Ambient chamber music still dominates the Echoes Top 25 for August, but for the first time, a download only album cracks the the Echoes Top 5. That CD is the purely ambient A Lost Connection by Marconi Union. Their album, Distance, from 3 years ago was among our favorite CDs that year, and A Lost Connection was definitely worth the wait. The album is full of plaintive electric guitar lines draped across a mesh of subtle, insinuating beats, synth pads full of melancholy and glitchy effects dropping in from the fringes. This album is more poetic and almost classical in spots compared to their first two albums. The mellotron-like flutes of the “Endless Winter” lend a somnolent chamber music sound across the insistent, but downtempo bass thud. Expect to hear that song frequently on Echoes Winter Solstices to come and A Lost Connection frequently on Echoes. Right now, the only place to get A Lost Connection is from the Marconi Union website.
To my ears, there’s a very short distance between the classical Ahn Trio and the ambient Marconi Union. In that light, ambient chamber music remains strong, although only 10 out of 25 discs fit broadly into that camp, compared to 14 last month. The Ahn Trio, Ronn McFarlane, and Jami Sieber remained important players this month. Ottmar Liebert’s The Scent of Light made an impressive debut at #14. Look for that to be number 1 for August since it’s our CD of the Month. You can read a Print Review here, including an Audio Review with music. Over all, there was a 50% turn-over in the Top 25 for August.
John Diliberto ((( echoes )))
ECHOES TOP 25 FOR JULY 
1 – Sacred Earth (Peter Kater, Joseph Fire Crow, Arvel Bird) – Wind of the East (Print Review or Audio Review)
2 – Ahn Trio – Lullaby For My Favorite Insomniac <Listen>
3 – Marconi Union – A Lost Connection
4 – Biomusique – The 10000 Steps <Read Review or Listen>
5 – David Cullen – Guitar Travels
6 – David Arkenstone – Echoes of Light and Shadow
7 – Kevin Bartlett – Glow in the Dark
8 – Ronn McFarlane – Indigo Road
9 - Michel Banabila – Traces
10 – Jami Sieber – Unspoken < Listen>
11 - Eldad Lidor – Closer
12 – Hans-Joachim roedelius & Tim Story – Inlandish
13 – California Guitar Trio – Echoes (Read Article)
14 – Ottmar Liebert – The Scent of Light (Print Review or Audio Review)
15 – Skala - Tundra
16 – Kaki King – Dreaming of Revenge
17 – Balmorhea – Rivers Arms
18 - Under the Radar – I Was There But I Can’t Remember When
19 – Hammock – Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow
20 - William Ackerman – Meditations
21 – Niyaz – Nine Heavens
22 - Fernwood – Almeria
23 – David Pritchard – Vertical Eden
24 – Joan Jeanrenaud – Strange Toys
25 – Don Peyote – Peyote Dreaming
Rhian Sheehan is a wonderful ambient composer from New Zealand. His album, Standing in Silence was one of our favorites on Echoes a couple of years ago with his mixing of found sound and synthesizer cycles. He’s just collaborated with one of our favorite ambient guitar bands, Hammock, from Nashville.
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