El sello Projekt presenta el 15 th trabajo del guitarrista, sintetista y compositor noruego Erik Wollo, lleva por título Silent Currents. En este trabajo, el compositor sigue profundizando y explorando nuevos caminos dentro de la electrónica y de la creación de paisajes musicales, cada vez más profundos, cada vez más intimistas creando espacios surreales y paisajes minimalistas.

Es un trabajo dividido en dos cd's, más de 104 minutos de música en un estilo que en ocasiones me recuerda al gran Steve Roach, músico con el que Erik también ha colaborado y que también parece haberle sentado. Este trabajo cuenta con otra peculariedad y es que grabado en directo en los míticos estudios del radio show "Star's End" the Philadelphia entre los años 2002 y 2007, estudios organizados en estos momentos por Chuck Van Zyl, toda una referencia dentro del sector.

Erik Wollo es un hombre que siempre ha tenido un gusto exquisito en sus composiciones y aunque en este trabajo su estilo es más profundo e intimista, sigue manteniendo ese gusto polo exquisito, por lo bien hecho, algo que se nota en cada una de las notas. Los seguidores de la música con significado, de esa música que parece adentrase dentro de la tierra para que nosotros nos adentremos en el interior de nosotros mismos, estamos de suerte, un nuevo miembro se ha unido a estre grupo, un hombre que en sus manos rebosa saber hacer, así que felicitemonos y dejemonos llevar por estas "corrientes del silencio" creadas por Erik Wollo. -Roberto Vales

Drawn from two live-on-air performances from 2002 and 2007 for a Philadelphia area radio show, Star's End, Silent Currents serves as a combination souvenir of Erik Wøllo's live work and a contrast in his approach five years later -- there's not a radical difference, but it's interesting to hear how his general approach can take two distinctly unique paths. The 2002 session -- termed Silent Currents 1, in distinction to 2007's Silent Currents 2" -- can be broadly described as the warmer, gentler effort, while the 2007 session is much more ominous in overall feel. This said, both are clearly the work of the same composer using the same compositional tools. Hearing Wøllo shape the two performances, created live via pre-recorded efforts and improvised additions, can be almost as instructive as it is enjoyable; there's a sense of demonstration at work in how he brings a potential new part to the fore and then explores it, sometimes using simple repetition and sometimes a freer, almost randomized approach. The strong moments are often sudden, like the guitar gently appearing over the serene organ flow of "Silent Currents 1, Pt. 6" or, similarly but more direct, on "Silent Currents 2, Pt. 8," a spotlight moment of sorts. At the same time, these moments can be stealthy -- the slow sink into crumbling echo and rumble on "Silent Currents 1, Pt. 10" or the sparkling flow that seems to start even before "Silent Currents 2, Pt. 5," yet which only achieves its fullness there. Meanwhile, the dark chill that begins the second session could be something out of a sci-fi nightmare or a late black metal album (or both), while the Morse code-ish crackle on "Silent Currents 2, Pt. 11," looped and set against further chill, could be the aliens trying to broadcast as much as Wøllo himself is. Sometimes things seem to become more a tribute to the source, thus the bubbling space synths on "Silent Currents 2, Pt. 13" that could almost be out of a late-'70s documentary, but it's an enjoyable tribute nonetheless.

«Star`s End» – одна из самых уважаемых среди любителей электронной музыки радиопередач. Впервые позывные программы раздались в эфире в 1976 году и с тех пор каждую неделю, с часа ночи до пяти утра, все желающие слушают необычную, загадочную и новаторскую музыку. Одной из важных «фишек» «Star`s End», безусловно, являются живые выступления звезд жанра, проходящие прямо в радиостудии. Достаточно перечислить несколько знаковых персонажей, занимавших эфирное время: Стив Роач, Джефф Пирс, Руди Адриан, Йон Серри, Роберт Рич, Ян Бадди.

Норвежец Эрик Волло становился участником шоу дважды, в 2002 и в 2007 годах, и оба раза он смог произвести настолько сильное впечатление, что было логично запечатлеть его старания в формате двойного альбома для тех, до кого радиоволны с американского континента не долетают. Эти ночные концерты помогли слушателям открыть для себя творчество Эрика немного с другой стороны. От привычных ритмических конструкций осталось мало следов, музыка стала более атмосферной, «погруженной в себя», на смену броским электронным декорациям в духе «традиционной» электроники (хотя нарочито аналоговые следы обильно разбросаны по коротким композициям) пришли потоки размеренного, статичного гула, омывающего берега ночных территорий, спонтанно воссозданных Волло из вороха домашних заготовок. Поклонники норвежского композитора знают, как сильно в его творчестве превалирует гитара, и здесь ей тоже нашлось место. Мягкие пассажи и фантомные мелодии, резонирующий фон и спонтанные импровизации, пропущенные по электронным цепям…да, многие берут в руки этот инструмент, но у Волло он звучит так, как ни у кого другого. Не так вымученно и муторно, как у «позднего» Рича, и не так «узнаваемо», как у Пирса.

