Erik Wollo & Byron Metcalf: Earth Luminous (CD)

Reviews

1. 

   Richard Gurtler (verified owner) – April 16, 2017

   Two virtuosos, Norwegian ambient guitar ace Erik Wøllo and American aural curandero Byron Metcalf, join their forces for a truly essential splendor entitled “Earth Luminous”. Out on Projekt since the end of April 2016, 4-panel digipak is graced by an aerial delight photographed by Ian Dutton (a husband of Shea Hovey, Projekt’s maven) from his cockpit, while Sam Rosenthal did the graphic design. Erik Wøllo is credited also for mixing and mastering.

   Nearly 9-minute “Days Of Magic” is ignited by ear-tickling crystalline tinkles and bubbles, which are precisely bridged with Erik Wøllo’s heartwarmingly embracing washes, while Byron Metcalf soon reveals his gossamery fragranced udu and drum brilliance. Erik’s velvety string subtleties clandestinely join the stage as well. A pure aural bliss awaits here and no matter if with your headphones on or through your speakers. This is an ultimate showcase of two phenomenal musicians exquisitely merging their spirited signatures, more please, gentlemen!!! And this spectacle obviously continues with “Light And Ground”, when cyber-tech infused arrangements are exquisitely amalgamated with mesmerizing shaker medicine, vibrantly galloping tribal drums and vigorously infectious udu, while gladdening panoptic meanders are guarding above reinforced here and there by intangible glossolalias and organic signals. Abundantly flavored masterpiece!!! “Far Wandered” is as much propelled by the passion and the poignancy of both protagonists as its predecessor. Byron’s hyper active and intensely hypnotic drums (frame and ceremonial) and shakers are meticulously juxtaposed by Erik’s headlining Berlin School pulses and grippingly longing solitudes. Soul stirring elixir is served here in a large dose! “Valley Of Spheres” calms down the journey with a potpourri of translucent bleeps, udu and drum quietudes and evocative blankets, revealing charming laid-back downtempos. Beauty!!! “Distant Future” dives into more meditative terrains, driven by languid drumming accompanied by slightly cacophonous traceries, before inconspicuously transmuting through gently stringed tension into captivatingly nanced panoramic sceneries. “Diomedea” returns to vivaciously sublime, euphorically infused and spellbindingly celestial paths, while the next piece, the title composition “Earth Luminous” straightly shifts into sparklingly exuberant zones, masterfully navigated by Erik’s cyber-biotic horizons counterpointed by shimmering strings and Byron’s passionate drum wizardry. Auxiliary scenic meridians join this dazzlingly invigorating splectacle along with shamanic shaker opiates. A truly triumphant ethereal-cyber-trance-tribal magnificence displaying superiorly distinctive, yet impeccably commingled hallmarks of two like-minded and hugely experienced maestros. Certainly one of the album’s ultimate pinnacles!!! The closing, 5-plus minutes long “Linked Stars” (all other tracks are clocking roughly between 7 and 9 minutes), is the only composition recorded live in the studio (at Byron’s The Lair in September 2015). Poignantly evocative stringed tinkles bridged with enfolding curtains and contemplative bowls clandestinely metamorphose into gorgeously expansive and utterly engrossing serenities, gliding towards eternally sequestered rainy stillness. Exhaustively immersing outro!!!

   In a nutshell, over 63-minute “Earth Luminous” is a fully blooming sonic palette loaded with two exceptionally gifted musicianships and superb sound quality delivers a truly rewarding listening experience. “Earth Luminous” is undoubtedly a milestone and one of the highlights of 2016 indeed, bravo, Erik and Byron!!! But be prepared for more, because only 5 months later after this collaboration Byron Metcalf has released his another opus entitled “Inner Rhythm Meditations” featuring lushly vital contributions by Erik Wøllo and Peter Phippen. And since March 2017 we glorify another Projekt’s release, this time Erik Wøllo’s monumental “Different Spaces” 2CD. Explore, enjoy and celebrate all these sonic gifts!!!

