Titled "In the Regions of Sunreturn", Michael Garrison's first
album paved the way for future generations of electronic
musicians. Musically, it was among the first re-interpretations of
the classic Berlin-school of spacemusic. Culturally, his work
marked America's entrance into a genre dominated by Europe.
Commercially, this album helped inspire the formation of an
independent spacemusic scene, as it was one of the first (then
unheard of) self-released LPs. The world lost Michael Garrison
at age 47 on 24 March 2004. TO THE SKY AND BEYOND THE
STARS is a sonic memorial to his memory.

26 noted musicians from the international Electronic Music
scene have each contributed a track to this tribute CD. All
involved have either personally known Garrison or somehow
been affected by his musical presence in the world. The music
contained on this 2 disc anthology is quite diverse and while it is
a befitting remembrance of Garrison, TO THE SKY AND
BEYOND THE STARS is also one of the greatest collections of
contemporary EM ever compiled. Some donors have chosen to
create music that is an original, impressionistic personal
statement while others have incorporated, almost verbatim,
Garrison's signature musical characteristics. Among the later
group would be the fantastic opening piece by Redshift.
"Crystalline 94" (6'50") builds, on a foundation of bass heavy
synthesizer tones, into an up-tempo bouncing jaunt. With a
mellow melodic line and soft electronic percussion, "Parallels"
(7'20") by Craig Padilla is equally emulative as it sets course for
a more mild tone. Rein van der Oever captures an optimistic
mood and lively spirit with the dancing octaves and winding
synth melodies of his track "Bon Voyage" (5'05"). Among the
more introspective works is "The Flight" (5'07"), the delicate,
sensitive and at times somber work by Erik Wollo. Jonn Serrie's
"The Star Road" (7'09") prowls the cosmos in its seductive and
gentle astral voyage. The closing track, "Requiem" (6'47") by
Cosmic Hoffman is elegiac and powerful. The shifting
harmonies and expansive space of its mellotron strings follows
an unusual contour and provides an unsettling mood in the
enigmatic conclusion to this collection.

Tune in this weekend to STAR'S END for music from TO THE
SKY AND BEYOND THE STARS - A Tribute to Michael Garrison

For more on TO THE SKY AND BEYOND THE STARS, access:
http://www.quantumproductions.nl

For more on Michael Garrison, access:
http://www.garrisongs.com

-

STAR'S END Fundraiser - 02.06.05

Public broadcasting depends on listener support. Thanks so
much to the 42 listeners who tuned in and then called in to
STAR'S END this past weekend. Through their valuable help with
the Winter 2005 Fundraiser, STAR'S END was able to raise
$4270.00.

STAR'S END sincerely thanks those who came in to answer
phones during this Winter's fund drive: Bill Beck, Elise Bowers,
Renee Campbell, Art Cohen, Bud Schoefer and Phoneroom
Anchor Jeff Towne.

-

STAR'S END broadcasts every Saturday night/Sunday morning
from 1am-6am (EDST) on:

88.5fm WXPN Philadelphia, PA
88.1fm WXPH Harrisburg, PA
90.5fm Worton/Baltimore, MD
104.9fm Allentown, PA

and live on the web...

-

Chuck van Zyl
Host of STAR'S END Ambient Radio
http://www.starsend.org