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AMAZING SOUNDS No.145 / June 27, 2005
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CONTENTS:

INTERVIEW WITH JOSE BONET

REVIEWS:
JOSEPH LOIBANT: "MYSTERY" At-Mooss Records
JOSEPH LOIBANT: "IMAGERY" At-Mooss Records
JOSEPH LOIBANT: "EMPATHY" At-Mooss Records
JOSEPH LOIBANT: "SHADOWY" At-Mooss Records
JOSEPH LOIBANT: MYSTERY / IMAGERY / EMPATHY / SHADOWY" (DVD) At-Mooss Records
ALQUIMIA & GLEISBERG: "GARDEN OF DREAMS" BSC Music / Prudence
JUAN CARLOS GARCIA: "MUSICA SAGRADA" Pulsar Studios
LI XIANGTING: "SLEEPING LOTUS" Real Music
PSICODREAMICS: "MYTHOMUSIC" Syngate
PSICODREAMICS: "THE UNKNOWN FRONTIER" Syngate
RICHARD AMOS: "BREATHE" Exhibit Music

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JOSE BONET
Interview conducted by Virginia Tamayo & Jorge Munnshe

Jose Bonet is a pianist and composer with a solid artistic talent, which
can be appreciated both in his live performances and in his soundtracks.
The author of over forty piano works, he has known how to develop his own
style, between New Instrumental Music and the most romantic side of
Classical Music, which places him as a true heir of the trends of composers
headed by such people as Max Steiner, Alfred Newman or Victor Young, who
tended a bridge between melodic Classicism and Cinema, building the
language of symphonic soundtracks. The Classical background that Bonet has
(he studied music notation and piano at the Conservatory of Valencia) gets
united to his special talent to create well defined melodies with an
unusual sensitivity, a talent that has been very useful to him when
composing soundtracks for TV and for infomercials. Bonet has performed his
music before prominent audiences and events, as for instance, the Cycle
Mare Nostrum (2000), the City of the Arts and Sciences (2004) or the Palau
de la Musica of Valencia (1999 and 2001), among others.

We begin the interview asking him about how his relationship with music
started. "I can't recall a given moment, yet I have this feeling of having
been moved since my early childhood with any musical instrument, and
especially with everything ressembling a piano keyboard. After having
played all sorts of musical instruments for children, I got a "melodic", a
wind instrument with small buttons that simulated a piano keyboard. Due to
my poor health I had to invent some sort of homemade organ which was my
great passion. I sheathed an old fan from my grandfather's shop into a
plastic bag, tying the other end of the "melodic", in such a way that I set
it in a horizontal position and simulated my great harmonium. The fan
was so noisy in fact that I could hardly hear the music I so much desired
to hear. I used to give small compositions to my family, but I never got a
great deal of enthusiasm for them. My passion to listen to the harmoniums
made me discover all the churches that officiated with their organs, as
well as Bach, a world of sounds that drove me in an uncontrolled way
towards music."

With respect to the musical influences from other composers that somehow
may have marked a path for his style, he comments: "I have never believed
in myths, nor in the great masters, and I think that the music one feels a
greater passion for is far from, I don't know why, what one makes or
expresses. This contradiction has a double sense, you don't do what you
think you should do, which has a certain degree of frustration, yet, on the
other hand, you do feel the tight relationship between what you say and
what you are, although on occasion what results from all that doesn't quite
please you."

The labels linked to given musical trends are not importamt for him when it
comes to making music. "I have often wondered which kind of music I like
doing, and truly, as I once before already said, I think I don't really
know, so I always answer that I create a music of my own times, which is
the same as saying I can't do a different kind, and I admit that,
throughout the years I am feeling more and more identified with it. I may
have felt the need to play with the classical patterns and try to break
them, yet I have always had a clear premise. I must do a kind of music that
is simple, and as beautiful as possible, following the maxim "Most beauty,
in a minimum of notes".

As he tells us, the process he usually follows in order to compose is not
very different, on the intellectual side, from the one typical for many
writers. "I really believe that with music happens the same as writers say
of literature. You must sit on the stool every day, whether or not you feel
like it, and look at the keyboard, start working and let emotions,
discipline, inspiration flow, and all these things together end up with
music. You may sometimes look for inspiration, whereas at other times you
may just find it without looking for it, yet you must live with the piano
so that the music never abandons you".

He has a rule he has always followed ever since he was a child for
composing: "I never write an idea or a musical fragment just in the very
moment it comes to my head. My filter to determine what may turn out to be
interesting or not (for me) is the fact that I remember it during several
days. I shape it, I work on it, and then I okay it and write it. I may have
an excessive confidence in my memory, maybe as the years go by I will have
to change my technique".