Стоит отметить еще и тот факт, что Эрик мастер «короткой формы», бесконечные монолиты из спрессованного звука не его стихия, ему вполне достаточно нескольких минут, чтобы создать композицию с нуля и завершить ее в нужный момент. Поэтому каждый концерт состоит из множества коротких треков, каждый из которых имеет свои индивидуальные особенности, оригинальное настроение и характерное звучание. Что-то звучит абстрактно и безлюдно, где-то наоборот, прослеживаются добродушные нью-эйджевые нотки, день сменяет ночь, пробиваясь сквозь пелену дождя, шорохи и мягкие пульсации электронных трайбл ритмов, навевающих порой воспоминания о пустынных пейзажах Стива Роача. Да, и еще – согласитесь, если бы два концерта, между которыми пролегло пять лет, звучали абсолютно одинаково, это было бы не в пользу музыканта. Временной и творческий сдвиг второго выступления выражен в более темных красках и попытках запустить как можно больше добротных и самобытных пульсаций, чтобы вытянуть слушателя из бездонных звуковых провалов. Работа же 2002 года задействует чуть больше вариантов звучания, кажется более эклектичной.

Да, и еще пару слов о творчестве Волло. При той тяге к «иномирности», фантастическим мотивам и эзотерическим вопросам, свойственной его многочисленным коллегам по сцене, Эрик создает музыку абсолютно реальную, земную. Ее пространство принадлежит этому миру, описываемые ею территории можно легко увидеть где-то за углом привычных зданий и в отражении предметов. И эта реалистичность зачастую становится более интересной, чем попытки открыть двери в другие Вселенные или провести слушателя закоулками микрокосмоса. Здесь и сейчас, прямо рядом с нами текут безмолвные потоки, и мы легко можем погрузиться в них.

The next disc to hit the CD player (not the built-in computer thing with shitty speakers, relax!) is by the Norwegian musician Erik Wøllo. Just like the recently reviewed Projekt release by Steve Roach, this also concerns a double-CD in the heavy cardboard digipack with esoteric design, just the way we are used to getting from Sam Rosenthal.
Erik Wøllo is a new name for me, but according to Discogs he has been musically active since 1983, with 22 releases under his own name. The last few years, there have been annual releases on Projekt, so it seems he found his home. ‘Guitarist, synthesist and composer’ is how he is labelled in the promo sheet, and all of these aspects will turn out to be true.
But first things first: “Silent Currents (Live at Star’s End)” makes us curious for one thing. Not whether the CD contains live recordings, because that’s a given. But the “Star’s End” part… It turns out to be the world’s longest running radio-show on the subject of ambient. To be precise, it’s been on weekly since 1976 in the Philadelphia area. The recordings presented on this release were made when Erik played at The Gatherings festival in 2002 and 2007 and “Star’s End” asked him to do a live show on their program.
With two double-CD releases in the same style packaging, both live and both on the same label (ref: Steve Roach – “Journey Of One”) it’s a bit obvious that, as a reviewer, one tends to compare. Not a bad thing, and style-wise the releases do come close. Both have those heavily layered ambience, analog sounding pads, etheric atmosphere, yet still there is also a very clear difference between the two artists. Where Steve Roach is working mostly with aspects of ethnicity and rituals, Erik Wøllo fills the composition much more with melodies and synthetic explorations. Which causes both releases to have a very definite unique style, even though they do sound alike for the untrained listener.
To make a long story short, an absolute ‘Do Try This At Home’ for ambient lovers who don’t mind the progressive use of guitar and other melodic instruments, and who do know where and how ambient music started. -Bauke van der Wal

Style:
Live electronic ambient zones. Silent Currents opens with a bright spacey drone draped in gossamer layers that gradually gather and coalesce into a deep, dense mass of subtly heaving tone. Further tracks segue seamlessly into more distant evolutionary forms: keening synthetic threads wafting through the expanse; a dark turbulent void with percussive disturbances forming a link; fine airy pads and weightless washes support delicate sequencer structures; celestial synth voices and faint programmed lattices. Track nine sees a more percussive rhythm of liquid clicks and flecks and a low muted beat, complementary electronica coruscating about the central shade. A stronger beat of clattering drums that loom and recede stirs the penultimate piece of disc one before the silky serene finale floats skyward and evaporates so very slowly. The second disc is of similar nature to the first: back and forth ventures into the softness of light and the velvet of dark; fluid peculiarities and watery arpeggios; tinkling chimes and lead lines of a sighing whalesong-like nature looming dreamily out of sonic depths; lush guitar patterns echoing and swelling.