   Richard Gürtler (Apr 15, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

2. 

   Reviews Editor – November 15, 2016

   From The Celebrity Cafe

   Erik Wøllo and Byron Metcalf released their album Earth Luminous on May 2. Electro-ambient sounds and trance drumming describe an interesting journey. This marks the first album the men have collaborated on. Norway-based Wøllo is an electronic ambient musician. However, his background also includes jazz, classical and rock skill sets. Metcalf on the other hand, is a tribal-trance percussionist out of Arizona. He has a deep involvement with psychology as well as spiritual practices – with which his music is closely tied. Together, these two artists have created a fascinating journey for listeners on Earth Luminous.

   Earth Luminous begins with “Days of Magic.” As though listeners are watching from within a cave, gentle ambient tones and water droplets open this track. As increasing layers weave through “Days of Magic,” its mood remains meditative. However, enough rhythm is introduced to keep the track from turning sleepy. Shimmering sounds at the end evoke a doorway to the next environment. The next stop on this journey is in “Light and Ground.” Metcalf’s deep and resonant rhythms guide listeners through this track, while Wøllo’s airy tones create further interest. In the middle, whispering sounds become part of the tapestry. This adds a sense of mysticism before returning to an ethereal sensibility. Both inclinations then entwine, creating a dynamic culmination to the track.

   As the record continues, listeners move through various scenes – all within a meditative or trance-like realm. Tracks such as “Far Wandered” have a walking sense to them. Faster and more upbeat rhythms mark this tune, with a distinct focus. Something almost foreboding rests beneath the surface and it is difficult not to drum along with “Far Wandered.” “Valley of Spheres” is an expansive track, with futuristic tones punctuating vaporous melodies. Following, “Distant Future” contains eerie highlights and sparse yet biting accents in a cinematographic piece. “Diomedea” inspires listeners to move with the music, while the title track is swirling and earthy – yet somehow digital.

   Earth Luminous concludes with “Linked Stars.” Sparse and ethereal, this feels like the end of an exploration. Leaving listeners back where they were found, water droplets bring the audience full-circle. Byron Metcalf and Erik Wøllo have created an interesting sonic tapestry on Earth Luminous. Each track feels like a distinct chapter in an ongoing quest. While some inspire meditation, others promote active thinking. Listeners will feel as though they completed a great journey by the end of this album. Rating: 4 out of 5. -Erin Huestis

3. 

   Reviews Editor – November 7, 2016

   From Hypnagogue

   Erik Wøllo and Byron Metcalf first began talking about collaborating when they met at Steve Roach’s Soundquest Fest in 2010. Now they soar into 2016 with Earth Luminous, offering deep soundwork based around a rhythm scheme sketched out in tight sequencer angles complemented with tribal-ambient potency, all of it lifted into flight by the graceful sighs of Wøllo’s signature ambient guitar style. The blend of electronic and acoustic, and of velocity and glide, make this an extremely pleasant ride. Metcalf’s always trance-inducing percussion plays out in the broad, muscular resonance of the frame drum, the crisp snap of clay pot, and the hiss of shakers. It is always present, but never too forcefully so, not taking control but regulating the pulse. The chemistry is delightful. And there’s a fair variety of approaches in the mix, helping keep things moving even if neither artist strays too much from familiar territory. “Far Wanderer” is pure Berlin School pleasure, with its insistent sequencer pulse holding down the line for Wøllo’s long guitar draws. It’s got a nice mid-range velocity, just fast enough to envigorate. The dry hiss of Metcalf’s shakers get right to work on your head as they establish the rhythm, backed with the assertive thump of the frame drum. The pulsing energy of “Light and Ground” feels so familiar, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear Steve Roach walked in and sat down to jam. Opening with crunchy analog bass signals and broadening out on warm, stretchy chords and Metcalf’s array of hypnotics, it achieves escape velocity pretty quickly. As the shakers massage your frontal lobe, the guitar regulates your breathing to achieve a full-on “let’s leave our body” groove. Great track. “Distant Future” is an interesting, almost minimal piece where Wøllo lays out odd spiral chirps of sound against the drums. It’s unlike anything else on the album, and it feels like watching a curling cloud of fireflies flitting around. A slow-moving, pulsing melody rises like dawn in the background, coming on almost imperceptibly and insinuating itself into the flow. A standout pleasure here is “Diomedea,” which flawlessly blends a chugging, churning drum line with vapor trail guitar lines from Wøllo. There’s a nice world music vibe as it goes along, upbeat and clear.

