http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/recording/viewreviews.asp?rvwbrdcmmt=947 Sensitive Chaos Remembering Chestnuts, Icy Cold, and Bells Subsequent Records (2011) Over the years I have reviewed some unconventional holiday music releases, but Remembering Chestnuts, Icy Cold, and Bells by Jim Combs, aka Sensitive Chaos, is likely the most unconventional one yet. Combs is an electronic music artist well-known for his affiliation with the City Skies concert series. Rather than take the "safe" route and merely use his arsenal of synthesizers to record the classics, Combs has instead created seasonal soundscapes that, through his choice of synthesizer sounds, captures the festive magic of this special time of year. In his liner notes, Combs recalls listening to holiday records with his family growing up, with music made up of bells, organs, pianos, and choirs. He also recounts being deeply affected by a holiday recording on the pioneering digital label Second Hearing. All of the myriad influences have culminated in this unique combination of lively electronic pieces, punctuated by twinkling bell tones, crystalline textures, and syncopated rhythms, the latter of which may call to mind wooden soldiers marching round the Christmas tree. Besides the cheery selections on the CD, which I found to be charming and refreshingly light-hearted, there is a well-done ambient number, Winter Winds Across the Heartland, that evokes the titular picture of a stark and somber, yet beautiful, landscape, via icy synth pads, whistling quavering tones, and underlying drones. The other selections on the disc are variations on the formula heard on the opening title track, althoughRemembering Chestnuts, Icy Cold, and Bells (prologue) has a more overt retro-EM feel to it, and less of a holiday-esque coloring, especially when the rhythms drop off and Combs moves into flowing ambient territory. One last fact that may amaze you (it did me) is that all but one of the pieces (the sole exception is the non-holiday-themed bonus track at the end of the CD) were recorded at live concerts! Color me mega-impressed! Rating: Good+ |
- reviewed by Bill Binkelman on 11/27/2011 |
Observations, announcements, and annotations, musical and otherwise, from the world of Synthejim aka Sensitive Chaos aka Jim Combs.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Zone Music Reporter reviews Sensitive Chaos 'Remembering Chestnuts, Icy Cold, and Bells'
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
KCBX 90FM Last Jazz Show plays Sensitive Chaos "Carillon et le Champagne"
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Time | Artist | Title | Album | Label | |||||||||||||
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10:01 PM | Ancient Future | 14 Steps | World Without Walls | Soma Gaia | |||||||||||||
10:06 PM | Chinmaya Dunster | Ocean Emotions | Gaia's Garden | New Earth | |||||||||||||
10:14 PM | Paul Avgerinos | Fertile Soil of Peace | Bliss | Round Sky Music | |||||||||||||
10:22 PM | ------------------------------------- break ------------------------------------- | ||||||||||||||||
10:23 PM | Double Fantasy | Food for Fantasy | Sample 1 | Innovative Communication | |||||||||||||
10:31 PM | Jean-Michel Jarre | Magnetic Fields Part 1 | Magnetic Fields | Dreyfus | |||||||||||||
10:48 PM | ------------------------------------- break ------------------------------------- | ||||||||||||||||
10:49 PM | James Asher | Northpoint | Return of the Tiger | New Earth | |||||||||||||
10:55 PM | Michael Stribling | Alchemists Workshop | Safely in the Arms of Love | Leela Music | |||||||||||||
10:59 PM | ------------------------------------- break ------------------------------------- | ||||||||||||||||
11:00 PM | Sensitive Chaos | Carillon et le Champagne | Remembering Chestnuts, Icy Cold, and Bells | Subsequent Records | |||||||||||||
11:13 PM | Alexander Berne | Flicker 1 | Flickers of Mime | Innova Recordings | |||||||||||||
11:21 PM | ------------------------------------- break ------------------------------------- | ||||||||||||||||
11:22 PM | Stanislav Kreitchi | Ellipsada Part 1 | Ansiana | Electroshock Records | |||||||||||||
11:37 PM | Henry Wolff/Nancy Hemmings | Journey to the End | Tibetan Bells II | Celestial Harmonies | |||||||||||||
11:58 PM | ------------------------------------- break ------------------------------------- | ||||||||||||||||
