James Johnson Surrender (Zero Music ZM3219) This is one of the best ambient albums I've listened to in quite a while. IIt will appeal to people who enjoy music such as Steve Roach's classic " Structures from Silence", or the dreamy music of artists like Jeff Pearce and Mark Rownd. The album is comprised of three compositions, one very long track called "She Will Shift You" which is almost a half hour long, "Rememberance", and the title track which is approximately twenty minutes long. "Surrender" is a seductively original work of art. Richly textured with imaginative sounds and samples and dynamics from liquid textures to ethereal images. Johnson reject's the uniformity and ease of preset patches preferring to craft new sounds for each composition. To James, the synthesizer is a creative tool which offers a wide palette of contrasting textures that can be animated by hands on manipulation. '"Surrender" brims with possibilities for the future, pushing electronic synthesis and acoustic manipulation into forbidden lines of enquiry. Highly recommended. Review by Ben Kettlewell information: website: www.zeromusic.net email: sound@zeromusic.net

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