lots of complexity and modulations here to keep everything interesting, while the bassline keeps the track
grounded.

7. Alien space blends into a beat with wide stereo arpeggios and another sweet low bassline. jazzy funky
percussion with lots of fills moves everything along. synth layers come and go like clouds. organic and
very well mixed.

8. Another piece with great complexity in the rhythm and percussion. This one reminds me of Andreas Vollenwieder
although it's got more of a synth-xylophone feel than harp. great sounding arps. Extremely well mixed percussion.
I like how the snare and kick sound further back in the mix while the metal hits are up front and wide. The decending
runs sound like rain. great slow fade at the end.

9. Ah yes, more Hawkwindian groove. This reminds me of Silver Machine. Lead guitar sounds real nice. Space layers
are done just right. Nice slides and bends. This one makes me want to scream into an echo box and do a remix...
Very cool.

10. Nice reverb on the percussion. Big room sound. Synth part is relaxing. And then the guitar kicks in. Nicely distorted and 'verbed. Lead guitar sounds real good. Another Brock fan. Even a little Blue Oyster Cult-y here. Great sound.


#4, #7, #8, #9, & #10 -- are my favorites.

Great album Peter! Every song deserves to be on it.
I hope you sell a ton!

Z

Really great reviews Z...Very good man!
DACE>

Thanks a lot Z.........good piece of reviewing that covers different aspects from DACES reviews.

Its amazing how two people hear things quite differently .....yet you both enjoyed the album.

I am really happy with these reviews ....they are the best feedback I have ever had on my music in 11 years of being online and I can't thank you enough.....both of you.

I have copied this into a document so that I have a record

Just one little point.....it puzzled me at first but made me smile.

I think that you have put the review for tracks 8 and 9 the wrong way round

You referred to track 9 as Hawkwindian but that one is the rather eastern Dance of the Whirling Dervishes while track 8 is Invocation.... a guitar track.

The synth sound that you refer to as a "synth-xylophone sound is actually a dulcimer btw.

Great stuff and now I will have to find the time to review Z's album Skin Deep that I have downloaded to return the favour

globaltrancemission wrote:Thanks a lot Z.........good piece of reviewing that covers different aspects from DACES reviews.

Its amazing how two people hear things quite differently .....yet you both enjoyed the album.

I am really happy with these reviews ....they are the best feedback I have ever had on my music in 11 years of being online and I can't thank you enough.....both of you.

I have copied this into a document so that I have a record

Just one little point.....it puzzled me at first but made me smile.

I think that you have put the review for tracks 8 and 9 the wrong way round

You referred to track 9 as Hawkwindian but that one is the rather eastern Dance of the Whirling Dervishes while track 8 is Invocation.... a guitar track.

The synth sound that you refer to as a "synth-xylophone sound is actually a dulcimer btw.

Great stuff and now I will have to find the time to review Z's album Skin Deep that I have downloaded to return the favour

Oops, yeah I think you're right. I switched #8 and #9.
Dulcimer! I should have known. I love hammered-dulcimers.

Glad you like the words. I was worried I was being overly technical.


No hurry on reviewing me back. Whenever....

Z

(T-5)-(DREAMQUEST)- Love the opening Keys/SynthWide and full. mood-track here. Mixing is really nice. BIG FLOW to this tune, like a trip in space. IS a dream-like headspace.
Yes,nice use of roto-pann. Super drum work. great beat. Love the rolls. Very EPIC in length and sound. Those drumsare really giving it a VIBE! TOP sounding SYNTH! This one really is Dream i would like to have. It takes you many places. Production is most great. Arangment is vey good. It does have "Flow". A "Quest"! In Audio...Its looking for something. Impressive man!
ENJOYED!
DACE>

Thanks DACE....another great review for me to add.

Think I might post these on a page on my darkstarcruiser site

globaltrancemission wrote:Thanks DACE....another great review for me to add.

Think I might post these on a page on my darkstarcruiser site

LOL...Fix my typeOs...lollol

DACE>

DACE wrote:

globaltrancemission wrote:Thanks DACE....another great review for me to add.

Think I might post these on a page on my darkstarcruiser site

LOL...Fix my typeOs...lollol

DACE>

But of course !!!!!

(T6)-(CRYSTAL VISIONS)- Very trippy intro sounds..Love the build..Bass line is really keeping the music "walking"....It really is the sound of walking in a magic forest. I live in a forest that sounds like this track. Full of life! Deep,wide,complexing. This one is ALL VIBE, and flow. "walking".
DACE>

(T7)-(CHINASPACE)- All is melting together perectly as this track grows. Mix is CRYSTAL clear! You have placed every sound here just in the right headspace. So much left and right, but it a center-listen. I hear it like its in front of me. This one should sound great in my truck, and in my studio. Placement is a fine art. You have that down!! This lives in its mixing, and placement. outstanding work, awesome listen. (Interesting).
DACE>

(T8)-(INVOCATION)- Bass on top works great here. And then when the guitar comes in, its wild how they blend tone-wise. You still left the bass on top, most guitarist would have stomped it down. This is CLASS guitar mixing. Everything supporting in the backgroud well. Some good lead work here. Bass-line the star of the track. Most cool tune. Very pure guitar tone.
"Bass and guitar"
DACE>

More great reviews.....Thanks DACE Only 2 tracks to go......and a Summary

I have copied them into my review file.

Chinaspace is the oldest track on the album and was done just before I picked up guitars again back in 2006. I sold a 5 second portion of that track through audiosparx to an agency that used it in a corporate video for DHL last year. Not really a place where I expected it to end up but the track itself was really the starting point for this album.