Inspiration, or whatever motivates him to create, comes to him in several
ways. "I have composed from different viewpoints, yet where I feel really
comfortable is when I pursue emotions among the piano keyboards. At other
times I like painting a landscape with music, or a castle, a city, and
above all, I love giving expression to memories".

"Entre ayer y hoy" ("Between yesterday and today") is an album where Bonet
has given expression to his most personal ideas. The release of this CD was
accompanied by a ceremony of presentation of the CD at the prestigious
Palau de la Musica of Valencia, an event that included the performance of
the artist. Throughout 13 pieces, performed only with a piano, Bonet shapes
an exquisite collection of melodies, rich in romanticism, with a wide
emotional range going from melancholy to festive airs. Although he is
nourished with Classicist elements, the composer provides his tracks with
an agile development, free from constraints, which relates to the public at
once.

We ask him about the stage that his album "Entre ayer y hoy" covers in his
life. He didn't compose it in a given time, but it rather gathers pieces
created in different occasions. "This album covers many years and different
stages, yet there wasn't a pre-detemined criterion to choose the tracks. It
was practically a live recording due to the scarce time the Auditorium had,
and though I did select the program thinking of the recording, I was more
driven by the music I had recently composed rather than other older themes,
and which, in my opinion, today, complete my style much more. Well, I think
that right back then, as one of the titles of my themes says, I believed
that was the most suitable choice way then."

He tells us that the track "Entre ayer y hoy", the one giving its name to
the album, was very important for him. "Its creation refers to a really
important event, and I promised to name my first CD with that song. This is
the reason why it is called like this, as a kind of dedication".

He admits that all the titles have a great identification with the music
they represent. "There is always a deep connection between the music and
the name of the theme".

He is aware that the music reflects the personality of the one who creates,
somehow or other, aside from the fact that the composer tries to use the
music as a way to make sound stories. "I think that one is defined by what
one does, by what one feels, by what one expresses. In the field of
literature it is said that occasionally it is more important the way how
one idea is expressed rather than the very meaning it has, though this is
not always true. All musicians have the same notes within our reach, the
difference lies in the way we relate them and how. I believe that no one
can help leaving their own trail even in the most impersonal of musical
stories".

We ask him whether, besides the kind of music he has shaped in "Entre ayer
y hoy", he composes or has composed music of different orientations. "I
obviously am my worst critic, as everyone is, yet I do think that, within
the evolution I have experienced throughout the years, I have always kept
this trace which I find impossible to hide."

Jose Bonet has a very special relationship with the piano. We ask him
whether he considers it to be the best suited instrument to his way of
feeling music. "I don't know why, but ever since I was a very young child,
blood flowed through my veins in a very different way whenever I saw a
piano. Even long before I started studying, I used to sit on the knees of
an adult and managed to make small improvisations. This is something that
gets settled, difficult to define. Today, after so many years, the respect,
the admiration and the love one can get to have for this so very complex
piece of furniture with a soul, turns out to be enthralling. You treat it
very gently, at times with strength and always waiting for its answer, as
if the music emanating from it had nothing to do with you. It is true that,
and I vouch for it, especially in concerts, a dialogue is set between the
piano and me, at times with all the love, and other times, with anger."

When we inquire whether he has any preferences towards any given pianos, he
answers: "Since several years ago, I felt captivated by the sweetness of
Schimmel pianos. Whenever the concert hall permits so, I perform with one
of them, although in general, in the concerts, the grand piano is necessary."

About what his opinion is with respect to the electronic keyboards as
compared to the acoustic pianos, he comments: "I had abandoned the idea of
a synthesizer and sequencers many years ago. Electronic music has the
grandeur of being able to simulate an orchestra, you may ask it for the
necessary strength or rhythm. Yet I have always thought that I felt more
comfortable with acoustic music, that the piano transmits your state of
mind, your strength or weakness, that you can make it speak with your own
voice, although, on the other hand, it happens to be much more complex. And
of course, it is a tandem of loneliness, the piano and you. There is
nothing else, It tells what you tell it."

Describing what he feels with respect to live performances is somewhat
difficult for him, as he admits. "The live concerts are the most difficult
thing to be able to define.I personally continue to ignore what I can say
about them. The loneliness onstage is quite difficult for me, yet it has a
special magic. Alone, the piano and you. There are two opposed poles, fear
acts, so does pleasure, connecting with the audience, you feel this as you
perform. Dialogues with yourself while you think of the next fragment,well,
the end always rewards you. I must admit that the value of live
performances is inimitable".

Particularly, assessing the reach of music onstage looks difficult. "I have
an anecdote which defines how contradictory live performances are. I always
ask my people, when I finish a concert, how it has been, as you never
control the feeling with the audience, you get an impression, and
nevertheless you hear the opposite; in concerts where technically you feel
very upset in the end, they tell you that the technique was impressive; in
others, on the contrary, where you were performing feeling more at ease,
maybe committing next to no mistakes at all, you feel the audience keeping
more distant. Concerts are certainly unpredictable, yet they are certainly
magical".

