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BRIDGE TO IMLA - The Radiant

Format: CD Label & Cat.Number: Winter-Light WIN 013 Release Year: 2017 Note: debut album of two experienced German electronic musicians, working in the field of analogue synths / "Berlin-school"-ambience, almost getting psychedelic at times, but there are also lots of field recordings, voice-material and instruments used..."The Radiant Sea is superior prog-electronic & ambient music storytelling at its very best, and this deeply immersive and constantly evolving soundscape can rank up there with the best releases in the above-mentioned styles of 2017." [Prog-Arc] Price (incl. 19% VAT): €13.00 Warning: Currently we do not have this album in stock! More Info Winter-Light is extremely happy to welcome the duo 'Bridge To Imla' to our label, for their first full length album ‘The Radiant Sea’. Bridge To Imla is the duo of Hans-Dieter Schmidt and Michael Brückner, created in 2017 to distinguish their particular style of cinematic ambient from their respective solo projects. Hans-Dieter and Michael initially met at ambient group improvisations by the Frankfurt based EK-Lounge community around 2010, and had already collaborated previously on several occasions. The origins of the album go back to August 2013, when Michael Brückner produced a dark ambient track called "All The Weight Of The Sun" for a compilation by Jack Hertz' label Aural Films called "Fukushima Drones" that dealt with the (then recent) nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Whilst working on that track, Michael created hours of different soundscapes, most of which remained unused. Later that same year, Hans-Dieter and Michael started to make plans for recording an album together, and those unused soundscapes then formed the raw material for what finally became "The Radiant Sea". Expanding on the original theme of ecological concern, the album is both a contemplation about the current pollution of the Pacific ocean - not only caused by the Fukushima disaster, but by human influence in general - and is also a praise of the beauty of our planet's biggest ocean... The album is a rich woven tapestry of dark ambient soundscapes and deep electronics mixed with more traditional instruments. It will pull you across the vast stretches of the mighty Pacific Ocean, dragging you down to it's murky depths and across it's vast plains before depositing you in to the deep trenches and ridges that lurk there. Polluted by radiation and man's indifference to nature, 'The Radiant Sea' continues in its struggle to restore the balance and maintain its beauty and dignity. When it came to the question of who should master the album,’Bridge To Imla’ had already set their sights high and had just one person in mind; the ambient composer and mastering engineer Robert Rich. With over four decades of musical experience and knowledge to bring to the studio, Robert has applied his ears and talents to “The Radiant Sea’ and finely tuned and polished the tracks to bring out the best ambient feel and experience for the listener. We are extremely happy with the final results, as of course, are ‘Bridge To Imla’. We would like to say a big thank you to Robert, for doing such wonderful work. A true “master” craftsman. Hans-Dieter Schmidt Hans-Dieter Schmidt is a German keyboarder, flute player and electronic composer; from 1977 to 1984 he was keyboarder of locally successful bands like "Finnegan's Wake" and "Feinbein" (with the latter he released an LP). From 1986 on he was involved in different electronica projects, and since 1986 he works under the project name "Imaginary Landscape". Michael Brückner Michael Brückner started to be involved in electronic music around 1992 and has recorded a rather large number of albums since, with an emphasis on ambient and more recently "Berlin School" / retro space music. While most of his albums are self-released, since 2012 several of them also appeared on different small independent labels around the world. winter-light.bandcamp.com/album/the-radiant-sea "Bridge to Imla is the new ambient / Berlin School project by artists Hans-Dieter Schmidt and Michael Brückner. Both artists are veterans of the wider ambient music genres and have been releasing music under various projects for decades. The Radiant Sea is their first collaboration. The Radiant Sea is an ode to the Pacific Ocean. The theme of the album is two-fold. It partially is a telling of the Fukushima Disaster in Japan, and a warning against allowing these sorts of disasters to happen in the future. But it is also a love-song to the Pacific, a look not only at its majesty, but also at its ability to heal the planet. Our oceans help greatly in keeping the atmosphere clean, absorbing much of the toxins we create and discard. So, it is, in some instances, the only thing holding us back from fully disrupting our planet’s fragile eco-systems. The music on the album is quite diverse. There are elements of many different sub-genres within the greater ambient spectrum. Fans of the Berlin School sound will find much to love here. It is also telling that they sought the mastering skills of Robert Rich, as much of the album fits nicely with his tastes and skill-sets. There are certainly elements of dark ambient which rise and fall throughout the album, particularly on the opening track, “Prologue: The Kuroshio Current”, we can hear some deep, menacing dronework which brings to mind the Northaunt opus, Horizons. Throughout the album, as well, we can hear drones which greatly relax the mind and lull the listener toward a sleepy half-aware state of consciousness. Yet, as a whole, the album is less routed in dark ambient than readers will find on most of the releases we cover. However, that isn’t to say that this should be ignored by those listeners which only are interested in that crushing darkness, it touches the genre in many ways throughout its entirety and will have plenty of things for dark ambient lovers to enjoy along the way. The drones are well crafted and give the album that particularly dreamy feeling, but they aren’t always at the forefront. Much of the album is filled with field recordings, voice samples and instrumentation, which all come together to keep it incredibly entertaining, easily enjoyable as the primary point of focus for listeners. “The Humboldt Current” is a great example of this, with crystalline drones backing a beautiful wind instrument section, which give it a wonderful sort of meditative Eastern feel. Then there are tracks like “Louisville Ridge” which lean heavily into the Berlin School / electronica side of the spectrum. The track is filled with synthesizer sections which give the listener an almost psychedelic feeling. This psychedelic element crops up often throughout the album, without becoming comical or overused. Often the subtle ways in which drones shift can play with the mind of the listener, especially if they are listening to this as they prepare to fall asleep. The album becomes an all around success with the help of Robert Rich and the Winter-Light label. Robert Rich was brought in to master the release. Putting his decades of experience in the ambient genre to work, polishing the album to a pristine perfection. Once handed off to the Winter-Light label, The Radiant Sea was given beautiful cover-art, as well as a high quality 6-panel digipak, making the physical release as enticing as its stripped down digital-only alternative. Bridge To Imla delivered a strong debut. An album which could have only been created by artists with a lifetime’s experience in the field of ambient soundscapes. The album is equally as delightful when given full undivided attention as it is when played in the background, as an augmentation to some other activity. After this strong debut, we can hope to see more albums like this in the coming years from these two gentlemen. Until then, there should be many hours of enjoyment as one floats along on The Radiant Sea!" [Michael Barnett / This is Darkness]