11:59 PM | Kathy Raimey | Still Life | Still Moving | Spiral Soundcase | |||||||||||||
12:06 AM | Mingo | Translation of a Lost Consciousness | The Light That Bends | ||||||||||||||
12:13 AM | Patrick O'Hearn | Well Mannered | Transitions | Patrick O'Hearn Music | |||||||||||||
12:19 AM | ------------------------------------- break ------------------------------------- | ||||||||||||||||
12:20 AM | Anna Thorvaldsdottir | Streaming Arhythmia | Rhizoma | Innova Recordings | |||||||||||||
12:38 AM | ------------------------------------- break ------------------------------------- | ||||||||||||||||
12:39 AM | Patrick Gleeson | Rainbow Delta | Rainbow Delta | Passport Records |
Monday, November 21, 2011
KUAC 89.9FM Nightlight plays Remembering Chestnuts, Icy Cold, and Bells
KUAC Playlists
NightlightLocally HostedNov 20, 2011
11:00PM - 1:00AMhost / produce, andyb, "bringing in music that falls between the cracks"
11:00PM - 1:00AMhost / produce, andyb, "bringing in music that falls between the cracks"
Name | Song Title | Name of CD |
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catherine marie charlton | introspection | red leaf, gray sky |
kathey raimey | bear dreams | it is always now |
sensitive chaos | nightshift at the baby mecha nursery | remembering chestnuts, icy cold, and bells |
darshan ambient | sun fade | dream in blue |
paul winter consort | trks 2,3,4,5,6,13,11,12. | crestone |
hennie bekker | comfort | spa |
rudy adrian | passing through familiar hills | atmospheric works |
sogar | sonst wesentlich | apikal blend |
near the parenthesis | not here not tonight | music for the forest concourse |
deep sky divers | gradually becoming cyclonic | incandescent |
pheo rose | help me | healing earth life |
mike howe | island of anywhere | island of anywhere |
fred thrane | moraga raga | angels of the sun |
steve roach erik wollo | first twilight | the road eternal |
justin vanderburg | the path | synthetic memories |
patrick ohearn | restless | transitions |
darshan ambient | upon reflection | dream in blue |
Sunday, November 20, 2011
WYSO 91.3FM Alpha Rhythms show plays more Sensitive Chaos "A Piece of Stars"
WYSO Playlists
Alpha RyhthmsJustin Vanderberg, Jerry Kenney and Juliet FromholtNov 20, 2011
8:00PM - 11:00PM
Name Song Title Name of CD Track Label On-Air Time Purchase
Huun Huur Tu & Carmen Rizzo Ancestors' Call Eternal Electrofone Music 8:00:00PM Amazon
2002 Flight of the Swan Damayanti Galactic Playground 8:05:42PM Amazon
Karsh Kale Island Cinema Six Degrees 8:11:15PM Amazon
David Arkentstone Star Fall Ambient World Domo Records 8:16:59PM Amazon
Brainscapes Earth-Link ChakraDance CyberOctave 8:25:39PM Amazon
Jonsi & Alex Indian Summer Riceboy Sleeps Beggar's Group 8:32:58PM Amazon
Sensitive Chaos A Piece of Stars Seeker After Patterns Subsequent Records 8:43:34PM Amazon
Justin Vanderberg When I Walk Synthetic Memories Spotted Peccary 8:49:47PM Amazon
Catherine Marie Charlton Red Leaf, Grey Sky Red Leaf, Grey Sky Catherine Marie Charlton 8:53:56PM Amazon
Michael Brant DeMaria Sarasvati Gaia Michael Brant DeMaria 9:00:41PM Amazon
Sajjad Unseen Sacrifices Where I Belong Sajjad 9:06:18PM Amazon
Banco de Gaia Sinhala The magical Sounds of Six Degrees 9:13:32PM Amazon
Darshan Ambient Talking Books A Day Within Days LotusSpike 9:23:08PM Amazon
William Ackerman The Wheel New England Roads Compass Records 9:33:20PM Amazon
Yann Tiersen Comtine D'un Autre Ete: L'apres Midi Amelie Virgin 9:36:22PM Amazon
Jonathan Elias Trinity Path To Zero Across The Universe Records 9:38:42PM Amazon
Mogwai Kings Meadow The Hawk Is Howling Matador 9:48:42PM Amazon
Lisa Gerrard The Valley Of The Moon The Silver Tree High Wire Music 9:53:27PM Amazon
Stanton Lanier Awaken The Dawn Unveiled Pianist Of Peace 9:56:59PM Amazon
Enigma Why!... Enigma 3: Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! Virgin 10:05:41PM Amazon
BT Remember ESCM Reprise 10:10:30PM Amazon
Paul Ellis The Click And Chime Of Passing Time From Out Of The Vast Comes Nearness Lotuspike 10:18:30PM Amazon
Sam Rosenthal Rae The Passage Projekt 10:31:18PM Amazon
Steve Roach & Brian Parnham Ancestral Passage The Desert Inbetween Projekt 10:41:18PM Amazon
Jonn Serrie The Stars, Like Dust (excerpt) The Stargazer's Journey New World Music 10:50:37PM Amazon
WYSO Playlists
Alpha RyhthmsJustin Vanderberg, Jerry Kenney and Juliet FromholtNov 20, 2011
8:00PM - 11:00PM
8:00PM - 11:00PM
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