As opposed to concerts, the music played track by track in a studio, it is
a very different experience. "Recording is another thing entirely, it has
more perfectionist connotations, it is colder, everything is thought of,
calculated and executed".

And finally, when we ask him if he wants to add something else, he says
goodbye with these comments, not lacking in a touch of humor: "I enjoy
talking about music, and especially the piano, so much, that I would have
extended my speech till it might look like a book against insomnia. Music
has always been and continues to be something very important in my life,
composing is something fantastic because of the mere fact that you have
your own words with music, performing is entering a nebula of sounds that
make you very happy indeed ".


More info here:

http://www.josebonet.com

If you wish to purchase "Entre ayer y hoy" ("Between yesterday and today")
you only have to use this link:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/josebonet

====================

THE SCIENCE BOOK BOARD
The Science Book Board is a bibliographical data base where you will find a
choice selection of book and software reviews.
The SBB was born on november 1995, as The Space Book Board. In this new
venture, the SBB has grown to include book/software reviews which cover not
only astronomy and astronautics but other sciences as well.

http://www.amazings.com/sbb/index.html

====================

REVIEWS:

JOSEPH LOIBANT:
"MYSTERY"
At-Mooss Records
The artistic maturity of Joseph Loibant has allowed him to follow, within
his style, multiple aspects of electronic music during the last twenty
years. His fans will find here many of the ingredients that characterize
this musician. "Mystery" is an evocative release where the music, wrapped
up in floating sound textures, goes through a universe of legends, magic
and mystery. There are some pieces in a Dark Ambient, of an almost hideous
nature, and others that enter the field of Space Sequencer Music, with some
traits typical of Techno. All the compositions are a magnificient sample of
electronic music of a high degree. This album is the first disk of a
4CD+1DVD set tittled "Box", but it is also available separately.
EDGAR KOGLER

http://www.at-mooss.com/

JOSEPH LOIBANT:
"IMAGERY"
At-Mooss Records
This album gathers a series of compositions that flow among the Space
Sequencer Music, the Industrial Techno and the Dark Ambient, besides
reaching futuristic styles still to be fully shaped. In this release,
Loibant utilizes electronics with great imagination, succeeding in creating
musical structures far from the most usual trends, and which besides happen
to be attractive, bewitching. To do this he uses unconventional sonic
architectures. Some pieces are slow, and others possess a very agile
rhythm. In quite passages, the rhythm assumes the role of melody, given its
complexity. The personal style of the artist offers us a sonic landscape
that evokes journeys and adventures. This album is the second disk of a
4CD+1DVD set tittled "Box", but it is also available separately.
EDGAR KOGLER

http://www.at-mooss.com/

JOSEPH LOIBANT:
"EMPATHY"
At-Mooss Records
In this memorable work, we get immersed in new sonic universes.
Joseph Loibant is one of those artists that know how to take us into
musical landscapes full of strong emotions. His talent can be appreciated
as he creates complex rhythmic structures, that become perfectly fused with
the melodies and the atmospheres. His compositions are overflown with
dynamism, cosmic grandeur, a shattering rhythm, and occasionally, also
romanticism and passion. The album has Ambient, Industrial and also cosmic
elements skilfully fused together. There are plenty of powerful rhythms, of
a metallic quality, enhanced by synthesizers. Also there are slow passages,
where the mysterious landscapes and the atmospheric environments
predominate. In a few words, this is a work that will not leave us
indifferent to it. This album is the third disk of a 4CD+1DVD set tittled
"Box", but it is also available separately.
EDGAR KOGLER

http://www.at-mooss.com/

JOSEPH LOIBANT:
"SHADOWY"
At-Mooss Records
Joseph Loibant is one of the most interesting representatives of the kind
of electronic music that is currently being done. The artist gathers
imaginative musical ideas in this album, under a general focus approaching
Dark Ambient and Space Sequencer Music. The music also has certain Techno
traits. The piece that opens the CD is a ghostly theme of an unusual
strength, with a disquieting melody. In other themes, rhythm and melody
become fused into complex constructions, where the sequencers shape the
melodies. A great amount of imagination pervades the entire album. In a few
words, Loibant has created a thrilling sonic adventure in this work, of a
great artistic quality. This album is the fourth disk of a 4CD+1DVD set
tittled "Box", but it is also available separately.
EDGAR KOGLER