Artwork:
Silent Currents comes as a two CD package of three fold-out panels. Discs are held in plastic cradles in the two rightmost sections folding face to face. When opened out, the three sections reveal a double panel panorama of yellow/orange fractal channels cut into red earth and a group of performance images showing Erik at the keyboard or guitar. Track titles are simply numbers and are noted along with recording dates and details on the rear. Here too is a two paragraph explanation of the release and a note pointing out that "a portion of the proceeds from this album are donated to CIMA of PA, the non-profit corporation responsible for The Gatherings Concert Series. Internal imagery is shadowy and indistinct: sweeps of darkest olive green with small highlights.

Overall:
Erik Wøllo presents here a pair of live performances originally recorded five years apart as part of the Star's End radio program. Disc one was initially captured in 2002; a twelve-track single piece that takes a more textural ambient approach than many of his studio albums. Disc two contains another long form ambient real-time recording, this time of fourteen sections. Silent Currents (Wøllo's fifteenth release) comes to us via Projekt Records as follow-up to his 2010 disc Gateway. Promotional material explains that Wøllo builds his live sets from pre-established/pre-programmed grooves and soundspaces augmenting them with improvised passages. The artist says "I brought various sound excerpts, loops and atmospheres, and performed and composed these into long continuous zones, all done in real time." Excerpts of the music can be found at Erik's own site as well at Projekt where a collection of other reviews may also be read.

Anyone who’s seen an ambient/electronic musician perform live would probably admit that aside from the visuals typically splashed across the space during the show, there’s not a whole lot to see. The artist hunches over a couple of laptops, lays hands on a keyboard now and then and, if you’re lucky, might break out a guitar or a didgeridoo. The upside of this is that it allows you, the listener/attendee, to drop into the sound and focus more deeply on the movement and evolution of the music as it emerges and develops, free of worrying that you’re going to miss a power-chord knee-slide across the stage or a massive eruption of pyrotechnics. You can be more deeply involved in what the music’s doing to you.

It’s that practiced sound-evolution and captivating narrative flow that marks the two concerts captured on Erik Wøllo’s two-disc release, Silent Currents. Recorded in 2005 and 2007 at the WXPN studios during broadcasts of the Star’s End show and immediately following live shows at Philadelphia’s renowned The Gatherings concert series, Silent Currents benefits from Wøllo’s post-concert momentum and the kind of flowing creativity that hits when you’re still performing at around two in the morning. Wøllo builds his sets from pre-established/pre-programmed grooves and soundspaces, then augments them with improvised passages.

Disc One opens in a strong ambient space, Wøllo paving the way in bold drones that build in thickness before settling back to a more open space. Five tracks in he subtly folds in a beat that bubbles along in the flow and the timbre of the piece begins to shift. A gentle melody replaces the drifts and Wøllo brings in the sweet sighs and cries of his signature guitar work, high notes that pair off against the pads. In track eight Wøllo brings in, for lack of a better word, church organ tones that play humbly over wavering synths. It’s another of those evolutionary moments that absolutely seize your attention without disrupting your personal place in the drift. Track 11, although only two minutes long, is another, adding a potent pulse with the arrival of big, aggressive drum beats that ramp up the moment before Wøllo again lets things slide back down to a quiet, cleansing finish.

Disc Two opens in a darker space, shadowy and slow-moving with things lurking at the edges. Guitar shimmers and tinkling chimes drift in to lighten the space as Wøllo opens the scope of sound. Insectile analog skitterings, familiar to anyone who’s listened to Steve Roach lately, take over, making their tracks across softly rolling pads that rise in intensity to mark a new passage. Wøllo moves into a softly rhythmic zone with track four, and lets the guitar come forward. Around track five Wøllo takes us back into the darkness, heightening the gloom and unease across the next couple of tracks. By track seven it’s all around, a perfectly shadow-encased atmosphere that moves slowly forward. A guitar line in track eight accents the emotion, picking its way with sinister aspect through the fog. Here again is an example of Wøllo’s artistry; slowly the tone lightens and we emerge into a broader space, the guitar rising and brightening and the whole of the thing simply shifting to present a new vision–seamlessly. The transition is amazing. Meanwhile, back to those attention-grabbing moments–the short track 11 introduces a fresh electronic sound, like raindrops on guitar strings that, having done their job in basically introducing the last stretch of the disc, fade to make way for long pads. Wøllo closes out pairing the guitar with the sound of lapping water. A smooth analog rhythm comes up from under to energize the space. In the last five minutes Wøllo floats long, quiet pads through the space and, with a light hand on the controls, dusts them with disparate and contrasting sounds that fade to a final hushed sigh.