   Earth Luminous is as distinctly Wøllo as it is distinctly Metcalf. Which could be like saying you’ve upped the presence of tribal-shamanic percussion on a Wøllo album, or added a lot more sighing ambient work to a Metcalf outing. Instead, what you have here is a meeting of like minds, a fluid convergence of thought and style that creates a deep, no-coming-up-for-air immersive listen. Richly hypnotic, softly gorgeous, and always ready for yet another listen. Beautiful work from two true talents.

4. 

   Reviews Editor – September 16, 2016

   From Exposé

   Erik Wøllo is has had a long career that started out as a jazz guitarist and over time has come to favor electronics, using effected guitar, guitar synthesizer and keyboard synths and sequencers. He is now the masterful commander of ambient textural sounds that shimmer with light, shadows and tonal colors, evoking powerful images and a variety of emotions in slow evolving forms. Byron Metcalf is quite the opposite, a master percussionist using various hand drums, shakers, and shamanic percussion, a totally non-electronic musician and composer, and well known for his many collaborations with Steve Roach, Mark Seelig, and numerous others, and a fair number of solo releases. This is the first ever collaboration between Wøllo and Metcalf, and the chemistry between them is positively magical. Both performed separate sets at Roach’s SoundQuestFest in Tucson in 2010, and each was taken by the others’ performance, and discussed the possibility of a collaboration at that time, though it took five years to find an opportunity to make it happen. The eight long tracks here present beautiful electronic textures and dronescapes, unfolding slowly as parcels of tonal beauty, cyclical, expansive, and other-worldly, underscored by fluid, animated lines of earthbound percussion propelling the sound forward. Sometimes it’s the floating and colorful ethereal textures and melodies that jump out and embrace the listener, other times it’s the driving percussive grooves, but a perfect balance between heaven and earth is always to be found. -Peter Thelen

5. 

   Reviews Editor – July 20, 2016

   From Synth & Sequences

   Byron Metcalf and Erik Wollo are two iconic figures of an EM which sculptures an lyrical tribal vision but in two fundamentally different approaches. If the one is a percussionist without equal with a propensity for rhythms of the fires of the Earth, the other one is more a sonic nomad who likes lugging around his panoramas of ice through a beautiful fusion of synth/guitar on electronic rhythms weaved in sequences sometimes peaceful and other times charmingly rebels. Both have a point in common; the eerie atmospheres with shiny strata which wind the drumming of the percussions or the soft flux of sequences. Thus we are entitled to hope for an album which was going to link two universes of which the distances will gather into an at least particular symbiosis. Well chase away the doubts! Earth Luminous exceeds the highest expectations with a strong album where the permutations of the rhythms, sometimes tribal, ambient or of fire, forged by the percussions and the sequences reach a top that I still haven’t heard to date in the genre. It’s the kind of thing that is a total surprise. And who doesn’t like to be surprised?

