Electroacoustic at its best
Jens | Montréal | 10/18/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This may be the best electroacoustic collection I've ever heard. I found it on tape when it was first released and listened to it regularly for years, and the CD is a worthwhile upgrade in sound quality. "Imaginary Landscapes" features a broad range of sounds, including "Somewhere in Arizona 1970," a humorous, paranoid ride through an underground government UFO project somewhere, of course, in Arizona. My favorite, perhaps, is "What Happened" by Laetitia deCompiegne Sonami. I've looked for other releases by this artist and found only one (see Messiah Remix). Although released in 1989, the music on "Imaginary Landscapes" holds up quite well. Unfortunately, the CD appears to be out of print. Get hold of a used one while still available.
Sadly, much of what passes for this sort of adventurous music today is rather self-conscious, artless, and overly intellectual. Nonetheless, some exceptional electroacoustic music ("musique actuelle") is available from Montreal's Ambiances Magnetiques/Dame. If you're curious, search the label on Amazon.com, where some are available. Also check out the artist "Blue" Gene Tyranny (featured in this collection): "The Somewhere Songs" and "Out of the Blue" (both available here as downloads)."