The concerts were just two years apart and Wøllo has a very distinct sound and approach, so the two discs can feel a little similar in places if they’re listened to back-to-back. But both are so smooth and elegantly constructed that similarity become a less-than-minor consideration. Taken as a pair of hour-long sonic moments in time they’re perfect ambient-music listens, exemplifying what one guy can do when he’s hunched over some laptops with a guitar. Not a lot to see, but very, very much to hear. Wøllo is a master craftsman and Silent Currents shows him at his best. It’s a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended CD.

For those darkwave lovers out there, I’ve got a treat for you! Silent Currents just can’t get more soothing yet dramatic, and it’s been road tested by yours truly to be a great accompaniment to my morning cup of Joe. Erik’s fascinating electronic/ambient landscapes with slow-motion structures, surreal soundscapes and floating currents somewhat brings me back to the 1990’s show Roswell. Remember that? Well, with Erik’s atmospheric waves, you’ll think that you discovered the spaceship, yes, right now with your ears attached to your headphones. Silent Currents demonstrates a different side of Erik Wollo, with more focus on deep drones than melody and rhythm, zones drift and morph, and they all flow into each other organically. Experience something extraterrestrial with Norwegian guitarist’s 15th release and in fact Erik says, “To perform 'on the air' late at night in the radio studio contributed to these unique and inspired performances. In this setting, it felt very natural to do some downtempo and quiet, floating ambient music. Thus, this release is more abstract and chilled out than I usually present on my studio albums."

Como genio consagrado de la música electrónica más innovadora del momento, Erik Wollo nos ha presentado a través del prestigioso sello discográfico PROJEKT RECORDS este doble álbum en directo titulado “Silent Currents (Live at the Star´s End)” en el que se han incluido dos de sus actuaciones ofrecidas en los años 2002 y 2007 dentro del programa de radio Star´s End en la ciudad estadounidense de Philadelphia. Una inmejorable forma de que los lectores de Lux Atenea Webzine puedan apreciar el excelso arte musical presentado por este compositor y músico noruego a través de la fiabilidad del directo. Además, con estas grabaciones de dos de sus conciertos separados cinco años en el tiempo, también podrán comprobar y sentir cómo la inspiración y la genialidad de Erik Wollo no ha hecho más que incrementarse con el paso del tiempo. Una evolución personal, intelectual y artística que ha llevado a consolidarse como uno de los grandes maestros actuales dentro de la escena musical, y este es su decimoquinto álbum creado para estimular nuestro placer y nuestra reflexión a través de la inmersión en nuestro interior para que empecemos a iluminar esos rincones velados dentro de nuestro inconsciente. “Silent Currents” tiene ese halo misterioso y luminoso a su vez. Esa mezcla tan humana de esplendor radiante y de saturnina perspectiva de la propia existencia que tanto nos cautiva y que tanto nos hace amar estas impresionantes composiciones en cuanto las escuchamos, casi, como travesía vital de nuestra propia existencia.

Me ha encantado comprobar cómo en estos dos conciertos, con cinco años de diferencia entre unas interpretaciones y otras, Erik Wollo sigue poseyendo esa capacidad para transmitirnos esas sensaciones que te hechizan a través de la magia de la música. Unas ambientaciones sonoras que te absorben, que de invitan a dejar volar tu propia imaginación a través de una fantasía dimensional dirigida magistralmente por este alquimista de las más armoniosas vibraciones dentro del campo musical. Tanto uno como otro concierto te ofrecen ese brillo único que solamente el directo te lo puede dar con tal autenticidad. Una sensibilidad musical que se transformará en puro placer en cuanto los melómanos lectores de Lux Atenea Webzine pongan cualquiera de estos dos excelsos CD´s en su equipo de música. Tras haber sido trasladado a otras dimensiones creadas por nuestra mente mientras escuchaba serenamente cada uno de estos preciosos e inolvidables temas, solamente puedo decirles que la audición en estas noches otoñales del doble álbum “Silent Currents” se ha convertido en una de las más extraordinarias experiencias que he tenido, y que volveré a repetirla en próximas fechas debido a esta admirable naturaleza espiritual moldeada a través del arte musical. “Silent Currents”, un grandioso trabajo de imprescindible compra y audición. ¡¡¡Disfrútenlo!! -Lux_Atman