   “Days of Magic” begins this enchanting adventure by a soft ambient approach where Byron Metcalf proposes delicate beatings which are of use as rampart to a beautiful fusion of tears and laments coming from this unique approach of Erik Wollo on synth and guitar. Some seraphic murmurs accompany this soft astral journey which is slightly shaken at times by more noisy percussions. The rhythm is as soft like these desert ballads so well drawn by Steve Roach in Western Spaces. It starts things well and we are in the well known grounds of Wollo here, even if the percussions are more presents. “Light and Ground” sets the tone with a more powerful and a more steady rhythm with gurgling percussions which skip in symbiosis with the soft reflection of a rivulet of suspended sequences. Other percussions are joining this first dance, weaving a soft torrent of tom-toms and organic effects that Wollo covers of a shroud of serenity. Here, the percussions lay down the law. They shape a delicate trance for admirers of the earth that the Norwegian bard decorates with ethereal layers and riffs which crumble their passivity and roll in discreet loops on a structure of minimalist rhythm that Byron Metcalf adorns of tribal percussions. “Far Wandered” proposes a more electronic approach with a line of sequences which makes its chords skip in loops into effects of percussions rattlers. The adventure begins to be inviting to dance. Percussions are constantly grafted, weaving this improbable link between EM and tribal Amerindian while the electronic rhythm transposes subtly into a more acoustic one.

   Sequences get more smothered and limp in the background of the percussions which thunder a rhythm of spiritual trance and drum under a thick cloud of spectral waves to the opalescent lamentations. “Valley of Spheres” proposes an approach as much meditative as in “Days of Magic” but with more dynamism in the rhythm. A rhythm which increases its pace in a meshing of beautiful, and a little bit grave, sequences and with percussions which amplify an approach a little more dramatic. The title sinks into a state of hypnosis which diverts slightly our attention from the layers of an electric six-strings from which the tears of steel add a touch of mysticism to “Valley of Spheres”. A dimension which also decorates the introduction of “Distant Future” which is also a meditative title but with an envelope richer in percussions and especially in electronic effects creators of mysterious atmospheres. Tom-toms resound and make shade to others more deaf. These latter bewitch the senses! But not as much as these dense and threatening ethereal layers of which the effects of jerks propel a dominant aerial rhythm. Even if “Days of Magic” does not give its place, “Diomedea” is the most enchanting and the most wrapping title in Earth Luminous. Its opening floods our ears with layers which undulate like these spots parading in a speeded-up in the sky. Tom-toms bang slowly at far off before bursting with a symmetric flood which exchanges its fury for a sequencing pattern.

   The title-track is on the other hand the most intense. Its introduction is carried to our ears by ambient riffs of a guitar which roll in loops on a fury of spectral waves loaded of metallic hootings. A beautiful line of sequences makes its keys waddle which are harpooned by a series of 4 tom-toms which parade in single file, leaving even no room to a fraction of a second of emptiness. The fury comes as much from the huge purplish-blue layers as from the tom-toms which cover the soft hypnotic flux of sequences. And while the rattlers invade the atmospheres, the ambient harmonies change of forms and of tones, increasing even more the intensity of “Earth Luminous” of which the violence in tones clear the dust of our walls. An excellent title! Our ears? The want more! “Linked Stars” concludes Earth Luminous with a very ambient approach where Erik Wollo spreads his multi layers of synth and guitar which sculpture skillfully the coldnesses of the Norwegian glaciers. It’s a moment of atmospheres which belongs to the repertoire of Wollo and the finale finds refugee in big caves of ice, hibernating until the next opus, that I wish soon, of this improbable duet which will seduce literally the fans of an EM grandeur nature where the percussions show that they can very well serve the cause of ambient music. A superb album! -Sylvain Lupari

6. 

   Reviews Editor – July 19, 2016

   From Sounds Behind the Corner

   Oramai la produzione discografica di mr. Wøllo è talmente immensa da imporre quasi, ogni uscita, all’acquisto per non perdere nessun tassello del suo puzzle compositivo. Il lato positivo è che MAI, nella sua vasta concettualità artistica, ne viene inficiata la qualità: assieme a Byron Metcalf, ancora uno ‘stakanovista’ del suono, già presente in Projekt in passato al fianco di Steve Roach, l’ambient del combo diviene la passeggiata ideale su suoli cosmici.