http://www.at-mooss.com/

JOSEPH LOIBANT:
MYSTERY / IMAGERY / EMPATHY / SHADOWY" (DVD)
At-Mooss Records
The magnificient DVD by Joseph Loibant shows us a new, original path that
will probably be followed by many other artists in the future. Four albums
are enclosed in this DVD: "Mystery", "Imagery", "Empathy" and "Shadowy".
They form the tetralogy "Subliminal Music Latency".The music has been
specially recorded in Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. This DVD can be played in
any standard DVD player connected to a Dolby Digital capable sound system
and uses the 5.1 Dolby Digital surround to strengthen the listening
experience. The enclosed pieces were not remixed from stereo music, but
directly created in 5.1. When you use this audio system, you are "inside"
the music. Quite a number of the distinct aspects in Loibant's style appear
in this DVD: from the darkest Ambient to the dynamic vein nearing to
Synth-Pop and Space Sequencer, all that dominated by the powerful presence
of synthesizers. This DVD possesses the ingredients and the sufficient
quality to be liked by the followers of innovative electronic music. This
DVD is only available within the 4CD+1DVD set called "Box", and is not
distributed separately.
EDGAR KOGLER

http://www.at-mooss.com/

ALQUIMIA & GLEISBERG:
"GARDEN OF DREAMS"
BSC Music / Prudence
Alquimia has collaborated in this occasion with Rudiger Gleisberg to make a
magnificient album with a certain classical flavor. The result is quite
unexpected and worthy of attention. If to Alquimia's beautiful voice we
join a handful of warm, emotive melodies, we will get as a result this
perfect album. The music is very expressive, with romantic and also solemn
traits, yet without falling into an excessive sweetness. Dreamy themes,
perfectly intertwined, both with respect to the music and the lyrics,
follow one another without ups and downs. The grandiosity of the music and
its symphonism make of the listening of this album a complete experience.
HECTOR JORDAN

http://www.bscmusic.com

JUAN CARLOS GARCIA:
"MUSICA SAGRADA"
Pulsar Studios
In this album, Juan Carlos Garcia offers us an exquisite selection of
pieces extracted from already released albums of his, together with several
short versions. The album, one of the most extraordinary releases in his
career given the extreme sensitivity of the themes it contains, furthermore
incorporates a new one: "El Templo de la Verdad de Pallas Atenea". Most of
the pieces can be labelled within the New Instrumental Melodic Music,
although they also have symphonic and cosmic characteristics. Some of the
pieces have a certain ethnic air, others are quite mysterious.
VIRGINIA TAMAYO

http://www.juancarlosgarciaweb.com

LI XIANGTING:
"SLEEPING LOTUS"
Real Music
Li Xiangtin's music, based in ancient Chinese instruments (the guqin and
xiao) is very smooth and relaxing. The guqin is a seven-stringed zither.
The xiao is a bamboo flute. The album is very much inspired on the Chinese
traditional atmospheres as well as on nature, and its character is
basically meditative. Listening to the notes produced by these instruments,
one cannot help but feeling peace and calm.
MARCELLA CIRIGNOLA

http://www.realmusic.com

PSICODREAMICS:
"MYTHOMUSIC"
Syngate
Originally produced in 1997, this is a memorable work, where the composer
proved his great imagination. "Mythomusic" is a mystic adventure throughout
fourteen suggestive themes evoking a world of fantasy. Using the
synthesizers in an unusually warm way, Psicodreamics creates a collection
of melodic pieces, with cosmic and romantic airs, that have a certain
melancholy touch. His melodies appear to grow little by little, in a
continuous crescendo that reaches wonderful heights. The music turns out to
be dreamy, even oniric, with ethereal sounds, cosmic textures and a careful
musical sensitivity that make of this album an ideal vehicle to let
imagination soar through unearthly worlds. The album includes a bonus
track, "Azhdark Passion", a remix composed in 1995.
HECTOR JORDAN

http://www.psicodreamics.com

PSICODREAMICS:
"THE UNKNOWN FRONTIER"
Syngate
Originally released in 1993, this was the first album composed and
performed by Psicodreamics. This is one of his albums of a most ghostly
inspiration, where the electronics we are so used to sounds less symphonic
and at the same time more disquieting. To compose the music in this album,
Psicodreamics was inspired by the frontier that separates the life and the
death. This album shows a new and promising artist in constant progression,
whose music, very imaginative, unusually mature, takes us to a peculiar
journey towards The Unknown. The instrumentation and the sonic effects
maintain a gloomy character throughtout the album, contributing a series of
undescribable sensations for the listener. Synthesizers displaying timeless
sounds shape an electronic pathway towards the universe of death, souls
sliding between dimensions, and mysteries of the resurrection.
HECTOR JORDAN

http://www.psicodreamics.com

RICHARD AMOS:
"BREATHE"
Exhibit Music
The style of the music that Richard Amos has composed for this CD can be
more or less placed within SynthPop, with some characteristics typical of
New Instrumental Music. There also are parts that enter Ambient and Space
Music. The themes include different orientations, although within the same
basic style. Several of the pieces are sung.
VICENTE GISPERT

http://www.richardamos.com

====================

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