Die neue CD des norwegischen Gitarristen und Elektronikmusikers Erik Wøllo trägt den Titel Silent Currents, was frei übersetzt soviel wie „stille Strömungen“ bedeutet. Der Untertitel „Live At Star’s End“ weist darauf hin, dass die Musik live entstanden ist. Bei Star’s End handelt es sich um die wohl älteste Ambient Radiosendung, die in der Umgebung von Philadelphia (USA) beheimatet ist. Drei Mal schon war Erik in der Sendung Star’s End vertreten. Von den beiden Radioshows aus den Jahren 2002 und 2007 liegen nun die Aufnahmen vor, die auf dieser DoppelCD veröffentlicht werden. Der Albumtitel verrät schon, dass es recht ambient und ruhig auf der CD zugeht.

Die DoppelCD bietet auf der ersten Disc das komplette Konzert (52:28 Minuten Laufzeit), das Erik am 27.04.2002 im Studio gespielt hat. Auf der zweiten Disc ist dann das Konzert vom 28.10.2007 enthalten. Die Seiten enthalten jeweils einen Set, der in einzelne Parts (CD1 = 12 Parts und CD 2 = 14 Parts) unterteilt ist. Das Instrumentarium für die Konzerte bestand aus E-Gitarren, Gitarrensynthesizer sowie analoge und digitale Synthesizer. Betitelt sind die CDs bzw. Stücke mit „Silent Currents 1“ und „Silent Currents 2“.

Während Erik ansonsten bei seinen Konzerten recht strukturiert vorgeht, hat er für die Liveübertragungen von Star’s End die Musik einfach fließen lassen. Herausgekommen ist wesentlich ambientere Musik, als man sie sonst von ihm kennt. Da fließen die Flächen einfach so durch den Raum, ohne besondere Melodiebögen zu erhalten. Vorwiegend sind es auch Synthieklänge in denen nur sporadisch die E-Gitarre Tupfer hinzufügt (wie im herrlichen Part 8 der „Silent Currents 2“ die so typische Sounds von Erik bietet). Dann kommt Erik wieder so zur Entfaltung, wie man ihn mag.

Rhythmen finden sich auf den Stücken nicht, vielmehr sind es die ruhigen, fließenden Synthielinien die aus den Boxen schweben und für eine benebelnde Wirkung sorgen. Klanglich wurden die Aufnahmen sehr gut umgesetzt und lassen wirklich keine Wünsche übrig, denn der Sound ist sehr transparent.

Mit Silent Currents dokumentiert der Norweger Erik Wøllo seine ambiente Ausrichtung. Obwohl er auch bei diesen Stücken die E-Gitarre und den Gitarrensynthesizer eingesetzt hat, klingt der Großteil der Tracks doch sehr synthetisch und nicht ganz so atmosphärisch wie Erik’s bisherige Veröffentlichungen. Und doch üben die Stücke durch ihren ambienten Charakter eine hypnotische Wirkung auf den Hörer aus. Ein für Erik’s Verhältnisse ungewöhnliches, aber tolles Ambientalbum. -Stephan Schelle, September 2011

This 2 CD set presents the deep ambient facet of Norwegian guitarist and synthesist Erik Wøllo. His studio albums normally mix ambient sounds with engaging melodies and rhythms. However, on Silent Currents he performs two extensive pieces of superb space music with a bigger focus on drones.

The two pieces are extracted from two separate live radio broadcasts for the iconic Star’s End electronic music radio show in Philadelphia. Each of these performances, Silent Currents 1 from 2002 and Silent Currents 2 from 2007 are each a disc-long uninterrupted composition with several sections. This alternate universe of Erik Wøllo’s music presents ambient music performed on guitars, guitar synthesizers and analog and digital synthesizers. The mesmerizing pieces flow seamlessly and morph into dreamlike episodes, evoking endless space, with downtempo atmospheres, soaring guitars, spatial explorations and bubbly sequences.

“I have been kindly invited to perform at Star’s End multiple times,” says Wøllo. “To perform ‘on the air’ late at night in the radio studio contributed to these unique and inspired performances. In this setting, it felt very natural to do some downtempo and quiet, floating ambient music. Thus, this release is more abstract and chilled out than I usually present on my studio albums. Some elements of the music were improvised; I brought various sound excerpts, loops and atmospheres, and performed and composed these into long continuous zones, all done in real time.”

Silent Currents is Wøllo’s 15th album. In 2010 he released Gateway on the Projekt label and last June, Wøllo released The Road Eternal, which is a collaboration with deep space ambient electronic music master Steve Roach.