   Quindi ambienti ancora rarefatti, ritmiche meditative, percussioni sorde ma presenti, linee sci-fi indirizzate verso atmosfere oltre la luce del sole, verso altri soli, eternauti perfetti nel non perdere mai la sostanza del suono, eternauti puri e di razza. Otto tracce mediamente lunghe sette – otto minuti: otto tracce in cui ritrovare entrambi i musicisti dall’opener “Days Of Magic”, bella la trance in ‘mid’ e downtempo, sino al finale, “Linked Stars”, bellissima traccia di sound fatale e totale, cinematico, ricordando alcune stasi di Moroder nelle sue migliori soundtrack.

   In mezzo tutta la loro classe: cinematica e briosa “Far Wandered”, un brano di cui non ti stanchi mai, crescente poi stabile su ritmi costanti e coreografici, lo stesso, seppur più rallentata ma aggravata da una massicce dose di trance e di percussioni. Che dire? Certi musicisti non necessitano di presentazioni, la loro fama li precede con giusti motivi; Projekt è sempre attenta a cogliere le evoluzioni del mercato, il fatto che l’ambient abbia preso piede rispetto al lato dark della label è il segno tangibile che la musica underground segue il suo istinto e decorso. -Nicola Tenani

7. 

   Reviews Editor – July 12, 2016

   From Darkroom

   Da quando, nel 2010, il compositore norvegese Erik Wøllo si è accasato presso la Projekt, sono state molte le uscite che lo hanno visto protagonista nel catalogo dello storico marchio statunitense. Una fitta serie di pubblicazioni di cui Earth Luminous è l’ultima in ordine di tempo, realizzata nello specifico assieme all’esperto percussionista americano Byron Metcalf, altro nome ben noto a chi ha familiarità col catalogo Projekt. I due longevi artisti si sono incontrati nel 2010 al SoundQuest (festival organizzato dall’altro decano dell’ambient Steve Roach nella sua Tucson, in Arizona), ed anche se in quell’occasione non vi è stata l’opportunità di suonare assieme, entrambi sono rimasti così impressionati dai rispettivi set da ritrovarsi a discutere della realizzazione di un album a quattro mani.

   L’operazione ha però preso forma soltanto cinque anni dopo, quando i due hanno iniziato a lavorare ai brani scambiandosi file audio dalle rispettive basi logistiche. Così sono nati sette degli otto brani che compongono l’opera (l’ottavo, “Linked Stars”, è stato registrato live nello studio di Byron in Arizona), il cui emblematico titolo (“Terra Luminosa”) indica chiaramente la via intrapresa dai due navigati musicisti. Quello di “Earth Luminous” è infatti un concept sonoro giocato sulla luminosità delle linee melodiche tracciate da Erik, radiose effusioni ambientali di eterea leggerezza sulle quali si innestano gli impeccabili pattern ritmici di un maestro della tribal-trance come Byron. Ne scaturisce un suono che disegna scenari ampi, privo di tensioni, estatico nei suoi risvolti melodici ed avvolgente nel suo piglio ritmico che profuma di terra, capace di lenti ma inesorabili crescendo d’intensità come di meccaniche il cui fascino pacato risalta attraverso la forza della linearità. Temi di alto livello che, senza perdersi dietro ad inutili arzigogoli, centrano il proprio obiettivo: quello di sonorizzare scenari di luce con tratti che delineano la vastità degli spazi aperti, in un raffinato intreccio fra tastiere, chitarre più o meno ‘sintetizzate’ e percussioni dal respiro etnico. Un lavoro concettualmente stimolante che va ad impreziosire le discografie di due artisti dal curriculum importante, ideale per chi all’ambient non chiede solo e soltanto oscurità. -Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi

8. 

   Reviews Editor – June 16, 2016

   From Ambient Blog

   Speaking of genre tags: Erik Wøllo usually operates at the lighter side of the ambient spectrum (and I deliberately avoid the use of ‘new age’ here since that doesn’t really do justice to his music). The Norwegian composer/musician has been active since 1980, covering a wide range of styles, from rock to jazz to ambient music.

