FFM-014: Altus - The Sidereal Cycle 2

Track List

1. Andromeda 54/50

Notes

The Sidereal Cycle 2        ffm•014
Altus

The plans for what would become The Sidereal Cycle took place without any input from me. I first found out about the concept from a post on the Altus blog. As soon as I read it I reached out to Mike (Carss, AKA Altus) with a resounding, “Yes, please! Fans of Free Floating and ambient I’m sure understand my enthusiasm.

Simply put, Mike Carss is a master of ambient music, there can be no doubt about that. Of the ambient artists that I listen to and love, I feel that Altus music is the most ‘composed’. While much of it is decidedly cinematic in structure, even the more minimal and abstract pieces seem to have deeper structures and themes that resonate throughout.

With his focus on thematic elements, the music of Altus is also somewhat painterly, in that the melodies and structures help to draw mental images, especially since each release usually contains a specific topical reference (time, sleep, fire, water, etc.).

And so it is fitting that Altus turns his hand once again to the grand theme of time and the seasons with The Sidereal Cycle.

In this collection, Mike reflects on the transformation of the verdant summer into the dormant browns, oranges, and golds of autumn. Andromeda is really a two-part suite, I would say. The first part explores the gradual changes in color while the second part reflects leaves falling to the ground and the eventually dormant landscape of the impending winter.

The music is at once placid and dramatic, a perfect reflection of the changing season of autumn itself.

Please enjoy this second installation in The Sidereal Cycle and come back in a few months to hibernate with part 3.

Brad Ross-MacLeod
Vancouver, WA
September 2012

All music by Mike Carss
Cover design by Brad Ross-MacLeod
Photograpy by Mike Carss

Download

Download in a number of formats:
MP3 320K, MP3 VBR, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, OGG. Images and liner notes included.

License

This music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.