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Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
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Reviews

Peter Phippen / Ivar Lunde Jr. / Paulina Fae — The Phantom Moon
(Projekt no #, 2025, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-11-21

The Phantom Moon Cover art

One could say that the longer nights as winter approaches suggest a more perfect listening experience for floating ambient music, but anyone who knows me knows that I’m good with it around the clock all year long. The Phantom Moon features three artists who have appeared in Exposé many times over recent years: Peter Phippen plays a variety of flutes – bamboo flute, various Native American flutes, shakuhachi (both contemporary and Edo period) and more; Ivar Lunde, Jr. who has often appeared on recordings with Phippen (Galaxies, Earthly, Primordial Forest) , plays synthesizers, frame drum and electronics; Paulina Fae compliments the sound of the other two with wordless vocals and piano. While the flutes, on their own in the hands of the right player can produce a beautiful sense of peace and tranquility, the addition of the synthesizers and Fae’s vocals magnifies that effect tenfold, making the seven tracks on The Phantom Moon the key to a completely immersive experience that a listener can easily get lost within. The opener, “Other Worldly Presence,” is exactly that; Paulina’s soft, ethereal voice, somewhere between melodic and whispered, introduces the sequenced synth followed by deeper notes and Phippen’s flutes in a haunting and majestic soundworld where each member of the trio evokes a call and response to and from all the others. With the follow-on, “Three Shadows,” shakuhachi takes a dominant role while Fae adds her voice and a bit of piano to the backdrop of koto (synth, of course) for a most dreamy effect, conjuring up images of ancient Japan. Electronics open the gripping “Field of Gray,” while the flute and voice seem to enter from nowhere, offering up a shimmering cloud of sound where the flute takes flight, while “Longing Cries” seems to take a more conventional path to the top of the sacred mountain. The closing title track begins with a soft deep drum and flute, followed by voices and synth, perhaps the most immersive piece in the entire set, at once subtle, peaceful and dazzlingly beautiful.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Polly Fae / Paulina Cassidy, Peter Phippen

More info
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-phantom-moon

 

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