Protostar - Aeons

I remember a time when sprawling analog modular synths were the exclusive domain of grinning men in white lab coats. They coaxed swirling, otherworldly soundscapes out of bafflingly complex synthesisers with names like "Odyssey" and "Jupiter". One of my earliest memories is of smuggling a cassette tape out of what was then East Germany. At the time I could only have described what was on the cassette as "Space Music", but what may have been top of the pops in the DDR in the mid eighties was far less common in my native Australia, and I've been hooked ever since.

This album is nothing like that cassette whatsoever. But it is certainly "Space Music", and it is some of the finest that I've ever heard. It's a majestic, dark psy-ambient opus that practically begs to be listened to while laying flat on your back gazing at the stars. Waves of deep progressions constantly evolve, each element fading in and out of consciousness, as though glowing galaxies were forming and collapsing before your eyes. The influences span the gamut of ambient, goa trance and classic electronica, but the sound is always laid back and subtle. No 909's or supersaws here.

The music of Protostar is brought to us by the Norwegian duo Bjørn Marius Borg & Hans-Olof Mattsson, who are both also members of the highly regarded synth/futurepop band Code 64. Their involvement with such an established project has evidently laid the groundwork that is required for making such a mature, well produced record as 'Aeons'.

The album itself is divided into four tracks (named simply "Aeon I - IV"), but in truth the whole thing would work equally well as one sprawling 35 minute epic. The divisions between the tracks are almost arbitrary - this is certainly an album to be enjoyed in its entirety.

I can't hesitate to recommend this to fans of dark ambient and laid back, atmospheric electronica. It's been on my most played albums list all year, and I'm consistently impressed with the depth and complexity of sound that these guys have managed to achieve. What's most astounding is that it is a pay what you want download on Bandcamp. What are you waiting for? Feb 24 2013