Emotional Landscapes

Erik Wollo

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 8, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Spotted Peccary
• ASIN: B00008S7YH
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,156 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. In the Picture

2. Metaphor

3. Prism

4. Second Totem

5. Sounds of the Seen, Pt. 1

6. Valley

7. Virtual World

8. Mountain Beach

9. Sounds of the Seen, Pt. 2

10. Satellite

11. Echo of Night/Cadence

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The title is underwhelming, but the music is an ecstatic journey traversing aurora borealis spacescapes and quiet ambient moods. Erik Wollo is a Norwegian guitarist and synthesist out of the Mike Oldfield tradition, building a 21st century orchestra layering acoustic, electric, and synthesized guitars. A musician with a delicate touch, Wollo sometimes builds quiet lines out of violin-like sustains that echo in space soliloquies. While his rhythms rarely get above a slow-chill, Wollo's solos often burn with a dark intensity. Tracks like "Second Totem" have a quiet heroism about them, the sound of impending adventure. "Sounds of the Seen, Pt.1," one of the more dynamic tracks, begins as a haunting adagio for cello, before launching into a crushing electronica assault that ends in the sound of humanity moving, with location recordings Wollo made under the World Trade Center a few days prior to 9-11. It's a dose of grounding reality in a music that seems to constantly hover just above the firmament, rooted in imagination. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible northern soundscapes, June 10, 2003

By	Guardian of the Zen Sea "Indigo" (Looking after the sun and surf) - See all my reviews

This CD is not meant to be for dancing or whistling--it is for the imagination. It is great for those times of contemplation, creativity or meditation. The music is outstanding, multi-layered and diverse. This is not a drone-like dirge. It is more like a series of interesting walks along the beach, with and without people. The reviewer above likens it to Mike Oldfield, but it is not really that forward. I would say it is more like work by Kevin Keller, Jeff Pearce or Ma Ja Le (Paul Vnuk, jr.). In the end, it is really Eric Wollo. He has definitely established his own voice and has added another wonderful sound magician to the Spotted Peccary label' s group of talented musicians.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Love Letter to the Wilderness, August 19, 2003

By A Customer

What can I say? This is a fantastic experience. To me it is a love letter or thank you letter to the wilderness, especially that of Norway. I don't think I have ever heard anyone catch so perfectly the pure clarity and beauty of Northern nature. Everyone probably has a different experience listening to it, but I can sense the endless cloudy skies, lapping lakes with reflected mountains, and eternal glaciers of Norway. There is a chilled intensity to this that evokes the silent beauty of Earth's often mysterious northern regions. The addition of ambient sounds such as Lapplandic songs (I think) and human conversation in a shopping center provide an interesting contrast: human culture and nature with a good synthesis.

I like to listen to it while working since it cleanses my mind and opens my creativity in a way few other CDs do. It is also a fantastic CD to use while doing Yoga or meditation if you are looking for a different alternative from Eastern sounds.

If you cannot make it to Alaska, Minnesota's North Woods, Canada, Scandinavia, Northern Russia or any other Boreal forest region, this CD provides a mini vacation using music to stir your senses.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just Chill., March 31, 2004

By	Moldyoldie (Motown, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Beautifully sparse and evocative soundscapes perfect for whatever cerebral tasks one may be embarked upon. Subtle melodies meld with cool auras and unimposing textures in an entirely satisfying love letter from Europe's far northern latitudes. It's very similar to Wollo's previous album Wind Journey.