   On this album, he pairs his widespread synthscapes to the tribal percussion of Byron Metcalf, who’s career spans over 40 years and many different genres. Ambient music devotees may know his name from his work with Steve Roach. Metcalf‘s beautifully recorded ‘shamanic’ rhythm patterns add a steady, earthly beat to Wøllo‘s ethereal, floating ambient – “a sound flowing freely along with the currents all the time balancing the dark with the light.”

9. 

   Reviews Editor – June 6, 2016

   From Star’s End

   The debut collaboration between guitarist Erik Wøllo and percussionist Byron Metcalf has brought together two musicians who celebrate the planet through sound. While each of these two has produced their own fair share of heated body music, for Earth Luminous (63’17”) (their first studio collaboration) they explore the more mellow areas of the chilled mind. Here Metcalf brings the energy while Wøllo adds the motion. As one might imagine this exciting collaboration to yield new, even deeper journeys than either man could make on his own – upon listening we do find this duo working together quite harmoniously, and at a very high level of proficiency. The eight tracks on Earth Luminous, each of a unique color and energy level, gradually wind up and then out – into the blue of the sky, then down to the earthen hues of the solid ground.

   As intrigues of percussive patterning advance beneath a contrast of textures and atmospheres – the resulting realizations invigorate the body while stimulating the mind. With Wøllo’s cerebral synthetic guitar chords expanding across the firmament, Metcalf’s drummed patterns, grooves, rhythms and beats produce velocity over a dramatic landscape. The experience appears to have brought the musicians into a special creative zone of their own. A perfect place, where random gestures result in significant musical moments, and extend into the everlasting reaches of evermore. The modern digital society de-emphasizes the natural world, which seems to diminish our humanity. Earth Luminous reminds us to celebrate our connection to our Earth, and to discover something more of it – lest these remarkable, human feelings remain lost inside, forgotten and unattended to. -Chuck van Zyl

10. 

    Reviews Editor – May 19, 2016

    From Sequenzer Welten

    Hmm, ich bin mir gar nicht sicher, ob Byron Metcalf und Erik Wollo schon mal was rausgebracht haben….?

    Auf jeden Fall ist es eine sehr interessante Sache, denn Erik´s und Byron´s Stile ergänzen sich sehr gut miteinander. Auf der einen Seite die weiten, tiefen und teils mystischen Soundlandschaften von Erik Wollo und im Gegenpart die schamanistisch ausgeprägten Percussions von Byron Metcalf.

    Die Musik der beiden beginnt recht verhalten und nimmt mit zunehmender Spieldauer etwas an Fahrt auf und entwickelt Zeitweise eine gewisse Dynamik. Die kurz angeschlagenen Percussionklänge unterstützen den typischen “Wollo-Sound” auf angenehme Weise. Somit brauch der Hörer auf keinen der unvergleichbaren Stile zu verzichten und kann somit die 63 Minuten in vollen Zügen geniessen!

    Es wäre schön, wenn Erik und Byron ihre Zusammenarbeit fortsetzen würden, denn diese Kombination passt 🙂

11. 

    Reviews Editor – May 19, 2016

    From Music TAP

    The latest album by Erik Wøllo, as a collaboration with ambient artist, Byron Metcalf, is a tribal rhythm grandeur. It is an unrelenting set of tracks, eight in all, that move effortlessly down a corridor of streaming music. Each piece feels strongly related to the one before and after it. As it goes from track to track, the album highlights an extreme concentration of intent. Earth Luminous effortlessly showcases Wøllo’s guitars and synth work, recordings that merges perfectly into the rhythmic percussion of Metcalf’s intended contributions.

    Earth Luminous is hypnotic in every way. The periodic distortions in the streams of music lend an eerie feeling over the entire flow of the album. I want to stay away from mentioning any spacey elements, which would detract from the definite earthy audio flow of these sound pieces. And they move fast, like meteors through your neural system. I actually felt the music flow through me.

    Trust me, with ambient, that’s a pretty awesome thing. It makes you feel one with the music. I’m betting that the artists like that! -Matt Rowe