Ain Soph — Marine Menagerie
(Musea FGBG-4630.AR, 1991/2005, CD)
Ain Soph — Five Evolved from Nine
(Made in Japan MCD 2925, 1993, CD)
by Mike McLatchey, 1993-10-01:
by Jon Davis, 2006-05-01:
The line between fusion and fuzak can be a very fine one, and Ain Soph walks that line like a drunken goat, stepping first on one side, then on the other, back and forth with dizzying frequency. I love good fusion, but there are few forms of music I detest more than the bastard stepchild of electric jazz and easy listening. Which makes Ain Soph a somewhat frustrating proposition for me. When they're good, they're quite good, but when they're bad they're... quite boring. For the most part, the lead falls to the guitar of "Yozox," who is a strong player when he steps up, though much of his time is spent playing clean, smooth chords. My favorite parts are when he pushes the distortion a bit and plays with more edge and doesn't sound so highly rehearsed. Kikuo Fujiyama's keyboards are mainly good, though there is a tendency toward the kind of slick digital sounds many of us detest. But he succumbs to a much worse sin: solos played on sampled saxophone. This must be one of the most annoying sounds ever committed to tape – if you want a sax, get a frigging sax player! The band's primary influence is obviously Camel, and as times they come off as fairly good Camel imitators. But in addition to honoring Camel's best moments, Ain Soph also pays tribute to their idol's sappy melodic side. Both of these early-90s releases have their high and low points, and I'm hard pressed to pick one over the other.Filed under: Reissues , Issue 33 , 2005 releases, 1991 releases, 1993 releases
Related artist(s): Ain Soph
More info
2021-01-18
Asia Minor Third Album on the Way –
On January 29, AMS records will be releasing the long-awaited third album by classic Turkish-French band Asia Minor. Released last year in Japan, this will be the widespread debut of Points of Libration. The album features original members Setrak Bakirel (vocals, guitar) and Eril Tekeli (flute, guitar). »
Read more
2020-12-09
Harold Budd RIP –
Harold Budd, one of pre-eminent American composers of avant-garde and minimalism, has died of complications from the coronavirus. Budd came to prominence in the 70s, championed by Brian Eno on his Obscure Records label, with music that blended academic minimalism with electric jazz and electronic music. Much of Budd's best known work was done in collaboration with other artists, including Eno, Daniel Lanois, Robin Guthrie, Andy Partridge, John Foxx, Jah Wobble, and many others. »
Read more
2020-11-20
25 Views of Worthing Finally Gets Released –
A while ago, we wrote about the discovery of a "long lost" Canterbury-style gem by a band called 25 Views of Worthing. And now we're pleased to find out that Wind Waker Records has released their music on an LP. »
Read more
2020-10-14
Audion Is Back in Business –
Our esteemed colleague Alan Freeman has restarted Audion Magazine after a seven year hiatus. The new incarnation is available online on their Bandcamp site. Audion's history goes back to 1984, and included 58 issues up to 2013. Issue #59 is available now, and #60 is in the works. »
Read more
2020-10-06
Romantic Warriors IV – Krautrock (Part 2) Is in the Works –
Zeitgeist Media, the people who have brought us the great series of documentary films chronicling the history of progressive rock, are working on the second installment of their examination of German music. Krautrock 2 will focus on artists from Münich such as Guru Guru, Amon Düül II, Xhol Caravan, Kraan, Witthüser & Westrupp, and Popol Vuh. »
Read more
Porcupine Tree - Metanoia – This hard-to-find treat was released after the live album Coma Divine but prior to the latest album Stupid Dream as a limited edition gatefold double 10" vinyl-only release. Recent interviews... (1999) » Read more
Rick Miller - Falling through Rainbows – Rick Miller is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and composer who began his musical career in the 80s. Over the past five years Rick’s focus has been progressive rock and Falling through Rainbows is... (2011) » Read more
Ozone Player - E – Ozone Player is an electronic project created by Otso Pakarinen, but a real oddball one that doesn’t fit into any of the schools of electronic music. It’s not heavily sequenced,... (2003) » Read more
Kaos Moon - Circle of Madness – A full ten years after their debut, After the Storm, Quebec’s Kaos Moon is back. Some things have changed, namely the roster that now revolves around keyboardist / drummer / vocalist Bernard... (2007) » Read more
Yolk - Die Dritte, Die Vierte, Oskivinis, This Is Syd & Fuenftens – This excellent Swiss band has been kicking around since the early 90s (not to be confused with another Yolk from NYC – we reviewed one of NYC Yolk’s live shows back in issue #11) but they... (2004) » Read more