Xan Alexander, as I stated in my review earlier this year of his Ouroboros II, is a very prolific chap, and he returns to delight our ears with Ambi-Tronic Soundscapes II, which can be obtained from Bandcamp at https://xanalexander.bandcamp.com/album/ambi-tronic-soundscapes-ii

This one has taken a couple of years to be fully realised, and we have eight tracks of electronica to unpick. It continues one of the themes of Ouroboros II, Greek Mythology and Star Constellations

We start with Microscopium (“the Microscope”), a minor constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere, one of twelve created in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicholas-Louus de Lacaille and one of several depicting scientific instruments. It is not far short of the epic length, and the start will be instantly appreciated by aficionados of this type of music, and I simply imagine myself on a journey to the constellation through space, the vastness of the cosmos stretching out before me, the emulation of the mellotron delightful, with passages which one sees oneself under the microscope in question, a quiet intensity in the sounds, passing notes dramatic.

Auriga is a constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere, one of the 88 modern constellations – I admit here to not knowing there were any, so this album has added to my personal knowledge base; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. Its name is Latin for '(the) charioteer'. It is another just short of the epic length, and you really do admire Xan’s ambitious nature. It reminds me in parts of some of the experimental stuff produced by The BBC Radiophonic Workshop (fans of Doctor Who will know what I mean). Chariots, of course, require horses working in collaboration to ride smoothly, and within this music, I hear tension between the animal participants with the charioteer himself calmly whistling and talking to his beasts to keep them on the celestial path, which is clearly achieved, with the resultant mood meditative is how this is best described, I feel.

Delphinus is a small constellation close to the celestial equator. Its name is the Latin translation of the Greek word for dolphin. It is another of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy. I have embedded this track below. There is a quiet drama happening here, with the still of both space and the ocean where our mammal cousins reside, their cries and speech palpable in the void. Interesting soundscapes at play here, ambient electronica.

Next, we have Mello-Interlude II, inspired, naturally, from the prog fan’s favourite instrument. This is the first of two “mello” pieces inspired by the late, great, Edgar Froese and Tangerine Dream. We have birdsong, electronic song, some beautifully deep notes, the sea washing over the beach in a cove, the tranquillity disturbed by perhaps an argument with the dramatic notes conveying anger before a concerto of sound arrives, not always harmonious, either. The five-minute mark brings about an interesting change of perspective, some of the notes produced beautiful and spacey. It is also embedded below for you.

The sea theme continues with Amphitrite, the goddess of the sea, its queen, her consort Poseidon himself. The music provides us with representations of the great waves which put sailors lives at risk amid her wrath, and you also hear dolphins, whose constellation I describe above was created by Poseidon as a reward for one of the creatures persuading our Queen to marry him. Effects also bring us the representations of the sea creatures under her command and the quiet majesty of her control of the sea whilst becalmed.

Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the Greek mythological hero. He was an iconic character who slayed monsters, perhaps best known for despatching Medusa, The Gorgon. The sea connection here is that he saved Andromeda from the sea monster, Cetus. There is a stealthy purpose about the start of this track, our hero having to be ever so careful so as to not gaze upon the head so hideous that one look would turn you into stone for all eternity, but there is a confidence about him, a brightness in the notes so sure of himself, influenced I think by some of Vangelis’s work, with traces of Richard Wright circa Meddle as well. As he approaches the monster, the notes take on a more strident turn, her very breath enough to scare you witless, the snakes hissing in the wind.

Fornax is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere, partly ringed by the celestial river Eridanus. Its name is Latin for furnace. It was named by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. Ast the centre of the constellation is a cluster of galaxies, and within the music I hear the drama of collisions and both the birthing pains of celestial bodies and their demise in supernovae.

We close with the second of the “mello” pieces, Mello-Out, a superb name for the last track of an album. It is the shortest track on the album, coming in under five minutes, and is quite nightmarish in its humming of voices and drilling thumps of notes before it graduates into an altogether calmer soundscape with birdsong and a lush, calming, mellotron rising above the cares of this world, waking up after the dream to a world full of wonder.

I like Xan’s work. He is very talented and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as electronica artists beloved of yore. If you like TD, Schulze, Froese, and the like, then you will find a lot to enjoy here.