Star’s End is one of the longest-running radio shows of ambient music in the world. Since 1976, this program has provided the Philadelphia broadcast area with weekly midnight electronic music adventures.
“Over the years Star’s End has hosted many live to air concerts, usually with artists fresh from The Gatherings Concert Series stage,” says Chuck Van Zyl, host of Star’s End. “The act of playing a second, more intimate concert after a public event provides a sense of summation to a powerful experience. But the unique radio venue also offers musicians a space for discovery, as they turn from focused music for The Gatherings community to atmospheres for an audience each in their own dream space. Erik Wøllo enthusiastically embraces this idea using his on-air concerts to explore moods and zones only found in the late hour and unconventional situation. There is an interesting energy arcing through Silent Currents: Erik descends into himself, realizing music completely in the moment. The resulting new works are wonderful expressions of ambience, texture and this artist’s potent sense of drama as Wøllo creates space, then fills it with ever-evolving sound.” -Angel Romero

This gorgeous looking 6-panel 2CD digipak (photos by Erik Wøllo and Chuck van Zyl, design by Sam Rosenthal), released in September 2011, features on each CD a live radio performance at Star's End, legendary radio show delivering ambient music in the Philadelphia area since 1976. Utilizing processed electric guitars and guitar synthesizers, analog and digital synthesizers, Erik unfolds for all his listeners beautifully floating and emerging atmospheres and zones with hints of more active textures. Definitely colored with more deeper and droning environments than we are used to hear on previous works of this highly renowned Norwegian composer. Disc One documents Erik Wøllo's live-to-air performance at April 27th, 2002, with 12 untitled compositions. It graciously floats from deeply evocative and longing pieces with guitars ("Part 2", "Part 3", "Part 10") through spiraling aerials ("Part 4", "Part 6") to more quiet and serene spacewashes ("Part 5"), from more monumental ("Part 1"), nearly orchestral pieces ("Part 8") through rather tranquilizing ethereals ("Part 7", "Part 12") to hauntingly tribal-infused ("Part 11") or heart beat groove perfumed piece ("Part 9"). Quite colorful batch of compositions showcasing Erik's highly sensitive touch and craft to fuse wonderful atmospheres with radiant guitar arrangements. Disc Two, recorded at October 28th, 2007 and consisting of 14 sections, enters the stage with abyssal intro, that later shifts into more mechanizing and progressing level, yet still deeply evocative and hypnotic. "Part 2" remains on the darker route, while "Part 3" features minimal, but highly effective and absorbing high-tech grooves, magnificent! "Part 4" dives into more organic realms with bubling heart beats and expressive guitars, a truly subterranean sonic adventure! Slowed-down grooves on "Part 5" attractively color the deeper drifts. Ethereal and slightly dramatic "Part 6" evokes highly imaginative sky high odyssey while "Part 7" is painted by some spooky cosmic soundscapes. This sonic tension is easily relieved through "Part 8" with its more breathing and colossal texture and yearning guitar riffs. Strongly aerial and mesmerizing "Part 9" is gently enriched by some quiet pulses on the background. High-tech grooves, organics and guitars are the main flavors of the following three pieces, with "Part 12" being the most expressive and melancholic. Watery sounds on "Part 13" soon traverse into sequenced high-tech bubbling trancey tune, a truly submersible journey! "Part 14" with stratospheric ambience graciously closes this exciting sonic adventure loaded with skillful arrangements and superb performance merging electronics with guitars. Erik Wøllo crosses on "Silent Currents" wider spectrum of moods, distinctively blending darker and lighter elements into musically superior masterpiece!!! An ambient/electronic ace at his finest!!! -Richard Gürtler

This release from 2011 offers 104 minutes of dreamy electronic music.

The material on this release represents a pair of on-air radio concerts performed by Wollo on Star's End on WXPN in Philadelphia from 2002 and 2007.

Disc 1 (the 2002 performance) starts with luxuriant atmospherics, out of which emerge languid guitar sustains so steeped in treatments that they merge perfectly with the flowing texturals. For a while the electronic tonalities and the processed guitar undulate into a fusion of sinuous mien, finally separating to compliment each other from divergent vantages in the mix. Faux rainfall slides into play, providing a temperate backdrop for the guitar's crawl to dominance with its seesawing harmonics. Gradually, gentle bloops surface through the electronic fog and introduce a sparse melody to the ambience. This passage carries on for a bit, until the guitar musters a resurgence and generates a series of icy expressions of glistening charm. A winsome keyboard pattern enters the display, tempering things back to a dreamy character. A demonstrative passage evolves from this ethereal mist, as surging diodes cavort with delightful pulsations. Eventually, the music ebbs into a congenial finale of elongated guitar notes swimming in a soup of pleasant drones. Percussion makes a surprise appearance at the end, with echoing tempos of a haunting nature.

