Customer Reviews

Autumn Continent

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had bought the previous disc, Secret Observatory a few months ago and thought I'd give this one a go, seeing as I approved of the previous. It turns out I like this one even better. Eerie, flowing, dreamy, oddly quirky yet serene. This really is a must for any drifting ambient collector's stack of faves. I love it. It moves, it bubbles, it dances and sails effortlessly without being contrived or laboured. It is, of course, so smooth that is sort of defies description, being as it is, meditative and atmospheric in nature. Look, just put yer money down and buy it. It really is fantastic. How do you know that your taste is similar to mine? Well, you'll have to risk it. This is a highly hypnotic disc, assembled by a master who apparently knows exactly how to shape a soundscape. It's misty, autumnal and comes out at dawn and dusk to beguile you with beauty.

I really loved the first CD, Secret Observetory, but this CD is just as good if not better. It creates a deep theta type trance and is super relaxing, yet remains very interesting. A great CD to use with mind machines or alone. As good as any Steve Roach or Robert Rich work. Excellent CD.

Sublime, relaxing layers of sound sweep over you like the last warm breezes at the end of summer, rustling a few leaves. Spacious worlds warm into a delicate isolated ambience. This is an album to listen to when you are spending the night in a contemplative mood. Within the approaching silence there is a crisp hint of ice in the air.

At times "Hidden Wastelands" seems to almost disappear and then it emerges in a silky tribal infusion that leads to a sensuous warm soothing trance trajectory.

"The Tides of Time" draws you deeply into this album, saturating your consciousness with a deep sigh of peace. "Passageway" shimmers with long forgotten dreams and then awakens into new discoveries with a dark ambient wave and hints of falling stars.

The subtle pulsing energies in "Early Life Remainings" has a delicate hint of passion that breaks free into rhythmically sensual mood. The next three tracks follow this lead but mellow into warm rapturous infusions of intoxicating dreams. "Atrium" is a moody haze while "Autumn Continent 2" seems to embody a wistful longing. The mood is one of being completely alone and completely connected, as if your soul is wandering far away and has found peace.

"Between Interval" is the type of music you listen to deep into the night or while sinking into warm water or as you fall into dreams. This is relaxing music that still holds within its power an exciting revelatory element, the type that speaks softly of artistic elegance all while leaving you in a state of awe at the musical mastery.

~The Rebecca Review

This is the most perfect realization of electronic music that i have had the good grace to encounter in the forty years i have dabbled in electronic music. it is as if a culmination of klaus Schulze, tangerine dream, Vir Unis, and oophoi all merged into a completely new music that has found it's expression by Stefan Jönsson. Beautiful, gorgeous swells, delicate sequences with inventive, perfectly timed melodies - this music makes the soul swell. brilliant!

I had recently purchased Edge of a Fairytale liked it and decided to purchase another between interval cd. Wow! Autumn is a great choice. Deep,intelligent,sometimes dark,but ultimately optimistic space music, this is a beautiful album. For me this is definitive space music. I love Steve Roach but sometimes his dissonances can overwhelm the comforting spirit of his music. Between Interval doesn't sacrifice intelligence for a soothing, out of this world musical journey. Highly recommended, this has become my favorite!!

For me, 2009 was the year of mid-60s classic jazz: Miles, Trane, Hancock, Shorter. So far, 2010 is the year of ambient. I love all styles of music but more often than not I've sought music that would serve as a backdrop rather than music that required my undivided attention.

Ambient can be a lot of things. I've long been a fan of Brian Eno, and discovered his collaboration with Harold Budd, Harold Budd & Brian Eno: The Pearl. It turned out to be an excellent first step on the journey, because it led me to Budd's collaborations with Robin Guthrie, which led me to Guthrie's solo albums, etc. etc. etc.

I also discovered Steve Roach, and by virtue of that, stumbled across Between Interval.

The best way I can describe ambient (at least the style I prefer) is some form of drone or loop...a rising/falling swell of keyboards, varying degrees of repetition as a backdrop...with varying degrees of minimal melody laid on top. As either of these elements become more "busy" and complex, the music...for my tastes...can only be loosely defined as "ambient."

