Masthead Banner Made with MyBannerMaker.com! Click here to make your own!
Born of a concept that music should be felt as much as heard, Black Ether has been captivating listeners since 2001 with emotive down tempo electronic music. Like tendrils of long forgotten dreams, Black Ether moves people in ways very few artists can, simultaneously touching on the human and spiritual conditions with a force that can be as soft as a feather, or like a sledge hammer to the brain. Reminiscent of acts like Delirium, Deep Forest and VAST, Black Ether has managed, however, to blaze its own sonic trail with a distinctiveness that speaks Black Ether. Ethereal ambience, haunting melodies, tribal drums, sensuous and peaceful vocals, soaring guitars and keyboard solos and a healthy dose of creativity culminates in a sound that is timeless, emotive, and extraordinarily mind blowing.
"Those that listen with only their ears never hear the spirit that walks like magic upon the earth. Those that listen with their hearts are the spirit. " Jester Black
THE OBSIDIAN MARCH
Soon to be released, you can listen here now. Share it with others and help spread the word.
'TENDRILS OF A MEMORY'
BE's 2006 release, Tendrils of a Memory brought the genre busting ethereal sound of Black Ether to its greatest heights with lush journeys through imaginary soundscapes full of surreal wonder and the power of the human drama through the spirit of music. Featuring acclaimed titles such as Jerusalem's Cry, Sweetest Sorrowand Aja's Song, this TOAM was ambitious, soulful, inspiring and a mind trip anchored by the tense lushness which has become a Black Ether signature and trademark. More than just a CD, TOAM is an experience of the spirit washed in ethereal ambience and addictive grooves.
Buy 'Tendrils of a Memory' HERE
What Song Turned The Ear Of Hesiod?
In the eternity of the imagination the ancient beyond comprehension and every possible future meet.
Some have postulated the existence of One Cosmic Chord, the vibrations of which translate into the "music of the spheres". Others have heard this sound, and through their artistic sensibilities it is transmuted it into music for the ears, shocking in its freshness, its audacity, its spiritual elevation and in its instantaneous recognition as inspired and inspiring a sense of awe. This is the sound of oneness, the link to the vibratory energies and rhythms of life itself. This is Black Ether territory, over which multi- instrumentalist Jay Rivera and percussionist Brian Goodwill have dominion, and hold sway. Let there be no doubt it is a realm governed by magic.
Entry is gained through the gates of "Ascension", and the lack of hyperbole in the aforementioned description will be apparent. One is immediately struck by the august grandeur and elevated, deceptive simplicity of the work. And indeed it is simple, but as simple rain clouds over Machu Picchu, or a single shaft of golden light piercing the depths of the innermost shrine at Abu Simbel to illuminate the gods in their repose. Technological instrumentation, voices, and sound design alone cannot achieve these effects. Here is the mystery of vision. The listener is challenged to predict the direction of the arrangement, the next color in the shifting atmosphere, the ways in which the extraordinary combinations and permutations of the musical themes will coalesce. It cannot be done, as any element of cliché, of predictability, is banished from this track, and from this recording as a whole.
Nor can the listener fail to discern the immensity of the total dynamic of the album. The songs-- for these are songs, as evocative in nature as any ancient ballad or hymn-- move organically through an emotionally charged landscape in a journey encompassing longing, lament, hope, and even wry humor. Intertwined with motifs of lyrical piano, Gregorian chant, and expansive, combustible drumming, each attains a spontaneity in execution which makes them ever new, ever surprising. In the brooding melancholy of "Sweetest Sorrow", is there not the delight of robust experience as well? Beyond the serenity of "Aja's Song", is there not a call to act, to reach out, to embrace joy? Like the rhythms of life, the songs move inexorably forward, and over the next rise is a new memory to come.
In listening, one moves constantly, from the natural and sensual world of "Dreams Like Crystal" and "In A Moment Of Silence" to the comforts of familiar haunts reached in the jazz-inflected "Regina Lunares". The trail turns toward the mystical and the sublime, toward the primitive and pagan, then reaches the ultimate end of the destination, Shambala.
This is the Shambala of legend... the mystery, the hidden, the great refuge of peace and serenity believed to be somewhere in Tibet, but on the far edge of physical reality. How appropriate the composition is in two parts, the journey first, the experience following. The former is rationally constructed, structurally defined, lush yet controlled in delivery, representative of the mastery of Reason and Emotion. The letter section is elevated, ecstatic, and free-form in the embodiment of the Spiritual and Supernatural. The improvisation resonates with the art of Chick Corea, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and the host of musicians who have made-- and continue to make-- the physical and intellectual effort to liberate music from convention and predictability and create new journeys toward new lands. Bravo those who walk on fire. Bravo Black Ether.
In ancient times a shepherd, later to become the foremost poet of his time and heir to Homer himself, stood on a fog-hidden hillside near the slopes of Mount Helicon and heard nine voices, the Muses, daughters of Zeus, singing. I bid you to do now as he did then.
Listen.
Scott (Time Starts Now) Graves, CREEM Magazine contributing writer, 1976- 78.
EARLY ETHER
Black Ether's first 2 CDs, Oneness and Renaissance of the Primordial can be found at the following digital distribution outlets
Buy 'Renaissance of the Primordial' HERE
Buy 'Oneness' HERE
EYE CANDY
Jerusalem's Cry - The SkyTimeLapse Video
Jerusalem's Cry
Add to My Profile | More Videos
She Laid Me Down - An ADIS Production
Kimberly Stieble of A Death in Summer made this video to bring peoples attention to the Katrina disaster one year after. Really sobering stuff. The backing track is Black Ether's Waltz of the Ether Black.
She Laid Me Down - An ADIS Production
Add to My Profile | More Videos
BR