Disc 2 (the 2007 performance) offers an intro of tense tonalities and slippery guitar sustains, all of which gradually build in strength until they reach a fade-out, giving way to chittering effects and whirligig pulsations. The chittering attains a pronounced presence, revealing itself as strategic percussion pursuing an eccentric beat. Quite abruptly, the listener finds themselves immersed in a passage of fluid electronics and delicate guitar treatments, both herded close by a majestic electronic thread. This arrangement achieves a striking pinnacle that, while remaining soothing, reaches an ambrosial euphoria before melting into a languid glacier of glittering vapors. Then comes an appearance by actual conventional guitar chords, generally unprocessed and richly vibrating amid a swelling echo mist. Again, things change, and the music flows into a gaseous stretch punctuated by treated guitar twinkles. A regal guitar strumming emerges from the sonic clouds to call forth electronic sighs that herald the concert's wet conclusion.

An enjoyable selection of ambience with substance. -Matt Howarth

Those who have seen Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Erik Wøllo perform live know that he is able to create impressive and highly cinematic spheres with a symphonic/prog-rock touch.

The double album "Silent Currents" contains two different live sets of 52 minutes each, both performed at Star’s End radio show in Philadelphia, USA in 2002 and 2007 respectively. Sound wise, these concerts tell a different story, as they capture Erik’s floating ambient/drone style in a rather improvised, chill-out fashion.

The albums overall abstract music is quiet and gentle, keeping a strong focus on deep, slow motion and long-form atmospherics along floating currents and drone textures. These introspective, occasionally down-tempo compositions nicely evolve and curl, while Wøllos soft yearning guitar adds its airy, magical feel to it.

While Erik’s visionary and vibrant sonic landscapes for the mind remain something special, "Silent Currents" (in my opinion almost a dedication to stillness) is for his fans who especially appreciate his textural and profound ambient side. Nicely done, Erik! -Bert Strolenberg

Man, do I like the music of Erik Wøllo. I learned of this very good Norwegian guitarist through his collaborations with Steve Roach and his album Gateway. He is a fine guitarist who succeeds to harmonize his guitar layers and pads to synths or sequenced impulsions of Steve Roach, Deborah Martin's tribal harmonies and the very experimental music of Bernhard Wöstheinrich. On Silent Currents, Wøllo presents 2 live cocerts performed in 2002 and 2007 on Chuck Van Zyl’s cult EM radio broadcast shows, Star’s End. Two concerts of an average length of 52 minutes, divided into about 25 segments. Live performances with enchanting musical textures which depict the dexterity, both in guitars and synths, of this brilliant musician where the maturity and ingenuity can be heard on this very nice 2 CD box-set where 7 years separate the concerts.

Recorded during the broadcast of April 27th, 2002, Silent Currents 1 begins its long musical journey with a fine linear movement from where subtle riffs emerge which link in delicate loops under a sky sieved by layers and strata of a synth/guitar fusion. The beginning of the movement is softly ambient and atonal with delicate modulations tinted by heterogeneous sound effects, emerging from Arizonian caverns, and surrounded by sweet layers of a spectral guitar which float beneath fine reverberations and which are criss-crossing among some elongated morphic pulsations, whereas that Silent Currents 1 embraces its first sequences at around the 17th minute. It’s a fine sequential movement with chords alternating in a suave succession, while some languishing lamentations from a melancholic six strings guides us towards a gleaming movement sparkling with guitar notes touching lightly the surface of tranquillity under the ghostly effect of undulate and sinuous guitar's waves. Silent Currents 1 becomes darker and heavier. "Part 7" floats in an abyssal heaviness with of tremulous line of a syncretic fusion which sway in a heavy metallic atmosphere before ending on a limpid movement where fine crystalline chords and delicate synth solos dance in a cosmic spiral. It’s a nice melodious moment before that heterogeneous pulsations of "Part 9" hop of a jerky movement, plunging us into a fusion of tribal and soundscape universes of Steve Roach; a delicious eclectic world surrounded by metallic hoops which collide in the shade of synth strata with choirs as discreet as notes of the guitar.

This seething dark passage diverts towards the oniric sweetnesses of "Part 10 "and its nice and soft guitar layers which roar with tenderness in a solitary desert, permuting into heavy synth layers which glide over a smooth linear movement. The first percussions are audible on "Part 11". They resonate with an arrhythmic movement on a sinuous metallic line filled of increasing white noises, to embrace the soporific sweetnesses of "Part 12" and its synth to sluggish angelic layers, sounding the hour of sleep with fists and eyes closed.

