Bislama

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Bislama	10:02	Play
2		Offering	7:44	Play
3		Satari	10:46	Play
4		Theidea	4:55	Play
5		Sanguine Moon	9:20	Play
6		Bali Twilight	15:59	Play
7		Samui	11:05	Play

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Description	Amount
Bitmunk Marketplace Service	USD $0.98
CD Baby Artist Royalty	USD $5.97
CD Baby 9% Digital Distribution Cost	USD $0.54
Bitmunk Download Service	USD $0.97
Bitmunk MicroPayment Service	USD $0.01
Total	USD $8.44

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Description

Last week I received the two new titles listed above, presumably sent in the hope that I would play them on my radio show. I first put on "Bislama" by Alpha Wave Movement and Jim Cole and quickly concluded that this was an album i would probably like, especially as it is very much in keeping with they other excellent atmospheric music that Alpha Wave Movement has put out. Next into the CD player went "The Beginning" by Peter Busboom, and I immediately understood why it was getting high airplay on the New Age radio shows around the USA. "The Begining" starts off with a pretentious spoken voice telling us that "The more things change, the more they stay the same", which is then followed by an album full of well-engineered, thoughtfully arranged noodlings in a vaugley jazzy style with gentle drum'n'bass (ie: irregular) beats. Peter's music is a mix of synthesizers and electric guitars and sounds not unlike Enigma, but alas, Enigma as they might have been recorded on a day they were not particularly inspired.


So, back to "Bislama" it was, and on second listening I realised how great this understated little album is. Gregory Kyryluk (Alpha Wave Movement) plays most of the synths and Jim Cole provides wordless vocals and - on the last track - a haunting tamboura (not unlike a koto in sound). Jim's vocals are sure and steady and vary in style from piece to piece, blending in perfectly with the somewhat ominous synth tones. Much of the album is beautifully restrained and spacious with a sombre tone throughout. For comparison's sake, I'd say it sounds similar and every bit just as good as Michael Stearns' "Sacred Site" compliation, the two Suspended Memories (Steve Roach, et al) albums, or even side one of Brian Eno's "Apollo".

"Bislama" is the sort of album that really transports the listener to another place, such as - for instance - a mist-enshrouded cemetary. On the other hand "The Beginning" doesn't move me at all, having far too much emphasis on the music and not enough on the atmosphere it is meant to be reflecting. Compared to the thoughtful "Bislama", "The Beginning" is (despite it's thoughtful track titles) more about a sunny day spent zipping across rolling greens in a motorized golfcart.

The real test of great music is where it ends up in, say, fifteen years time. While Peter Busboom's output will most certainly outsell "Bislama" by quite a ratio, I fear that not many buyers will still be listening to it in the decades to come. On the otherhand, "Bislama" will definitely still be sitting in MY music collection next to other equally great albums of Michael Stearns and Brian Eno.

Rudy Adrian June 2005.
Electronic Musician

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Bislama is an amazing word with an amazing meaning. Bislama is one of the Micronesian languages from the archipelago that consists of many islands.
It is an amazing dialect which has been formed as a conglomerate of several local and European languages (mainly French), as European merchants frequently visited these islands in the 19th century. By combining two "musical languages" - the electronic ambience of Alpha Wave Movement and the overtone singing of Jim Cole, these musicians symbolically appointed this word to the style of their music. This excellent ethno-ambient album is filled with exotic sounds of gamelan, koto, Tibetan bowls, ethnic percussion, sounds of raindrops and faraway thunder...

The compositions "Bislama," "Offering," "Satari," "Theidea," and "Samui" send us to a world of green tropical remote islands, to the shores of blue lagoons as well as to the enigmatic outer space - mystical, purple splashes pulsing from the depths of otherworldly canyons - that is the magic of Alpha Wave Movement's music supported by the deep vibrating throat roaring and high pitched whirr of Jim Cole's overtone singing. Hypnotic and melodic, it's a very serious and valuable work - at moments similar to Propagation by Robert Rich.

Andrey Pechkaryov
Jazz Quadrant Russian Jazz/Alternative Music magazine

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Greg Kyryluk, the man behind Alpha Wave Movement, is known for a variety of electronics, alternating between ambient atmospherics and upbeat tribal sequences, depending on how the musical mood strikes him. Jim Cole is known for a technique called harmonic singing, where his voice becomes a unique instrument, perfect for deep, reverberating ambience. These seemingly very different approaches to music come together in 'Bislama,' a mixture of ambient, world, and electronic music.
The title track has thumping beats, smooth synthesizers, and Cole's voice wailing drones in the distance. It is ethereal and other-worldly sounding. The relaxed tribal tones and soft electronic textures meld into a singular musical theme and character. For those who prefer their ambience without vocals, they aren't intrusive at all. I have personal bias against too much chanting or vocals in my e-music, but I generally find that Jim's vocals enhance rather than detract.
Melody takes a backseat to interesting sound collages and rhythms, though some tracks, like 'Offering,' have little or no rhythm. This is a soothing environmental piece, with dripping water, relaxed, drawn-out synth passages, and a very organic feel. It manages to feel like space music and tribal ambient at the same time. 'Satari' has a very deep-space feel, including some more traditional Berlin school sequencing passages. 'Theidea' switches back to ambient drones, sounding a lot like earlier Michael Stearns' works. 'Sanguine Moon' is the most tribal piece, featuring gamelan samples. A slow, steady sequence makes it more in the classic retro mode, like 'Satari.' I can picture this as an outtake from Tangerine Dream's 'Le Parc' disc. This is probably my favorite track on the disc. 'Samui' has a Japanese flavor to bring this exotic fusion of musical elements and influences to a close. Recommended listening.

Phil Derby Sequences Magazine