Between Interval's music is of the Budd / Eno school...no matter how stark the compositions may be, there is actual content behind the performances. The first two tracks..."Autumn Continent" 1 into "Submerged"...form a moody, somewhat dark "dreamscape" if you will. The next track, "Hidden Wastelands," progresses over a low rumble with rising and falling volume. That seques into "The Tides Of Time," which picks up more of a Tangerine Dream feel in terms of the stacatto rhythm (or perhaps Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall"). "Expanding Area" returns to the feel of the first three tracks. "Passageway" spends its first five minutes working with a slow, subtle rumble before opening up into a slight bit of increased volume and complexity for the finale. "Early Life Remainings" brings in a bit of "World" beat, for lack of a better term. In the overall context of the CD, you might find this one to be a bit "thumpy" and distracting...all a matter of taste. "This Dominion" returns the proceedings to dark, subtle and moody, and flows into the final two tracks.

All in all, a consistent work, and while I probably would remove "Early Life Remainings" for the reasons listed above, it's not reason enough from me to back off on my 5 star rating. If you like this kind of music...especially if you like it dark...this one's for you.

I stumbled upon this while searching Amazon for new (to me) music. It's just what I was looking for; great ambient sounds for reading, meditating or even sleeping. In fact, I find it hard to keep my eyes open when I'm reading while this is playing. That's a good thing, and a testimony to how relaxing the sounds are. Some of it can't even be described as actual music, since there is no discernable melody to most of it. Yet the sounds are soothing and trance-inducing. You can leave it in the CD player all day and not get tired of it. I'll be purchasing more of their material.

If you are a fan of some dark music, like good Steve Roach or Robert Rich, this is for you. It is mostly beatless, with the exception of one song, which is not bad. Even the song that has rhythm is non-obtrusive, and would be at home on Global Communication's 76:14. I'm surprised that this artist is not a dominant force in the ambient scene. Great soundscapes abound on this release, enough to warrant me buying this more from this artist. Great quality, intensity, and ability to imagine some haunting and DARK vibes that just beautiful! To me, a top 5 of the entire ambient genre and highly recommended.

An absolute Masterpiece! There is not much more to say, this is the best an Ambient album can come to...it would be a crime not to purchase the CD!

Yes, young Swedish composer, Stefan Strand, is back in my review section with his 3rd full length album. Even if released back in the summer of 2006 on Spotted Peccary, I think it would be a pity not to feature it on these pages. Between Interval really deserves it with each album and "Autumn Continent" is no exception. Stefan recorded this album under his previous surname, Jönsson, but no matter if Jönsson or Strand, the result is always absolutely sensational!!! Top-notch opener "Autumn Continent 1" explores truly ethereal graciousness of autumn nature capturing the most unique and beautiful sceneries with fabulous colors, an ambient serenity at its best!!! "Submerged", as indicated by its title, is deeply subterranean journey with attractively fitting fragile, but cavernous sounds of bells and gongs with otherworldly spiced atmozones, another big one! "Hidden Wastelands" are painted with deeper drones, slowly climbing into more massive and dramatic peaks, this is serious foggy soundscaping for all connoisseurs of deep ambience!!! Semi-pulsing patterns enrich daylighting "The Tides Of Time", but slowed-down "Expanding Area" returns quickly into vast territories of Scandinavian landscapes with spiraling and colossal drifts. "Passageway" keeps on the droning route, but is colored by distant rumblings and deep resonations in the first half, while later crystalline clicks emerge to enlight this abyssal ambience. "Early Life Remainings" unveils into lighter mood with heartbeating high-tech grooves, the most rhythmed piece on this trip even if later slipping into drifting and evoking passage again. Monstrous and dramatic drones with hissy effects on "This Dominion" create deeply absorbing and spectacular sonic experience, but the next composition, "Atrium", gets even deeper with cascading heavy weight rumbling drones. Slightly lighter, but culminating and cinematic celestials of "Autumn Continent 2" graciously close this truly enterprising and stunning autumn voyage offering breathtaking sonic vistas of scenic Northern territories. "Autumn Continent" is another highly distinctive and sophisticated performance by this huge Swedish talent, a true masterwork!!!

Richard Gürtler (Oct 16, 2011, Bratislava, Slovakia)