A long synth wind fragments its tones of glasses to draw a fine hatched line of which the echo is melting to loud reverberations and suave melodious choirs. Recorded during the broadcast of October 28th, 2007, Silent Currents 2 starts this concert with more emotionalism and warm breaths of synth which are sidling among twinkling arpeggios and layers of a static guitar. There is quite a whole sound wealth on this concert with a better fusion synth/guitar which multiplies the dreamlike layers into morphic structures filled with delicate sparkling. The first pulsations of a surrealist world appear on "Part 3". They hop of their echoes, shaping a surprising arrhythmia in a heavy atmosphere fed by brief guitar solos and heavy strata of a dark and captivating synth. Mixing stillness and harmony, with notes of guitar which roll in loops and brief solos which float in hybrids ambient movements, Silent Currents 2 criss-crosses its 14 segments with more fluidity and an intense musical fauna which was lacking on the 2002 concert. Erik Wøllo has ripened and has acquired a bigger dexterity, allowing him to interlace his segments with a bigger musical wealth. If the somber synth layers always draw spectral waves there is always a harmonious transparency which gets loose from it, juxtaposing two very different entities on the same movement as on "Part 6". The synth wanderings abound, weaving superb ambient movements which are often surprised by sudden pulsations as we can hear on "Part 7" and "Part 9" with its pleasant fluty chant in a universe to multiple sound dimensions. There are good passages where the guitar sprinkles its notes into soft echoing structure, embroidering surrealists but catchy melodies within dense synthesized incantations ("Part 8") or solitary movements shared with morphic synth layers in a desert of rattlers ("Part 10"). The universe of Silent Currents 2 is rich in sequential passages, "Part 11" and "Part 13", or oddly livened up of eclectic pulsations which make capsize the musical universes between the ambient, light rhythm and melancholic as on "Part 12".

In short, 2 worlds and 7 years separate both Erik Wøllo's performances and it shows. If Silent Currents 1 is more ambient and atonal, Silent Currents 2 is more lively and musical. We hear in it a Erik Wøllo with more maturity and assurance who isn’t afraid of rhythms and challenges to mastered several instruments in one concert. Silent Currents is a nice album which appeals mainly to fans of Wøllo, although the 2nd CD is of a stunning musicality and could please lovers of ambient music and diversified universes with rich soundscapes and landscapes tones. Notice the great artwork which wraps this very nice digipak box set and which is a nice work of art. Artworks which abound in the releases of Sam Rosenthal's label, Projekt. -Sylvain Lupari

Erik Wollos Musik ist einfach genial ! -Silent Currents- besteht aus Material, welches Erik für das bekannte amerikanische Radioprogramm live eingespielt hat. Ruhige Ambientflächen und zwischendurch immer wieder sein geniales Gitarrenspiel. Auch wenn ich die melodiösen Musikstücke seiner anderen CDs etwas lieber mag, ist diese sehr leise und ruhige CD trotz alledem eine schöne Bereicherung!

The next CD to hit the CD-player (not the built-in computer thing with shitty speakers, relax!) Is by the Norwegian musician Erik Wøllo. Just like the recently reviewed Projekt-release by Steve Roach, this too concerns a double CD in the heavy cardboard digipack with esoteric design, just the way we are used from Sam Rosenthal.
Erik Wøllo is a new name for me, but according to Discogs he has musically been active since 1983, with 22 releases under his own name. The last few years, there have been annual releases on Projekt so it seems he found his home. "Guitarist, synthesist and composer" is how he is labelled in the promo-sheet, and all of these aspects will turn out to be true.
But first things first: Silent Currents (Live At Star's End) makes us curious for one thing. Not whether the CD contain live-recordings, because that's a given. But the 'Star's End' part ... It turns out to be the world's longest running radio-show on the subject of ambient, to be precise: It's been on weekly since 1976 in the Philadelphia area. The recordings presented on this release were made when Erik played 'The Gatherings' festival in 2002 and 2007 and 'Star's End' asked him to do a live-show on their program.
With two double CD releases in the same styles packaging, both live and both on the same label (ref: Steve Roach - Journey Of One) it's a bit obvious that as a reviewer one tends to compare. Not a bad thing and style-wise the releases do come close. Both have those heavy layered ambience, analog sounding pads, etheric atmosphere, yet still there is also a very clear difference between the two artists. Where Steve Roach is working mostly with aspects or ethnicity and rituals, Erik Wøllo much more fills the composition with melodies and synthetic explorations. Which makes both releases have a very definite own style, even though they DO sound alike for the untrained listener.
To make a long story short, an absolute "Do Try This At Home" for ambient lovers who don't mind the progressive use of guitar and other melodic instruments, and who do know where and how ambient music started. -bauke van der wal